MULTIPLOT XLNf ª© Release 1.0 with Zounds! ª© The program Multiplot XLNf is Shareware. All rights to the source code, programs and text belong to, and copyrights are held by, Alan Baxter. This manual is used under license and may not be copied, leased, or resold. Cambridge University Department of Pathology, Division of Immunology, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QP, UK. 10/3/1993 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This is the 6th version of Multiplot XLN which is the premier data plotting program for the Commodore Amiga. It is used in over 30 Universities world wide and Multiplot graphs have been published in peer reviewed science journals and presented at international scientific meetings. REGISTRATION AND DISTRIBUTION CONDITIONS Multiplot is not in the public domain. It is now (from XLNe) shareware and a shareware fee of USD $30, £20 UK or ASD $40 is requested. The shareware fee entitles the licensee to the most recent version of Multiplot, a printed manual, free bug fixes and discount upgrades. Extra copies of the manual and an ARexx examples companion disk are available to registered users for $10 USD and $5 USD respectively. The printed manual and ARexx examples companion disk are not shareware, and may not be copied or distributed without the author's permission. Multiplot may be freely distributed, but not included in a commercial package without express consent of the author. It is periodically released to Mr Fred Fish, who is licensed to distribute it in any form he sees fit providing the distribution package contains documentation and examples. This package may then be compressed and posted on any electronic distribution service. These programs are in no way designed or intended for professional use. Any damages or losses resulting from inappropriate application of any or all of this distribution whether accidental or intentional, are not the responsibility of the author, his wife, agent, mother or (much missed) labrador; and should not, under any circumstances, be compounded by attempting long and fruitless legal action. All rights to the documentation, source code and programs are reserved. The inclusion of the PLT: device with Multiplot in no way implies any change in, or affects the distribution conditions of that package. Please read the documentation provided with PLT: for further information. SUMMARY Multiplot XLN is a fully intuitive data plotting program. It plots data points as (x,y) co-ordinates with or without x or y error bars. It can plot an unlimited number of sets with any number of data points using colour, line type, line weight, point shape and point size to represent the different sets. A set may be joined by a line or plotted as discrete points. Data may be impulse plotted, scatter plotted, or shown as a histogram or step graph. Additions to the data may be made in the form of lines of best fit (logarithmic, exponential, linear and polynomial) and data smoothing utilising modified open b-splines or averaging filtration. The input file for Multiplot is a simple textfile and my be created in any ASCII text editor or saved from any spreadsheet. Multiplot supports the clipboard, and data input may be achieved solely through it. Multiplot has a full ARexx interface which provides potential for a wide variety of data manipulations including statistical analysis. Output may be in any of the following formats: IntroCAD, Draw, mCAD, IFF, Revised Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language (HPGL/2), Encapsulated Postscript (EPSF) or Postscript. The graph can be printed to any workbench printer by transparent use of the PLT: device. Multiplot directly supports the HP LaserJet III and Postscript laser printers such as the Apple Laser printer. REQUIREMENTS *Workbench 2.0 (or higher) including: Maths libraries, Assignment of ENV:, T:, and CLIPS:. The C: directory must contain the files c:mount and c:type. *The PLT: device is necessary for printing. It consists of: -PLT:-handler in the L: directory -The mountlist entry for PLT: added to the devs:mountlist (WB2.0) OR The device driver to be placed in the storage/dosdrivers directory (> WB2.0). -Assignment of the PLTDATA: directory containing PLT fonts. *The PLT: device requires that a printer has been selected in the printer preferences window. The "Generic" printer driver is not sufficient, and trying to use PLT: without defining a printer will result in a software error (number 80000005). *At least 1Mb RAM. *The directory which contains Multiplot must contain a subdirectory called "MPlot_support" (without the quotes) which must contain the files "intro.scn", "txt_2_icad", "plot2draw" and "HPGL2PS" (without the quotes). *The file ÒMPlot.defÓ should either be in the "MPlot_support" directory, or in the S: directory. *Zounds! requires that the files "say.znd", "ask.znd", "ding.znd" and "zounds.img" be in the "MPlot_support" directory. * ARexx support requires that rexxmast be running, RC be in the SYS:rexc directory, and that the /Rexx directory containing Multiplot ARexx scripts be in the Multiplot directory. INSTALLATION 1) Open the Multiplot/PLT drawer and activate the PLT installation script by double clicking the left mouse button on the icon appropriate to you current operating system. 2) Drag the entire Multiplot drawer to the new location. 3) Add a line to your S:user-startup file assigning the PLTDATA: directory eg: assign PLTDATA: /Multiplot/PLT/ THE Zounds! AUDITORY CUING SYSTEM Auditory cuing systems (ACS) are standard interfaces of sounds triggered by actions within application programs. The sounds are used to inform the user of a change in status of the program. Particular sounds are used to identify specific changes and become part of the user interface helping to orient the user. Zounds! is a state of the art ACS developed for the Amiga. It is available for license to other developers and its incorporation into other application programs is encouraged by the author. It provides a set standard alerting sounds that are triggered whenever the program unexpectedly has something to tell the user. Sounds are not triggered directly as a result of user selection of icons, objects or menu selections. A message requester triggers a sound like "Didlepom"; a falling tone not dissimilar to the falling tones used in speech when stating fact. A rising tone, "Bombidit" is triggered by requesters that are asking for a response from the user. The rising tones reflect those used in speech when asking a question. The Zounds! volume is set at application start-up either in the command line when the application is started from the CLI or by setting the tool types appropriately in the icon when using the Workbench. If the volume is set to 0 at start-up, Zounds! is disabled. Example: From the CLI >Multiplot VOLUME=0 From the Workbench, set Tool Types to VOLUME=0 Zounds! is completely user configurable. The sound samples used by Zounds! have names ending in the post fix .znd, are stored in a support directory (MPlot_support), and are in the standard Amiga 8SVX IFF format. These samples may be replaced by sounds chosen by the user. CHAPTER 2: START-UP OPTIONS WORKBENCH OPTIONS The workbench start-up options are defined in the Multiplot icon and are set as tool types. The following options are available: SCREENMODE Keyword to be followed by one of the following: HIRES Indicates 640 pixel wide (+ overscan) mode. SUPER Indicates 1280 pixel wide (+ overscan) mode. PRODUCT Indicates VGA compatible mode. LACE May be or'ed (|) with any of the above modes to double the vertical resolution A2024 Supports the Commodore A2024 monitor. TENHERTZ May be or'ed (|) with A2024 to indicate sync speed. FIFTEENHERTZ May be or'ed (|) with A2024 to indicate sync speed. If the SCREENMODE tooltype is not included, Multiplot will clone the characteristics of the Workbench screen. Example: SCREENMODE=HIRES|LACE produces 640 x 400/512 screen. SCREENDEPTH Keyword to be followed by screen depth in planes. Currently only 1 to 4 planes are available in HIRES and 1 to 2 planes in productivity. One bit plane provides 2 colours, 2 bit planes provides 4 colours, 3 bit planes provides 8 colours and 4 bit planes provides 16 colours. Example: SCREENDEPTH=3 produces an 8 colour screen. SCREENWIDTH Keyword to be followed by width of screen in pixels. Screens wider than the current visible size are opened as autoscroll screens. Example: SCREENWIDTH=720 produces maximum horizontal overscan for a hires screen. SCREENHEIGHT Keyword to be followed by height of screen in pixels. Screens taller than the current visible size are opened as autoscroll screens. Example SCREENHEIGHT=484 produces maximum vertical overscan for an NTSC interlaced screen. STARTPRI Keyword to be followed by priority the Multiplot process should be run at. In general, priority should be between -5 and 5 to avoid conflicts with other currently active processes. Multiplot must be run at a lower priority than the PLT: device to avoid a scheduling lock-out. Example: STARTPRI=3 results in slightly faster execution. PUBSCREEN Keyword to be followed by the name of a public screen for Multiplot to open on. Note that the public screen name need only include the first word of the screens name, and that the name is case sensitive. For example Workbench is recognised but WORKBENCH is not. Example: PUBSCREEN=Workbench results in Multiplot running on the workbench instead of its own screen. STARTUP Keyword to be followed by name of an ARexx macro to be run from the DATA SELECTION WINDOW at start-up. Example: STARTUP=Rexx/Loadtable.mpt runs macro on start-up. PORTNAME Keyword to be followed name for ARexx port when opened. The default name is MULTIPLOT.nn where nn is the lowest available number producing a unique port name. Example: PORTNAME=TAWNY Names the ARexx port for Multiplot "TAWNY" SETTINGS Keyword to be followed by the name of a file containing initial settings. If not set, the file MPlot_support/MPlot.def is read. The defaults file defines the screen colours, printed pen thicknesses, axes (number, type, range), grid and tics, plot labels and locks. Example: SETTINGS=s:MyNiceColours Loads settings from named file. QUIET Prevents opening of the introduction WINDOW. It is useful for remote start-up of Multiplot especially if invoked from an ARexx macro, or if you are just sick of seeing the introduction WINDOW. Example: QUIET VOLUME Sets the volume of Zounds! Auditory Cuing System to a value between 0 and 64. Setting a volume of 0 switches off Zounds! completely. Example: VOLUME=0 Switches off Zounds! Auditory Cuing System. PSFONT Sets the postscript output font to that named. The keyword PSFONT must be followed by one of: Times-Roman Helvetica Helv-Narrow AvantGarde Bookman Palatino ZapfChancery Courier Example: PSFONT=Times-Roman Switches both postscript printed output and EPSF output fonts to Times-Roman PSPAGE Sets the postscript printed page size, ensuring correct placement of graphs on pages with different aspect ratios. The keyword PSPAGE must be followed by one of: A Sets USA page size A 4 Sets to international standard A4 page size Example: PSPAGE=A Sets postscript page size to USA page size A. CLI OPTIONS The CLI start-up options are defined on the command line and are summarised in the template: Multiplot FILES, QUIET/S, PUBSCREEN/K, PORTNAME/K, STARTUP/K, SETTINGS/K, SCREENDEPTH/N, SCREENWIDTH/K/N, SCREENHEIGHT/K/N, SCREENMODE/K, STARTPRI/K/N, VOLUME/K/N, PSPAGE/K, PSFONT/K Where: ,(comma) indicates no arguments or separates arguments, /K indicates the keyword is required, /S indicates a switch keyword, and /N indicates a numerical argument is required. These keywords provide the following options: FILES Keyword to be followed by name of file to be loaded on invocation. If file was written by Multiplot it will be autoloaded. If this argument is used together with the QUIET argument, Multiplot will open a Plot window on start-up. Example: Multiplot FILES Data/Eric.dat SCREENDEPTH Keyword to be followed by screen depth in planes. Currently only 1 to 4 planes are available in HIRES and 1 to 2 planes in productivity. One bit plane provides 2 colours, 2 bit planes provides 4 colours, 3 bit planes provides 8 colours and 4 bit planes provides 16 colours. Example: Multiplot SCREENDEPTH 3 produces an 8 colour screen. SCREENWIDTH Keyword to be followed by width of screen in pixels. Screens wider than the current visible size are opened as autoscroll screens. Example: Multiplot SCREENWIDTH 720 produces maximum horizontal overscan for a hires screen. SCREENHEIGHT Keyword to be followed by height of screen in pixels. Screens higher than the current visible size are opened as autoscroll screens. Example: Multiplot SCREENHEIGHT 484 produces maximum vertical overscan for an NTSC interlaced screen. SCREENMODE Keyword to be followed by one of the following: HIRES Indicates 640 pixel wide by 200/256 high (+ overscan) mode. HIRESLACE Indicates 640 pixel wide by 400/512 high (+ overscan) mode. SUPER Indicates 1280 pixel wide by 200/256 high (+ overscan) mode. SUPERLACE Indicates 1280 pixel wide by 400/512 high (+ overscan) mode. VGAPROD Indicates VGA compatible mode. VGAPRODUCTLACE Indicates interlaced VGA compatible mode. A2024TENHERTZ Supports the Commodore A2024 monitor at sync speed of 10Hz. A2024FIFTEENHERTZ Supports the Commodore A2024 monitor at sync speed of 15Hz. If the SCREENMODE keyword is not included, Multiplot will clone the characteristics of the Workbench screen. Example: SCREENMODE HIRESLACE produces 640 x 400/512 screen. STARTPRI Keyword to be followed by priority the Multiplot process should be run at. In general, priority should be between -5 and 5 to avoid conflicts with other currently active processes. Multiplot must be run at a lower priority than the PLT: device to avoid a scheduling lock-out. Example: Multiplot STARTPRI 3 results in slightly faster execution. PUBSCREEN Keyword to be followed by the name of a public screen for Multiplot to open on. Note that the public screen name need only include the first word of the screens name, and that the name is case sensitive. For example Workbench is recognised but WORKBENCH is not. Example: Multiplot PUBSCREEN Workbench results in Multiplot running on the workbench instead of its own screen. STARTUP Keyword to be followed by name of an ARexx macro to be run from the DATA SELECTION WINDOW at start-up. Example: Multiplot STARTUP Rexx/LoadTable.mpt runs macro on start-up. PORTNAME Keyword to be followed name for ARexx Port when opened. The default name is MULTIPLOT.nn where nn is the lowest available number producing a unique port name. Example: Multiplot PORTNAME TAWNY Names the ARexx port for Multiplot "TAWNY" SETTINGS Keyword to be followed by the name of a defaults file containing initial settings. If not set, the file MPlot_support/MPlot.def is read. The defaults file defines the screen colours, printed pen thicknesses, axes (number, type, range), grid and tics, plot labels and locks. Example: Multiplot SETTINGS s:MyNiceColours Loads settings from named file. QUIET Prevents opening of introduction WINDOW. Useful for remote start-up of Multiplot especially if invoked from an ARexx macro, or if you are just sick of seeing the introduction WINDOW. Example: Multiplot QUIET VOLUME Sets the volume of Zounds! Auditory Cuing System to a value between 0 and 64. Setting a volume of 0 switches off Zounds! completely. Example: VOLUME 0 Switches off Zounds! Auditory Cuing System. PSFONT Sets the postscript output font to that named. The keyword PSFONT must be followed by one of: Times-Roman Helvetica Helv-Narrow AvantGarde Bookman Palatino ZapfChancery Courier Example: Multiplot PSFONT Times-Roman Switches both postscript printed output and EPSF output fonts to Times-Roman PSPAGE Sets the postscript printed page size, ensuring correct placement of graphs on pages with different aspect ratios. The keyword PSPAGE must be followed by one of: A Sets USA page size A 4 Sets to international standard A4 page size Example: Multiplot PSPAGE A Sets postscript page size to USA page size A. CHAPTER 3: WINDOWS THE INTRODUCTION WINDOW This window opens on start-up. It may be closed to continue on to use the program by clicking either mouse button or hitting any key on the keyboard. This window may be prevented from opening by using the QUIET start-up option. It is important that the QUIET option be used if Multiplot is invoked from an ARexx script, as this window does not have an ARexx interface. THE DATA SELECTION WINDOW This window is for indicating the location and format of a data file to be input into Multiplot. Do not attempt to type raw data into this window! The DATA SELECTION WINDOW opens on start-up following the introduction WINDOW or may be opened by selecting the menu options PROJECT/Open file, PROJECT/Add file or PROJECT/New graph. The following is a list of the major buttons with in the DATA SELECTION WINDOW and their functions. The FILE NAME box contains the name of the data file to be plotted. The text within this box can be edited by clicking the left mouse button while the pointer is over the box, and then typing the new file name. If the FILE NAME box does not contain a file name, then Multiplot will open a new graph with no data loaded. Data can then be entered manually or pasted from the clipboard. The PATH button will call up a file requester to help with browsing through directories trees looking for wanted data files. The selected file name is pasted into the FILE NAME box when the requester is closed. The NONE button will clear the FILE NAME box. The CONTINUE button accepts current settings, closes the DATA SELECTION WINDOW and loads the data from the file indicated in the FILE NAME box into the PLOT WINDOW for rendering the default graph. Beneath the file selection box are six other boxes to indicate what column the X, Y and Error values are in. A '0' indicates value is absent. For example if the Y Error box has a '0', no error bars will be plotted. If the X box has a '0', the X values will be assumed to start at 0 and increase by 1 with each data point. If the Low Error box has a '0' but the Error box contains a valid column number, the error bars will be assumed to be symmetrical about the data point. If however, the Low Error column is defined, asymmetrical error bars may be plotted. When satisfied with the file and column specification, hit the return key or click on the CONTINUE button and the selected data file will be checked to ensure it has the number of columns required, and loaded if suitable. If the file you identified when invoking Multiplot has previously been written by Multiplot, it will autoload without presenting you with the DATA SELECTION WINDOW. THE PLOT WINDOW This window opens after the data file and its data columns have been defined either by loading a Multiplot File Format 2 file, or by entering the information in the DATA SELECTION WINDOW. The PLOT WINDOW fills the entire screen and contains a hand crafted menu for your computing pleasure. Visible on the window will be a either a default plot of your data or the data plotted in the previously saved format (if loaded from a Multiplot File Format 2 file). This plot will show lines and points with a different colour and point type for each data set. The PLOT window contains 5 regions. The central area is where the data is represented. The left margin contains the Y values and Y axis label of any left Y hand axes. The right margin contains the Y values and Y axis label of any right Y axes as well as any plot legends. The lower margin contains the X values and the X axis label and the top margin may contain the plot title. On starting Multiplot, the pointer action is set to SELECT. In this mode it is possible to select objects to alter their characteristics. A data set may be selected by clicking the left mouse button near one of its points. A legend may be selected by clicking the left mouse button on it. In this mode, double clicking on an object will call up an edit window to change some feature of the object. Double clicking on a point in a data set will call up the CUSTOM PLOT window, and allow you to change line type, colour, point type and point size of the data set. It will also allow you to skip rendering that set or delete it completely. Double clicking on a legend will call the EDIT TEXT window, to allow you to edit the text in the legend. Double clicking in the top margin will call up the EDIT TEXT window to allow you to edit or add a title. Double clicking on an axis tic value allows you to edit the text of that value. This text will be reset on rescaling the axis unless the axis values lock is set in the AXIS window. Double clicking the left mouse button beneath the X Axis calls up the EDIT AXIS WINDOW to edit the X Axis, while double clicking to the right of a right hand Y Axis or to the left of a left hand Y Axis produces the EDIT AXIS WINDOW to edit the appropriate Y AXIS. The EDIT AXIS WINDOW allows you to set the minimum and maximum tic values, the number colour and type of tics, and edit the axis label. In the SELECT mode, it is possible to move text around the screen by pressing the left mouse button while the pointer is over the text, holding it down, and dragging the text to the desired location. If the movement is small, a screen refresh may need to by forced by selecting the menu option ACTIONS/Redraw. Several blocks of text can be moved together, without changing their relationship to each other by group selecting them. Click on one block of text, hold down the shift key and select the others, then without releasing the left mouse button, drag the blocks of text to their new location. To move text vertically without any horizontal movement, select (or group select) the text, and while still holding down the left mouse button, press and hold down the 'v' key on the keyboard. Then drag the text to its new location. To move text horizontally without any vertical movement, select (or group select) the text, and while still holding down the left mouse button, press and hold down the 'h' key on the keyboard. Then drag the text to its new location. To return Axis values to their default positions (sometimes necessary if changes to margins or other formatting has displaced the value labels from the tics on the axes) select the ACTIONS/Update menu option. Single data points can be moved in a similar manner. To select a data point, click the left mouse button over it while holding down the Ctrl key. Several data points may be group selected by holding down the shift key as well as the Ctrl key while selecting the points. To move data points vertically without any horizontal movement, select (or group select) the points, and while still holding down the left mouse button, press and hold down the 'v' key on the keyboard. Then drag the points to their new location. To move points horizontally without any vertical movement, select (or group select) the points, and while still holding down the left mouse button, press and hold down the 'h' key on the keyboard. Then drag the points to their new location. Multiple items of different natures may be group selected together. It is possible to select whole data sets, single points and text in one go. Note however that only data points and text can be moved. Objects can be aligned by group selecting the objects to be aligned and then choosing the ACTIONS/Align Vertical or ACTIONS/Align Horizontal menu options. A curve reader is also available in the SELECT mode. If the Alt key is held down when the left mouse button is pressed, the co-ordinates of the point indicated will be given. The curve reader automatically compensates for log axes, zooming and sliding. The pointer action can be set to ZOOM or SLIDE by selecting these subitems from the Pointer Action option in the EDIT menu. The action of the pointer in these modes is described in CHAPTER 4. The menus available from the PLOT WINDOW are PROJECT which relates to the loading, saving and printing of plots, EDIT which allows you to delete, copy, paste, import and export data and text, ACTIONS which allows modification of the plot, resizing, shifting and zoom, OPTIONS which changes the screen palette, axes, and cross hairs; and FUNCTIONS which allows special actions like data smoothing, line fitting and data sorting and provides access to ARexx macros. The major menu selections are described in CHAPTER 4. THE CUSTOM PLOT WINDOW This window can be invoked either by double clicking the left mouse button while the pointer is over any of the data set's points and Multiplot is in SELECT mode, or by selecting the ACTIONS/redefine menu option. The CUSTOM PLOT WINDOW allows you to select plot colours, line type, Y-axis and whether data is plotted as a line, series of points, both, a histogram, or a step plot. If points are drawn, the point size and point type can be selected. The COLOUR bar displays the data set colour. The colour is selected by clicking the left mouse button over the COLOUR bar which then cycles through the available options. Note that in monochrome output, the line thickness of each colour (or "pen") can be set from within the PRINT SETUP WINDOW. This enables the user to assign different pen weights to either different data sets or different graph elements. For example, the axis tic marks could be in the finest pen, the data sets in a medium weight pen, and the axes in the thickest pen. The POINT SIZE box displays the current point size which can be changed either by clicking the left mouse button over either the up or down arrows, or by clicking within the POINT SIZE box to edit the value directly. If the pointsize is set to '0', each point will print as the smallest possible point achievable by the output device. For example a point of size '0' would print on an Apple LaserPrinter as a dot 1/300th inch in diameter. The LINE TYPE box displays the current line type that data set is rendered in. The line type is selected by clicking the left mouse button over the LINE TYPE box which then cycles through the available options. The PLOT TYPE selection is highlighted in the array of options. Data may be plotted as points, lines, points and lines, step graph (with or without points) and impulse plots. The step graph is of the form change in X followed by change in Y. The point type may be selected from the panel of six mutually exclusive buttons on the right of the window. The POINT TYPE selection is highlighted in the array of options. The point type is selected by clicking the left mouse button over the button displaying the desired point type. The AXIS box defines the Y axis the data set will be plotted in. If the current graph has only a single Y Axis, this box will be blank. Otherwise, the Y Axis is indicated by moving the marker within the box. The CONTINUE button will accept changes and proceed to the Plot window where the plot is rendered. The SKIP button will skip the data set, so that it will not be plotted when the PLOT window is updated. The missing data set can then be recalled by selecting the ACTIONS/Redefine Plot menu option, and pushing the CONTINUE button when presented with the data set. The KILL button is similar to the SKIP button but its effects are permanent. A single level of undelete is supported and dead data set can be revived with the EDIT/Undelete menu option providing nothing else has been deleted subsequently. The STOP button closes the Custom Plot window without accepting any changes. If the window was opened by selecting the ACTIONS/Redefine Plot menu option, the STOP button will also skip all remaining data sets without presenting the Custom Plot window for them.  THE AXIS WINDOW This window can be called by double clicking the left mouse button over the axis to be edited with the Mouse Action menu option set to SELECT mode. It allows the following characteristics of the axis to be edited: *Position (RIGHT or LEFT) of the graph may be set if there are more than one Y axes and the current axis being edited is any Y axis other than the first one. To add a right hand Y axis to a graph, select the EDIT/Add/Axis menu option, then edit the new (upper) Y axes by double clicking over its left margin, and set the position to the right side by activating the RIGHT position button. *Minimum and maximum axis values. The axis scale may be reversed by placing the higher value in the minimum value box and the lower value in the maximum value box. This results in mirror image reversal of the data. *The number of major tics/grid lines. The number of major subdivisions may vary from 1 to 20. *Colour of major tics/grid lines. Note that in monochrome output, the line thickness of each colour (or "pen") can be set from within the PRINT SETUP WINDOW. This enables the user to assign different pen weights to different graph elements. For example, the axis tic marks could be in the finest pen, the data sets in a medium weight pen, and the axes in the thickest pen. *Line type of major tics/grid lines. *The number of minor tics/grid lines. The number of minor subdivisions may vary from 1 to 10. *Colour of minor tics/grid lines. Note that in monochrome output, the line thickness of each colour (or "pen") can be set from within the PRINT SETUP WINDOW. This enables the user to assign different pen weights to either different data sets or different graph elements. For example, the axis tic marks could be in the finest pen, the data sets in a medium weight pen, and the axes in the thickest pen. *Line type of minor tics/grid lines. *Axis scale type. The axes may be set as linear or logarithmic independently allowing log/lin, lin/log, log/log and lin/lin plots. Also available are Category axes in which each data set is given a value along the axis resulting in a scattergram. Either the X or the Y axis may be set as a category axis, providing vertical or horizontal scattergrams. The category axis provides default values which may be altered to distinguish points which overlap each other. For example, a vertical scattergram may be produced by setting the X axis to a category axis. Two overlapping points may be separated by selecting the point (Ctrl-LMB), locking movement to horizontal (hold down the 'h' key) and dragging one point clear of the other. *The axis label. *Scale Lock. A lock may be set preventing rescaling of the axis. *Values Lock. A lock may be set preventing overwriting of the axis values. Note that the current axis settings are taken into account for linear fits of data. For example, if the Y axis is logarithmic and the X axis linear, an exponential fit is produced (a straight line on a lin/log scale). If the X axis is logarithmic and the Y axis linear, a log fit is produced (a straight line on a log/lin scale). Log/log and true linear fits are also available. THE EDIT POINT WINDOW This window may be called up for any data point by holding down the Ctrl key and double clicking the left mouse button over the desired data point with the Mouse Action menu option set to SELECT mode. This window allows the X and Y values of a point to be individually set, and the X and Y error bars to be altered. Note that the error bars need not be symmetrical, and one direction error bars are supported. THE EDIT TEXT WINDOW This window is called mode by double clicking the left mouse button over some text or selecting some text and activating the EDIT/Add/Text menu option while the mouse action is in SELECT; or by clicking the left mouse button on the LABEL button in the AXIS WINDOW It allows the alteration and creation of the plot title, axis labels and values, data set legends and added text. The TEXT Box displays the text and allows direct editing by clicking the left mouse button within the TEXT box and typing in the new text. The FONT button calls up a font requester to allow browsing of available fonts and to preview them before use. The FONT box describes the current font selection and allows direct changes to be made without opening the font requester. The POINT SIZE box describes the current font size selection and allows direct changes to be made without opening the font requester. The CONTINUE button accepts current changes and closes the EDIT TEXT WINDOW. The STOP button rejects current changes and closes the EDIT TEXT WINDOW. THE PRINT SET-UP WINDOW This window is called by selecting the PROJECT/Print Setup menu option. This window allows the selection of print orientation, size and position of the current graph. The SIZE slide bar sets the size of the plot on the printed page. The default setting is for the plot to fill the page. Clicking within the slider's run allows changes in size from 10% to 100% in 10% increments. Dragging the slider allows finer control of the plot size. The ORIENTATION button controls the orientation of the plot. Default is for the plot to be printed in landscape (with the page lying down). Orientation may be toggled between landscape and portrait by clicking the left mouse button over the icon which represents the current setting. The position of the plot on the page can be set by dragging the square within the POSITION box. The square represents the plot and the border of the box represents the full page. Pen descriptions for PLT: may be defined from this window. Each pen is described by the COLOUR bar on the right hand side of the PRINT SETUP WINDOW. The pen currently being edited is identified by its colour and may be chosen by clicking the left mouse button over the COLOUR bar to cycle through all the pens available. The number shown immediately below the COLOUR bar indicates the pen thickness. The pen thickness may be set for each pen, will be used when printing via PLT:, and is saved in the defaults file. This enables the user to assign different pen weights to different graph elements. For example, the axis tic marks could be in the finest pen, the data sets in a medium weight pen, and the axes in the thickest pen. The SPOOL button toggles on and off the print spool which allows printing to continue in the background while you return to editing a new plot. Once the print spool has been started, Multiplot may even be quit without interrupting printing. To stop printing a spooled file, click the left mouse button on the "close gadget" (top left corner) of the PLT window on the WorkBench. The PRINT button selects which of the currently open graphs should be printed on the page when the PROJECT/Print menu option. Only graphs in which the PRINT button is highlighted in the PRINT SET-UP WINDOW will print. A graph may be "turned off" by deselecting this button. THE CO-ORDINATES WINDOW This window may be opened by selecting the OPTIONS/Coordinates menu option. It displays the pixel location of the pointer within the currently activated PLOT WINDOW. THE ABOUT WINDOW This window is opened by selecting the PROJECT/About menu option. It contains the name and address of the author and information about registering Multiplot. THE PULL WINDOW This window is opened by using the 'PULL' ARexx command. It returns to the ARexx environment any text variable entered by the user. It may be used to obtain information or values form the user from an ARexx script. CHAPTER 4: MENUS THE PROJECT MENU OPEN FILE (Left-Amiga O) Returns you to the DATA SELECTION window for loading a new file, erasing all open graphs. ADD FILE (Left-Amiga A) Opens the DATA SELECTION window for loading a new data file. All data sets and text described in that file will be added to the current graph. NEW GRAPH (Left-Amiga N) Opens the DATA SELECTION window for loading a new data file, which will be loaded onto a fresh graph in a new window. SWAP GRAPH Brings the indicated PLOT WINDOW to the front and sizes it to fill the screen. EXIT GRAPH (Left-Amiga E) Closes the current graph without quitting the program. If there are no other graphs open, it will open the DATA SELECTION window to select a new graph. SAVE (Left-Amiga S) Saves data, formatting and text as a Multiplot file format 2 (FF2) file, overwriting original data file. SAVEAS Saves plots in any of the following formats: IFF (loads into DPaint), Draw (loads into Draw2000 etc), IntroCAD (an excellent CAD program), mCAD (a PD CAD program), HPGL plotter language, Encapsulated Postscript and Postscript. DEFAULTS Saves and loads current axes, tics and grid markings, pen thickness, font and palette selections. The default file used is MPlot_support/MPlot.def unless defined as another file with the SETTINGS start-up option or loaded by selecting the PROJECT/Defaults/Load menu option. Load: Loads a new default file and reformats the currently active plot with the new settings. Save: Saves default file with current name. Save As: Opens a file requester to save the default file under a new name. PRINT PREVIEW Print preview is achieved via the transparent use of the PLT: device. The PLT-handler must be in your l: directory, and the PLT: mountlist must be added to your Devs:mountlist. You do not need to mount the device as Multiplot will mount PLT: automatically if it is not already mounted. PRINT SET-UP Opens the Print Setup window which allows the selection of print orientation, size and position of the graph on the page as well as selecting between colour and black and white printing. The print spooler can be toggled on or off from this window. PRINT (Left-Amiga P) Printing is achieved via the transparent use of the PLT: device. ABOUT Opens the ABOUT WINDOW displaying information about the author and registration of Multiplot. QUIT (Left-Amiga Q) Exits the program without saving any changes. THE EDIT MENU UNDELETE (Left-Amiga Z) Replaces the last blocks of text or data sets deleted. Only a single level of undelete is maintained, but it may contain multiple items if, for example, several data sets were group selected and deleted. CUT Left-Amiga X) Deletes the selected data sets or text blocks and places an IFF FTXT text copy of in the clip board for transfer to another plot or program, and then deletes it from the current plot. COPY (Left-Amiga C) Places an IFF FTXT text copy of the selected data sets or text blocks in the clip board for transfer to another plot or program. PASTE (Left-Amiga V) Reads the clipboard and adds its contents to the current graph if possible. DELETE (Delete key) Removes currently selected point(s), data set(s) or block(s) of text. ADD Text Opens the EDIT TEXT WINDOW to edit the prose, font and font size of text which is added to the current plot and may be moved to the desired location. If the option is chosen while a data set is selected, it will add a legend to the data set. Data Set Adds a data set to the end of the current open plot. Opens the CUSTOM PLOT WINDOW to set the type and colour of the data set, and the opens an EDIT POINT WINDOW to set the values of each point. After the last point has been entered, entry is terminated by selecting the STOP button in the EDIT TEXT WINDOW. Point Adds a point to the end of the currently selected data set. Opens the EDIT POINT WINDOW to edit the point values. Axis Adds a new Y Axis above the last Y Axis rendered. The axis may then be moved to the right side or changed by calling up the EDIT AXIS WINDOW by double clicking to the left of the new axis. THE ACTIONS MENU MOUSE ACTION Allows the user to select the mode in which the mouse works. The options are: Select (Left-Amiga-Shift !) The select mode allows the editing of data sets or axes by double clicking the left mouse button over them and allows the movement of points and text by click-dragging, and selection of text or data sets for manipulation. Zoom (Left-Amiga-Shift #) Allows close-up views of areas of the data, and to adjust the axes to desired values. After selecting ZOOM from the menu, the mouse may be used to draw a box on the screen to indicate the area of the plot to be enlarged. This is achieved by clicking and holding the left mouse button, dragging the mouse, and releasing the left mouse button. The maximum limit of enlargement is 1,600 times. Zooming out to reduce the size of the plot by one half is achieved by double clicking the left mouse button. Slide (Left-Amiga-Shift ^) After selection the mouse may be used to draw a vector on the screen to indicate the direction and amount the plot should be moved. This is achieved by clicking and holding the left mouse button, dragging the mouse, and releasing the left mouse button. REDRAW (Left-Amiga R) Redraws the currently active PLOT WINDOW. It should be used to repair the screen of unwanted rendering, or an incomplete refresh. UPDATE (Left-Amiga U) Redraws the currently active PLOT WINDOW recalculating all text positions and correcting minor displacements resulting from resizing the PLOT WINDOW. FULLPLOT (Left-Amiga F) Redraws the currently active PLOT WINDOW at the default scale. This plot will show all data points and the extremes of any error bars unless the X or Y scales are locked. REDEFINE PLOT (Left-Amiga D) Presents the user with the CUSTOM PLOT WINDOW for each data set in succession. ALIGN VERTICAL Aligns the selected points and text by their: Left Edges Centres Right Edges ALIGN HORIZONTAL Aligns selected points and text by their: Tops Centres Bottoms AXIS SCALE LOCKS Allows either the X or Y dimension to be frozen while the other is zoomed or rescaled and allows arrangement of the scale of the plot to best advantage. The sub item ÒX RegionÓ will lock the amount of zoom in the X axis. The lock may be turned off by reselecting the sub item. The same applies for the ÒY RegionÓ selection. The ÒBoth Locks OnÓ selection will lock both axes. They can be both turned off with ÒBoth Locks OffÓ. Unless locked, the following options will reset the view of your data: Full Plot, Linear Fit, Smooth and Logarithmic Fit. AXIS VALUE LOCKS Allows either the X or Y axis values to remain unchanged despite rescaling of the axis. This option allows the editing of axis values to create text labels without having them moved or overwritten. THE OPTIONS MENU CROSS HAIR (Left-Amiga L) Provides a cross hair for the cursor to assist with zooming, sliding and movement of points and text blocks. COORDINATES Opens the COORDINATES WINDOW providing the pixel location of the pointer over the currently active PLOT WINDOW. AXES Allows the selection of a box frame, X and Y axes or no axes marked. X and Y (Left-Amiga Y) Box (Left-Amiga B) None RIGHT MARGIN (Left-Amiga M) Toggles the right margin space for legends. PALETTE The screen palette may be altered by calling this requester. The only non obvious feature of the requester is that by clicking the left mouse button on the RGB characters, the requester is converted to a hue/saturation/lightness requester for those who think that way. SIG FIGURES Allows the number of significant figures of axis values and formulae to be set independently. This option only applies to values calculated subsequent to its selection. To change values already on screen, it is necessary to force a recalculation. For axis values this can be achieved by selecting ACTIONS/Full Plot or ACTIONS/Redefine Plot. To alter legends of line fits, the line fit needs to be deleted and recalculated. ERROR BARS Toggles the X and Y error bars on and off. If a data set is loaded without error bars, and error data is added later via the EDIT POINT window, it will be necessary to select this option to get them rendered. If error bars are unimportant, this option should be turned off to speed screen refresh times. This option is set and saved as part of the plot defaults file and the new Multiplot File Format 2 data file format. THE FUNCTIONS MENU SORT DATA This option will place the data points in order of ascending X value. This allows other manipulations of the data which require this format. SMOOTH DATA Select a data set by clicking the left mouse button near one of its points, and then select one of the subitems from this menu option. Filter A new data set will be created in which each Y value is set to the mean of the surrounding Y values from the original data set. A requester will appear enabling you to enter the number of values each side of the point for the mean to be taken over. This option is most suitable for smoothing data sets containing large numbers of points. Interpolate A new data set will be created in which intermediate data points are added to create a smooth curve tracking the original data. This option is most suitable for smoothing data sets with relatively few points. It is sometimes useful to provide intermediate points before filtering to provide a smoother curve. LINEAR FIT A new data set will be created which will represent a straight line fit of the selected data set. The formula of the line is shown in the legend. The current axis settings are taken into account for linear fits of data. For example, if the Y axis is logarithmic and the X axis linear, an exponential fit is produced (a straight line on a lin/log scale). If the X axis is logarithmic and the Y axis linear, a log fit is produced (a straight line on a log/lin scale). Similarly, log/log and true linear fits are also available. POLYNOMIAL FIT Creates a new data set displaying a polynomial fit of the selected data set. A window allows selection of the order of fit. High order fits may require extended calculation times. A new data set will be created which will represent the fit of the data. The formula of the line will be displayed as its legend if the is sufficient room. AREXX MACRO (Left-Amiga G) Opens the file requester to select an ARexx macro for execution. COMMAND KEY SEQUENCES Multiplot fully supports keyboard shortcuts using the right Amiga key. A full list of shortcuts and mnemonics is listed below: Key Command Mnemonic A PROJECT/Add file dd File B OPTIONS/Axes/Box ox C EDIT/Copy opy D ACTIONS/ReDefine Plot Reefine Plot E PROJECT/Exit Graph xit Graph F ACTIONS/Full Plot ull Plot G FUNCTIONS/ARexx Macro o ARexx H PROJECT/Save as/HPGL PGL I PROJECT/Save as/ILBM LBM J not used K PROJECT/Save as/DrawSave AD format L OPTIONS/Cross Hair Hair ines M OPTIONS/Right Margin argin N PROJECT/New Graph ew Graph O PROJECT/Open File pen P PROJECT/Print

rint Q PROJECT/Quit uit R ACTIONS/Redraw edraw S PROJECT/Save ave T PROJECT/SaveAs/IntroCAD InroCAD U ACTIONS/Update pdate V EDIT/Paste Commodore guidelines W PROJECT/Save as/Data rite data X EDIT/Cut Commodore guidelines Y OPTIONS/Axes/X and Y X and Z EDIT/Undelete Commodore guidelines Please note that there are three other keyboard shortcuts that allow you to swap between mouse actions. These also require that the right Amiga key is held down. Shift-1 (!) ACTION/Mouse Action/Select Shift-3 (#) ACTION/Mouse Action/Zoom Shift-6 (^) ACTION/Mouse Action/Slide The Escape and Delete keys are supported: Esc PROJECT/Quit Del EDIT/Delete The Alt key is used to activate the curve reader. Holding down the Alt key while clicking the left mouse button while in SELECT mode will result in a window that displays the X and Y co-ordinates of the pointer. The Shift key activates group selection when in SELECT mode. The Ctrl key allows selection of a single data point instead of a whole data set when in SELECT mode. The 'v' key restricts movement of selected items to vertical. The 'h' key restricts movement of selected items to horizontal. CHAPTER 5: TECHNICAL INFORMATION USING THE PLT: DEVICE 1) The PLT-handler must be in your l: directory, and the mountlist entry for PLT: added to the devs:mountlist (WB2.0) or The device driver to be placed in the storage/dosdrivers directory (WB2.1). 2) A printer MUST be chosen within the Printer Preferences program. Failure to do this courts certain disaster! 3) You do not need to mount the device. Multiplot will mount PLT: automatically if it is not already mounted. 4) PLT: opens its own window on the WorkBench when it starts up. This window relays information about how much of the image has been printed and the remaining system memory. It also provides a "close gadget" (The square with a dot in it for closing windows) which will abort the print. Use the left-Amiga-M and left-Amiga-N key combinations to switch between Multiplot's screen and the WorkBench or else run Multiplot on the WorkBench screen using the PUBSCREEN=Workbench start-up option. 5) Multiplot checks for the presence of the PLT-handler in the L: directory before attempting to mount PLT:. If this file is not present, Multiplot will not print, even if the PLT: device has been mounted by some other mechanism. 6) The PLT: device checks the print resolution requested in preferences. If you want the nicest possible quality print-outs from Multiplot, set your printer density setting to "7". 7) PLT: currently has a bug which prevents it from handling two tasks simultaneously. Do not attempt to print preview while printing or print two files at once. 8) PLT: is unable to be used while the printer is engaged in any task. SCREEN MODES Multiplot is designed to be run on an interlaced screen. Occasionally it may be desired to run Multiplot on a non-interlaced screen. This may be achieved by using the SCREENMODE start-up option. Please note: * The vertical stretching of the buttons in the requesters results in some confusion, especially of the orientation button in the Print Setup window. * The default fonts should be altered to a font suited for non-interlace screens. This can be achieved by selecting suitable fonts and saving the defaults by selecting the PROJECT/Defaults/Save option. * The vertical stretching of the printed output can be reduced to an acceptable level by making the PLOT WINDOW as tall as possible and decreasing its width a little. MEMORY CONSERVATION Multiplot can be used successfully on Amigas with 1 Mb RAM or 1/2 Mb chip ram if care is taken to conserve memory. The following measures should be used either separately or together, depending on requirements: 1) Assign T: to a disk, not RAM. Multiplot uses the T: directory to write temporary files. 2) Assign CLIPS: to a disk, not RAM. Multiplot uses the CLIPS: directory to store data pasted to the clipboard. 3) Use a reduced Multiplot screen size by setting SCREENWIDTH and SCREENHEIGHT in the start-up options. 4) Use a reduced number of bitplanes for the Multiplot screen by setting the SCREENDEPTH start-up option. 5) Run Multiplot on the WorkBench by setting the PUBSCREEN start-up option If Multiplot is run on a PAL Amiga with a non interlaced, non overscanned, 1 bitplane (2 colour) screen, it uses 270 Kb before loading data, and 300 Kb after loading a moderately large data file. TEXT IN MULTIPLOT Multiplot supports three kinds of text: Operator independent, operator semidependent and operator dependent. Operator Independent Text The Y axis labels are operator independent. Their text is rendered in a pre-set position and cannot be moved. Its content can be edited by double clicking the left mouse button over the Y Axis containing the label, and then clicking the left mouse button on the LABEL button which calls up the EDIT TEXT WINDOW for the axis label. Operator Semi-Dependent Text The legends, title, X Axis label and axis values are operator semi-dependent. They are created in a default position but may be moved by select-dragging and edited by double clicking. The legends are created with a small line in the relevant colour and line-type to their left and are placed in the right margin which is sized to fit them in an aesthetically pleasing manner. The axis values are a special type of Operator Semi-Dependent text. In general, Multiplot tries to update the axis values as you change the characteristics of your graph. For example, if you zoom in or out, Multiplot will replace the axis values with new values. If you decide to toggle the right margin, Multiplot will move the axis values with the associated tic mark to the correct position on the axis. Disarray of semi-dependent text can be corrected by selecting the ACTIONS/Update menu option. Changes in the axis tic values may not be desired, and can be avoided by turning the Axis Values Lock ON, either by the OPTIONS/Lock menu or by setting the Values Lock within the edit Axis window (double click the left mouse button over the axis). Operator Dependent Text Any text added to enhance a plot (arbitrary text) must be dragged to the desired location by the user. It can be edited or deleted in the normal manner. FONTS Text representation in Multiplot is complicated by the bit mapped nature of the Amiga fonts. Multiplot handles graphics by vector mapping. That is, it draws lines by deciding on a starting point and an end point and joining them with a line of the highest resolution it can. This is why it manages to support CAD and DTP programs through its various output formats, why it can draw to a screen of any size, and why its printed output looks so smooth. The Amiga fonts are bit mapped. That is rather like drawing by colouring in the squares of a crossword puzzle. Multiplot has to try to cope with the inability of Amiga fonts to scale or provide satisfactory printed output. As a result, Multiplot maintains two "layers". The lower layer is scalable and contains the data points, lines, axes, tics and error bars. The upper, superimposed layer is the bit mapped layer in which the Amiga fonts reside. This layer does not scale. On screen text in Multiplot represents the actual location and size of printed text as a proportion of the graph's overall dimensions. Text size and shape may be altered either by changing the font or by changing the PLOT WINDOW dimensions. The larger the window, the smaller the text will appear relative to the overall page size. Similarly, text characters may be made to appear taller by shortening the height of the window. The printed font used is the HPGL default font, which is similar to Courier. On screen, this font may be represented by any mono-spaced font. The font requester allows you to select a font of any size, including sizes not available on your Fonts: directory. While these sizes may not appear attractive on screen, they will print as well as any other size. It is important to remember these general principles: Multiplot is WYSIWYG ("What you see is what you get") IF the same font type is used on-screen as is used for output. As HPGL uses fixed-width fonts, Print Preview and WB printer output will only resemble the screen contents if a fixed width screen font is used like Courier or Topaz. If a proportional font like Helvetica is chosen for Postscript output, you should choose a proportional font for screen use also. These precautions will ensure optimal placement of axis values and text in the printed output. The PSFONT startup options affect the postscript output fonts only and not the on screen fonts which the user can set independently. MULTIPLE GRAPHS IN MULTIPLOT Multiplot allows the editing of multiple graphs at the same time in separate PLOT WINDOWs. Every open graph is printed if the PROJECT/Print option is chosen by using a "virtual page" system. Graphs can be swapped to the front by selecting the PROJECT/Swap Graph menu option. If more that 2 graphs are in memory, a requester will ask for the graph number to swap to. Each graph maintains its own Print Setup window which controls where on the printed page its graph will appear, what size it will be, and which orientation (portrait or landscape). On selecting PROJECT/Print each graph in memory will be printed according to its own print set-up on the same page. While the page is in memory it is referred to as a virtual page, because although it exists only in memory, it is possible to draw on it as one might on a real page. If you do not wish a currently open Plot to be printed when you print, you must turn off the PRINT button in the PRINT SETUP WINDOW for that plot. The virtual page can be viewed by choosing the PROJECT/Print Preview menu option. In addition to printing, file saves in Postscript, Encapsulated postscript and HPGL support the virtual page, and will write files describing all graphs in memory. IFF, IntroCAD and Draw saves only save the currently active graph which is the one visible in the active Plot window. NOTES ON OUTPUT FILE FORMATS Currently Draw, IntroCAD, and mCAD saves do not include the numbers or labels on axes. This is because of the lack of font support in these programs. Draw saves require the program plot2draw to be in the MPlot_support directory. IntroCAD saves require the program txt_2_icad to be in the MPlot_support directory. EPSF and postscript saves require the program HPGL2PS to be in the MPlot_support directory . Also note: 1) Neither Professional Page nor PageStream handle Draw files with large dimensions very well. If your dimensions are greater than 200 units, these programs often scramble the data. Rescale your data to keep within these limits if you wish to import to either of these programs. Data may be rescaled by adding a line to the data file which begins with "*SCALFACT*" and contains scale factors by which data following is to be multiplied. Scale factor columns map to data columns after the keyword "*SCALFACT*" is discarded. 2) Professional Page does not recognise Draw format line types. All line type information is lost in transferring Draw format plots to Professional Page. 3) PixelScript does not support PostScript line types. All line type information is lost when transferring postscript output to Pixel Script. 4) mCAD does not handle plots with small dimensions very well. If your data is in hundredths of units, mCAD will not plot anything on the screen. This can be corrected by using *SCALFACT* to rescale data. 5) CAD file formats are very poorly optimised. As a result, saves of large plots may take a long time. INPUT FILE FORMAT Multiplot accepts a simple ASCII file for input of data. This file may be written on any text editor, including the NotePad, or may be generated as a textfile from a spreadsheet. Multiplot does not choke on the linefeed/carriage-return of IBM style spreadsheets. The data must consist of columns of numbers and need not contain text. Text heading the file will be ignored and may be used for an explanatory note. Blank lines or lines of text interrupting the columns of numbers are interpreted as separating sets of data, and each set will be plotted individually in, for example, a different colour or point size. See "plotme.dat" or "eric.dat" for examples of the input file format. Multiplot saves data in a special file format called Multiplot File Format 2. MFF2 contains a header which describes the plot defaults, axes, labels and text. The body of the file contains columns of data in the format described above for input. Each row contains values describing a separate point. Each point may be described by a value for X, Y, high error in X, low error in X, high error in Y, and low error in Y. The two left most columns are always X and Y. If the file contains only 4 columns, the following two columns may be either high and low errors in X or Y. If the file contains 6 columns the order is (left to right) X, Y, high error in X, low error in X, high error in Y, low error in Y. Data sets are separated by a blank line and a header describing how the data set is to be rendered and describing its associated legend. Text is saved with information describing the font, character size and screen location. Multiplot XLNf can also read the files written by the previous version of Multiplot, XLNe. Unfortunately some information is lost due to incompatibilities, particularly in the way text is recorded. CLIPBOARD CLIP FORMAT The clipboard format conforms to the MFF2 file format except that the file header is not saved. Data sets are saved complete with the header information describing the colour, point size, line type etc. All saved text is saved in the text format described above. When interpreting a file pasted from clipboard, Multiplot will assume the left most column contains X values and the next Y values. If only three columns are present, the third column is assumed to be error in Y (symmetrical). If four columns are present, the third column is assumed to be high error in Y and the fourth is assumed to be low error in Y. If there are five columns, the third is assumed to be symmetrical error in X, the fourth high error in Y and the fifth low error in Y. If more than five column are present, the column order is interpreted as for the MFF2 file format. DEFAULT FILE FORMAT The default file format contains two parts. The first part described the 16 pens available within Multiplot. Each pen is described on a single line by colour (three values, one each for the red, green and blue components) and a pen width. The second part of the default file contains a FF2 file header describing the plot defaults, axes and text. CHAPTER 6: AREXX The best way of learning any programming language is by example. An ARexx Macro Examples disk is available for $5 USD plus postage and packaging. This disk includes all the examples below as well as a collection of useful macros for manipulating data and performing simple statistical analysis. STARTING OUT Multiplot will automatically open an ARexx port on start-up providing it can open the rexxsyslib.library library and ARexx is running. The port will be named MULTIPLOT.nn unless defined otherwise using PORTNAME start-up options. This port may be used as a user interface to control all of Multiplot's functions. An ARexx macro interacting with Multiplot must contain a comment line at the start. It must then set the command address to Multiplot's port. Then any lines following will be sent to Multiplot for interpretation. Example 1: /* This is a simple example script to get past the DATA SELECTION WINDOW*/ address MULTIPLOT.01 /* The above line tells ARexx that you want to control Multiplot */ 'FILE' /* The above line clears the file name */ 'CONTINUE' /* The above line closes the DATA SELECTION WINDOW */ /* End script */ Multiplot has ARexx "modes" which are the equivalents of the currently open windows or requesters. You can ask Multiplot which window is currently receiving ARexx commands by sending a 'QUERY' command. Multiplot will then return a string stating its current mode. Commands that result in a message requester do not generate an ARexx message. The requester will, however, answer a 'QUERY' and reply with the error message. System requesters (such as the "Insert disk X:" requester) do not support ARexx and must be either disabled or dealt with individually. Each mode supports a subset of commands and if a command is received that is not supported, Multiplot will return an error code. Neither the ABOUT WINDOW nor the INTRODUCTION WINDOW uses the ARexx port. As they both require input by mouse or keyboard to clear, neither window should be opened from an ARexx script. To avoid the INTRODUCTION WINDOW, use the QUIET start-up option. The ABOUT WINDOW cannot be opened by ARexx command and does not require any special handling to avoid. GLOBAL AREXX COMMANDS The following commands are available in all windows with the few exceptions noted below. QUERY Returns a value describing the currently active window and often provides other useful information. The exact format of the returned value depends on the current window and is described for each window individually below. ERROR N Returns text describing the error resulting in the error code supplied where N is the error code. ASK Opens an ASK WINDOW to query the user and returns the text of the reply, either "OKAY" or "CANCEL". This option is unavailable from the ASK and MESSAGE WINDOWs. SAY Opens a MESSAGE WINDOW to notify the user of . This option is unavailable from the ASK and MESSAGE WINDOWs. PULL Opens a PULL WINDOW to query the user for a value and returns that text. THE MESSAGE WINDOW This window is used to inform the user of errors, warnings or to pass other messages. The supported commands are: QUERY Returns "MESREQ " CONTINUE Closes MESSAGE WINDOW, acknowledging the message. STOP Closes MESSAGE WINDOW, acknowledging the message. THE ASK WINDOW This window asks the user a question which must be answered by either confirming or negating the question. The supported commands are: QUERY Returns "ASKREQ " POSTEXT Returns text describing the positive option. NEGTEXT Returns text describing the negative option. CONFIRM Closes ASK WINDOW, accepting positive option. CONTINUE Closes ASK WINDOW, accepting positive option. DENY Closes ASK WINDOW accepting negative option. STOP Closes ASK WINDOW accepting negative option. THE DATA SELECTION WINDOW This window provides a way of setting the input file name and the column numbers to be read for data within that file. The supported commands are: QUERY Returns "DATSEL filename" CONTINUE Closes window, accepting current settings, continuing on to the Plot window. QUIT Closes window rejecting changes and quits Multiplot if there is no open PLOT WINDOW. STOP Closes window rejecting changes and quits Multiplot if there is no open PLOT WINDOW. FILE [] If no file name is defined, clears the file name field allowing a blank plot to be opened. If file name is defined, loads that name into the FILE box of the window. REQ Opens the file requester to assist with locating a data file for input. COLUMN N XCOL|YCOL|ECOL|EDWN|XERR|XEDN Sets column number for a data type. Requires 2 arguments. The first (N) is numerical and is the column number. The second defines the data type, and must be one of the following: XCOL X values YCOL Y values ECOL Error in Y values EDWN Low error in Y values for asymmetrical errors XERR Error in X Values XEDN Low error in X values for asymmetrical errors THE PLOT WINDOW These windows (multiple windows may be open at a time) are used to render graphs. The currently active window is chosen with the 'ACTIVATE' command. To take the place of mouse controlled object and group selection is the 'SELECT' command. In order to make this command as flexible as possible, object selection involves multiple actions. Example 2: To select and edit a data set requires 3 steps: 1) Select data set, 2) Confirm selection and 3) Launch selection: /* This is a simple example script to open the Custom Plot Window for the first data set in a graph once on screen */ address MULTIPLOT.01 'SELECT SET 1' 'SELECT ADD' 'LAUNCH' /* End script */ Both legends and individual points are regarded as being part of a data set that must be selected first. Therefore selecting a point involves 4 steps: 1) Select data set, 2) Select point, 3) Confirm selection, and 4) Launch selection: Example 3: /* This is a simple example script to open the Edit Point Window for the fifth point in the first data set in a graph */ address MULTIPLOT.01 'SELECT SET 1' 'SELECT POINT 5' 'SELECT ADD' 'LAUNCH' /* End script */ Multiple objects can be selected by using 'SELECT ADD' to add them to the selection list. A group selection can be aborted by using the 'SELECT ABORT' command or by using 'SELECT REPLACE' to replace the current selection list with the most recently selected object. Example 4: The following is an example in which the legend, and first two points are deleted from a currently displayed data set: /* This is a simple example script to delete the legend and first two points first data set in a graph */ address MULTIPLOT.01 /* simple so far */ 'SELECT SET 1' 'SELECT TEXT' 'SELECT ADD' /* The above 3 lines selects the legend from the first data set */ 'SELECT SET 1' 'SELECT POINT 1' 'SELECT ADD' /* The above 3 lines selects the first point from the first data set and adds it to the existing selection */ 'SELECT SET 1' 'SELECT POINT 2' 'SELECT ADD' /* The above 3 lines select the second point from the first data set and adds it to the previous selection */ 'CUT'' /* The above line cuts the selection to clipboard */ /* End script */ Data may be exchanged between Multiplot and the ARexx script using the PEEK, POKE and PULL commands which work through the Rexx Variables Interface. The PEEK command copies data from Multiplot and places it in specially named variables. ARexx scripts may "PEEK" at either a single point or at all the values from a data set. The POKE command copies data from the ARexx script and places it within a selected point or data set. Again the data transferred is copied from a specially named variable. The PULL command is available from all windows and was described above in the section on Global Commands. Below is a full list of supported ARexx commands: QUERY Returns "PLOWIN N" Where is the current plot and N is the number of data sets within that graph. PEEK N [NOVALS|XVALS|YVALS|EVALS|EDWN|XEVALS|XEDWN] Copies data from the Nth selected item to be stored with in the ARexx program as a variable with the same name as the selected option. If a point is peeked at (ie the Nth selection is a selected point) then the option key word is not used and the point's values are stored in an ARexx variable named POINTVALS as text containing six words describing the X, Y, high error in X, low error in X, high error in Y and low error in Y in that order. If a data set is peeked at (ie the Nth selection is a selected data set) then the following key words effect the response by Multiplot: NOVALS Stores a single word describing the number of values in the data set in an ARexx value called "NOVALS". XVALS Stores a text string with all the X values of the data set in a value called "XVALS". YVALS Stores a text string with all the Y values of the data set in a value called "YVALS". EVALS Stores a text string with all the high error in Y values of the data set in a value called "EVALS". EDWN Stores a text string with all the low error in Y values of the data set in a value called "EDWN". XEVALS Stores a text string with all the high error in X values of the data set in a value called "XEVALS". XEDWN Stores a text string with all the low error in X values of the data set in a value called "XEDWN". POKE N [NOVALS|XVALS|YVALS|EVALS|EDWN|XEVALS|XEDWN] Copies data to the Nth selected item from an ARexx program variable with the same name as the selected option. If a point is poked at (ie the Nth selection is a selected point) then the option key word is not used and the point's values are read from an ARexx variable named POINTVALS as text containing six words describing the X, Y, high error in X, low error in X, high error in Y and low error in Y in that order. If a data set is poked at (ie the Nth selection is a selected data set) then the following key words effect the response by Multiplot: NOVALS Ensures that the selected data set has NOVALS number of values in it ready to receive that number of data points on a subsequent POKE command where NOVALS is the name of a variable set within the ARexx script. If a data set has too few values, it will be enlarged to hold NOVALS number of points. XVALS Reads a text string stored in an ARexx variable called "XVALS" and copies the values to the selected data set's X values. YVALS Reads a text string stored in an ARexx variable called "YVALS" and copies the values to the selected data set's Y values. EVALS Reads a text string stored in an ARexx variable called "EVALS" and copies the values to the selected data set's high error in Y values. EDWN Reads a text string stored in an ARexx variable called "EDWN" and copies the values to the selected data set's low error in Y values. XEVALS Reads a text string stored in an ARexx variable called "XEVALS" and copies the values to the selected data set's high error in X values. XEDWN Reads a text string stored in an ARexx variable called "XEDWN" and copies the values to the selected data set's low error in X values. OPEN Closes all open plots and provides the Data Selection Window to select a new data file. ADDFILE Opens the Data Selection Window, to add data file selected to the currently active Plot Window. NEWGRAPH Opens the Data Selection Window, to load data file selected into a new Plot Window. ACTIVATE N Activates (selects) the Nth Plot Window. CLOSEGRAPH Closes currently activated Plot Window. SAVE Saves data file with current file name. HPGLSAVE Saves all open plots as an HPGL file. MCADSAVE Saves currently active Plot Window as a MCAD file. ILBMSAVE Saves screen as an IFF ILBM file. DRAWSAVE Saves all open plots as a DRAW file. PSCRSAVE Saves all open plots as a Postscript file. EPSFSAVE Saves all open plots as an encapsulated Postscript file. ICADSAVE Saves currently active Plot Window as an IntroCAD file. DATSAVE Saves currently active Plot Window as a Multiplot data file. SADEF Saves default settings. PREVIEW Provides print preview. PROPT Allows setting print options via the Print Setup Window. PRINT Prints all open graphs. QUIT Closes all Plot Windows and quits Multiplot. SELECT ABORT|REPLACE|ADD|(SET N)|(TEXT [N])|(POINT N) Selects the indicated object. Is the ARexx equivalent of "single clicking" the left mouse button in the indicated object. Note above explanation of the use of SELECT and its options. The supported modifiers are: ABORT Cancels selection in process REPLACE Accepts selection, replacing previously selected objects ADD Accepts selection, adding it to previously selected objects SET N Selects the Nth data set. TEXT [N] If data set selected but not confirmed, this option modifies selection to indicate the legend of the selected data set. If no data set is selected, it selects the Nth additional text in the currently activated Plot Window. POINT N Used to modify selection of a data set to indicate the Nth point of that set. UNSELECT Dumps list of selected objects. LAUNCH Launches selected objects. Is the ARexx equivalent of "double clicking" the left mouse button. UNDELETE Replaces any deleted selections. CUT Copies currently selected objects to clip board then deletes them from currently activated Plot Window. COPY Copies currently selected objects to clip board. PASTE Pastes clipboard contents to currently activated Plot Window. DELETE Deletes currently selected objects. TEXTADD Adds string as an additional text label. SETADD Opens Custom Plot Window and subsequent Edit Point Windows to permit addition of a new data set to the currently active Plot Window. POINTADD Opens the Edit Point Window to define an additional point which is added to the currently selected (and confirmed) data set. AXISADD Adds a new Y Axis. EDAXIS YAXIS|XAXIS [N] Opens the Edit Axis Window to open the indicated axis. If the YAXIS modifier is used, the optional numerical modifier indicates that the Nth Y axis is to be edited. EDTITLE Opens the Edit Text Window to modify the title text. FULLPLOT Resets axis dimensions and replots current graph to fit within new axes. REDRAW Refreshes graph rendering. REPLOT Recalculates text positions and scaling, then redraws graph. DEFINEPLOT Sequentially opens an Custom Plot window for each data set in current graph. COORDWINDOW Opens the Coordinate window which displays current pixel locations of the mouse pointer. FUNCTION SORT|FILTER|INTERP|SLINE|POLY N Performs one of the following functions on the currently selected data set. SORT Sorts the points into ascending X values. FILTER Smoothes data set by a rolling mean method producing a new data set displaying the result. INTERP Smoothes data set by an open B-spline interpolation method producing a new data set displaying the result. SPLINE Calculates a best straight line fit of data by the least squares method producing a new data set displaying the result. POLY N Calculates a polynomial to the Nth order (where N must be an integer from 1 to 5) best fit of data using a Gauss- Seidel iterative technique producing a new data set displaying the result. SFIGS VAL|FORM Sets the number of significant figures used in calculating the following: VAL Axis tic values. FORM Values used in formulae produced from functions. YERRBARS ON|OFF Sets the display of Y error bars (if data is present) to: ON; or OFF. XERRBARS ON|OFF Sets the display of Y error bars (if data is present) to: ON; or OFF. RMARGIN ON|OFF Switches display of the right margin in which data set legends may be displayed to: ON; or OFF. XHAIR ON|OFF Switches between normal mouse pointer and cross- hair cursor. ON Displays cross-hair. OFF Displays mouse pointer. ALIGN (VERTICAL LEFT|CENTRE|RIGHT)|(HORIZONTAL TOP|CENTRE|BOTTOM) Aligns selected items either vertically or horizontally. VERTICAL Aligns selected items vertically LEFT By their left edges. CENTRE By their centres. RIGHT By their right edges. HORIZONTAL Aligns selected items horizontally TOP By their tops. CENTRE By their centres. BOTTOM By their bottoms. FORMAT XANDY|BOX|NONE Sets the format of the axes. The possible selections are: XANDY Stem and leaf (X and Y) axes. BOX Box axes. NONE No axes. Example 5: /* Hi Let's try this one */ address MULTIPLOT.01 'FILE DATA/PLOTME.DAT' /* The above line sets the input file */ 'COL 1 XCOL' 'COL 2 YCOL' 'COL 3 ECOL' 'COL 4 EDWN' 'COL 3 XERR' 'COL 4 XERR' /* The above 6 lines set the data columns for the input file */ 'CONTINUE' /* The above line closes the SELECT DATA WINDOW */ 'YERR OFF' 'XERR OFF' /* The above 2 lines turn off the rendering of error bars */ 'FULLPLOT' /*The above line replots the graph at the largest size that just fits within the axes. */ /* end script */ THE CUSTOM PLOT WINDOW This window allows the user to choose how each data set is represented: the colour, line type, point type and size, which Y axis it is rendered on and the type of plot (points, line, both, bar, impulse, step). The supported ARexx commands are: QUERY Returns "CUSTPLOT Set number N" Where N is the set number. POINT N [SQUARE|PLUS|STAR|TIMES|DIAMOND|TRIANGLE] Sets point size to N and the point shape to one of: SQUARE PLUS STAR TIMES DIAMOND TRIANGLE LINETYPE N Sets line type to line pattern number N. COLOUR N Sets colour of data set to colour number N. YAXIS N Sets the data set to be plotted in the Nth Y Axis. PLOT POINT|LINE|BOTH|STEP|IMPULSE|BAR Sets the data set to be plotted as one of the following: POINT A series of points in the current colour, point type and size. LINE A line rendered in current colour and line type. BOTH A series of points in the current colour, point type and size joined by a line rendered in current colour and line type. STEP A stepped line rendered in current colour and line type. IMPULSE A series of lines rendered in current colour and line type that extend from points rendered in the current colour, point type and size to the X Axis. BAR A series of bars rendered in current colour and line type that extend to the X Axis. CONTINUE Accepts current changes, closes the custom plot window and replots the graph. STOP Cancels any changes, closes the custom plot window and replots the graph. SKIP Closes the custom plot window and replots the graph without rendering the currently selected data set. KILL Closes the custom plot window and replots the graph after deleting the currently selected data set. Example 6: /* This ARexx script formats Plotme.dat into two stacked Y axes and selects points and line types for the data sets. */ address MULTIPLOT.01 'FILE DATA/PLOTME.DAT' 'COL 1 XCOL' 'COL 2 YCOL' 'CONTINUE' /* The above 4 lines set the filename and data columns, then load data */ 'AXISADD' /* The above line adds a second Y axis stacked above the first */ 'SELECT SET 1' 'SELECT ADD' 'LAUNCH' /* The above 3 lines open the CUSTOM PLOT WINDOW to edit the first data set */ 'PLOT POINT' 'POINT 12 STAR' 'YAXIS 2' 'COLOUR 1' 'CONTINUE' /* The above 5 lines set the data set to be plotted in colour 1 as 12 pixel high points shaped like stars in the second (upper) Y Axis */ 'SELECT SET 3' 'SELECT ADD' 'LAUNCH' /* The above 3 lines open the CUSTOM PLOT WINDOW to edit the third data set */ 'PLOT LINE' 'LINETYPE 1' 'YAXIS 2' 'COLOUR 1' 'CONTINUE' /* The above 5 lines set the data set to be plotted in colour 1 solid lines in the second (upper) Y Axis */ 'SELECT SET 2' 'SELECT ADD' 'LAUNCH' 'PLOT POINT' 'POINT 12 TRIANGLE' 'YAXIS 1' 'COLOUR 2' 'CONTINUE' /*****/ 'SELECT SET 4' 'SELECT ADD' 'LAUNCH' 'PLOT LINE' 'LINETYPE 2' 'YAXIS 1' 'COLOUR 2' 'CONTINUE' /*****/ 'FULLPLOT' /* end script */ THE EDIT AXIS WINDOW This window allows the user to set the minimum and maximum values, the tic numbers, types, colours, line patterns, as well as the axis text label, type, and position. The supported ARexx commands are: QUERY Returns "EDAXIS ? Axis N" Where ? is either X or Y, and N is an integer indicating the Y axis number. LABEL Opens Edit Text Window to add or change the axis label. GRID BIG|SMALL [N1 [N2 [N3]]] Sets characteristics of the grid or tics on the axis. The following arguments may be used: BIG Switch keyword indicating that the big tics will be affected by changes. SMALL Switch keyword indicating that the small tics will be affected by changes. N1 An integer indicating the new number of subdivisions. N2 An integer indicating the sort of subdivision marking. If is '0', indicates that tic marks should be used. Otherwise a value from 1 - 6 indicates line type for grid lines. N3 An integer indicating the number of the colour for the grid or tics to be rendered in. SCALE MIN|MAX N Sets the minimum or maximum axis values where: MIN Is a switch keyword which sets the minimum axis value. MAX Is a switch keyword which sets the maximum axis value. N is a decimal value. TYPE LIN|LOG|CAT Sets the axis type to one of the following: LIN Linear LOG Logarithmic CAT Category POSITION RIGHT|LEFT Sets the position of the Y axis to either the right or the left. RIGHT Sets position to the right of the plot. LEFT Sets the position to the left of the plot. LOCKS SCALE|VALUES ON|OFF Sets the axis locks on or off. SCALE Switch keyword indicating the axis scale lock. VALUES Switch keyword indicating the axis values lock. ON Turns lock on. OFF Turns lock off. CONTINUE Closes Edit Axis Window, accepting current changes. STOP Closes Edit Axis Window, discarding current changes. KILL Deletes current Y axis if more than one Y axis present. THE EDIT POINT WINDOW This window allows the user to set the values of an individual point. Supported ARexx commands are: QUERY Returns the string "POINTED Point number N1 of set number N2" where the point is the N1st point of the N2nd data set. SET N XVAL|YVAL|EVAL|EDWN|XERR|XEDN Sets a point value to N where N is a decimal number. XVAL Sets X value. YVAL Sets Y value. EVAL Sets high error in Y value. EDWN Sets low error in Y value. XERR Sets high error in X value. XEDN Sets low error in X value. CONTINUE Closes Edit Point Window, accepting current changes. STOP Closes Edit Point Window, discarding current changes. THE EDIT TEXT WINDOW This window allows the user to set the text, font and point size of text. Supported ARexx commands are: QUERY Returns the string "TEXTED " TEXT Sets the text to . If is not defined, clears text from the text box. FONT Sets the font to . SIZE N Sets font size to N pixels in height. CONTINUE Closes Edit Text Window, accepting current changes. STOP Closes Edit Text Window, discarding current changes. Example 7: /* This example ARexx script demonstrates the use of some of the ARexx commands available for manipulating the Edit Axis and Edit Text Windows */ address MULTIPLOT.01 'FILE DATA/PLOTME.DAT' 'COL 1 XCOL' 'COL 2 YCOL' 'CONTINUE' 'AXISADD' 'EDAXIS Y 1' 'SCALE MIN 10' 'SCALE MAX 60' 'GRID BIG 5 1 2' 'GRID SMALL 2 2 2' 'LABEL' 'TEXT LEFT' 'CONTINUE' 'CONTINUE' 'EDAXIS Y 2' 'SCALE MIN 30' 'SCALE MAX 50' 'GRID BIG 5 1 2' 'GRID SMALL 2 2 2' 'POSITION RIGHT' 'LABEL' 'TEXT RIGHT' 'CONTINUE' 'CONTINUE' 'FORMAT BOX' 'SELECT SET 3' 'SELECT ADD' 'LAUNCH' 'YAXIS 2' 'PLOT LINE' 'CONTINUE' 'SELECT SET 4' 'SELECT ADD' 'LAUNCH' 'PLOT LINE' 'CONTINUE' 'SELECT SET 1' 'SELECT REPLACE' 'SELECT SET 2' 'SELECT ADD' 'DELETE' 'REPLOT' /* end script */ THE PRINT SETUP WINDOW This window allows the user to alter global printing settings as well as control the printing of plots individually. The supported ARexx commands are: QUERY Returns the string "SETPRINT" PEN N1 [N2] Sets the N1st pen to N2 points wide. Multiplot uses the pen concept borrowed from pen plotters in which each pen can be set with an individual colour and pen width. GRAPH ON|OFF Controls the rendering of the currently active graph. ON Ensures the currently active graph is printed when the PROJECT/Print menu option is selected. OFF Prevents the currently active graph being printed. SPOOL ON|OFF Switches on or off the print spool. MODE COLOUR|COLOR|B&W Sets the print out to either colour or black and white. COLOUR Prints in colour. COLOR Prints in colour. B&W Prints in black and white. CONTINUE Closes Print Setup Window, accepting current changes. CHAPTER 7: HINTS AND TIPS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q: What can I do to improve the appearance of the printed output on my dot matrix printer? A: One way to enhance the appearance of your printouts is to use different pen thicknesses. For example, the axes could be in a thick pen, and the grid lines in a finer pen. To do this ensure that objects you want in different thicknesses are in different colours. Then open the PRINT SETUP WINDOW (PROJECT/Print setup menu option) and set the desired pen thickness for each colour. Q: How do I get a line fit of only part of a data set? A: Group select (shift-control-select) and delete the unwanted data points. Select the set, choose the FUNCTIONS/Linear fit menu option, and select the EDIT/Undelete menu option. TROUBLE SHOOTING Problem: I am not American, and when I print, Multiplot tries to write on a page that is wider than the paper I use. Solution: Neither am I, and it does work! Ensure that the page width in the preferences program is set to "Narrow Tractor" and that you have not altered the PLT: start-up flags in the devs:mountlist file to indicate a larger page size. If necessary, the page size can be set in absolute terms in preferences. Problem: Sometimes when I run Multiplot, it doesn't seem to be able to find its palette file or the conversion utilities, even though they are right in its own directory. Solution: Multiplot remembers where these files are by their full path specification. If another disk or device exists with the same name as the disk Multiplot resides on, it may not be able to find the files. The commonest problem results from naming the Multiplot disk "Empty" or a data disk "Multiplot". Problem: When I try to print a plot, PLT can't find the file pltfontnames. Solution: Pltfontnames must reside in a device called PLTDATA:. This is best done by assigning PLTDATA: to the directory in which pltfontnames is kept. Problem: I set a data set to be shown as a line, and then changed my mind, and reset it as a point plot, but I forgot to change the point size, and the data set has disappeared, and I can't find any of the points to select it again. Solution: Use the Redefine Plot option on the ACTION menu to review all the settings for all data sets. When you get to the "lost" set, select a point size greater than zero. Problem: After setting the number of significant figures, I don't notice any change in the significant figures used in the legends. Solution: The significant figures option is accessed at the time the values are calculated. To change the number of significant figures in values on screen, you will need to force a recalculation by deleting the line fit, and recalculating it. Problem: I use WShell and am having trouble with many of the save menu options in Multiplot. Solution: A bug in WShell assumes that any CLI command in quotes ("") is an ARexx command. This contravenes Commodore guidelines and as yet I have not been able to devise a work around. W Hawes is aware of this problem. Problem: When I print, I get all the currently open graphs printing on top of each other. Solution: Activate each PLOT WINDOW in turn, open the PRINT SETUP window and either turn off the print button on the graohs you don't want to print, or size and position the plots so that they don't overlap. CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION CHANGES SINCE XLNe NOTE: Multiplot is now WB2.1 compatible. New Feature: Multiple windows supported. New Feature: Multiple Y axes supported. New Feature: Zounds! user interface added. New Feature: Support for asymmetrical errors in X added. New Feature: Data file contains more formatting information. New Feature: Save/Load default settings and axes added. New Feature: Improved PLT: support with pen colours and thicknesses settable. New Feature: Colour print preview. New Feature: Grid line types and colours user definable. New Feature: Auto alignment available. New Feature: Text font and size user definable. THE FUTURE Probable enhancements to come are: Direct printer support, DR2D output, advanced statistical analysis. Suggestions welcomed. BETA TESTERS WANTED If you are a registered user and would like to see the latest version of Multiplot, why not volunteer as a beta tester? Either notify when registering or write to the address below. CONCLUSION Multiplot was the first intuitive Data plotting program for the Amiga. It has since been joined by a number of other programs which enable the display of experimental data but is unrivalled for ease of use, stability and flexibility. It allows extremely rapid visualisation of experimental data with a wide selection of output formats. It does a simple job, but does it well. If you have suggestions, questions or bug finds, please write: Dr Alan G Baxter, Cambridge University Department of Pathology, Division of Immunology, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QP, UK agb16@phx.cam.ac.uk