Using MetaPost output in pdflatex...

["Rob McDonald" <robm asdl gatech edu>]

I would like to use Dia diagrams in pdflatex.

At first, I was having trouble with the seamless integration of the *.mp
files into my document.  I posted on comp.text.tex, and was able to come to
the following resolution.

\begin{figure}
\begin{emp}
\input diagram.mp;
\end{emp}
\end{figure}

emp is the encapsulated metapost package, and it does a nice job of handling
the metapost .1 files etc.

Unfortunately, MetaPost croaks on all but the most trivial of files exported
from Dia.

If I create a diagram with a single simple rectangle, everything works
great.

If I throw in a UML class and a line connecting it to the rectangle,
metapost starts complaining about the LaTeX-ish tags in the *.mp file.

! Misplaced alignment tab character &.
1.1 &
     latex
?

And

! Undefined control sequence.
1.2 \documentclass
                  {minimal}
?

If I throw a "% " in front of them, it gets past those complaints, but then
complains like this...

! Undefined control sequence.
1.16 {\usefont
              {OT1}{phv}{b}{n} Class}\stopmpxshipout
?

Is anyone using dia and pdflatex to create and use nontrivial metapost
files?  What is the best way to do this?

I'm running Win2K with MiKTeX.  Everything is up to date.

I was running Dia 0.94 on Windows, but that crashed a lot, and had lots of
issues.  (I can provide reports if they're needed, but these problems aren't
exactly hiding.).  So, I spent a day and a half installing coLinux (I've
been meaning to do that), and am now running Dia 0.94 in Linux, without all
the problems I was having on Windows.

The above problems happen whether the file was exported from Dia Windows or
Dia Linux.

Thanks in advance,

               Rob