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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