\font Helvetica 15 \title Step by step example. We will produce a graph made of 3 rows of 3 planes each and output it as AegisDraw2000. The first step is data creation. To do so, use your favorite text editor. It is important that it should not produce a file containing special control characters that would not be recognized by JcGraph (stay ASCII international). After your text editor is loaded, start by entering "1002" (without the delimiters). This sequence help JcGraph identify the file type, to be sure that it is really compatible. Note that all value should be comma-separated. Next, enter the number of column that your file will contain, "3" in our example. Do the same thing for the number of line. Follows a number which will set the space between each cotation in the scale on the side of the graph; for example, if your data range from 0 to 100 and you specify 25, the cotation scale will output "0","25","50","75","100". This number use the same value unit as the data itself. The next number (floating point), is the one by which every cotation value will be multiplied ; for example, if you enter "1.24", each cotation of the scale will be muliplied by 1.24. This permits to access floating point value without changing the data itself. Note that only 3 decimals positions will be kept for now and that a value of 0 will result in an integer form (ie no decimal point). The next step is the value entry. As we chose to produce a 3 by 3 data file, there will be 9 consecutive values (they can be on the same line but should always be comma-separated). The 3 next value are text strings that will identify your columns (they should always be filled). Same procedure for each line. Note that the orientation is always the same. Rows represents variation and lines are diferent products type. Here is the resulting data file from the example: 1002, 3,3,10,0, 10,20,30, 50,60,60, 15,32,17, Jan,Fev,Mar, Gaz,Oil,Fer, Save this result as "test3X3.asc". The next major step is to load this data file in JcGraph. First, run JcGraph. Note that once JcGraph is startes, there can be a 3 to 5 second break before you see anything happen, this is normal. Now, choose "Open..." from the project menu (Amiga+O) IMPORTANT: JcGraph accepts command from the interface window only. So, every time you want to perform an operation, you should select it (if not already selected). It is also worth to mention that when there is no data loaded in JcGraph, the interface's title bar will display "No Data". A file requester will pop up asking "Choose an ASCII data file". It's utilisation is not described here for brievty but can get extended help by pressing HELP or SHIFT-F1 when it is active. Find et select your file "test3X3.asc" and select "Open" from the lower left corner of the file requester's window. The mouse pointer will change for a small clock until your data file is openned. This should'nt be long. The title bar should now display "test3X3.asc". The window titled "Preview" gives an approximation of what the final graph will look like, in this case, data is graphed as 3D blocks. For example purpose, we will choose another type of graphic. Choose "Load..." (Amiga+T) from the "GraphType" menu. Another file requester should appear. If JcGraph is correctly installed, a number of file ending with ".grf" extension should be listed in the window. You can now choose the type of graph that best suit your needs. For the example, choose "3D_BrokenPlanes.grf" then "Load...". After a short period of time, you should see the new graph type reflected in the Preview window. Note that the wireframe representation of the preview window is used for real-time manipulation, the final output is filled with colors. The actual three-dimensionnal perspective doesn't do justice to the 3D effect, so we will rotate the graph using the interface window's gadgets. There is two main section that divide the interface window: 1. To the left, there is two gadget labelled "Undo" and "Render". We will discuss their respective function later. 2. To the right, there is 4 lines of gadgets. These ones control rotation values and perspective of the graph. Line 1: Rotation around X. Line 2: Rotation around Y. Line 3: Rotation around Z. Line 4: Perspective control. For example purpose, we will not discuss these any further (they are described in section 5). For now, just select the first gadget from the top (the rectangular one, with a "0" in it) and replace the "0" by "-30". Press RETURN. Do the same with the next gadget, but this time, replace "0" by "30". You will immediatly see the change in the preview window. The effect is a lot more dynamic. Now, if you want to look at the final result, select the "Render" gadget from the interface window. The mouse pointer will change for a longer period of time. After a while, the pointer should get back to normal and you should see the final result in the Output window. If it is obscured by another window, just bring it to the front (but remember to click back in the interface window in order to do any other manipulation on the graph). From here, there could some constatation: 1. It's nice (I hope so :-) 2. It's too small. 3. You don't like the colors. We will solve all the problems, one at a time. 1. It's nice: That's not really a problem. 2. It's too small: Grab the sizing gadget (the one at the lower right of the Output window) and drag it to the desired size. Now, re-press "Render" and "voila!". 3. You don't like the colors: It is the next step. Color choice: Choose the "Color..." (Amiga+k) option under the "Edit" menu. A requester named "Data color selector" should pop up. To the left, you should see all available colors... to the right, the values to be colored. You will probably recognize the texts associated with each line of value. There is also two more entries named "Background" and "Floor" which will permits respectively to change the colors of the background, behind the data and the floor, under the data (compare with the final result for better understanding). Select "Floor". A white rectangle will appear around the selected area. Then, choose a color on the left. The little box at the left of the "Floor" text should reflects the color you selected. When you are satisfied with the color you choosed, click on the close gadget to validate your entry (the one at the upper-left of the window). To see the result, selct "Render" one more time. The final step is to save the file as "AegisDraw2000". To do so, select "Draw2000" from sub-menu "Fromat..." from menu "Project" (Amiga+4). Then, choose "Save as..." from "Project" (Amiga+A) that will pop up a file requester asking for the file name of the resulting graph. Enter the name, then press RETURN. The file should now be available for use in any compatible software.