FPLOT(1) FPLOT(1)
30 January 2000
NAME
fplot - a command line postscript plotting program [Version 2.35]
SYNOPSIS
fplot [ -r ] filename
DESCRIPTION
fplot is a fast and easy postscript plotting program. Its command
line interface makes it ideal for use in scripts. fplot does not have
a limit on the number of data points in which it can plot.
The appearance of the plot is very flexible and can be defined in a
command file. Many options can be specified to change the plot
itself; labels, titles, etc. See command file syntax below for a full
description of this command file.
filename can be either a raw data file or a command file. Use a
filename of -- to process stdin.
OPTIONS
fplot recognizes one option:
-r The filename specified is a raw data file, not a command file.
This will use the default parameters for the commands. The
input data is expected to be columnized ascii that is
delimited by spaces, tabs, and/or commas.
COMMAND FILE SYNTAX
An fplot command file is used to define the parameters and appearance
of the plot created.
All the commands in the file have defaults. Therefore, fplot does not
require a command file to produce a graph from data. When using the
-r option, fplot does not use a command file, and will use the default
parameters. The following defines each of the commands available in
the command file.
Comment lines begin with a "#". Blank lines are ignored. The
commands may be in uppercase or lowercase. Any text after a "#" on a
line is treated as a comment also.
The commands are delimited with tabs, spaces, and/or commas and any
text entries must be in double quotes.
reset defaults
This resets all parameters back to its default state. This
will typically be used between numerous plots in the same
command file.
set papersize width length
Sets the paper size in inches to width by length. The default
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is "set papersize 8.5 11".
set graphborders left top right bottom
Sets the graph borders in inches. The default is "set
graphborders 1 1 1 1" (The plot border is 1 inch from the
edge of the page on all 4 sides).
set xrange autorange
Autoranging is the default.
set xrange xmin xmax
Specifies the range you want for the X axis. xmin and xmax
specifies the min and max range on the plot. Ex: "set xrange
30.0 80.0".
set yrange autorange
Autoranging is the default. y1range may also be used for
yrange.
set yrange ymin ymax
Specifies the range you want for the first Y axis. ymin and
ymax specifies the min and max range on the plot. y1range may
also be used for yrange. Ex: "set yrange 30.0 80.0", "set
y1range -80 -20".
set y2range autorange
Autoranging is the default.
set y2range ymin ymax
Specifies the range you want for the second Y axis. ymin and
ymax specifies the min and max range on the plot. Ex: "set
y2range 3.2E+4, 3.6E+4".
set y2range y1range
This command forces the Y2 range to be the same as the Y1
range. The default is to have two independent Y ranges when
two ranges are being plotted. This command is implied if
plotting 3 or more Y ranges.
set gridlines [ off | ticks | on ]
Turns the grid lines over the graph on or off or place a small
tick mark near the numbers on the graph's axis. The default
is "set gridlines on".
set xaxisscale [ linear | log ]
Changes the scaling on the x axis. The default is "set
xaxisscale linear".
set xmultiplier value, set xoffset value
Rescales the x axis input data : plotted-data = input-data *
xmultiplier + xoffset. The default multiplier is 1 and the
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default offset is 0.
set ymultiplier value, set yoffset value
Rescales the first y axis input data : plotted-data =
input-data * ymultiplier + yoffset. The default multiplier is
1 and the default offset is 0. y1multiplier may be used for
ymultiplier, y1offset may be used for yoffset.
set y2multiplier value, set y2offset value
Rescales the second y axis input data : plotted-data =
input-data * y2multiplier + y2offset. The default multiplier
is 1 and the default offset is 0.
set graphtype [ lines | points | linesandpoints ]
Defines how to connect the data points. points will only draw
the points (symbols), lines only connects the points, and
linesandpoints draws points and connects the points. The
default is "set graphtype lines".
set pointsizescale value
Defines the relative size of the points when plotting points
or linesandpoints. A value > 1 will make the points larger. A
value < 1 will make the points smaller. The default value is
1.0.
set outputformat [ postscript | others ...]
Defines the printer output device. Currently only postscript
is supported and is the default.
set skipfactor value
This will cause the plotting to skip the specified value data
points in between ones which actually get plotted. This will
reduce the number of points which actually gets plotted on the
graph and can reduce print times. The default is "set
skipfactor 0".
set fontsize title size
This sets the fontsize for the title of the plot. The size
can be a floating point number. The default is "set fontsize
title 14.0".
set fontsize xlabel size
This sets the fontsize for the label on the x axis of the
plot. The size can be a floating point number. The default
is "set fontsize xlabel 14.0".
set fontsize ylabel size
This sets the fontsize for the label on the first y axis of
the plot. The size can be a floating point number. y1label
may be used for ylabel. The default is "set fontsize ylabel
14.0".
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set fontsize y2label size
This sets the fontsize for the label on the second y axis of
the plot. The size can be a floating point number. The
default is "set fontsize y2label 14.0".
set title string
This defines the text string to use for the title of the plot.
It is placed centered on the top. The default is to not print
a title. string should be enclosed in double quotes.
set xlabel string
This defines the text string to use for the x axis label of
the plot. The default is to not print a label. string should
be enclosed in double quotes.
set ylabel string
This defines the text string to use for the first y axis label
of the plot. The default is to not print a label. y1label
may be used for ylabel. string should be enclosed in double
quotes.
set y2label string
This defines the text string to use for the second y axis
label of the plot. The default is to not print a label.
string should be enclosed in double quotes.
set fontsize label### size
where "###" may be from 1-128 or "all". Up to 128 additional
labels may be placed anywhere on the plot. This command will
set the font size for each of the labels. size can be a
floating point number. The "all" command may be used to set
all 128 labels at once. The default for size on all 128
labels is 10.0 point.
set rotation label### deg
where "###" may be from 1-128 or "all". The rotation angle
for each of the 128 labels may be specified with this command.
This command will set the rotation to deg degrees for each of
the labels. A zero degree rotation is parallel to the X axis.
A positive rotation is counter-clockwise and a negative
rotation is clockwise. The "all" command may be used to set
all 128 labels at once. The default for deg on all 128 labels
is 0.0 degrees.
set coordinates label### [ inches | plotcoordinates ]
where "###" may be from 1-128 or "all". If inches is
specified, the X coordinate will be in inches from the left
edge of the page and the Y coordinate will be in inches from
the bottom of the page. If plotcoordinates is specified, the X
and Y coordinates will be in the coordinate system of the plot
being generated. The "all" command may be used to set all 128
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labels at once. The default for all 128 labels is inches.
set label### x y string
where "###" may be from 1-128. There are 128 labels that can
be positioned anywhere on the plot. The x value is the X
coordinate of the label. The y value is the Y coordinate of
the label. See the command set coordinates label### to define
the coordinate system that will be used in the placement of
the labels. x may also be specified as center or
rightjustify. center and rightjustify assume a 0 degree
rotation angle and the label coordinates are in inches. The
default is to not print any labels. string is the text to
print on the plot at the specified location. string should be
enclosed in double quotes. A typical example would be :
set label37 0.4 7.11 "text for label-37".
set fielddefinition axis column
This command specifies which field (column) in the data to use
for which axis. axis can be x, y, or y1 through y12. The
defaults for this command depends on the data found. For data
which contains only one column, the default is to plot a
single y axis. If two columns are found, the default is to
plot an x,y data pair. When more than two columns are found,
the default is for the first column to be the x axis and rest
of the columns are y1, y2, y3, etc. up to y12.
set outputfile filename
This specifies the filename where to put the generated
postscript code. The default is to send the postscript to
stdout. filename may have a full path specification, i.e. set
outputfile "/tmp/some-file.ps". or set outputfile
"C:\tmp\tmpfile.ps". filename should be enclosed in double
quotes.
set usesamples min max
This command will read a subset of the total data file. the
min value specifies at what line to start reading the data and
the max specifies which line to stop reading the data. The
default is to use all data. Note that this command is not
referenced to the x-axis scaling, it is simply the line
numbers in the data file.
data start
The data start command allows you to embed your data in the
command file. The lines in the command file following this
command will be treated as the data to plot. The plot will be
generated when end-of-file is reached or a data stop command
is found. A blank line in the data stream indicates a 'line
break'. A line break will complete the current line segment
and start a new line segment on the first data line after the
line break.
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data stop
Specifies the end of data to plot in a command file when using
the data start command.
plot filename
The plot command specifies the filename of the file which
contains the data to plot. filename should be enclosed in
double quotes. The data file is assumed to be ASCII text that
is delimited by spaces, tabs, and/or commas.
EXAMPLES
See the files README and cmd.* which are distributed with the software
for examples. The sample command file cmd.all has every supported
command in it. It may be used as a template for new command files.
COPYRIGHT
1997 - 2000, Michael C. Ring (ringx004@tc.umn.edu)
SEE ALSO
multiplt (1)
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