═══ 1. 1. Introduction ═══ PLOT is an OS/2 Presentation Manager application which offers graphical plot support. Graphics created by PLOT can be printed or exported to a Windows 3.x bitmap file. This allows you to load the created graphic from a word processor and to embed it in your documents. PLOT highlights Calling PLOT from other applications ═══ 1.1. 1.1 PLOT highlights ═══ Version 1.5 ■ Fully 32 bit architecture ■ Export a graphic to a Windows 3.x bitmap file ■ Capability of choosing line types, colors and markers ■ Accelerator keys providing quick access to commands ■ Enhanced graphics printing support ■ Graph data can be easily created using a text editor ■ Save settings command ■ Online help for every command by pressing F1 ■ Easy to use ═══ 1.2. 1.2 Calling PLOT from other applications ═══ This information is intended for developers writing applications that need graphical plot support under OS/2 version 2. If you are writing an OS/2 application that needs X-Y plot support, PLOT may be very useful. You can start PLOT from your program by creating a child process via DosExecPgm. If you are writing a commercial application, you can include PLOT on your software package. In this case, registration fees have to be paid for every distributed package. If you are interested in using PLOT together with your commercial software, please contact us by writing to the following address: StegSoft Durlacher Allee 38 76131 Karlsruhe West Germany Fax: +49 721 693242 ═══ 1.2.1. 1.2.1 Creating a child process ═══ The following example code shows a way to call PLOT from an application written in C. First of all, a file containing all your data must be created and stored to a disk. Then a child process must be created using the DosExecPgm kernel function. This will start PLOT and your data file will automatically be loaded. #define INCL_DOSPROCESS #include RESULTCODES resc; CHAR szFailName[CCHMAXPATH]; CHAR szCommandLine[] = "plot\0yourdata.plt\0"; /* * The following function writes your data to a file * named "yourdata.plt". It is not included on this * package, but you can obtain it by contacting us. */ SavePlotData("yourdata.plt", xdata, ydata, flags); DosExecPgm(szFailName, /* Object-name buffer */ sizeof(szFailName), /* Length of buffer */ EXEC_ASYNC, /* Async flag */ szCommandLine, /* Argument string */ (PSZ) NULL, /* Environment string */ &resc, /* Address of result */ "plot.exe"); /* Name of application */ ═══ 2. 2. System requirements ═══ PLOT was translated with a 32 bit compiler to take advantage of the power of the new OS/2 version. The system requirements for running this program are as follows: ■ 386 or higher based personal computer ■ 6.0 MB of memory ■ One diskette drive ■ A hard disk with 200 kB free space ■ Operating system OS/2 version 2.0 or higher ■ A mouse The availability of a numerical coprocessor 387 or 487 is not necessary for running PLOT. However, PLOT will use the coprocessor if present. In this case, the performance of this program will be increased considerably. ═══ 3. 3. Installation ═══ To install PLOT on your system, copy the file plot.exe to a directory of your hard disk. Be sure to copy the plot help file plot.hlp to a directory included on the HELP environment variable (see CONFIG.SYS file). If you want to access this manual from every directory, you should add the directory name where the file is placed to the environment variable BOOKSHELF (see CONFIG.SYS file). After having followed these steps, you should have a ready-to-run PLOT copy on your hard disk. If you have modified your CONFIG.SYS file, please reboot. You may also want to integrate PLOT into your desktop. For that purpose please refer to the section Integration into the OS/2 desktop. ═══ 4. 4. File format ═══ Before trying to load a data file for creating a graphic, this data file must be created. The data file must have a certain format, so that the application is able to understand the data correctly. You can create and edit your data file by using a text editor. If you have of a full OS/2 installation, two editors should be on your hard disk: the OS/2 system editor (E.EXE) and the enhanced editor (EPM.EXE). Both editors are well-suited for creating your data files. When creating your own data files, you should choose the name extension *.plt, because this is the extension used by PLOT by default. Data files should contain one data point per line. There are two possibilities of describing your data points. If both x and y values are specified (parametric data), your data file should contain two number columns. The first one is assumed to be the x value of each pair (x,y) and the second one represents the y value. However, the x value of each pair (x,y) may be omitted. In this case the omitted value is assigned the current coordinate number. These coordinate numbers start at 0 and are incremented for each data point read. This is useful if you want to represent sampled values. In both cases you can add comments in any line beginning with ;. These lines will be ignored. You can select some parameters such as the graph color, line type and marker type by adding some commands to your data file. All commands begin with the # character. You can use a command more than once each file, but only the last oen will be used. Currently the following 3 commands are supported: o #COLOR o #LINE o #MARKER These two examples show you how to create both parametric and non-parametric data files. Parametric file Non-parametric file ═══ 4.1. 4.1 #COLOR command ═══ Use this command to select your graph's color. The following parameters are available: WHITE BLACK BACKGROUND BLUE RED PINK GREEN CYAN YELLOW NEUTRAL DARK_GRAY DARK_BLUE DARK_RED DARK_PINK DARK_GREEN DARK_CYAN BROWN PALE_GRAY Example: #COLOR BLUE ═══ 4.2. 4.2 #LINE command ═══ Use this command to select your graph's line type. The following parameters are available: DOT SHORT_DASH DASH_DOT DOUBLE_DOT LONG_DASH DASH_DOUBLE_DOT SOLID INVISIBLE ALTERNATE Example: #LINE LONG_DASH ═══ 4.3. 4.3 #MARKER command ═══ Use this command to select your graph's marker types. The following parameters are available: NONE CROSS PLUS DIAMOND SQUARE 6-POINT-STAR 8-POINT-STAR SOLID_DIAMOND SOLID_SQUARE DOT CIRCLE Example: #MARKER SOLID_SQUARE ═══ 4.4. 4.4 Parametric file ═══ #COLOR RED #LINE ALTERNATE #MARKER SOLID_SQUARE ; both x and y values 0 0 0.5 0.25 1 1 1.5 2.25 2 4 2.5 6.25 3 9 3.5 12.25 4 16 ═══ 4.5. 4.5 Non-parametric file ═══ #COLOR BLUE ; only y values 0 1 4 9 16 25 ═══ 5. 5. Starting PLOT ═══ To run PLOT, enter the following from a OS/2 prompt: plot test.plt where test.plt is the filename of a data file. This parameter is optional. There are other ways to run this progam; they are described in the section Integration into the OS/2 desktop. ═══ 6. 6. Using PLOT ═══ In this section the PLOT menus are described briefly. Please refer to the online help to get more information about the commands described here. File menu Options menu Help menu ═══ 6.1. 6.1 File menu ═══ The File menu contains commands that you use to open data files, print and export graphics. In addition, it also contains the command that you use to exit the application. The following commands appear in the File menu: New... Opens an existing data file for creating a new graphic. Open... Opens an existing data file for embedding in the current graphic. Export... Saves the current graphic to a Windows 3.x bitmap file. Print... Prints the current graphic on the default printer. Exit Quits this application. ═══ 6.2. 6.2 Options menu ═══ The Options menu contains commands that you use to modify your graphic, load a text editor or save the current settings. The following commands appear in the Options menu: Graphic... Allows you to set new axis limits, to document the axis and to select and unselect other drawing options. Set Font... Allows you to select the desired font type and size. Graph... Allows you to modify the line type when interpolating between points, to put markers at each point and to change the color of a graph. Edit Data File Starts a text editor that allows you to create or modify a data file. Save options Use this command to save the current settings. ═══ 6.3. 6.3 Help menu ═══ Refer to this menu to access the online help and to obtain information about this product. The following commands appear in the Help menu: Help index Use this command to access the help index. General help Use this command to get a brief description of PLOT. Using help Here you can learn how to use the online help. Registration information Displays registration data (only if you registered the product). Product information Displays program version and copyright. ═══ 7. 7. Integration into the OS/2 desktop ═══ After having installed PLOT, you can create a program object to start PLOT directly from the desktop. Follow these steps to create a program object: 1. Open the Templates folder. 2. Drag a copy of the Program template to the desktop or to a folder. A window will appear prompting you for the settings of the object to create. 3. Enter the path and the file name (PLOT.EXE). If you want, you can also enter the name of your desired working directory. 4. Rename your program object. In your Templates folder should appear a template named Plot-Data-File.PLT. You can use this template to create plot data objects. These objects will be automatically associated to PLOT. Follow these steps to create a plot data object: 1. Open the Templates folder. 2. Drag a copy of the Plot-Data-File.PLT template to the desktop or to a folder. 3. Rename your object. Be sure not to change the default extension. You may have problems when opening your data file if the object file name contains blanks. 4. Open the plot data file object to begin editing the file. PLOT will recognize that the plot data hasn't been yet entered and will start a text editor. Enter the plot data for creating a graphic. 5. Save the file and quit the editor. After quitting the editor, PLOT will automatically create a graphic using the data you entered. If you want to load an existing data object and create a new graphic, you can follow different ways: o Open your data object by double-clicking. PLOT will be started and a graphic will be created from the data contained in your object. o Drag your data object and drop it over the PLOT program object. You will experience similar results as when opening the object directly. o Open the PLOT program object. Select the File menu and choose the Open command for loading a data file. Select the folder where you placed your data object, select the desired object and open it. A graphic will be created. ═══ 8. 8. Offline help ═══ In this section you will be teached what to do, if you have any problems when working with PLOT, or you notice bugs or incompatibilities. ═══ 8.1. 8.1 Hotline ═══ There is a hotline to offer more help to every user of any registered version. Please write us a letter or a fax if you have questions about PLOT, how to use it, the latest version available etc. Or if you just want to tell us what you think about PLOT, or how you would like it to be. ═══ 8.2. 8.2 Bugs and incompatibilities ═══ We have tested this PLOT version intensively before distributing this shareware version. However, if you notice any bugs or incompatibilities by using PLOT, please tell us about them as soon as posible. Send us a letter or a fax to the address or fax number included on this document. ═══ 9. 9. Registration ═══ If you are working with an unregistered PLOT version, you may use it for a two weeks trial period. After this time you must register or stop using it. You can obtain a registered PLOT version by ordering it at the following address or fax number: StegSoft Durlacher Allee 38 76131 Karlsruhe West Germany Fax: +49 721 693242 As soon as you order PLOT, you will receive the latest version for US $20 (Germany DM 30). Please add US $5 (Germany DM 5) for shipping and handling if you live in Europe, US $8 if you don't live in Europe. Obtaining a registered version has the following advantages: o PLOT registered versions do not tell you to obtain a registered version each time you print. This shareware version does, because it should only be used for evaluation purposes. o There are registered PLOT version available in three languages: English, Spanish and German. You can choose which language you prefer. The shareware version is only available in English. Please use the order form included on this manual. To print an order form, do the following: 1. Select the following item and double-click: PLOT Order form. 2. Select Print. 3. Make sure that This section is selected. 4. Select Print. The order form will be printed on your printer. Please send your order to the address or fax number above. ═══ 9.1. 9.1 StegSoft PLOT - Price list ═══ ┌───────────────────┬────────────┬─────────────┐ │Product │U.S. Dollar │German Marks │ ├───────────────────┼────────────┼─────────────┤ │PLOT 1.4 for OS/2 │20 │30 │ ├───────────────────┼────────────┼─────────────┤ │PLOT Update (from │5 │8 │ │any registered │ │ │ │version) │ │ │ └───────────────────┴────────────┴─────────────┘ ═══ 9.2. 9.2 StegSoft PLOT - Order form ═══ Name ___________________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________________ City __________________________ State _________ ZIP ____________ Country ___________________________________________________________ Phone Number (optional) __________________ Circle: home or work Shipping (check one): __ By mail, payment enclosed (add $8 U.S. if you don't live in Europe, $5 U.S. if you live in Europe) __ By mail, cash on delivery (charge for shipping and handling) Choose Disk Size (check one): __ 5 1/4" disk size __ 3 1/2" disk size Payment mode (check one): __ Cheque drawn in U.S. dollars or german marks enclosed __ Cash enclosed (only U.S. dollars or german marks accepted) __ Cash on delivery PLOT for OS/2 2.x Registration Fee ($20.00 US) ______ PLOT Update Fee from any registered version ($5.00 U.S.) ______ Shipping and Handling ______ Total Enclosed ______ Mail or fax to: StegSoft Durlacher Allee 38 76131 Karlsruhe West Germany Fax: +49 721 693242 *** Thank you for your order! ***