FIGleaf Inline Plug-in for Netscape 2.0 -- FIGleaf Inline is a plug-in for Windows 95/NT users that allows a variety of image formats to be viewed from within the Netscape 2.0 web browser. Images can either be embedded within an HTML page or viewed separately as a full-page graphic. FIGleaf supports a multitude of filetypes, many of which have never had the possibility of being viewed by a web browser without the help of an external helper application. Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF), Encapsulated PostScript (EPSI/EPSF), CCITT Group 4 Type I (G4), CCITT Group 4 Type II (TG4), Microsoft Windows Bitmap (BMP), Microsoft Windows Metafile (WMF), Portable Pixmap (PPM), Portable Greymap (PGM), Portable Bitmap (PBM), Sun Raster files (SUN), Portable Network Graphics (PNG), Silicon Graphics RGB (RGB), Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), and Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) formats are all handled with ease by FIGleaf; however, most all of these images are either dithered or displayed at low resolution, resulting in poor image quality. The exception to this rule is the CGM format, developed by the makers of FIGleaf, Carberry Technology, which is a vector-based graphic format as opposed to the more common raster-based graphic types (GIF, JPEG, TIFF, etc.). Vector graphics allow image scaling without true loss in the image's integrity. By storing graphical information as mathematical entities such as ellipses, rectangles, lines, and polylines, a user can view a vector graphic in any size and not lose the overall quality of the image. You can zoom into an image and not be subject to the image fuzzies or zoom out of an image and not be subject to the image jaggies that frequently occur with modification of the size of a raster-based image. Like the Corel CMX vector format, users will benefit from CGM's superior printing capabilities and compression methods (resulting in smaller file sizes). However, as with the CMX Viewer, FIGleaf offers no tools for users to create their own CGM images. Overall, while the FIGleaf viewer does give users capabilities never before available on the web, at this stage, users will likely be left with the impression that the results are not quite as spectacular as hoped for. Pros: Vector-based images on the web, allows users to view many other graphic formats as well Cons: As with all plug-in modules, CGM images are limited to the browsers that support the module New: Now supports PNG and RGB images, streaming support for images, back/forward commands, more Version Reviewed: 1.0 Official Release Date of Review: 4/3/96 Reviewer: Forrest Stroud apps conference Main Menu