Update 26 October 2012: Since X11 support has been dropped from OS X you have to take some extra steps to install Inkscape on Mountain Lion. I was then able to open it directly with Inkscape and the objects were all in tact for me to change their fill and stroke to my heart’s content. All I had to do was open the EPS in Preview and Save As… PDF. One thing Preview is quite good at is saving files in different formats.

It’s straightforward to open map2.eps in Inkscape. To create a SVG file from this EPS, you’ll need a vector graphics program like Adobe Illustrator or the open source alternative, Inkscape, which is what I used. I bet loads of people view their PDFs in Preview every day with no idea of its hidden power… From that website, I downloaded the Location Map 2 file. Everything I need is already on my computer: Preview. I realised I didn’t need extra software to convert an EPS to PDF. This is what I found on their page: Inkscape natively supports opening or importing many different formats, such as SVG, SVGZ (gzipped SVG), PDF, EPS.

If you are ready to give EPS files a try but. Ghostscript helps you convert the EPS file data into vector data that Inkscape can manipulate. While Inkscape can import and export several formats, there may be constraints when importing. ,2- In the select file to open box, select the file you would like to change to a vector. Another free software to edit EPS files is Inkscape but admittedly, its not the easiest one to navigate and use. Inkscape is an open source drawing tool for creating and editing SVG graphics. Programs such as Microsoft Word can also open or import EPS files, but they change the image from vector to raster object. I did a quick search for converting EPS files and saw several references to PDF and opening the PDF in Inkscape. How to convert a JPEG/PNG to a Vector in Inkscape. Inkscape: If you want a free way to open and edit EPS vectors, Inkscape makes it possible with a solid amount of tools. Recently I needed to change the colour of an EPS image and I didn’t want to do a hack job by just filling a new colour over a bitmap versions. EPS files have their uses, for sure, but they seem to be a standard output of Adobe Illustrator, which is a bit sad, because Inkscape (the open source vector editor I use) can’t open them (without some hassle with ghostscripts or something).

Open eps in inkscape