[texhax] Q: graphicx, pdflatex ; size scale, position re-adjust?

[Phil Sackinger]

I've been using pdflatex lately to create (seminar) presentations that
combine vector graphics (using xfig and other programs) with TeX's
excellent mathematical formatting capabilities.

Still, two things I don't understand well:

(1) I've set my screen size and slide sizes very close to USLetter
landscape (8.5 in high, 11 in wide). But my xfig drawings are limited to
about 3 in high and no more than about 5 in wide. They get magnified
when going through xfig's "Export LaTeX/PDF" and re-imported in
pdflatex! Why? Is seminar or pdflatex redefining my unit of length?

(2) Are there graphicx options or TeX commands to fiddle with the
position after the special graphics object has been inserted?
Preferably, something portable to both pdflatex and latex would be nice.
(Sometimes after inserting a figure I'd prefer to "backup" to the left,
upward, etc.) Is something like \hspace*{-0.5in} and \vspace*{-0.5in}
workable or considered gauche?

Thanks in advance,