SVG Support
In certain situations you will find the need to include images in your forms. Images such as photographs or company logos are commonly placed in forms. FormReturn gives you the ability to place both bitmap and vector based images into forms.
So what is the difference between "bitmap" images and "vector" images?
Bitmap images (BMP, GIF, TIFF, PNG, JPG etc) are the most common type of image and are made up of a number of small colored dots. Image resolution is often measured in Megapixels (for digital cameras) or DPI (dots per inch, for printers). If you have a low resolution image and you decide to print it, you may notice it is made up of squares or the image is blurry. Printers generally require very high resolution images to avoid these issues.
Vector images (SVG, AI, EPS, WMF etc) are less common than bitmap images but are widely used in the printing and graphic design industry. They key difference is that rather than using dots to make up a picture, vector images use mathematical equations called Bézier curves to mathematically describe the image. This means that the resolution of the image is scalable to whatever resolution you would possibly need. This is one of the main reasons why people in the graphic design and print industries have a preference for "vector" graphics.
In what case would I use a vector graphic?
We suggest using vector graphics wherever possible, particularly in logos and written text. Please note that vector graphics are used for illustrations only. You shouldn't use vector graphics for photographs.
How do I create vector graphics (SVG file format) for FormReturn?
There are many ways you can create SVG files. One of the applications that we use is Inkscape, which is a free vector illustration application. In fact, most of the graphics drawn for FormReturn were done with this program.
When using Inkscape, once you have created your image, save it as a "Plain SVG file", not an Inkscape SVG file. Then simply add it to your form with the image tool. Also, do not include any gradients, transparencies or shadows (blur) as these will not work when exporting to a PDF file.
