CompuServe Messages

Excuse me please if this is a case of RTFM <g>, but I am up against a deadline for a magazine article, and was up most of last night, struggling with the following problem: I had created some text with one of CorelDraw's more complex Truetype fonts, and wanted to bring them through to 3DS for use in a rendering of a carved wood signboard. I discounted DXF transfer early on because of the vast file sizes this created, and opted instead to export from CorelDraw as an Adobe Illustrator file, and then import this .ai file into the 2D shaper. My problems started when I tried to take the shapes into the lofter. At first, I received a warning that my polygons were not closed. That was easy to correct, using the 'create/close' command. My problem then changed to one I havn't yet solved – I now get a warning message telling me my closed polygons 'self-intersect'. I assume that the existing end segments cross over, and that the extra segments added, sometimes cross over figure of eight fasion. I suspect some kind of rounding error at work. It is true that I can find work-arounds, but I wanted to report in my article that the process is automatic and painless, and that CorelDRAW is an excellent aid to 3DS users. I am not certain this is true. Can anyone help? Is there a problem with Corel or 3DS's Adobe filters, with the Illustrator file format, or with me? Has anyone had similar problems. Andrew Bichard.