Extracting baseline info from an EPS file

Products: MathType (all platforms)

MathType inserts a comment describing the distance in points from the bottom of the frame rectangle to the baseline of the equation. For example:

This information can be made use of by page layout programs to ensure proper alignment of the equation baseline with that of a text line in which it is pasted. See Wiris SDK document Interpreting the Baseline for information on how to convert this value for use in your application.

This information is available as a baseline comment in the header of the EPS files produced by MathType. The following is the header of a typical EPS file:

%!PS-Adobe-2.0 EPSF-1.2
%%BoundingBox: 0 0 7 14
%%Creator: MathType
%%Title: test.eps
%%CreationDate: 2/12/90
%%DocumentFonts: Belmont
%%Baseline: 4.2
%%Dimensions: H=0.194in, W=0.097in
%%EndComments
…

%%Baseline comment argument is a float value, and may have a decimal fraction.

See the Wiris SDK document Setting PICT Baselines (Mac) for information on baseline positioning for PICT equations produced by MathType for the Mac. See Setting WMF Baselines (Windows) for baseline positioning in Windows Metafiles (WMF) equations produced by MathType for Windows.