home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Club Amiga de Montreal - CAM
/
CAM_CD_1.iso
/
files
/
376.lha
/
SuperPlot_v1.01
/
SP.doc
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1990-04-02
|
83KB
|
2,706 lines
SuperPlot v1.01
by John (the Amiga Kid) Robertson
Table of Contents
Section page
I. Introduction .......................................... 1
II. Required Files ........................................ 7
III. Bugs .................................................. 8
IV. Configuration File .................................... 10
V. Data File Formats ..................................... 14
VI. Tutorial .............................................. 18
VII. Main Control Panel .................................... 25
VIII. Menus ................................................. 28
IX. Block Selection requester window ...................... 30
X. Information window .................................... 31
XI. Modify Attributes window .............................. 33
XII. Manipulate Labels window .............................. 36
XIII. Text Boxes ............................................ 38
XIV. Multiple Data Block Graphing .......................... 40
I. INTRODUCTION
SuperPlot is a completely new plotting program which introduces
capabilities previously unavailable on any computer, at any
price. Some of the features are:
- Completely intuition driven, with a consistent and
predictable user interface.
- Reads free formatted ASCII files.
- Plots an unlimited number of lines, having an unlimited
number of X's and an unlimited number of Y's.
- Ability to use X and Y values from separate files.
- Change the colors, line types, and point types at any time.
- Zoom in on a section of data, and the axes will be
re-scaled to reflect the zoomed scaling (unlike a CAD
program).
- Interactively operate on multiple data sets (multiple data
sets are not merely overlaid), from multiple source files.
- Powerful and user friendly control over the appearance of
the graph including axes, scaling, grid lines, tic mark
intervals, number formats, etc.
- CAD like labeling abilities. Make labels at any angle, in
any color, in one of four sizes. Place them where you want
them with the mouse. Labels are exactly "What you see is
what you get".
- Plotter support for almost any plotter on the market via
the configuration file. Included "DGplot" program plots
any HPGL file on any printer, and thus will plot output
from SuperPlot (or any CAD program).
- Support for up to 15 colors.
- Save plot configurations for jobs where plots look the
same, and only the data changes.
Please read the following section covering the "philosophy" of
the program, so that you may work with the program instead of
against it.
NOTE: Before you run SuperPlot, you must prepare your WorkBench
disk by copying certain files into certain directories. Please
see the section on "Required Files" for more information. You
Page 1
I. Introduction
should also set the double click time interval to a small value.
To do this, run Preferences, and move the slider next to the
picture of the mouse towards the end where the check marks are
close together. The closer you move the slider toward the end
where the checks are close together, the faster SuperPlot will
respond when you click on a button. My experience has shown that
you should back off just a little from the extreme minimum
setting.
Philosophy of the Program
PART 1: The User Interface
SuperPlot's user interface is designed to be simple, consistent,
and coherent. It is also designed so that you can run the
program with only two colors (monochrome), which greatly reduces
the CHIP memory requirements.
SuperPlot communicates with you through a message area, which is
the black bar across the top of the screen. Look there to find
out what SuperPlot is doing, or get error messages.
The pull down menus are laid out much like most other Amiga
application menus, and are discussed in detail in the section on
menus. The most often used items have key command equivalents
(you can see this in the menu), and no menu items have sub-items.
There are two types of buttons:
1) Action buttons are rectangular buttons which appear to
have depth (they are drop shadowed), and have either text
or simple graphics within the rectangular border.
Clicking on an action button either causes something to
happen immediately, or changes the status of what appears
on the button (the button will change with it).
2) Switch buttons are thickly bordered rectangles, either
hollow or filled, with no depth (not drop shadowed).
Click on a switch button to change something between being
included (filled) to not included (hollow).
Text boxes are thinly bordered rectangles which appear to have no
depth. Text boxes are used to specify information to SuperPlot
from the keyboard. To use a text box, simply click in the box
where you would like the cursor to go, and it will be placed
there. Once the cursor is visible, you may edit to your heart's
content. When you are done, either press RETURN, or click
Page 2
I. Introduction
somewhere else with the mouse. See the section on text boxes for
more information about the advanced editing features available.
PART 2: THE DATA
There are some terms which must be defined in order to explain
how to use SuperPlot. These terms are defined here as they apply
to SuperPlot.
"Data block" refers to a group of numbers arranged in rows and
columns. These numbers normally are associated with each other.
An example would be a file where the first column of numbers is
time, the second column of numbers is inside temperature, and the
third column of numbers is outside temperature. SuperPlot
understands files which have any number of data blocks in them,
each with up to 31 columns, and any number of rows.
Data is first read into SuperPlot in the form of data blocks, and
is stored in RAM. The required space to store the data is
approximately 8 bytes for each number, plus 5000 bytes of
overhead for each new data block. Once a data block is loaded,
SuperPlot displays a line of information for each column of
numbers in the data block. This is a difficult concept to grasp
at first, but it is simple once you realize that you never
actually see the numbers. All you need to know, for example, is
that you want to plot inside and outside temperature (Y values)
against time (X value). SuperPlot never writes information back
to your data files.
SuperPlot doesn't care where your data blocks come from; they
could all come from the same file, or each from a different file,
or some combination of the two. You may not care to work with
more than one data block at a time. At any rate, once loaded,
all data blocks are equal.
You can make changes only to the "current" data block. The
"current" data block is the one who's information is currently
displayed. To make some other data block you previously loaded
"current", you simply page to it.
There are eight attributes, or pieces of information associated
with each line on your display, which correspond to each column
in the data block. You must open the information window to see
all of them. Those attributes are:
1) Color - the entire line of information is displayed in a
Page 3
I. Introduction
color.
2) X selection - one column of numbers from each data block
may be selected to supply the X values for graphing. It
is possible to have any number of X value columns. This
is covered in detail in the section on "multiple data
block graphing mode".
3) Y selection - any or all of the lines may be selected to
be graphed as Y values.
4) Description - a text description of each data block
column, to be used when generating legends which will
appear in the plot window.
5) Line type - one of seven available (and user configurable)
line types.
6) Point type - one of seven available point types.
7) Conversion - a conversion factor to be applied to the data
in that data block column, according to the equation:
graph data = data * Conversion + Offset
8) Offset - an offset to be applied to the data in that data
block column, according to the equation:
graph data = data * Conversion + Offset
You may change any or all of the previously mentioned eight
attributes to suit your purposes. It is a simple matter to
assign colors, line types, and point types through the "Modify
Attributes" window. The description may be edited simply by
clicking on it, then typing in your changes. Conversion factors
and offsets can be changed in the same way, or through the
"Modify Attributes" window. The offsets may also be changed with
the mouse in the plot window - you can shift curves around your
graph with the mouse!
PART 3: THE GRAPH CONFIGURATION
SuperPlot's graph configuration can be broken up into three
parts:
1) X and Y axes, and their numbers
2) Data legends
Page 4
I. Introduction
3) Labels
The first part, `X and Y axes, and their numbers', may be
configured through the "PLOT-CFG" menu, and the "Plot
Configuration" requester window, which is opened from the
"PLOT-CFG" menu. You have control over the following items:
- The area where your graph appears in the graph window (and
on the hard copy page).
- Where the X and Y axes cross, either as close to X=0, Y=0
as possible, or one of the four corners of the graph area.
- Turn X and Y grids on and off independently.
- Which side of each axis the numbers are to appear on
(top/bottom, left/right).
- The number of significant figures the numbers on X axis and
Y axis have (1 - 15).
- The format of the numbers on the X and Y axes. Choose
between regular, scientific, or power of ten.
- Number of large tic mark intervals on each axis (1 - 15).
- Number of small tic mark intervals in each large tic mark
interval on each axis (1 - 15).
- The type of scaling to use for each axis (normal or log).
- Maximum and minimum scale values for each axis.
The second part, `Data legends', refers to the legends for the
data which is being graphed. Legends may be generated
automatically or manually. They will appear in the lower left
hand corner of the graph window. If you choose the automatic
legend generation option, new legends are generated each a new
graph is drawn. If you choose the manual legend generation
option, you specify when a new legend is to be generated.
Legends are generated from the text which appears in the "Data
Column Description" column of the information window.
The third part, `Labels', refers to all text labels that appear
on your graph. You may wish to place several labels on your
graph, and SuperPlot allows you to put as many labels as you
Page 5
I. Introduction
want, any where you want to put them, at any angle. You may
specify the color of the label, and choose the size from one of
four choices.
Once your graph is completely configured, you may save everything
in a plot configuration file. You may have as many plot
configuration files as you have plot configurations. These are
handy when plots look similar, and only the data graphed is
different.
Page 6
II. REQUIRED FILES
SuperPlot requires that three files be in your current "S:"
directory, and one in your current "LIBS:" directory when you run
the program. They are:
S:
Dfont.font ... the vector font file
SPconfig ... Configuration file for SuperPlot
FastLib ... Fbasic support library required to run
programs compiled with Fbasic
LIBS:
arp.library ... AmigaDOS Replacement Project library
If these files are not already in the appropriate directories,
you will need to copy them there. Please see the section on
"Configuration" for more information on the "SPconfig" file.
Page 7
III. BUGS (What's up, Doc?):
Unfortunately SuperPlot is far from perfect. I am not a
professional programmer, and writing SuperPlot has been more a
learning experience than a productive venture. I am currently
working on a complete re-write, but this will probably take 6 or
8 months.
1) Plot files are usually quite large (up to 100 kilobytes). If
you are saving a plot file and your disk becomes full, you will
get the "Volume DiskName is full" requester. Clicking on the
"Cancel" button may or may not stop the write. I suggest that
you either delete or move some files from the full disk, and then
click on the "Retry" button. This should free up some space on
the disk so that SuperPlot can finish writing the plot file.
Perhaps a more elegant solution is to use the PIPE: device
supplied with WorkBench 1.3. If you are using a program such as
DGplot to print your output, the PIPE: device will work like
this:
- Select the "Plot File" selection from the "HD_COPY" menu of
SuperPlot. Enter:
PIPE:A
in the file box of the ARP file requester. Make sure there is
nothing in the drawer box. Click on the OK button.
- Open a CLI window on your WorkBench screen, and type:
DGplot PIPE:A
Answer all of the questions DGplot will prompt you with. When
SuperPlot gets done writing to the PIPE:A, DGplot will begin
printing. No plot file need ever even exist. This trick should
work with your CAD programs as well. Please refer to the DGplot
documentation for more information on this, and associated
problems.
2) SuperPlot does not behave well under low memory conditions.
The Amiga's operating system will not tolerate a program
allocating all of the Amiga's memory, because this doesn't leave
any "squirm" space for the operating system. This problem
usually rears its ugly head when a program allocates very small
bits of memory until there is no more. Read: A COMPLETE CRASH IS
IMMINENT! I suggest that you check your memory (look at the
WorkBench screen titlebar) before you read in large amounts of
Page 8
III. Bugs
data (thousands of data points). If you don't have much memory,
try running SuperPlot in monochrome (1 pen). This will save 200K
or so of memory.
I am releasing SuperPlot knowing that these bug exist because I
believe that the program will still be useful to many people. I
want to get feedback so I can make the re-write much better than
the current version. I need your help, so please send your
comments to me.
Page 9
IV. CONFIGURATION FILE:
When you start SuperPlot it expects to find a file named
"SPconfig" in your S: directory. If it does not, it will
probably not run. This file supplies information to SuperPlot
about many things. If you edit this file with a text editor, you
may customize SuperPlot to suit your particular purposes.
The basic format of the file is a bunch of lines like this:
argument= comment
where the argument is all that SuperPlot actually reads. You may
make the comment anything you wish, since SuperPlot ignores the
"=" and everything after it on that line.
- Screen colors: (16 lines) Specify the red, green and blue
values of the screen colors. The values are hexadecimal (base
16), just as they appear on the Color Palette tool which comes
on WorkBench 1.3. You may edit these to any value between 0
and f. You must specify all 16 colors, even if you will not use
all of them.
example: bbb= Screen background color (I suggest grey)
- Screen line types: (7 lines) Line types as they appear on
your screen. For each line type you must specify a string of
sixteen 0's and 1's, where 0 is the blank part (pixel off), and
1 is the filled part of the line (pixel on). An example for a
dashed line might be 1111111100000000, which would have the
first eight pixels on, and the last eight pixels off.
example: 1111111111111111= screen linetype 1
- # of Pens: (1 line) Specifies how many pens your plotter has,
and also determines how many colors SuperPlot normally starts
up with. You may specify up to 15 pens. You can save CHIP
memory if you use fewer pens (and consequently fewer colors).
There must be at least one more screen color than pens, since
you need a background color on the screen. The number of
screen colors must be an integer power of 2, so the screen will
open with 2,4,8, or 16 colors. You can override this parameter
by supplying a number on the command line when you run
SuperPlot from a CLI window.
example: 7= how many Plotter pens your plotter has
- Screen height: (1 line) This number represents the height of
Page 10
IV. Configuration File
a 400 pixel tall screen in inches. SuperPlot uses this value
to properly display everything in the graphing window, so that
what you see is what you get. You need to measure your screen,
and enter the height here. Measure from border to border on a
full sized window.
example: 6.40= screen height (inches)
- Screen width: (1 line) This number represents the width of a
640 pixel wide screen in inches. SuperPlot uses this value to
properly display everything in the graphing window, so that
what you see is what you get. You need to measure your screen,
and enter the width here. Measure from border to border on a
full sized window.
example: 8.95= screen width (inches)
- # of plotter units per inch: (1 line) The number of plotting
units/inch for your plotter. Refer to your plotter manual for
this information.
example: 1016.0= # of plotter units per inch
- Plotting area height: (1 line) The height in inches of the
hard clip window of your plotter. Refer to your plotter manual
for this information.
example: 7.4803= plotting area height (inches)
- Plotting area width: (1 line) The width in inches of the hard
clip window of your plotter. Refer to your plotter manual for
this information.
example: 10.6988= plotting area width (inches)
- Pen width: (1 line) Not used.
- Select Pen commands: (15 lines) Specify the exact string to
send to your plotter to select pens corresponding to the last
15 screen colors. You must specify all 15, even if you will
use fewer than 15. Make sure to include the terminator
character. Refer to your plotter manual for this information.
example: SP 1;= set plotter to color #1
- Line type commands: (7 lines) Specify the exact string to
send your plotter to get a line type that corresponds to the
screen line type. Make sure to include the terminator
Page 11
IV. Configuration File
character. Refer to your plotter manual for this information.
example: LT 2,2;= set LineType #2
- Plotter initialization: (1 line) Specify the exact setup
string to send to your plotter before each plot. Make sure to
include the terminator character. Refer to your plotter manual
for this information.
example: IN; .I100;;17;13: .N100;19;13:SP;PU;= plot. init.
- Pen Up: (1 line) Specify the exact string to send to your
plotter to raise the pen. Make sure to include the terminator
character. Refer to your plotter manual for this information.
example: PU;= Pen Up
- Pen Down: (1 line) Specify the exact string to send to your
plotter to lower the pen. Make sure to include the terminator
character. Refer to your plotter manual for this information.
example: PD;= Pen Down
- Pen Move: (1 line) Specify the exact string to send to your
plotter to move to an absolute location on the plotting area.
Do not include a terminator character. Refer to your plotter
manual for this information.
example: PA= Pen Move
- Separator: (1 line) Specify the separator character(s) to be
placed between x and y coordinates in a Pen Move command.
Refer to your plotter manual for this information.
example: ,= separator
- Terminator: (1 line) Specify the terminator character(s) to
be placed at the end of x and y coordinates in a Pen Move
command. Refer to your plotter manual for this information.
example: ;= terminator
- Plotter Cleanup: (1 line) Specify the exact string to send to
the plotter after each plot. Include a paper feed command here
if you have an automatic paper feed on your plotter. Make sure
to include the terminator character. Refer to your plotter
manual for this information.
Page 12
IV. Configuration File
example: SP;PU;AF;= plotter cleanup
Note: The SPconfig file that comes with SuperPlot is configured
for an HP7550 plotter.
Page 13
V. DATA FILE FORMATS
SuperPlot reads several different file formats:
ADAMS ".REQ" files.
Ganalyst ".GAD" files.
VDMS ".DEF" (and ".DAT") files.
Free format ASCII files.
SuperPlot identifies ".REQ", ".GAD", and ".DEF" format types by
their file extensions, and assumes all other file types are free
format ASCII files.
".REQ", ".GAD", and ".DEF" formats conform to specific format
standards which SuperPlot understands. If you choose to read
one of these specific format files, SuperPlot takes care of
everything automatically, and you need not worry about the
structure of the file. In ADAMS ".REQ" files, SuperPlot requires
that you supply a comment for each one of the REQUEST statements
in your model file.
ASCII files
Free format ASCII files are those such as spreadsheet ".PRT"
files. You can view an ASCII file by typing it to the screen, or
bringing it up in a text viewer or editor. Since free format
ASCII files do not conform to any standards, there are
conventions SuperPlot must use to read the files that you should
understand:
- File lines must not exceed 256 characters in length.
- Data blocks must not have more than 31 columns of numbers.
- Data blocks must be separated by at least one line that
does not start with a number, - or + sign (it may be a
blank line).
- SuperPlot does not recognize the position of a number or
word on a line, but does recognize at least one space or
comma as a delimiter between numbers or words.
- All lines within a data block must contain the same number
of columns (of numbers).
Page 14
V. Data File Formats
An example file would be:
GROUP: Early Morning, January 12, 1990
COLUMNS: time indoor_temp outdoor_temp
UNITS: (hours) (degrees_F) (degrees_F)
0 50 31
1 50.5 30.3
2 55.2 30.2
3 56 32.4
4 58 35.6
5 57.9 37.4
6 56.7 38.3
7 57 41.2
8 58.1 44
GROUP: Early Morning, January 13, 1990
COLUMNS: time indoor_temp outdoor_temp
UNITS: (hours) (degrees_F) (degrees_F)
0 52 21
1 53 20.3
2 55.7 20.2
3 56 22.4
4 58 25.6
5 57 27.4
6 56.7 28.3
7 57 21.2
8 58.1 24
GROUP: Afternoon, January 13, 1990
COLUMNS: time indoor_temp outdoor_temp
UNITS: (hours) (degrees_F) (degrees_F)
12 60 51
13 60.5 50.3
14 65.2 50.2
15 66 52.4
16 68 55.6
17 67.9 57.4
18 66.7 58.3
19 67 51.2
20 68.1 64
Page 15
V. Data File Formats
When SuperPlot initially opens a file, it scans the file for
certain keywords. If a keyword is found, the information to the
right of the keyword is stored, and will be used later to
identify the data, and generate legends. Keywords are optional,
but are strongly recommended to help you keep track of your data.
Keywords which are recognized are:
GROUP:
COLUMNS:
UNITS:
Information after the GROUP: keyword will be read in as a whole
line (commas and spaces are OK), and will be displayed in the
"Block Selection" requester window. If you read in a data block,
this line will appear in the message area to identify the data
block as current (if it is the current one). If GROUP: is not
found, this information will default to:
Group #1
Group #2
Group #3
.
.
.
Information after the COLUMNS: keyword should be column titles,
one for each column of numbers below. These titles will be
separated according to the delimiters, so they should be
separated by at least one comma or space. Unintended spaces or
commas in the column titles will cause confusing results in the
information window, and consequently in the legends.
Information after the UNITS: keyword should be unit titles, one
for each column of numbers below. These titles will be separated
according to the delimiters, so they should be separated by at
least one comma or space. Unintended spaces or commas in the
unit titles will cause confusing results in the information
window, and consequently in the legends.
SuperPlot also looks for the beginning line of each data block in
the initial file scanning. SuperPlot assumes that the first line
that starts with a number, - or + sign is the beginning line of
the first data block. From there, SuperPlot reads down until a
line is found which does not start with a number, - or + sign.
At this point, SuperPlot knows that the next line that starts
with a number, - or + sign will be the beginning line of the
Page 16
V. Data File Formats
second data block. This continues until SuperPlot reaches the
end of the file.
Note that any line that does not start with a number, - or + sign
is considered a comment (and thus ignored), unless it starts with
a key word.
When the scan is completed, you will be presented with the "Block
Selection" requester window, which will allow you to pick one or
more of the data blocks from within the file that you wish to
load. If you choose to load one or more data blocks, SuperPlot
will then read in the numbers.
SuperPlot first indexes down to the beginning line of a data
block which you selected, and then begins to read the numbers.
If SuperPlot finds a character it does not understand, you will
get an error message telling which line in the file the error was
found on, and the reading process will be aborted.
If SuperPlot finds a different number of columns on any line
within a data block, you will get an error message telling you
there is an incoherent number of columns at the line where the
error was found, and the reading process will be aborted.
Notes on spreadsheet ".PRT" files
You should beware that there are some common format problems that
SuperPlot has with spreadsheet ".PRT" files. They are:
- Page feed gaps in the middle of data blocks. This will
cause SuperPlot to view the divided data block as two
separate data blocks.
- Wrapping data blocks which are too wide to print on the
page format you specify in the spreadsheet. This will
likely cause SuperPlot to give you the "incoherent number
of columns" error message.
If you intend to use a spreadsheet ".PRT" file with SuperPlot, be
sure to specify a format in your spreadsheet which is 256
characters wide, and as long as is possible. It is a good idea
to look at the ".PRT" file with a text editor before attempting
to read it with SuperPlot. I highly recommend "TxEd plus", by
Microsmiths, for this purpose as well as any other text
editing/viewing job.
Page 17
VI. TUTORIAL:
This tutorial is intended to help you get acquainted with some of
the features available in SuperPlot. Some of the features we
will go over in this tutorial are:
- Opening a data file.
- Reading data blocks in from a data file.
- Selecting which part of the data you wish to graph.
- Graphing data.
- Using multiple data block graphing mode to graph more than one
data block.
- Using the mouse to shift curves on the graph.
- Specifying the area you want the graph drawn in.
- Configuring the graph to look presentable.
- Adding labeling to your graph.
- Deleting blocks of data.
You must prepare your WorkBench disk to run SuperPlot by copying
the appropriate files into the appropriate places. If you have
not, please read the "Required Files" section. Also, print out
the "sample.data" file for reference during this tutorial.
After you have done this, just double click on icon marked SP to
run SuperPlot. You should be presented with the SuperPlot screen
after a short delay while SuperPlot loads, and reads the vector
font file. Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the menus
by holding down the right mouse button and moving the mouse
pointer over the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Now let's open a file. Select the "Open File" item from the
"INPUT" menu. You will be presented with the ARP file requester.
Click on the file named "sample.data", then click on the "OK"
button. SuperPlot will now check the file out, and present you
with the "Block Selection" requester window.
Click on "Early Morning, January 12, 1990" and it should become
highlighted and stay that way. To load this block of data, click
Page 18
VI. Tutorial
on either of the "LOAD" buttons. SuperPlot will now read the
data from the file, and load it into memory. After the data is
loaded, 3 lines of numbers and switch buttons will appear on the
left. Select the "Information" item from "DATA-CFG" menu, and
the information window will appear with more information for each
line of switch buttons and numbers. Each line corresponds to a
column of numbers in the data file. See the section of "Data
File Formats" for more information.
Click on the #2 switch button. It should flash and become filled
in the center. Click on the #3 switch button also. Now click on
the "Scale" button below. Using the "Scale" button ensures that
your scaling will be set so you can see all of your data.
Congratulations, you have just graphed some data.
First off, you will probably notice that the numbers on the Y
axis are on the right side of the axis, and should be on the
left. Select the "Configure" item from the "PLOT-CFG" menu, and
the "Plot Configuration" requester window will appear. Click on
the button marked "Right", and it will change to "Left". Now
click on the "ShowMe" button. The graph is re-drawn with the
numbers on the left side of the Y axis. Now click on the "OK"
button to accept this change.
You probably won't like the default boundaries for the graph
because the numbers on the Y axis can't be seen, and the legend
is on top of the data. Select the "Spec Area" item from the
"PLOT-CFG" menu. Now click where you would like one corner of
the graph to be (and release the left mouse button). Move the
mouse pointer to where you would like the second corner to be (a
rectangle should form with one corner connected to the mouse
pointer), and click again. SuperPlot will re-draw the graph
within the new boundaries you have defined. You may have to do
this a couple of times to get the graph where you want it.
Let's have a little fun now. Click on the "Zoom" button, and
draw a box around a portion of one of the curves on your screen,
in the same way as you specified the area for the graph to be
drawn in. The graph should be re-drawn, but zoomed in on a small
portion of the data. Notice that the axes themselves are not
zoomed, but the numbers on the axes reflect the zoomed state.
Click on the "UScale" button to return to the previous scaling.
What if you wanted to plot, say, inside temperature against
outside temperature? Click on the number "3" itself, under the
drop shadowed "X" button. The square outline that used to
surround the "1" will now surround the "3". You have just
directed SuperPlot to use the #3 data column for X values. Open
Page 19
VI. Tutorial
the information window, and check to see what you are graphing.
Click on the "Scale" button and look at the graph. You will see
a diagonal straight line which is data column 3 graphed against
itself. Turn off data column 3, and click on the "Scale" button
again. Try graphing outside temperature against inside
temperature.
Now let's load in the rest of the data from our file
"sample.data". You will not need to open the file again, since
it is the `currently open' file. Select the "New Block" item
from the "INPUT" menu. After the "Block Selection" requester
window opens, click on the "INVERT" button. This will select all
data that was not previously selected. Click on the "Load >"
button to load the selected data blocks to the right of the
current data block.
After the data loads, open the information window by pressing the
`right Amiga' and the `I' key simultaneously. Look in the
message area (top of the screen) and note which data block you
are looking at. Now look at the top left of the screen, and
click on the button with "<" on it. In the message area you will
see that you have paged to another data block. Click on the "<"
button again, and you will page back to the data block that you
had loaded originally. You may page back and forth between the
data blocks by clicking on the buttons marked "<" and ">". If
there are no more data blocks in a direction, the button will be
blank, and clicking on it will have no effect.
Page to the middle data set, and turn on the #2 data column by
clicking on the switch box next to the number "2". Now click on
the "Scale" button. You will notice that only the data column
you have selected will be graphed. Click on the "All" button to
select the #2 and the #3 data column. Page to the right, and
turn on the #2 and #3 data columns in the next data block. Graph
each one of your data blocks, and note what the X axis numbers
are for each data block.
Now suppose you wanted to look at all the data blocks at the same
time. If you were using a spreadsheet, you would say "easy, just
mark off the X series and the Y series' and do it!". Well, that
works as long as there is only one X series, but in this data
there are two distinctly different X series'. The way to tackle
it is as follows:
Look at the lower left of the screen, and click on the "Sngle"
button, which will change to "Multi". You have just entered
multiple data block graphing mode.
Page 20
VI. Tutorial
Page to the left-most data block. First, specify data column #1
to be the X column, and turn on data column #2 and #3. Now click
on the button marked "X". The button will change to "MX". "MX"
marks this data block as supplying the X values for graphing this
data block and all data blocks to the right until another "MX" is
encountered. Click on the button marked "Y", which will change
it to "MY". "MY" graphs the selected Y data in this data block
against the current "MX" data.
Page to the second, or middle data set and click on the "Y"
button to change it to "MY". You could click on the "X" button
to change it to "MX", but the X values in this data set are the
same as the X values in the first data set, so this will not be
necessary.
Page to the third, or right-most data block and click on the "Y"
button to change it to "MY". Since this data block has a
different set of X values than the previous two data blocks, it
will be necessary to click on the "X" button and change it to
"MX". In general you must know what is in your data, and you
will have to decide whether it is appropriate for each data block
to supply its own X values, or if one data block should supply X
values for all data blocks, or some combination between the two
extremes.
Now click on the "Scale" button and you should see all three of
your data blocks graphed simultaneously. Since many of the
curves have the same colors, this graph may appear confusing.
Let's change the line types, and add some points to your data
curves. Page to the first, or left-most data block, and open the
information window again. Select the "Mod Attr" item from the
"DATA-CFG" menu, and the "Modify Attributes" window will appear.
Items in this window can only modify the `current' data set, or
the one you are currently paged to. Click on the button at the
bottom of the "Modify Attributes" window with the small square
displayed on it. If you look in the information window, you will
see a small square appear in the "Lines/Points" field. Click on
the "Graph" button and you will see small squares at each data
point of your data curves for the first data block.
Page to the second, or middle data block and click on the closest
button to the top of the "Modify Attributes" window with a dashed
line on it. Click on the button with a triangle on it. Graph
your data and look at the results.
Page to the third, or right-most data block and change the line
type and the point type to a different one from the first two
Page 21
VI. Tutorial
data blocks.
Now let's do something about those data legends. Open the
information window and click in the "Data Column Description"
field for data column #2. Press the SHIFT and the left arrow key
simultaneously to get to the left of the field. Now type in
"Afternoon, day 2", and press RETURN. Do the same thing for data
column #3. Page to the other two data blocks and and give them
unique titles as well. Now click on the "Graph" button and look
at your data legends. You may need to specify the area of you
graph again so that the legends are clear. Your graph should
make sense.
What if you wanted to move the afternoon temperature curves left,
so that they lined up with the morning temperature curves?
Select the "Mod Attr" item from the "DATA-CFG" menu to open the
"Modify Attributes" window, if it is not already open. Page to
the third, or right-most data column (the one that has the
afternoon temps in it). Click on the "Xshift" button in the
"Modify Attributes" window. A vertical line will appear in the
graph window, and will follow the mouse. Move the line to the
left edge of the afternoon temperature curves and click (and
release). This defines where you are going to shift the curves
from. Move the vertical line to the left edge of the morning
curves and click again. This defines where you are going to
shift to. Click on the "Graph" button and see how the curves are
shifted in X. Now open the information window and look in the
"Offset" field. This is how far you shifted your curves. If you
knew what this value needed to be, you could have typed the
offset directly into the "Offset" field, instead of using the
mouse. You may do the same thing in the Y direction.
If you wish to improve the X and Y axis scaling values, select
the "Configure" item from the "PLOT-CFG" menu and open the "Plot
Configuration" requester window. Experiment with the settings
for Max and Min for both the X and the Y axes. Also set the
number of "TICS" (major intervals) and "tics" (minor intervals).
Use the "ShowMe" button to see the effect of what you have
changed. You can abort by clicking on the "Cancel" button, which
will cancel all of the changes you have made since you opened the
"Plot Configuration" requester window.
What about labels? Select the "Label" item from the "PLOT-CFG"
menu and the "Manipulate Labels" window will open. Click on the
"New" button, and type "Temperatures", then press RETURN. A
small box will appear above the "Manipulate Labels" window, which
represents the size of your new label. Since this is a title,
you will want it to be
Page 22
VI. Tutorial
larger. Click on the button in the "Manipulate Labels" window
with "E" on it. The label outline box is now larger. Click on
the "Place" button, and move the mouse pointer to the top of your
graph. Position the label where you want the title to go and
click the left mouse button.
Now click on the "New" button again. Your previous title label
will be drawn. Type in "Temperature, degrees Fahrenheit" and
press RETURN. This label should go next to the Y axis, but it
needs to be rotated. Click on the sideways arrow button to the
left of the "Angle" button. Now click on the "Place" button, and
move the mouse pointer to position the label to the left of the Y
axis. Click the left mouse button to anchor the label down.
Let's change the color of the title now. Click somewhere on the
title and your Y axis label will be drawn, your title un-drawn
and replaced by a label outline box. Click on one of the colored
buttons in the "Manipute Labels" window. Click on the close
button in the upper left corner of the "Manipulate Labels"
window.
You may wish to add other labels as well. There is no limit, so
add as many labels as you wish.
Whew! That was a lot of work, and I bet you don't want to do it
again. You may save everything but the data (and data
specifications) to a `plot configuration' file. Select the "Save
Cfg" item from the "PLOT-CFG" menu, and you will be presented
with the ARP file requester. Type in "Temp.cfg", and click on
the "OK" button. Now change something, like the graph scaling,
or erase a few labels (Click on a label, then click on the
"Erase" button in the "Label" window). Select the "Load Cfg"
item from the "PLOT-CFG" menu, select the "Temp.cfg" file, and
click on the "OK" button. As you can see, everything is restored
to where it was when you saved that file. Each time you get a
particular graph format developed, you may want to save a `plot
configuration' file so you can restore that format immediately.
Finally, you will often want to delete data blocks to free up
memory and make room for new data. To do this, click on the
button marked "x" in the upper left corner of your screen. The
`current' data block will be deleted (only from memory, not from
disk), and you will be automatically paged to the first data
block to the left. If one does not exist, you will be paged to
the first data block on the right. If one does not exist, you
will see "No Block" in the message area.
That's it for the tutorial. SuperPlot has many, many more
Page 23
VI. Tutorial
features than you have learned in the tutorial. Read the
remaining part of the documentation for complete information.
Page 24
VII. MAIN CONTROL PANEL
The main control panel provides a way to perform the most common
functions used in SuperPlot. Those functions include:
- Page through and delete data blocks that have been loaded.
- Scroll up and down through columns in the active data block
(such as indoor or outdoor temperature). This will not be
necessary for less than 13 columns.
- Set the multi-X and multi-Y switches for the active data
block when using the multiple data block graphing mode.
- Select the data column which supplies the X, or independent
data values.
- Select the data columns which supply the Y, or dependent
data values.
- Graph the selected data at the current scaling values.
- Scale the X and Y axes so that the data fills the plot
window, without going outside it, and graph it.
- Restore the previous explicitly specified X and Y axes
scaling specification.
- Zoom in on a section of the graph. Axes will be re-scaled
to reflect the new scaling.
- Switch between single and multiple data block graphing
mode.
Buttons:
Move left one data block (<) - Move to the data block which
is immediately left of the current data block. If no data
block exists to the left, this button will have a blank
face, and clicking on it will have no effect.
Erase current data block (X) - Erases the current data block
(if any) and makes the data block on the left the current
one. If no data block exists on the left, the one on the
right will be made current. If none exists on the right,
"No Blocks" will appear in the message area.
Move right one data block (>) - Move to the data block which
Page 25
VII. Main Control Panel
is immediately right of the current data block. If no
data block exists to the right, this button will have a
blank face, and clicking on it will have no effect.
Scroll data up (^) - Scroll the data columns in the current
block up (moving towards 1) by 12. If you can currently
see column #1, clicking on this will have no effect.
Scroll data down (v) - Scroll the data columns in the current
block down by 12. If this is not possible, clicking on
this button will have no effect. Note that the maximum
number of data columns allowed in this version of Super
Plot is 31.
Clear all Y values (Clr) - Clears all of the Y select boxes
(except the one chosen for X) so that no Y select boxes in
the current data block are selected, seen or unseen (for
more than 13 columns).
Select all Y values (All) - Selects all of the Y select boxes
(except the one chosen for X) so that all Y select boxes
in the current data block are selected, seen or unseen
(for more than 13 columns).
Invert selection of Y values (Invt) - Changes the Y select
boxes so that the filled ones (ON) become empty (OFF), and
vice versa. Changes all Y select boxes except the one
chosen for X, seen or unseen (for more than 13 columns).
X / MX - For multiple data block graphing mode this button
toggles to specify if the X column in this data block is
to be used for X values. "MX" means this X column data
will be used, and "X" means this X column data will not be
used in a multiple data block graph. This button does not
affect a single data block graph.
Y / MY - For multiple data block graphing mode this button
toggles to specify if the Y selections in this data block
are to be used for Y values. "MY" means the selected Y
data will be used, and "Y" means the selected Y data will
not be used in a multiple data block graph. This button
does not affect a single data block graph.
X column selection - Clicking on any of the data column
numbers will move the X selection box to that number. The
selected X column will supply the X values, or the
(independent data values) for plotting a graph.
Page 26
VII. Main Control Panel
Y column selection boxes - Clicking on any of these boxes
toggles them between empty (OFF) and filled (ON).
Selected Y columns will supply the Y values (dependent
data values) for plotting a graph.
Graph - Draws a graph based on the current X column
selection, Y column selection(s), and single/multiple data
block graphing mode. Current scaling and tic values are
used.
Scale - Draws a graph based on the current X column
selection, Y column selection(s), and single/multiple data
block graphing mode. The scaling and tic values are
modified so that the data fits in the plot window, with
"good" numbers on the axes of the graph.
U Scl - Draws a graph based on the current X column
selection, Y column selection(s), and single/multiple data
block graphing mode. The scaling and tic values are
returned to the most recent user specified values. A user
specified value is set in the "Plot Configuration" window,
or is supplied when a plot configuration file is loaded.
This option is useful after zooming, to restore the
un-zoomed scaling values.
Zoom - Allows you to zoom in on a certain area of the graph.
After you click on this button, move to the graph window
and specify two boundary corners of the area you are
interested in by clicking with the left mouse button. A
rectangle will follow the mouse after your first click to
show you the area you are zooming in on. A second click
completes the operation. You may cancel this operation by
pressing the ESC key anytime before the second click.
Zooming does not affect the location of labels in the
graph window, and the axes will be re-drawn to reflect
current data values. The aspect ratio of your new graph
will not necessarily be the same as before you zoomed.
Sngle/Multi - Toggles between single and multiple data block
graphing modes. Single graph mode plots only the current
data block, while multiple graph mode plots data blocks
with the "MX" and/or "MY" buttons from left to right.
Please see section on multiple data block graphing for
more information.
Page 27
VIII. MENUS
Note: This version of the program does not support the multiple
menu selection or drag selection available on the Amiga.
This feature will be supported in future versions. Thank
you for your patience while I learn to program.
INPUT:
Open File - Opens the ARP file requester so that a data file
may be selected. The selected data file will be "Checked
out", and all data block locations and information stored.
New Block - Select a new Block or Blocks of data to be loaded
from the currently opened data file.
Edit File - Starts the program in your C: directory with the
name "e". Passes the current open file name to this
program. Note: if you edit data in the file, it is
necessary to reopen the file from SuperPlot, so that data
block information will be updated.
Quit - Exit the program.
MULTI:
All Y select - select all Y selection boxes for all data
blocks which are loaded.
All MX - select MX for all data blocks which are loaded.
All MY - select MY for all data blocks which are loaded.
OUTPUT:
Plot - Send what you see in the plot window to your SER: port
using the plotter commands specified in the Config file.
Plot File - Same as plot, but you get to specify (through the
ARP file requester) the file or device name where you
would like the plotter commands to be sent.
PLOT-CFG: (Plot Configuration)
Load Cfg - Load a previously saved plot configuration file.
This includes all parameters specified in the "Plot
Configuration" window, as well as all labels. Turns the
"Labels" item in the "PREFS" menu ON (checked).
Page 28
VIII. Menus
Save Cfg - Save the current configuration to a file which you
will specify through the ARP file requester. I suggest
you append a ".cfg" extension to the file name for future
identification.
Spec Area - Specify the plot area in the plot window. Do
this by selecting this menu item, then clicking at the two
places you wish to be opposite corners of the plot area.
Configure - Opens the "Plot Configuration" requester window
so that you can modify the appearance of your plot.
Label - Opens the "Manipulate Labels" window. From this
window you can modify existing labels or create new ones.
Gen Legend - Generates a data legend based on data block(s)
information which can be viewed in the Information window.
This item is only available when the "AutoLegend" item in
the "PREFS" menu is OFF (not checked).
WINDOWS:
Mod Attr - Opens the "Modify Attributes" window so that you
can modify the appearance of your data on the graph.
Information - Opens the Information window to give more
information about the current data block.
PREFS:
Labels - Toggles the drawing of the labels ON and OFF. If
you have many labels this will reduce the amount of time
required to re-draw the plot. Turning this OFF does not
erase the current labels. Note: this menu item will
automatically be turned on when a plot configuration file
is loaded.
AutoLegend - Toggles the automatic legend generation feature
ON and OFF. This feature generates a data legend based on
data block(s) information which can be viewed in the
Information window at each graph re-draw. Turning this
feature OFF erases all legend labels. When this feature
is OFF you may manually generate legend labels by
selecting the "Gen Legend" item from the "PLOT-CFG" menu.
Page 29
IX. BLOCK SELECTION requester window
The Block Selection requester window allows you to specify which
blocks of data you would like to load from the file you
have opened, and where you would like to load them. You
also have the
option to CANCEL the operation at any time before clicking on one
of the LOAD buttons.
When this requester appears, you will typically select one or
more blocks from the currently opened data file, and then
select "< Load" or "Load >".
"< Load" means load these data blocks to the left of the current
data block (if there is one). When SuperPlot finishes
loading the data blocks, you will be indexed on the data
block that was at the bottom of the list, and the others
will be in reverse order to the right.
"Load >" means load these data blocks to the right of the current
data block (if there is one). When SuperPlot finishes
loading the data blocks, you will be indexed on the data
block that was at the bottom of the list, and the others
will be in reverse order to the left.
Page 30
X. INFORMATION window:
The information window provides more information about the
current data block. The window is divided into lines (one
for each data column), and fields. There is a "Data
Column Description" field, which provides text information
about each data column, as well as providing the text part
of the data legend. The "Lines/Points" field reflects the
line type and point type selected for the data, and the
"Conv" and "Offset" fields show the conversions and
offsets for each of the data columns. All of this
information can be modified by the user.
The information window contains a `close window' button (upper
left), and several text boxes. Refer to "Text Boxes" for
more information on SuperPlot's enhanced text boxes.
The size of the information window depends on the number of data
columns in the current data block. If there is no current
data block, the information window cannot be opened.
Whenever a graph is drawn, the information window is
automatically moved behind the graph window. You can
bring it forward by selecting the "Information" item from
the "Window" menu.
Data Column Description - Information in these text boxes is
there to identify the data in each data column. These
text boxes provide the text for the legend labels when
they are generated. Although you can edit text in the
legend labels with the "Manipulate Labels" requester
window, I recommend that you make your changes here.
Lines/Points - These boxes only display the line type and
point type of their data columns. Nothing can be edited
by clicking in these boxes. See the "Modify
Attributes" window to change this information.
Conv - This field is a text box which displays the value of
the conversion factor applied to the data column. If
nothing appears in this field then the conversion factor
is 1.0 (no conversion). The conversion factor is
applied according to the equation:
Data * conversion + offset
Offset - This field is a text box which displays the value of
the offset applied to the data column. If nothing
Page 31
X. Information window
appears in this field then the offset is 0.0 (no
offset). The offset is applied according to the
equation:
Data * conversion + offset
You may use the mouse to apply X and Y offsets to your
data, in which case the offset will be reported in the
offset field. See the "Modify Attributes Window"
section for more information.
Page 32
XI. MODIFY ATTRIBUTES window:
The "Modify Attributes" window provides a way to modify the
appearance of the data in the current data block which
has the Y selection boxes filled (ON).
Line type - Select the line type you wish for your data by
clicking on the button containing the line type you want.
Click on the "None" button for no line(s), and the
"Default" button for the program's default line type
assignments.
Point type - Select the point type you wish for your data by
clicking on the button containing the point type you want.
Click on the "None" button for no points, and the
"Default" button for a default point type assignment. The
program's default is no point types.
Color - Select the color you wish for your data by clicking
on the button containing that color. Click on the
"Default" button for the program's default color
assignment.
Conversion - Set the conversion factor you wish for your
data by clicking on the "Conversion" button, then typing
in the value you wish and pressing your RETURN key. You
may abort this operation by pressing ESC, then RETURN.
Entries may contain up to twenty characters, but will be
stored internally with 9 digits of accuracy. Conversion
factors are applied according to the the formula:
Data * conversion + offset
Legal entries are as follows:
1) No entry is the same as entering 1.0 (no conversion)
2) Any real number with no spaces. Example --> 1.045e-15
3) Decimal fraction with no spaces. Example --> 12/45.6e-3
4) Degrees to radians. Example --> DtoR, -DtoR
5) Radians to degrees. Example --> RtoD, -RtoD
6) Any conversion factor that enough people ask for!!
Offset - Set the offset you wish for your data by clicking
Page 33
XI. Modify Attributes window
on the "Offset" button, then typing in the value you wish
and pressing your RETURN key. You may abort this
operation by pressing ESC, then RETURN. Entries may
contain up to twenty characters, but will be stored
internally with 9 digits of accuracy. Offsets are applied
according to the the formula:
Data * conversion + offset
Legal entries are as follows:
1) No entry is the same as entering 0.0 (no offset)
2) Any real number with no spaces. Example --> -1.045e-15
X shift - This feature provides an intuitive way for setting
the offset of the selected X column of the current data
block. Be careful if you are in multiple data block
graphing mode; the current data block may not be the one
supplying X values you wish to offset, and you may need to
page to the data block which is supplying the X values of
interest. To use the X shift feature just click on the
"Xshift" button, and move to the plot window where a
vertical line will be following the mouse. Click once to
define a `from' X line (a vertical line will be left there
for reference), and click a second time to define the `to'
X line. The distance between the `from' and `to' line is
the offset that will be applied. Click on the "Graph"
button on the left to see the result of this operation.
You may cancel any time before the second click by
pressing your ESC key.
Y shift - This feature provides an intuitive way for setting
the offset(s) of the selected Y column(s) of the current
data block. Be careful if you are in multiple data block
graphing mode; the current data block may not be the one
supplying Y values you wish to offset, and you may need to
page to the data block which is supplying those Y values.
To use the Y shift feature just click on the "Yshift"
button, and move to the plot window where a horizontal
line will be following the mouse. Click once to define a
`from' Y line (a horizontal line will be left there for
reference), and click a second time to define the `to' Y
line. The distance between the `from' and `to' line is
the offset that will be applied. Click on the "Graph"
button on the left to see the result of this operation.
You may cancel any time before the second click by
pressing your ESC key.
Page 34
XI. Modify Attributes window
Page 35
XII. MANIPULATE LABELS window:
This window provides a way to enhance the appearance of your X-Y
plot by allowing you to create new labels and modify
existing ones. You may open this window by selecting the
"Label" item from the "PLOT-CFG" menu, or by clicking on
an existing label. Options available include:
1) Make new labels.
2) Edit the text of existing labels.
3) Place labels somewhere on your graph.
4) Erase existing labels.
5) Clone existing labels.
6) Set the angular orientation of the label.
7) Select a size for a new or existing label.
8) Select the color for a new or existing label.
This window will only operate on the "current" label, which is
the one who's text appears in the text editing box, and is
represented on the graph by a label outline box. You can make a
label "current" by clicking the mouse on it. If you create a new
label, it will immediately become the "current" label. When you
deselect a label by making another label "current", or by closing
the "Manipulate Label" window, the deselected label will be drawn
properly on the graph.
This window may be moved freely about the screen, and will work
concurrently with all other windows which are not requester
windows.
Here is a listing of the buttons and text boxes, and their
functions:
Text editing box (text box) - This is where you specify the
text your label is to have. You may type in anything up
to 80 characters. See the section on text boxes for
more information.
New (button) - Click on this button to generate a new label.
The cursor will appear in the text editing box
immediately, and you may enter text. Press return to
Page 36
XII. Manipulate Labels window
see the size of your label shown by the outline box just
above the "Manipulate Label" window.
Place (button) - Click on this button to place the active
label with the mouse. The outline box's lower left
corner will become connected to the mouse pointer, and
probably won't be visible since it will be behind the
"Manipulate Label" window. Move the mouse pointer to
the location on the graph where you would like the label
to appear and click the mouse to anchor it down. You
may abort this operation by pressing the ESC key any
time before you click the mouse. You may make fine
adjustments to the location of the label with the cursor
keys, moving the label one pixel at a time.
Erase (button) - Click on this button to erase the current
label.
Clone (button) - Clicking on this button will make a "clone",
or duplicate of the current label, and that duplicate
will become the current label. You will probably want
to place the "clone" in some other location, since it is
generated in the exact same location as the label it is
duplicated from.
Angle (4 buttons) - Clicking on the button marked "Angle"
will make the angle of the current label that of an
imaginary line connecting the lower left corner of the
label and the mouse pointer. Click the mouse button to
anchor the label in its new position. You may abort
this operation by pressing the "ESC" key any time before
you click the mouse. The other 3 buttons represent -90,
0 and +90 degree angles. If you click on one of these
buttons, your label outline box will be re-oriented
immediately.
Size (4 buttons) - Click on one of the four size buttons to
modify the size of the current label. The label outline
box will be updated immediately to reflect the new size.
Color buttons (? buttons) - Click on one of the colored
buttons to change the text label to that color. The
label outline box and the text in the text editing box
will be changed immediately to reflect that.
Page 37
XIII. TEXT BOXES:
A text box is a place to type in information. It appears as an
outlined rectangle, longer than it is wide. To use one, simply
click where you would like the cursor to be placed, and type in
your entry. Press return when you are done, or click the mouse
somewhere else. If your entry is legal, the cursor will simply
disappear. If your entry is not legal, you will hear a warning
beep and get a message at the top of the screen. Your text box
will be returned to its previous legal entry, and the cursor will
reappear in the text box. To abort a text box entry, just press
your ESC key.
Text boxes have several features for editing which I will
explain. First of all, text is always entered into text boxes in
"insert" mode. That means that characters to the right of the
cursor will be scrolled, and not overwritten. Text boxes
generally hold more characters that they can display. If you
type in more characters than the box can display, the characters
on the left side of the cursor will scroll to the left. When you
reach the maximum number of characters allowed you will hear a
warning beep. When you exit a text box (RETURN), the characters
will be scrolled so that the first character is showing.
Standard editing features include:
BACK SPACE (move left one character and erase it)
DEL (delete the character cursor is on)
<-- (move left one character)
--> (move right one character)
Shifted editing features include:
SHIFT <-- (go to first character)
SHIFT --> (go to position after last character)
Control key combination editing features are the same as the
Workbench 1.3 shell except for cut and paste, and are as follows:
Ctrl C (copy all characters to copy buffer)
Ctrl K (erase every character right of cursor)
Ctrl P (paste what is in the copy buffer)
Ctrl U (erase every character left of cursor)
Ctrl X (cut all characters to copy buffer)
Note: The copy buffer is universal, and its contents can be
pasted to any other text box in SuperPlot.
Page 38
XIII. Text Boxes
Page 39
XIV. MULTIPLE DATA BLOCK GRAPHING
SuperPlot is capable of graphing more than one data block
simultaneously. You may wish for each data block to be graphed
with its own X values, or you may wish to graph all data sets
with X values from only one data set, or some mixture of the two
cases. SuperPlot will accomodate all situations.
At the bottom of the main control panel is a button with "Sngle"
on it. If you click on this button it will toggle between
"Multi" and "Sngle". When the button reads "Multi", you are in
the multiple data block graphing mode.
Immediately above the data selection boxes are two buttons, one
marked "X" and the other marked "Y". If you click on the "X"
button it will toggle between "MX" and "X". If you click on the
"Y" button it will toggle between "MY" and "Y". These two
buttons apply to the current data block, and will be updated as
you page through data blocks. If the button at the lower left of
the main control panel reads "Sngle", then these button will have
no effect (even though they still toggle).
All three of these buttons must be used together to plot multiple
blocks of data.
In the multiple data block graphing mode SuperPlot begins with
the leftmost data block, and searches to the right until it finds
a data block with "MX". The data column chosen for X in this
data block will now supply X values for all graphing. SuperPlot
now begins searching for a data block with "MY". When one is
found (it may be the same data block as the "MX" data block), all
of the data columns with the Y selection boxes filled will be
graphed against the last X column specified.
When the next "MX" is encountered, the old one is superseded, and
this continues until SuperPlot runs out of data blocks.
Page 40
