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CHAP26.TXT
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subject: PCG2.EXE
overview: Section 5.7 in Part II described how to identify the
data to be graphed in a PC-Type II file. The identified
information is placed in a file named GRAPH.ME and
saved to your default directory. PC-Type II then calls
PCG2 to begin execution. PCG2 displays a graph based
on the information in GRAPH.ME.
Upon exiting PCG2, you are returned to PC-Type II,
editing the file which was active when you started the
graph.
This section describes how to use PCG2, and also
provides a description of each type of data line
contained in a GRAPH.ME file.
You do not have to be inside PC-Type II to start PCG2.
As long as a GRAPH.ME file exists in your default
directory, you can run PCG2 at any time from DOS by
typing PCG2 after the DOS prompt and then pressing the
Enter key.
If PCG2 cannot find a GRAPH.ME in your default
directory, it will display a message to this effect.
The GRAPH.ME file can be edited by PC-Type II. You do
not have to go through the process of identifying all
the data elements again and creating a new GRAPH.ME
file.
After running PCG2, you may discover a small file
named "PCG2.ASP" on your disk. PCG2 looks for this
file when it begins. It contains the colors you have
selected and the aspect ratios you defined for your
screen and your printer. (More about colors and
aspect ratios later.)
PCG2 first looks for PCG2.ASP in the default
directory. If it cannot find it there, (and you are
running under DOS version 3.0 or later), it will look
for it in the directory in which PCG2.EXE is located.
NOTE: If PCG2.ASP is not found, then upon entering
PCG2 you will be asked to define some aspect
ratios. (See the section on Aspect Ratios
defined under the PIE menu line options.)
The graphing capabilities of PCG2 are especially
powerful, because they allow you to summarize large
volumes of data into a quickly understood picture.
Here are some graphs that were produced with PCG2 via
PC-Type II. Please refer to these sample graphs in the
discussion that follows.
254
These types of graphs can be produced:
Line graphs (see graph A )
Horizontal bar charts (see chart B )
Vertical bar charts (see chart C )
Overlapping bar charts (see chart K )
Pie charts (see charts D and J)
Cumulative bar and line graphs (see graphs F and G)
Scatter diagrams (see diagrams E and L)
In addition, most of the graphs permit you to display
a line showing the average of the data.
Smoothed (moving) averages can also be drawn on many
of the graphs. This can be extremely useful for
indicating trends that wouldn't otherwise show up due
to wide fluctuations in individual data points. (See
graph L.)
A projection line (regression line) can be drawn with
your graph. This is a straight line that represents
the best fit to your data. The method of least
squares is used to compute the formula for the line.
(See graph E.)
A logarithmic scale is an option available for line
and bar charts. (See graph H.)
Devices supported by PC-Type II graphics include:
CGA adapter
EGA adapter
VGA adapter
Hercules compatible monochrome graphics card
Epson (FX) style dot matrix printers
Epson (MX) / IBM style dot matrix printers
Okidata dot matrix printers
HP Laserjet printers
If your computer has only an IBM monochrome monitor
(without a Hercules compatible monochrome card), you
cannot use the graphing features of PC-Type II.
NOTE: If you use a Hercules monochrome graphics, card,
then you must run the program MSHERC.COM before
running PCG2. (See the description "Hercules"
on page 282.)
255
the menu: When you first enter PCG2, the type of graph specified
in the GRAPH.ME file (e.g., pie chart, line graph,
bar chart, etc.) will be displayed on your screen. In
the lower right-hand corner of your screen will be the
message:
(press M for menu)
The options available for each type of graph are
displayed in a menu occupying the bottom two lines of
your screen. Since this area is shared by the graph
itself, the menu can be "turned off" to enable you to
see what the graph looks like on these lines as well.
When the menu is turned off, the message above is
displayed.
The M key acts as a toggle to turn the option menu on
and off. After pressing the M key, you should see two
menu lines at the bottom of the graph.
NOTE: If you have run GRAPHICS.COM (supplied with
DOS), and wish to perform a PrntScreen of your
graphics screen, you may wish to get rid of the
"(press M for menu)" reminder as well. You can
do this by pressing Shift F1. If you do so, the
M key will still act as a toggle, but the
"(press M for menu)" reminder will no longer be
displayed.
The top menu line, the GENERAL line, is the same for
all graphs. It looks like:
GENERAL:
(O)utput(C)olor (M)enu (Q)uit (P)ie (L)ine (H)bar (V)bar (S)catter
The bottom menu line varies, depending on what type of
graph is currently displayed, or which mode (e.g.
cumulative) is active.
To select a menu option, press the key indicated by
the letter within the parentheses.
NOTE:Additional messages are presented in the menu
area when you set up to print your graph, modify
the color selections, and define the aspect
ratio for your screen and printer.
256
subject: GENERAL MENU LINE OPTIONS
discussion: Each option available in the GENERAL menu line shown
on the preceding page will be discussed in turn.
(O)utput: This command is used to print the graph. When you
press the O key, the following menu is displayed:
Press P for Portrait (upright)
L for Landscape (sideways)
Q or Esc to cancel
Here you define the orientation of the printed output.
Selecting Portrait (upright), will cause the graph to
be printed straight up and down. The size of this
output is smaller than if you select the Landscape
option.
The Landscape option will print your graph rotated by
90 degrees, and is fairly close to the size you would
want for making view foils.
After selecting the output orientation, a new menu is
displayed:
Press E for Epson (Q or Esc to Cancel)
I for IBM
L for Laserjet
O for Okidata
from which you select the type of printer you are
using.
For Epson MX compatible printers, press I.
For Epson FX compatible printers, press E.
For Okidata printers in IBM mode, press I.
For Okidata mode, press O.
After you select the appropriate printer, the menu
lines will be removed from the screen until the graph
has been printed.
As the graph is printing, the screen colors will
change to their "negative" colors to show the progress
of the printing process.
When printing is completed, the graph will be redrawn
and the main menu redisplayed (depending upon the
state of the M toggle.)
NOTE: If you are printing a Pie chart, it will be
redrawn when you select the orientation of the
output. The aspect ration defined for the
selected orientation will be used.
257
(C)olor: Some colors may not show up clearly on your screen.
The Color command allows you to select those colors
which show up best and also permits you to select the
foreground and background colors. Your selections
will be saved in the file PCG2.ASP so you will not
have to redefine them every time you use PCG2.
NOTE: If your graphs are displayed in black and white,
the "(C)olor" option will have no effect. PCG2
attempts to provide you with the maximum
resolution your graphics adapter will support.
For this reason, CGA will always be displayed in
black and white, even though your monitor can
display colors. EGA and VGA can display color.
When you press C a screen like the one below will be
displayed:
┌────────────────────────────┐
│ ┌────────────────┐ │
│ 1└────────────────┘ Y │
│ .┌────────────────┐ . │
│ .└────────────────┘ . │
│ ┌────────────────┐ │
│ n└────────────────┘ Y │
└────────────────────────────┘
Press F to change foreground color Q to exit color selection
Press B to change background color 1-n to toggle display colors
First set the foreground and background colors to your
taste by repeatedly pressing the F and B keys.
(Whenever F or B is pressed, the colors displayed
inside the box will change and the selection toggles
(Y/N) will all be set to Y).
Next press the number keys 1, 2, .. n, (n is normally
6 or 7) to toggle the detail color selection. If an
"N" is displayed in the box, the color for the
corresponding number has been turned OFF and you will
not be able to see the color at all. Press the
corresponding number again to turn it back on.
When you are finished, press Q. Only those colors
displayed will be used in your graphs.
In some circumstances, the full range of colors for
EGA or VGA adapters cannot be supported and you may
have to run PCG2 in CGA mode. To do this you cannot
invoke PCG2 from within PC-Type II but must start it from
DOS with the "force CGA" parameter, /F. For example:
C>pcg2 /F
NOTE: Make sure that you erase PCG2.ASP which contains
color defaults before using the /F parameter.
258
(M)enu: This command removes the menu lines from the screen.
If you press the M key a second time, the menu lines
will be displayed again. (When you print the graph,
the menu lines will be removed for you automatically.)
When the menu lines are not displayed, the message
"(press M for menu)" is shown at the lower-right of
your screen. You can press Shift F1 to remove this
message.
(Q)uit: The Quit command stops PCG2 execution. If PCG2 was
begun from inside PC-Type II, you are returned to
PC-Type II. If you initiated PCG2 from DOS, you are
returned to DOS.
259
(S)catter: Pressing the S key from the Main Menu produces a
scatter diagram (points are not connected). (See
sample diagrams E and L.)
The second line of the Main Menu will be:
SCATTER: (B)ound (T)-log (G)rid (X)chg (A)vg (F)it (0-9)-Smoothed Avg
(B)ound: If a "BOUND" record exists in the GRAPH.ME file,
pressing the B key will toggle the axes of the scatter
diagram between their normal values and those
specified in the "BOUND" record. If no "BOUND" record
exists, this option will not be displayed and only the
normal values for the axes will be available.
(T)-log: Pressing the T key toggles the scaling of the vertical
axis of the diagram between an arithmetic scale and a
logarithmic scale.
(G)rid: Pressing the G key toggles the presence or absence of
grid lines to be placed on the diagram.
(X)chg: Pressing the X key swaps the elements of multiple
variables and their group designations. It is only
available in diagrams with multiple variables. For
example, if each group of data was represented by a
year, and each element of a group was a type of fruit,
the (X)chg command would cause each group to be a type
of fruit and each element of a group to be a year.
(E.g.: Sample charts C and I use the same data. Chart
I was produced by issuing the (X)chg command when
viewing chart C.)
(A)vg: Pressing the A key will cause an average (or mean)
line to be superimposed on the diagram for each group
of data points being displayed.
(F)it: Pressing the F key will cause a "least squares"
regression line to be superimposed on the diagram for
each group of data points being displayed. (Normally
used to display trends. See sample graph E).
Smoothed Avg: Pressing any of the number keys, 0 through 9, causes a
smoothed average line to be superimposed on your
diagram for each group of data points being displayed.
This shows trends for data which varies substantially.
The number you select controls the amount of smoothing
used. For example, if you press 2, then 2 data points
in a group to the left, the current point, and 2 data
points in a group to the right will be averaged for
each plotted point. The higher the number you choose,
the greater the amount of smoothing. (Sample diagram
L was produced selecting 1 for smoothing.)
260
(L)ine: When you press the L key for the GENERAL line of the
Main Menu, a line graph is displayed. See sample
graphs A, F and H.
The second line of the Main Menu will be:
LINE: (B)ound (T)-log (G)rid (X)chg c(U)m (A)vg (F)it (0-9)-Smoothed Avg
(B)ound: If a "BOUND" record exists in the GRAPH.ME file,
pressing the B key will toggle the axes of the line
graph between their normal values and those specified
in the "BOUND" record. If no "BOUND" record exists,
this option will not be displayed and only the normal
values for the axes will be available.
(T)-log: Pressing the T key toggles the scaling of the vertical
axis of the graph between an arithmetic scale and a
logarithmic scale. (If the c(U)m option is active,
logarithmic scaling is suspended and the T key will
have no effect.)
(G)rid: Pressing the G key toggles the presence or absence of
grid lines to be placed on the graph.
(X)chg: Pressing the X key swaps the elements of multiple
variables and their group designations. It is only
available in graphs with multiple variables. (See the
explanation of (X)chg on the previous page for further
details.)
c(U)m: Pressing the U key produces cumulative graphs and is
most useful when graphing multiple variables. The Y
value of the points for each group at a given position
on the X axis are totaled to produce this graph.
Logarithmic scaling is not available for this type of
display. Sample graph F is a cumulative graph made
from graph A.
(A)vg: Pressing the A key will cause an average (or mean)
line to be superimposed on the graph for each group of
data points being displayed.
(F)it: Pressing the F key will cause a "least squares"
regression line to be superimposed on the graph for
each group of data points being displayed. (Normally
used to display trends. See sample graph E.)
Smoothed Avg: Pressing any of the number keys, 0 through 9, causes a
smoothed average line to be superimposed on your graph
for each group of data points being displayed. This
shows trends for data which varies substantially.
(See the explanation for Smoothed Avg on the previous
page for further details.)
261
(H)bar: When you press the H key from the GENERAL line of the
Main Menu, a horizontal bar chart is drawn. See
sample chart B.
(V)bar: When you press the V key from the GENERAL line of the
Main Menu, a vertical bar chart is drawn. See sample
charts C, K, and G.
The second line of the Main Menu will be:
BAR: (B)ound (T)-log (G)rid (X)chg c(U)m (A)vg ov(E)rlap
(B)ound: If a "BOUND" record exists in the GRAPH.ME file,
pressing the B key will toggle the axes of the bar
chart between their normal values and those specified
in the "BOUND" record. If no "BOUND" record exists,
this option will not be displayed and only the normal
values for the axes will be available.
(T)-log: Pressing the T key toggles the scaling of the vertical
axis of the chart between an arithmetic scale and a
logarithmic scale. (If the c(U)m option is active,
logarithmic scaling is suspended and the T key will
have no effect.)
(G)rid: Pressing the G key toggles the presence or absence of
grid lines to be placed on the chart.
(X)chg: Pressing the X key swaps the elements of multiple
variables and their group designations. It is only
available in charts with multiple variables. (See the
explanation of (X)chg in the discussion of scatter
diagrams for further details.)
c(U)m: Pressing the U key produces stacked bar charts and is
most useful when charting multiple variables. The
"ov(E)rlap" option and logarithmic scaling are not
available for this type of display. Sample chart G is
a cumulative chart made from chart C.
(A)vg: Pressing the A key will cause an average (or mean)
line to be superimposed on the chart for each group of
data being displayed.
ov(E)rlap: Pressing the E key causes the bars (within a group)
to overlap. This option is not available if the bar
chart being displayed is in the cumulative mode.
Sample chart K is an overlapped bar chart, made by
issuing the overlap command while viewing chart C.
262
(P)ie: When you press P from the GENERAL line of the Main
Menu, a pie chart will be drawn. Sample charts D and
J were produced with the Pie command.
The second line of the Main Menu will be:
PIE: (A)spect (W)edge (D)isp (X)chg (1-2)#pies (N)ext group
(A)spect: Pressing the A key permits you to change the aspect
ratio used for displaying and printing pie charts.
The aspect ratio is the relationship between the
density of vertical and horizontal pixels on your
screen or dot positions on your printer. If this
ratio is not correct, pies will appear elliptical
instead of round.
When you press A, a new screen will be presented which
displays a "circle" inside a "square". A short
horizontal line also appears inside the circle. A new
menu is also shown:
SCREEN: Press Q when done. Press P/L for Portrait/Landscape
Press <- to shrink (Hz/Vert) ->v to grow (Hz/Vert)
Pressing Q returns you to your normal display.
The "circle" displayed upon entry to this screen shows
the way a circle will look on your monitor. You
should adjust the horizontal and vertical dimensions
(using the arrow keys) until the "circle" appears
round and the "square" appears square.
The left arrow will reduce the horizontal width.
The right arrow will increase the horizontal width.
The up arrow will reduce the vertical height.
The down arrow will increase the vertical height.
You should also set the aspect ratio for your printer
for both portrait (upright) and landscape (sideways)
printing. Press P or L and this menu will appear:
PRINTER: Press Q when satisfied. Press P to print image.
Press <- to shrink (Hz/Vert) ->v to grow (Hz/Vert)
Pressing Q returns you to the previous menu. Arrow
keys adjust the shapes as before, and P activates the
printer menu discussed under "(O)utput".
Setting the printer aspect ratio requires a number of
iterations. Press P, select your printer, and see
what shape the "circle" has when it is printed. (The
line inside the circle should help you differentiate
between vertical and horizontal on your screen vs
vertical and horizontal on your printed output.)
263
Use the arrow keys to adjust the shape accordingly and
try printing again. Repeat this process until the
"circle" appears round when printed. (It will
probably appear elliptical on your screen.)
Once it appears round, press Q and then repeat the
process for the other print orientation (portrait or
landscape).
These aspect ratios will be saved in the file PCG2.ASP
so you will not have to go through this process every
time you run the program.
(W)edge: Pressing W will bring up a new screen in which you can
define which wedges to pull away from the center of
the pie for emphasis. (Your selection(s) will apply
to all pies.) The following instructions are
displayed in the menu area:
As each slice is made solid, press D to detach, A to attach or S to skip.
Press N to return all slices to pie or Q to terminate operation.
A pie is drawn containing a section for each group of
data. The first "slice" of the pie is displayed with
a solid color. Pressing:
D - causes the solid slice to be (D)etached.
A - causes the solid slice to be (A)ttached.
S - (S)kips the solid slice and moves to the next one.
N - returns all detached slices to the center of the
pie and exits the wedge option.
Q - (Q)uits the slice definition. All modifications
are in effect.
If the circuit of slices around the pie is completed
before you press Q, the wedge option is complete and
you are returned to your normal pie display.
(D)isp: Pressing D toggles the label display between:
(1) headings and percents by their slices.
(2) headings next to legend - percents next to slices.
(3) headings and percents next to legend.
Compare sample charts D and J.
(1-2) #pies: If there are multiple groups to be processed, pressing
2 will display two pie charts side-by-side.
Pressing 1 will display only one.
(N)ext group: If there are multiple groups to be processed, there
will be more pies to view than are visible on one
screen. Pressing N will cycle through the additional
pies, either one, or two at a time (depending on the
selection made for (1-2)).
264
subject: GRAPH.ME
The GRAPH.ME file created by PC-Type II contains a number
of different types of records to define the data to be
graphed and where to return upon completion of PCG2.
This file can be edited directly if desired. The
following describes each type of record and its
format. The sample GRAPH.ME file below and the graph
which it produces will be referred to in this
discussion.
PARMS:L
PORT:LPT2
TITLE:Comparative Intnl Sales
TITLES:(By city & Month)
TITLEV:Sales in $
TITLEC:Months
TITLEG:Cities
TITLEG:Philly
TITLEG:Montreal
TITLEG:Paris
TITLEG:Moscow
TITLEG:Redmond
TITLEG:Lima
TITLEG:Bonn
10,20,30,40,100,60,20:Jan
50,80,20,15,30,110,33:Feb
22,-10,40,60,15,99,122:Mar
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ Comparative Intnl Sales │
│ (By city & Month) │
│ 125 ┤ . │
│ │ Cities │
│ S 100 ┤ . . . .. Philly │
│ a │ . .. Montreal │
│ l 75 ┤ .. Paris │
│ e │ . Data points . .. Moscow │
│ s 50 ┤ . . .. Redmond │
│ │ . . . .. Lima │
│ i 25 ┤ . . .. Bonn │
│ n │ . . . │
│ 0 ┤ │
│ $ │ . │
│ -25 ┴──┬──────────┬──────────┬── │
│ Jan Feb Mar │
│ │
│ Months │
│ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
NOTE:ïAny record in GRAPH.ME which begins with an * in
ïcolumn 1 will be treated as a comment line.
265
PARMS: (optional record)
format - PARMS:t
example - PARMS:L
This record describes which type of graph, chart, etc.
should be displayed when you first enter PCG2. If
this record is omitted, PCG2 defaults to the vertical
bar chart display.
Valid options for t are:
V - vertical bar chart
H - horizontal bar chart
L - line graph
S - scatter diagram
P - pie chart
TITLE: (optional record)
format - TITLE:string
example - TITLE:Comparative Intnl Sales
The title record contains the text (up to 40
characters) which is displayed as the primary title of
the graph. If omitted, no title will be displayed.
TITLES: (optional record)
format - TITLES:string
example - TITLES:(By city & Month)
The subtitle record contains the text (up to 40
characters) which is displayed as the secondary title
of the graph. If omitted, no subtitle will be
displayed.
TITLEV: (optional record)
format - TITLEV:string
example - TITLEV:Sales in $
The value header record describes the data values
being graphed. The text can be up to 20 characters
in length. In a scatter diagram or line graph it is
displayed vertically to the left of the Y axis. If it
is omitted, no value heading will be displayed.
TITLEC: (optional record)
format - TITLEC:string
example - TITLEC:Months
The category title record contains the text (up to 12
characters in length) describing the distinction
between each group of data. In a scatter diagram or
line graph it is displayed below the X axis labels.
266
TITLEG: (optional record)
format - TITLEG:string:string: .. :string
example - TITLEG:Cities:Philly
The group header record(s) contain the text (up to 12
characters per header) describing each element of a
group. There can be multiple TITLEG records, and they
are assumed to be in the proper order. Each text
string should be separated by a colon. Do not place a
colon after the last element on the record.
NOTE: The first string is used to describe the
entities within a group, hence the headers for
each group element are offset by one.
BOUND: (optional record)
format - BOUND:xh,xl,yh,yl,0,ch
example - BOUND:3.4,1,122,-10,0,358
The BOUND record permits you to specify the maximum
and minimum bounds for the X and Y axes. This is
useful when preparing a group of charts in which you
want the axes to reflect identical scaling for
comparative purposes. This record is normally
inserted in GRAPH.ME manually. When present, it
enables the "(B)ound" option on the second menu line
for most graphs.
xh - maximum Xvalue
xl - minimum Xvalue
yh - maximum Yvalue
yl - minimum Yvalue
ch - maximum Cumulative value
267
data record: (required)
format - vi1, .., vin:string {*}
or - vi1, .., vin:#x {*}
example - 10,20,30,40,100,60,20:Jan
or - 10,20,30,40,100,60,20:#1. *
Each data record represents one category spanning all groups.
vij - a numeric value representing the ith element
in the jth group. If there are n groups
being graphed, then there must be n vij's
(separated by commas) in each data record.
string - up to 12 characters defining the ith element.
#x - implies that the numeric value x is to be
interpreted as a value, not as text. These
values are used on the X-axis only. If the
"(X)chg" option is used, this "value" option
is not transferred. This permits you to plot
data which is not equidistant on the X axis.
* - this optional parameter specifies that the
ith element is to be detached from each pie.
It can be overridden within PCG2. It is not
transferred with the "(X)chg" option.
(1) This record may require more than one line in
GRAPH.ME. If a line is to be continued, it should
end with the backslash character \.
(2) Each data record MUST have the same number of data
elements.
(3) The colon is required. Any record which does not
contain a colon will be ignored.
(4) The two types of data records (x-value or string)
cannot be mixed within the same GRAPH.ME file.
(5) Data records must be in order. If the data
records are of the "#x" type, they must be in
ascending order.
PORT: (optional)
format -»PORT:filespec
example -»PORT:COM1
The PORT record defines the port (or file) to which
the graphics output will be sent when printing a
graph. If this record is not included in the GRAPH.ME
file, the standard output port will be used (LPT1).
NOTE: If the /p= parameter is used when starting PCG2,
the PORT: record will be ignored. (See page 282.)
268
Hercules: If you have a Hercules compatible graphics card and a
monochrome monitor, you must run a special program
before you can produce graphs. The program is called
MSHERC.COM. It was placed on your hard disk when you
installed PC-Type II.
MSHERC.COM only needs to be run once each time you
boot up your computer. You run it directly from DOS.
Most people prefer to put the command MSHERC directly
in their AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that it is run
automatically for them each time they turn on their
computer.
problems: If you have trouble getting a graph on your screen,
investigate the following:
(1) The program PCG2.EXE must be somewhere on the DOS
path.
(2) You must have a monitor and video adapter card
that is capable of producing graphics. The IBM
monochrome monitor without a Hercules graphics
card is not capable of producing graphs.
(3) If you have a Hercules graphics card and
monochrome monitor, you must run the program
MSHERC before PCG2 can be activated.
(4) If some data does not seem to appear in your
graphs, try adjusting the (C)olor option. If the
problem persists, run PCG2 from DOS using the /F
parameter.
port parm: Normally PCG2 will send the printed output to LPT1,
the standard output port. If your graphics printer is
connected to a different output port, you can send the
output to that port by using the "PORT:" record inside
your GRAPH.ME file, or by invoking PCG2 with the
parameter: /P=filespec. E.g.,
C>PCG2 /P=COM1
The /P= parameter overrides the "PORT:" record.
NOTE: If you include a GR_PORT: record in your
PCTYPE.PRO profile file, then the output
specified on that record will be used to create
a "PORT:" record in the GRAPH.ME file created by
PC-Type II.
269
