What is the bitmap graphics format?

The bitmap format (a standard Windows graphics format used in Clipboard and disk file representations of graphs; file name extension *.bmp) is similar to the metafile format. Specifically, it stores only a representation of the picture and not the data that are plotted or any information about the analytic properties or settings used to produce the graph.

However, unlike the metafile format, the bitmap format stores only a "passive" representation of pixels that form the graph. This representation is less customizable than metafiles that store dynamic representations of all individual graph components, thus allowing selective modifications of lines, text, etc., in other Windows applications.

Bitmaps can be opened by other Windows applications, but the customization or editing options of such graph representations will be limited (typically to operations on pixels, such as stretching and shrinking, cutting and pasting, and drawing "over" the graph). As mentioned before, for best results, copy STATISTICA Graphs to other applications using OLE or ActiveX conventions that allow you to invoke STATISTICA to customize or modify STATISTICA Graphs pasted into documents of other applications.

You can save graphs in this format by select BMP Files in the Save as type box in the Save As dialog (accessible from the graph File menu). Note that on the Save as dialog (accessible from the File menu), an option Create printer resolution Clipboard/Report/Metafile images (best for printing) is available whenever you select the BMP file format. This option determines the line thickness for rendering the main components of the graphs used when generating these file type representations of STATISTICA Graphs.