ARM Club 1/ARM_CLUB_CD.iso/contents/apps/graphs/progs/amfgraph/!AMFGraph/!Help

Text File | 1992-06-20 | 11.8 KB | 238 lines

!AMFGraph  1.30 (20-Jun-92)
===========================
Graph Creator
=============
AMFGraph is designed to allow the production of simple graphs that can be
imported into Draw.It creates standard Draw files containing either bar
charts (histograms),line charts,pie charts or scattergrams.

Use
===
Once loaded,click on the AMFGraph icon on the icon bar.A window will appear,
containing the four types of graphs that AMFGraph can deal with.Select one
of these four types,and click on OK.A window,into which data can be entered
for that graph,will appear.Since there are four different types of graphs,
each being slightly different from the other,these will be discussed
separately.

Bar Charts
==========
AMFGraph can create bar charts containing many bars,and up to four different
sets of data.Enter your data in the boxes provided in the Bar chart Data
window,pressing RETURN after every entry to make sure that AMFGraph realises
it has been entered.Use the ⇦ and ⇨ icons to scan through the data,and use
the Plot icon to display the data in the form of a graph.Do not worry if the
graph seems slightly strange,as this can be altered from a menu option.

Should you wish to enter another set of data,use the arrow keys to move to
another box,and enter more data.Only those data sets that have their icon
(to the left of the entry box) selected will be plotted,although the bottom
box,the label data,will be plotted regardless.In this box are placed the
labels that are placed underneath the graph.

Pressing menu on either the Bar chart Data window,or the Bar chart window,
will open a menu that allows the bar chart to be altered.The first option
on this menu is options.Move to this option,and a window will open
containing information about the bar chart.From this window,new values may
be entered for the options by setting the relevant icons,entering the
relevant data,and selecting OK.No alteration will be made should OK not be
selected,or the window be closed by pressing RETURN in the last icon.Should
you be unhappy with any modification,click on Cancel to revert to the
previous values,so long as OK has not been selected.

The first option in the Options window is Use stacked lines.Should this
option be set,multiple sets of data will be plotted on top of each other,
otherwise they will be set side by side.The next option,Use 3D,if set,will
add a three dimensional effect to the bars.To control the thickness of this
effect,the depth of the bars,alter the value in the box next to this icon.

The next options must be entered into their respective boxes.Aspect ratio
controls the ratio between the X and Y dimensions on the page.A low value
will squash the graph horizontally,a high value will squash the graph
vertically.Depending on the magnitude of the data you have entered,you may
need to alter this value.High magnitudes of data need a high aspect ratio,
low magnitudes of data need a low aspect ratio.

The next option,Percentage of width,controls the width of the bars compared
to the spaces allocated for them.If this is set to 100%,the bars will touch
each other,if less than this,there will be a gap between the bars.

The Origin is defined as two values,X and Y,and controls the offset from the
bottom right of the window to the bottom right of the graph.This may need
to be altered to fit all the graph into the window,although this is rarely
necessary.

The next two options,comprising of four icons in all,control the labelling.
The first value for each option controls how often the numbers are plotted,
the second value controls how often smaller subdivisions are plotted.For
bar charts and line charts,the X labelling values should be no less than 1,
although they may be greater,causing some of the labels to be left out.

Another icon shows the scaling used to fit the graph into the window,
although this cannot be altered.Finally,there are the OK and Cancel icons,
that should be used to set/unset the modifications.

The next option on the menu is Colours.From here,the colours of the axis,
the numbers,and the four bars may be defined,using a standard colour window.
Colours are defined in terms of their red,green and blue components,on a
scale from 0 to 255,where 255 is full intensity,and 0 is black.Select OK to
set the colour,or close the window to ignore the settings.

The Save menu option will allow the current bar chart to be saved,either as
a Draw file,or as an internal AMFGraph file,for subsequent reloading into
AMFGraph.Draw files can be loaded into Draw and various desktop publishing
packages.AMFGraph files can be loaded into AMFGraph for future modification.

Finally,the Data menu option allows the entirity of the data to be modified.
Clear will clear all the data,although it will seek confirmation if the
data has not been saved.Start will move the current view to the start,End
to the End.The Upto option allows you to set the last data entry to be
considered for plotting the graph,whereas the As Line option sets the bar
chart data to be the same as the line chart data (below).

Line Charts
===========
Line charts operate in a similar method to bar charts,so it will only be
necessary to describe the differences between the two,instead of
redescribing all that was written above.

From the Options menu,the following options are available.Stacked lines,if
set,allows the lines to be stacked on top of each other,as for bar charts.
The Line width allows the thickness of the lines to be altered,although this
cannot be shown in the AMFGraph window.To see it in action,load the file
into Draw,where the true width of the lines becomes clear.Use 0 for a thin
line.

All the other options from the line chart menu are similar to the bar chart
options,with Data.As Bars setting the line chart data as the bar chart data.

Pie Charts
==========
Only one set of data may be entered for the pie chart,although labels are
also supported.These are placed beside the individual pie chart segments.No
provision is made for the exploding of pie chart segments,although if this
is required,it may be achieved in Draw.Indeed,the emphasis in AMFGraph is to
create a Draw file that may be edited at will in Draw,so that fonts,extra
titles,etc,may be added,without cluttering up AMFGraph.AMFGraph is designed
for simplicity,and Draw provides any extra features required.

From the Options menu option,Radius determines the radius of the pie chart,
and Origin defines the centre point.The colour of each individual segment
may be altered by moving to that segment in the Pie chart Data window,then
using the Colours.Segment option to set that segments colour.

Scattergrams
============
Again,only one set of scattergram data may be entered,and for each data
entry,an X and Y co-ordinate must be entered.These are entered in the boxes,
as usual.

From the Options menu option,the type of scattergram point plotted may be
defined,as may the scale of this point.The scale is equal to units on the
graph.As before,the origin and the labelling can also be defined.A line of
best fit may also be plotted,should the corresponding icon be selected.

Preferences
===========
From the main icon bar menu,select the Preferences option to open the
Preferences window.From this window,a wide variety of default options may be
set,and if required,saved permanently to disc.The first four icons,along the
top of the window,determine the default labelling.Should Numerical be
selected,the labelling boxes will be automatically filled with 1,2,3,4 etc.
Should Jan/Feb be selected,these boxes will be filled with Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr,
etc.Should J/F/M/A be selected,these boxes will be filled with J,F,M,A,etc,
whereas if None is selected,the boxes will be left blank.

If Automatic scaling is selected,AMFGraph will automatically scale all
graphs to fit within its windows,whereas if Default manual scaling is
selected,the graphs will be scaled to the value included in the box beside
this option.Beneath this option,the default pie chart radius,origin for pie
charts,origin for other charts,labelling options and aspect ratio may be
set.These determine the default values for the respective options.

Select OK to set the options temporarily,Save to save the options
permanently,and Cancel to revert to the previous preferences.It is
recommended that these preferences are altered - do not be afraid of doing
so! By altering these preferences,AMFGraph can be customised to your needs,
and not mine as it is to start with.

CSV Files
=========
Certain spreadsheets and other packages can output data in a comma separated
value (CSV) file.These files,having a filetype of DFE can be loaded into
AMFGraph,by dragging them onto one of the data entry boxes,where normally
text or numbers would be entered.Each CSV file is then loaded at the start
of that particular data array,for example,the scattergram x co-ordinates,or
the pie chart labels.

Error handling
==============
AMFGraph has its own internal error handling system,which is designed to
give help,advice,and recommendations in the case of an error.For example,say
you mistakenly set the aspect ratio to zero,which would create an infinite
scaled graph.Instead of crashing in an infinite redraw loop,AMFGraph would
point out this error,tell you why an aspect ratio of zero isn't allowed,and
reset the aspect ratio to a reasonable number.

Similarly,other errors give other advice,instead of merely an error message,
which is often all too brief.In particular,when loaded,AMFGraph checks
through all its files,to see if they have been altered in any way,for
example,by a virus,or a malignant hacker.Should any files have been altered,
you will be made aware of this fact,and you should take appropriate action.

Should an internal error occur,instead of crashing AMFGraph,it will be
reported,together with its origin in an internal error box.Should this
happen repeatedly,contact the author at the address beneath,describing how
the error occurred,and the full details given in the internal error error
box.

Versions
========
1.00 Original version

1.10 Fully ARIed (Impression II style windows).Several small bugs removed.
     Colour window altered.

1.20 Small bug in save routine removed.Menus altered to 44 OS units high.

1.30 Improved caret handling.Small bug in scattergram data removed.Colour
     window is now accessable from the menus,as well as separately.Line of
     best fit added to scattergrams.Improved error handling.CSV files can
     now be read.Automatic virus checking.

Source
======
This version of AMFGraph was originally supplied as part of a software
package,namely the AMF the Doomwatcher Collection Part I.It should not be
distributed separately from this package,although it may be separated for
the personal use of the owner,so long as it is not passed on to others in
this form.

Copyright
=========
This version of AMFGraph is not Public Domain.It may be distributed as
Public Domain only by those who are licensed so to do,with the terms of this
license and the official distributor for this version to be found as part of
the general information supplied with this software collection.No part of
this software may be used in any other program,whether commercial or public
domain,without my prior written consent,though any files created by this
software are not bound by this condition.This software may not be
distributed for a profit,save that required to cover packaging and media
costs,nor may it be distributed by an unlicensed person or company.Copyright
(©) is retained by the author,who may be contacted at the address beneath.No
liability can be accepted by the author for any loss or damage arising from
use or misuse of this software.

Addresses
=========
Should you wish to contact the author of this software,make any constructive
comments or suggestions,report any errors or bugs,or make any donations (all
cheques being made payable to A.M.Flintham),write to the address beneath:

AMF the Doomwatcher,
  The Monastery of Doomwatcher Monks,
    50 Burlington Way,
      Mickleover,
        Derby.
          DE3 5BD