The very first thing to do once Showcase is started, before
doing anything else, is to change the paper size. When the program
starts, it defaults to an 8
''x11'' size sheet. However,
this is the incorrect aspect ratio for slides, which have a 3:2 ratio,
not an 8.5:11 ratio. It is this ratio of width to height that is
important, not the actual physical dimensions. Therefore, choose a
sheet size that has a 3:2 ratio and is a good size for working on the
screen. The examples given in this document have a sheet size of
12''x8''.
It is strongly suggested that you use templates when creating your
slides. This makes it very easy to ensure that your slides are
consistent. There are a number of templates available as a starting
point in the example file
/usr/local/mni/lib/showcase/slide_templates.sho. It is
suggested that you start your Showcase session by loading this
file, choosing an appropriate template, and saving this in your own
directory.
Once your slides are completed, they must be saved in a format that the slide making software understands. Unfortunately, the software does not understand Showcase files directly, and they must be exported as PostScript.
The best option for exporting your slides from Showcase is to save each slide as an Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) file. Go to each slide and choose ``Save As...'' from the file menu. Save it as EPS.
A much poorer option is to print all of the slides together to a PostScript file. This creates a single PostScript file that contains data for all of your slides. This may seem more appealing than having an EPS file for each slide, but there are definite drawbacks. For one thing, the file will most likely be huge. The most important drawback, however, is that POM must process the entire file before it can start shooting any slides. Since there is a limited amount of disk space on Mariana, there may not be sufficient storage to process the whole file, causing some of your slides to not be shot! There are additional difficulties shooting PostScript files detailed in the next section.