PLOT User Guide.pdf

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Date Version Comments / Remarks

September 2011 12.1.1 Issued

January 2012 Copyright added to all pages.

PLOT User Guide


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Contents Page

12 Seriesi

PLOT User Guide

Copyright 1974 to current year.AVEVA Solutions Limited and its subsidiaries.All rights reserved.

PLOT

About this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1

Who the Manual is Meant For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1

How the Manual is Set Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1

Conventions Used in the Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1

Introducing PLOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:1

What PLOT Does . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:1

Input Formats That PLOT Can Accept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:1

Output Formats That PLOT Can Generate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:2

How To Use PLOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:1

Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:1

Running PLOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:1

General Command Line Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:2

Specifying the Plotting Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:3

Scaling the Plot to Fit the Paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:3

Setting the Drawing Size from the Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:3

Specifying How Arcs and Circles are Represented . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:3

Specifying the Pen Selection Mode and Plotting Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:4

Dekink Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:5

Splitting a Large Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:6

Adding a Plot Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:7

Adding Cutter Control Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:7


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Creating your Own Device Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:8

Soft Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:8

Soft Driver Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:9Overriding Built-in Driver Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:9

Messages Output by PLOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:10

Normal Run-Time Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:10

Warnings and Error Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:10

Modifying PLOTs Message File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:11

Getting Help about PLOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:11

Checking the Command Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:11

Checking the Program Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:11

Checking Driver Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:11Summaris ing the Contents of Plot Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:12

Running on Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:12

Screen Driver Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:12

Screen Driver and Enhanced Metafile Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:12

Shortcuts and Browsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:13

Device Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:1

BENSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:2

CALCOMP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:2

DXF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:5

Output File Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:5

DXF Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:5

Hewlett-Packard (HP or HPGL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:6

HPGL2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:8

HOUSTON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:10

LASERJET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:10

LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:11

PDMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:12

PENMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:13

PNG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:13

POSTSCRIPT or PS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:14

SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:21

XDUMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:24


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ii i Copyright 1974 to current year.AVEVA Solutions Limited and its subsidiaries.All rights reserved.

Driver Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:1

Changes to this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:1


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About this Manual

12 Series1:1 Copyright 1974 to current year.AVEVA Solutions Limited and its subsidiaries.All rights reserved.

1 About this Manual

1.1 Who the Manual is Meant For

This manual explains how to use the stand-alone graphical plotting utility PLOT.

PLOT interprets plot files in a range of pseudo-code formats, as produced by a number ofAVEVA (and some third party) programs. It performs a variety of conversions and otheroperations on the contents of the plot file.

This manual is relevant to anyone who needs to translate, plot or view such a file,regardless of the source. The manual is not restricted to users of any specific program thatgenerates plot files, as long as the file format is compatible with PLOTs input requirements.

No particular prior knowledge of plotting utilities is assumed, but it is assumed that you arefamiliar with the basic operating system commands for your computer.

1.2 How the Manual is Set Out

Introducing PLOT summarises the function of PLOT and details the input and output fileformats that it can recognise.

How To Use PLOTfirst explains some hardware considerations that you must be aware ofbefore you use PLOT. It then describes the range of facilities available when using PLOTand the commands needed to control them.

Device Driversis a reference section that details the options available for each of PLOTsoutput formats.

Driver Quick Reference is a quick reference guide and summarises the driver specificoptions and the options that apply to drivers generally.

Changes to this Manualdescribes the recent to changes made to this manual.

If you are a new PLOT user, it is suggested that you should read, as a minimum, IntroducingPLOTand the first three sections of How To Use PLOT. You will also need to refer to atleast one section in Device Drivers, depending on what you intend to use the PLOT outputfor.

1.3 Conventions Used in the Manual

The following conventions are used in the text:

Command words are shown as a combination of uppercase and lowercase characters,for example, COMMandword. The uppercase part of the word (COMM in the precedingexample) is the minimum permissible abbreviation. Where a command word is firstintroduced, or where its use is defined, it will usually be shown in bold type, thus


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COMMandword

Command arguments are shown in lowercase italic type, for example argument.

Examples of interactive input and output sequences are shown in a special typeface,thus

Exampl e of I nput / Output Sequence Typef ace

Note: Examples of command syntax throughout the manual use uppercase characters tomake them easily identifiable within the body of the main text.


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Introducing PLOT


2 Introducing PLOT

2.1 What PLOT Does

The graphical plotting utility, PLOT, allows you to interpret pseudo-code plot files generatedby AVEVA programs and to translate them into a range of standard formats. After

translation, the plot file data may be sent either directly to a hardware device, such as a penplotter or laser printer, or to another file, or to a graphics screen.

PLOT handles both the file format translation process and the transmission of the resultingdata to a specified hardware device, including interaction with the output device wherenecessary to ensure that data transmission protocol is correctly observed.

PLOT can recognise source files in any of the formats described in the following section andtranslate them into any of a wide range of output formats by using the appropriate devicedrivers built into the program.

2.2 Input Formats That PLOT Can Accept

PLOT can recognise the following input pseudo-code formats automatically:

PDMS

The format generated by default by graphical output modules.

This gives a binary format file that can define fully the viewing parameters and line graphicsfor engineering drawings in device-independent terms.

HPGL

A Hewlett-Packard plotter code format recognised by a range of commercial plotting andprinting devices.

This gives an ASCII format file that can define fully the viewing parameters, line graphics,arcs and circles of engineering drawings in device-independent terms.

HP-GL/2

This is the standardised version of the Hewlett-Packard Graphical Language. It provides amore consistent functionality between plotters. It supports many types of device includingpen, laser and electrostatic. The HP-GL/2 plotter code is compact, especially for vectors thathave a special encoding scheme. It is held in binary file format.

Although HPGL and HP-GL/2 are related, HP-GL/2 is not a strict superset of HPGL. It isbest for most purposes to regard them as entirely different. HP-GL/2 is often available in adual context with Hewlett-Packards PCL.


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DXF

This is the AutoCAD representation of a drawing in their DXF (drawing interchange) fileformat. It is an ASCII file format, widely used to exchange drawing file data. The file doesnot define the units that its values are held in, so explicit scaling is needed when thesevalues are not in millimetres.

Data from all sections of the DXF file is interpreted. This includes the LTYPE and LAYERtables, and the contents of the Blocks section for expansion of INSERT entities.

GPGP (or GP2)

This gives an ASCII format file that can define fully the viewing parameters, line graphics,text and symbols for engineering drawings in device-independent terms.

2.3 Output Formats That PLOT Can Generate

PLOT can translate an input plot file into a format suitable for driving a plotter or printerdirectly, or it can send the translated output to another file in a format suitable for inclusioninto, say, a word processor or desktop publishing document. It can, alternatively, send thetranslated output to a graphical window for immediate viewing.

The device drivers incorporated into PLOT, which determine the output format, are asfollows:

Driver Name Description

BENSON Pen plotter

CALCOMP Pen plotter

DXF AutoCAD drawing interchange file

HOUSTON Pen plotter

HP Pen plotter

HPGL Pen plotter

HPGL2 Pen and raster plotter

LASERJET HP PCL page description language

LIST Displays drawing contents

PDMS AVEVA plot file

PENMAN Turtle plotter

PNG Raster graphics file

POSTSCRIPT Postscript page description language

PS Postscript page description language

SCREEN On-screen plot file viewer

XDUMP X-windows bitmap file


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These generic plot drivers determine the general format of the output plot file only. Theoutput generated is compatible with specific hardware devices, as detailed in DeviceDrivers, but you may need to customise the drivers to suit a particular plotter or printer.

PLOTs soft driverfacility allows you to do this.You will notice that four of the output drivers (HPGL, HPGL2, PDMS and DXF) match inputfile formats. This means that you may use PLOT to translate plot files between theseformats in either direction.

Note: The HPGL format can exist in slightly different dialects. If you wish to input an HPGLfile obtained from an outside source, you must ensure that it is fully compatible withthe HPGL format that is generated by PLOT. If it is not, you may need to carry outsome preprocessing on the file before using PLOT to convert it to an AVEVA plot file.


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3 How To Use PLOT

3.1 Before You Begin

If you are going to use PLOT to generate hard copy directly, this can be done by printingfrom the graphical window created by the screen driver. This method uses a normalWindows Print control to select, configure and use any available print service.

It is also possible to send plot files directly to a printer or plotter using the Windows printcommand. This method allows the user to take full control of the printing operation, andresponsibility for the compatibility of the file type with the device. For example the commandto send a PostScript file to a printer service that supports and recognises this file formatwould be as follows for a shared printer:

print /d:\\servername\printer_name plotfile.ps

3.2 Running PLOT

The basic information that PLOT needs in order to process a plot file is as follows: The type of processing which is required; that is, the device driver that is to be used for

the file translation process.

The name of the input plot file that is to be processed.

The destination to which the resulting output file is to be sent.

The full syntax for the command to run PLOT is:

plot driver plotfile output [options]

The command arguments have the following significance:

driver= the nameof the output device driver.

The available device drivers are:

BENSONCALCOMPDXFHOUSTONHP or HPGLHPGL2LASERJETLISTPDMSPENMANPNGPOSTSCRIPT or PSSCREEN

XDUMP


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A full description of the functions of each of these is given in Device Drivers.

The Hewlett-Packard HP/HPGL and, to a lesser extent, the Calcomp plotter codes havebeen adopted as industry standards, and many other plotters are designed to emulate oneor other of them. The corresponding PLOT drivers may often be used successfully with suchplotters, but only when the emulation offers true compatibility with the standard.

plotfile= the nameof the pseudo-code file which is to be processed.

The file name must conform to the file naming conventions for your computer.

PLOT automatically recognises the inputplot file format used (PDMS, HPGL, DXF orGPGP) by identifying some coding characters at the start of the file, so there is noprovision for you to enter this information.

output= the destination to which the output data is to be sent.

This is either a file name or the command prompt window.

If you specify a file name, this must conform to the file naming conventions for yourcomputer. The command prompt window is specified by setting the output to be -0

(minus-zero).The output data file can for instance be sent to a printer or plotter using operatingsystem commands, or it can be viewed with a suitable program, including Plot itself.

Plot files can also be sent directly to a compatible printer or plotter using the Windowsprint command.

options= specific options to set values and control processing.

These allow you to control aspects of how the output files are produced.

Some options are general in their scope and apply to any output device driver; theseare described in General Command Line Options. Other options are relevant only tospecific device drivers; these are described separately in Device Drivers.

Note: The driver-specific options mustbe enclosed between quotation marks and if there is

more than one option, they must be separated by commas.

Some Command Line Examples:

pl ot pdms pl ot 12 ul ay. pl

This command sends data from the file plot12 to the file ulay.pl in pseudo-code format. Thelatter file could then be used as an underlay in a drawing module, for example.

pl ot scr een pl ota2 - 0

This reads graphical data from file plota2 and displays it in a window on your workstationscreen. Remember that line 0 always goes to the command prompt window.

pl ot hp vi ew. pl vi ew. hp scal e=0. 8 "CE Y"

Plot reads data from view.pl and writes it to the file view.hp, applying a general option toscale the output dimensions to be 0.8 of those of the input file. Another driver optionspecifies that the plotter has a physical coordinate origin at the centre of the paper.

3.3 General Command Line Options

The following options are applicable to all drivers and may be combined with any of thedriver-specific options described in Device Drivers. You can use all of these options with thesoft drivers described in Creating your Own Device Drivers.

If an option is specified more than once, the last occurrence is the one that applies.


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3.3.1 Specifying the Plotting Scale

By default, the output plot data represents the plotted drawing(s) on the same scale as the

input plot file.To change the plotting scale during the data processing operation, use either of thecommand line options

SCALE=factor

SCALE:factor

Here, factoris the required scaling factor (output scale)/(input scale).

For example, SCALE=0.5 will produce half-size output plots.

Note: This option is only valid on the command line, and is not combined in the same stringas the other options available with soft drivers.The option has no effect when drivers are scaling a plot to fill an area. Drivers that dothis are: Laserjet, PostScript, Screen and Xdump.

3.3.2 Scaling the Plot to Fit the Paper

Instead of predefining the plotting scale, as explained in Specifying the Plotting Scale, youmay instruct PLOT to adjust the output plot scale automatically so that it will fit the availablepaper size. This option allows PLOT to handle oversize input plots; without it (the defaultsituation), processing will be terminated with an error message.

To specify automatic reduction of oversize plots, use the option

ADJUst

3.3.3 Setting the Drawing Size from the Graphics

This facility causes any drawing size defined in the input file to be ignored and replaced bythe size of a rectangle enclosing all graphics in the file. The whole input file is read an extratime for this purpose.

To set the drawing size from the limits of the graphics, use the option

AUTOsize

The AUTOSIZE option applies only to DXF, HPGL and HP-GL/2 input files. It is useful incases where the drawing size in the file is wrong for any reason.

3.3.4 Specifying How Arcs and Circles are RepresentedMost plotters are unable to plot true circular arcs and instead represent them by a series ofstraight lines (chords). The more chords used, the closer the approximation to a true arc.

By default, a complete circle is represented in a plot by 90 chords. To specify a differentrepresentation, use the option

ARCSize integer

Here, integer is the number of chords per complete circle and must be in the range 12 to175.

For example, ARCS 120 will plot smoother arcs than the default setting; ARCS 25 will plotless smooth arcs, but will reduce the plotting time.


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3.3.5 Specifying the Pen Selection Mode and Plotting Attributes

By default, any logical pen numbers (which usually correspond to particular colours), line

styles and line widths defined in the source pseudo-code file (plotfile

) are passedunchanged to the output file or device (output). You can intercept these settings, and modifythem to achieve independent control of the way in which the output is plotted, by using thePENSand associatedATTR(attributes) commands. PLOT can have up to 256 pens, andcan operate in the following modes:

'Pens Yes' Mode

The default mode, which may be reset by using the option

PEns Yes

This options causes pen numbers, line styles and line widths to be passes directly from theinput file to the output file.

To redirect one or more pens, use the command line option

ATTR integer1 integer2

This replaces input pen integer1 with output pen integer2.For example, the options:

PENS YES, ATTR 1 4, ATTR 2 5, ATTR 3 6

This sets pens 1-3 in the input file to be replaced by pens 4-6 in the output file, respectively.Line styles and line widths are passed unchanged from the input file to the output file.

'Pens No' Mode

The option:

PEns NoThis sets the individual pen numbers from the input file to be ignored and alloutput to beplotted using pen 1. You might use this mode, for instance, when the output is intended for asingle-pen device.

To redirect the output to use a pen other than pen 1, use the command line option:

ATTR 1 integer

Here, integerspecifies the required output pen number. For example, the options:

PENS NO, ATTR 1 3

This causes all output to be plotted using pen 3, regardless of any pen settings defined inthe input file. Line styles and line widths are passed unchanged from the input file to the

output file.

'Pens Attr' Mode

The option:

PEns Attr

This passes only the pen numbers from the input file to the output file. All line style and linewidth settings in the input file are ignored, the settings for these in the output file beingdetermined by the attributes set for the corresponding pen number.

To specify the line style and width corresponding to any output pen, and to redirect pens ifrequired, use the option:

ATTR integer1 integer2 linestyle linetype width


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This substitutes output pen integer2for input pen integer1and sets its line style to linestyleand its line width to linetypewith optional widthvalue.

Possible settings for linestyle are SOlid, DOt, DAsh, CHain or DChain. The default, iflinestyleis omitted, is SOLID.

Possible settings for linetype are Normal or Thick. The default, if linetype is omitted, isNORMAL. THICKis optionally followed by the widthvalue, expressed in millimetres. If widthis omitted the default line thickness is set by the driver.

For example, the options:

PENS ATTR, ATTR 2 1 DOT, ATTR 3 1 CHAI N THI CK

This sets input pen 2 to be output as dotted and normal thickness lines and input pen 3 to beoutput as chained thick lines, both using output pen 1.

'Pens Same' Mode

The option:

PEns Same

The causes all input pen numbers, line styles and line widths to be ignored. All output isoutput with pen 1 only (unless redirected), and all with the same line style and line width(solid and normal thickness by default).

To redirect the output to use a different single pen, and to specify the line style and line widthfor all output, use the command line option:

ATTR 1 integer linestyle linetype width

Here, integerspecifies the required output pen number and the other arguments set its linestyle to linestyleand its line width to linetypewith optional widthvalue.

Possible settings for linestyle are SOlid, DOt, DAsh, CHain or DChain. The default, iflinestyleis omitted, is SOLID.

Possible settings for linewidthare Normalor Thick. The default, if linetype is omitted, isNORMAL. THICKis optionally followed by the widthvalue, expressed in millimetres. If widthis omitted the default line thickness is set by the driver.

For example, the options:

PENS SAME, ATTR 1 4 CHAI N THI CK 0. 7

This causes all output to be output as chained thick lines with a width of 0.7 mm and pen 4.All pen settings, line styles and line widths defined in the input file are ignored.

3.3.6 Dekink Filter

The Dekink filter can streamline your plot files in a number of ways.

Plot files that are produced by some programs can contain instances where the same line isdrawn over a number of times (for example, where an original wireline 3D model wasinvolved). This extra information can increase the size of the file unnecessarily. Thecoincidence removal function of the Dekink filter corrects this problem, and so can reducethe size of output files by a considerable amount.

The filter can employ either a travelor a connectmethod to re-order the graphics. Thetravel method minimises the total pen travel distance, whereas the connect methodmaximises the connection between vectors.


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The filter travelmethod reduces the total distance that the pen needs to travel, and thenumber of times that the pen is raised and lowered. This can speed up the operation of penplotters.

The filter connectmethod maximises the connection of vectors while retaining all existingconnectivity, including directions.

Note: For speed of processing, the filter makes most of its changes to the plot file whereitems concerned are close to each other in the file. Note that it may not remove allcoincident lines when they are far apart in the file.

The Dekink filter is selected by the option:

DEKInk resol coinc travel tabmin tabmax

The arguments are as follows and omitted parameters take their default values:

After the input file has been processed, a report is produced on the effect of the Dekink filter.This gives the change in the total distance that the pen needs to travel, and the change in

the number of lines in the output file (both as percentages). For example:

DEKI NK r educed pen t r avel by 68. 99% and number of l i nes by43. 93%

3.3.7 Spl it ting a Large Plot

The split option is a facility for dividing large plots into sheets. This is particularly usefulwhere an extra large plot needs to be divided into a number of A0 sheets. The option isfollowed by two values that specify the size of the constituent sheets in millimetres.

To split a plot, use the option

SPLIt width height

resol Resolution value is specified in mm. Used to decide whether lines arecoincident or connected to each other.

Default: 0.025

coinc This selects whether coincidence removal is active or not. The value isset to Y for yes and N for no.

Default: Y

travel This selects whether the travel method is active. Otherwise the connectmethod is used. Y = travel method; N = connect method.

Default: Y

tabmin This is the minimum size of the working table used by the filter. Must bean even number in the range 10-600. The default value is suitable formost purposes.

Default: 50

tabmax This is the maximum size of the working table used by the filter. Must bean even number in the range 10-600. The default value is suitable formost purposes.

Default: 200


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3.3.8 Adding a Plot Border

Where a plot has no border around its edges, you can add one with the BORDER option.

This option has an integer parameter to define the pen number that you want used for theborder. Note that this is particularly useful when used with the SPLIT option.

To create a border for a plot, use the option

BORDerinteger

3.3.9 Adding Cutter Control Markers

This feature enables the Dahle 3625 Plot Cutter (or similar) to take roll feed output from aplotter and automatically cut it into individual plots, stacking each plot.

The CUTMARK option draws marks at the edge of the paper to control the plot cutter, andrepositions the plot away from the edge. This is used with a roll feed plotter and the paper

can be fed directly into the cutter (which has sets of knives that operate on both axes). TheCUTMARK option can be used with any driver (but is probably only useful with the Calcompdriver).

This feature can be used in conjunction with the WINDON option to specify the distance thatseparates plots along the paper.

The CUTMARK option has up to eight parameters:

numstart This is the number of marks at the start of the plot.

Default: 0

numend This is the number of marks at the end of the plot. Default: 0

pen This is the number of the pen to draw the marks. Default: 1

penwidth The pen thickness in millimetres. Default: 0.1mm

offset The distance that the plot is shifted away from the edge ofthe paper (in millimetres).

macross The mark size across the paper. Default: 5.0mm

malong The mark size along the paper. Default: 2.0mm

msep Separation distance between marks. Default: 5.0mm


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The SCREEN and PNG drivers now have PDMS colours set as default using thismechanism and the standard PLOTDRIVERS file. The previous colours can be restored bydeleting or commenting-out the screen|screen|and png|png|definitions in that file.

3.5 Messages Output by PLOT

This section summarises the types of message that you may see displayed at yourcommand prompt window while you are using PLOT. The messages are divided into twocategories: those that you can expect to see under normal operating conditions and thosethat you see only under error conditions.

3.5.1 Normal Run-Time Messages

When PLOT begins to interpret a pseudo-code file it displays the message to the commandwindow

- - - - - begi nni ng of pl ot - - - - -

When the file interpretation has finished it displays the message

- - - - - end of pl ot - - - - -

(See Modifying PLOTs Message Filefor details of how you can change these messages.)

3.5.2 Warnings and Error Messages

Warning messages are displayed for information only. They tell you about any constraintson your use of PLOT or advise you of actions that PLOT has taken automatically.

All errors during PLOT's processing operations are fatal. When an error occurs, PLOT

displays an appropriate error message on your command prompt window and thenterminates its data processing.

Typical messages, and suggested responses, are as follows:

Er r or : Cannot cr eat e/ open out put f i l e

Check that the named output file is valid, is not protected from access, and is not already inuse.

Er r or : Cannot open i nput f i l e

Check that the file name has been correctly entered, that the file exists, and that you haveaccess rights to read it.

Er r or : I nt er pr et at i on or dat a err or

Check that the input file is in one of the acceptable formats: PDMS, HPGL or GPGP. If it is,then the file may have been corrupted.

Er r or : Pl ot t oo l ar ge f or medi a

Add the ADJUST option to the PLOT command line (see Scaling the Plot to Fit the Paper).The output plot is too large for the actualpaper size (if output is to a plotter or printer) or forthe definedpaper size (if output is to a file).

Er r or : Unknown devi ce t ype

Check that the device driver that you have specified matches one of the standard driverslisted in Output Formats That PLOT Can Generateand Running PLOT, or is a valid softdriver name.

Warni ng: Pl ot i s adj ust ed t o medi a si ze


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This message confirms that the ADJUST option has automatically rescaled the output plotto suit its destination device or file. No action is needed.

3.5.3 Modifying PLOTs Message File

By default, PLOT uses its internally defined messages at relevant stages of its processingoperations. If you wish to display different messages, such as messages in a differentlanguage, you can copy the standard messages into a file, edit them, and then use this fileas the source of future messages.

To copy PLOT's default messages into a file, enter the command

plot -message

This copies the messages into the file PLOT.MFin the current directory. You may then editthis file to change the wording of any of the messages.

When PLOT needs to output a message, it looks for the file PLOT.MF, first in the directorydefined by the CADC_PLOT_DIR environment variable, then in the current directory. It findsneither file it uses its own default message definitions.

3.6 Getting Help about PLOT

3.6.1 Checking the Command Syntax

To see an on-screen summary of the command syntax, enter the command:

plot

With no command line arguments this displays the following information:

PLOT Ut i l i t y

usage: pl ot dr i ver f i l e out put [ opt i ons. . . ]

Dr i ver s are: benson cal comp dxf houst on hp hpgl hpgl 2i nt er l eaf l aser j et l i st pdms penman png post scr i pt psscr een xdump

Fi l e i s a PDMS, DXF, HPGL or ot her pseudo- code pl ot f i l e.Out put i s a f i l e name or t he command wi ndow.e. g. pl ot post scr i pt dr wg3. pl t pl otout . pspl ot scr een dr wg3. pl t - 0

The SCALE=val ue opt i on provi des gener al pl ot scal i ng.An opt i ons st r i ng i s avai l abl e f or most dr i ver s.e. g. pl ot hpgl 2 drwg3. pl t drwg3. h2 scal e=0. 5

3.6.2 Checking the Program Version

To check which version number of the PLOT program you are using, enter the command:

plot -version

3.6.3 Checking Dr iver Options

To check the driver options enter the command:


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plot -drivers

This displays the driver quick reference information for PLOT that can also found in DriverQuick Referenceof this manual.

3.7 Summarising the Contents of Plot Files

The LISTdriver is used to provide a textual summary of contents of the plot file.

The information includes:

The pseudo-code file format.

The file header block, if present.

Details of the drawing number, if available.

The dimensions of the drawing.

A list of the pens used to plot the drawing.

The total numbers of graphical primitives in the file: vectors, arcs, circles, text strings andtext characters.

For structured files there are the total numbers of definitions and references, the maximumdepth of reference nesting and the full list of symbol names and reference counts.

For full details see the LIST driver section.

3.8 Running on Windows

PLOT has functionality to use standard Windows facilities and services.

The SCREEN driver has the facility to use the Windows printing service, including networkprinting. PLOT can be launched directly from a shortcut on the desktop so that it can beused independently of other products.

3.8.1 Screen Dr iver Pr int ing

Start by displaying a view of a plot file by running PLOT with the SCREEN driver. The viewwindow can be selected with the normal pan and zoom controls before a printing. A print isinitiated with the keyboard accelerator Control-P, the standard keyboard accelerator used byWindows programs for PRINT. The SCREEN driver displays a Windows print dialog toselect the printer and set printing options.

The print dialog has a Print rangegroup with the choicesAl land Selection. SelectAl ltoprint the whole drawing and Selectionto print the current view.

3.8.2 Screen Driver and Enhanced Metafile Output

The screen driver can produce Windows EMF (Enhanced Metafile) output from the currentplot file. EMF contains scalable graphics and is a later version of the popular WMF(Windows Metafile) format.

EMF output is initiated with the keyboard accelerator Control-S, the standard keyboardaccelerator used by Windows programs for SAVE. The SCREEN driver displays a WindowsSave Asdialog to select the EMF output file name and directory. A copy of the output file isautomatically copied to the clipboard.


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EMF output provides a method of inserting or pasting graphics into a variety of documenttypes.

3.8.3 Shortcuts and Browsing

Plot can be run directly from a shortcut from the desktop or menus. Here is an example of ashortcut created on the desktop.

When this command is run from the shortcut a Multiple-File Open dialog and a Consolewindow are created. Select one or more plot files and plot will view them all in the orderspecified. At each stage the file can be viewed and printed. Close the graphics window orpress Q to move on to the next file. After all files have been viewed Plot returns to themultiple-file open dialog. Click Cancelto finish.

Other drivers can be used with the input file set to "*". For example the list driver can beused to display summary information about the graphical contents of the files.

Alternatively, the shortcut on the desktop can be used to drag and drop plot files as well asbrowsing for them if the shortcut target is a small batch file DragDropPlot.bat, containinglines such as the following:

set f i l e=%1i f "%f i l e%" == "" set f i l e="*"st ar t / b C: \ AVEVA\ pdms\ pl ot \ pl ot . exe pl ot scr een %f i l e% - 0 "AUTO"

Target: C:\AVEVA\pdms\plot\plot.exe screen "*" -0 "AUTOSIZE"

Start in: C:\temp

Name: Plot

Target defines the command line to run Plot with the screen driver. Note thatthe full pathname of the plot program is used and that the input file is

replaced by "*".

Start in is set as the directory that is most used for plot files.

Name labels the shortcut.


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4 Device Drivers

This is a reference chapter that describes each of the available PLOT device drivers. Theinformation in each section is organised under the following headings:

Models

This lists the supported plotters or defines the translation done by PLOT.

For plotters, the list gives the definitive models for which the driver was originally written,and any other plotters on which the driver has been tested. The list also gives other models,from the same or another manufacturer, if they are known to be fully compatible with thedriver.

Description

This describes, in broad terms, the plotter device code or the translation.

Output

This describes the file format output by the driver.

Options

This describes any additional options or controls for the driver, for example scaling or paperlayout.

Note that such options must be enclosed between quotation marks in the command line andif more than one option is used they must be separated by commas.

Example

This shows the minimum command syntax applicable to the driver, using the default settingsfor all user-configurable options.

If applicable, a further example shows the use of some of the more commonly used options.

Note: The LIST driver differs in principle from the drivers described in this chapter in that itdoes not translate input plot file data into a different format, but instead providessummarised information about the overall content of the file. The functions of theLIST driver are explained in LIST.


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4.1 BENSON

Models

This driver supports the Benson 1302 Plotter with intelligence level I0. This is a drum plotterwith a roll paper feed mechanism. The code-compatible Benson 1322 plotter is alsosupported.

Description

The device code for these plotters is based on the relative positioning and drawingcommands of the symbolic Benson format.

Output

The output from this driver is device code that is sent directly to the Benson plotter. This

code is easy to read and the vectors are expressed entirely as relative movements.Fi l es out put by t hi s dr i ver are sequent i al and cont ai nsymbol i c codes. They ar e used onl y f or mai nt enance pur poses.

Options

None.

4.2 CALCOMP

Models

This driver produces code for the Calcomp 1040 series plotters using 906/907 plotter code.This data format is acceptable to most Calcomp plotters.

The Calcomp 1040 series plotters are drum plotters with either cut sheet or roll feed options,which can take media up to A0 size.

Description

The Calcomp device code produced by the driver is based on the use of simple positioning,

drawing, and pen selection commands. It can select from up to eight pens.

Output

The output from this driver is device code that is sent directly to the Calcomp plotter. Thedata is encoded and is unintelligible. The device protocol means that the code is organisedto include synchronising sequences and checksums. Transmission is synchronised bywaiting for a plotter response after each message.

The coded format for each data record is as follows:

Example:

pl ot benson vi ew. pl - 1


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Files output by this driver are ASCII coded and record structured. Their content comprisesall the data shown above, exceptfor the request for plotter response and its reply.

Options

The CALCOMP driver allows you to use options to control all low-level detail of the plottercode format (as shown in the preceding table). You can specify these options either directly,as PLOT command line arguments (see Running PLOT), or indirectly, as parameters in asoft driver definition.

The syntax for using each option is as follows (individual options must be separated by

commas):

[Key: int= an integer; val= a real number; Y/N= Yesor No]

BUfferint Sets device to use int data buffers (int must be 2 or 16).Default: BU 16

CHecksum Y/N Specifies whether or not checksum is enabled. Default: CHYEOmintSets the end-of-message character to int(intmustbe in the range 0-127). Default: EO 3

HEader Y/N Specifies whether or not a search address is to be includedin the output header. Default: HE Y

LIneint Sets the line length of the output data field to intcharacters(intmust be in the range 80-125). Default: LI 119

NL Y/N Specifies that a newline code is to be output between lines.Default: NL Y

PAdint Sets the number of padding characters to be used beforeSYNC and after EOM to int characters (intmust be in therange 0-10). Default: PA 10

RAdixint Sets the number conversion radix to int (intmust be 64 or95). Default: RA 95

(Preamble)

Sync

Bias

Data

(Checksum)

End-of-message

(Postamble)

Newline

(Respons e Request)

0-10 null padding characters

One or two specified synchronisation characters

Bias character; always a Space

Checksum character

Value of n umber-encoding radix (64 or 95)

End-of-message (EOM) marker

1-10 null padding characters

The message $? is outpu t to r equest a good, 0, or1, response. bad,A b ad response c auses the data

to be transmitted again.


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The defaults specified in the standard CALCOMP driver are equivalent to the followingoptions string:

"BU 16, CH Y, EO 3, HE Y, LI 119, NL Y, PA 10, PE Y, \

RA 95, RES Y, SC 1, ST 80, SY 1 2, WA Y, WI 20"

As an example, to remove the preamble and postamble padding characters, and to selectno response control of the output flow, you would either enter a command line such as:

pl ot cal comp pdms. pl ot pdms. code "PA 0, RE N"

Alternatively, you could create the equivalent soft driver to do this.

For example:

cal compx| cal comp| PA 0, RE N

The new soft driver can then be used with the command:

pl ot cal compx pdms. pl ot pdms. code

Note: PLOT includes an alternative version of the CALCOMP driver known as theCALCOMP64 driver. The latter version has the following option defaults, almost all ofwhich differ from those of the standard CALCOMP driver:

"BU 2, CH Y, EO 13, HE N, LI 125, NL Y, PA 0, PE N, RA64, RES N, \ SC 0, ST 40, SY 2 22, WA N, WI 20"

You may use the CALCOMP64 driver as the basis for your option settings if it is closer toyour desired final specification.

RESponse Y/N Specifies whether or not a plotter response is expected by

the driver for output flow control. Default: RES Y

SCale int Sets the plotter scaling factor to int. You can use this optionwith STEPS to compress and expand the data to reduce thesize (and accuracy) of the device code. Default: SC 1

STepsval Sets the number of plotter steps per mm (i.e. the plotterresolution) to val. Default: ST 80.0

SYncint1 int2 Sets the number of Synch characters to int1and the Synccharacter itself to the control character represented by int2(int1must be 1 or 2; int2must be in the range 0-31) Default:SY 1 2

WAit Y/N Specifies whether or not the plotter is switched off-linebetween plots. Default: WA Y

WIndonval Sets the distance to be left blank between adjacent plots tovalmm. Default: WI 20.0

Example:

pl ot cal comp vi ew. pl - 1

pl ot cal comp64 vi ew. pl - 1

pl ot cal comp vi ew. pl - 1 "HE N, LI 110, PE N, WI 25"

[Key: int= an integer; val= a real number; Y/N= Yesor No]


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4.3 DXF

This driver outputs a plot as an AutoCAD drawing in DXF (drawing interchange) file format.

4.3.1 Output Fi le Contents

This is an ASCII file, and is record structured. The records are organised in pairs and theseare called groups. Each group contains a group code (an integer), and a group valuethatis in a format that depends on the group code.

A DXF file is made up of four sections:

Header. This is preceded by a number of comment lines (as suggested in the NEDCrecommendations). This includes the units employed in the drawing, and the date thefile was formed. The Header section itself includes the $LIMMIN, $LIMMAX, $EXTMINand $EXTMAX variables to specify the limits of the drawing and its extents.

Tables. This section contains an LTYPE line types table defining the definition of theline patterns available to the Entities section. It also contains a LAYER and a styletable.

Blocks. This is empty.

Entities. This contains all of the graphical elements of the drawing and their attributes.The entity types are LINE, CIRCLE, ARC, TEXT, POLYLINE and VERTEX.

Note: Sometimes the first three sections are omitted, depending on the type of data andthe purpose for which it is to be used.

4.3.2 DXF Options

Several options are available that allow you to control the output from this driver. These can

be specified as command line arguments, or as parameters in a soft driver definition.The syntax of each option is as follows (NOTE: individual options are separated bycommas):

HEader filename The contents of the supplied filename are copied into theDXF output file in place of the Header, Tables and Blockssections that would normally be generated by the driver. Ifthe filename is omitted, or the file cannot be read, the driverwill suppress the production of these sections. The file canbe a complete DXF file. The copy is stopped before the "0""SECTION" "2" "ENTITIES" sequence that starts theEntities section.

POlylines Y/N Specifies whether the driver outputs lines and arcs as LINEand ARC entities, or as POLYLINE entities.

Default: POLYLINES Y

UNits value Sets the type of coordinates in the DXF output file asINCHES or MM. Default: UNITS MM

ZAxis value Selects the output of a Z value with all XY coordinates. Thevalue parameter defines the constant Z coordinate value.Default: No Z coordinate.


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The syntax for using each option is as follows (individual options must be separated bycommas):

The defaults specified in the standard HP driver are equivalent to the following optionsstring:

"CE N, MA 0 0 1109. 5 787. 0, ST 40, WA Y"

The defaults specified in the standard HPGL driver are equivalent to the following optionsstring:

"CE N, HI , MA, ST 40, WA Y"

Note: All of the options are applicable when the plot output is sent to a file, but only theHIGH and WAIT options apply when the plot is sent directly to a plotter.

[Key: val= a real number; Y/N= Yesor No; x y= x,y coordinatesin mm]

CEntre Y/N Specifies if the physical coordinate origin for the plotter is atthe centre (Yes) or corner (No) of the paper after the defaultpositions of the scaling points P1 and P2 have beenestablished. Plotters that use HPGL can be of either ofthese types. The driver itself corrects for the type in theoutput file, by use of the HPGL IP (Set P1 and P2) and SC(Scale) instructions. Default: CE N for both HP and HPGL

High If selected, this allows the use of high-level commands andcompacted output code. If not selected, only low-level

commands and one command per line formatting are used.Default:HI not selected for the HP driver HI selected for theHPGL driver

MAp Derives the size of the plot from the plot file.

MAp x y Defines the position of the plot on the paper (x and ycoordinates of its origin expressed in mm). It derives thesize of the plot from the plot file.

MAp x y val1 val2 Defines the position of the plot on the paper (x and ycoordinates of its origin expressed in mm). It defines the plotdimensions as val1wide by val2high. Default: MA for both

the HP and HPGL drivers

STepsval Sets the number of plotter steps per mm (i.e. the plotterresolution) to val.

Default: ST 40.0

WAit Y/N/P Specifies actions to take place between plots.

Yselects that the plotter is switched off-line and waits for theoperator.

P selects that the plotter completes the present plot andthen advances to start the next. N selects no special action.

Default: WA Y


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Example

4.5 HPGL2

This driver supports HP-GL/2, which is the standardised version of the Hewlett-PackardGraphical language. This attempts to provide a consistent functionality between plotters andcaters for pen, monochrome and colour electrostatic and other devices. The code iscompact, especially for vectors that have a special encoding scheme. HP-GL/2 is a binaryformat.

Although HPGL and HP-GL/2 are related, HP-GL/2 is not a strict superset of HPGL. It isbest for most purposes to regard them as being entirely different.

HP-GL/2 is often available in Dual-Context plotters that also have Hewlett-Packard's PCL.The HP-GL/2 behaves differently under these conditions and a driver option for PCL isnecessary to ensure correct behaviour.

Options

These options enable you to control the output of this driver. You can specify these optionseither directly, as PLOT command line arguments (see Running PLOT), or indirectly, asparameters in soft driver definition (see Creating your Own Device Drivers).

The syntax for using each option is as follows (individual options must be separated bycommas).

pl ot hp vi ew. pl pl ot 1. pl t

(output to a file)

pl ot hp vi ew. pl - 1

(output direct to plotter)

pl ot hpgl vi ew. pl pl ot 1. pl t

(output to a file)

pl ot hpgl vi ew. pl - 1

(output direct to plotter)

pl ot hp vi ew. pl pl ot 1. pl t "CE Y, MA"


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[Key : Y/N = Yes or No; x y etc. coordinates in mm and other values; n and pen areintegers.]

The defaults specified in the standard HP-GL/2 driver are equivalent to the following optionsstring:

"CO 1, EC N, MAP, PCL Y, PW 0. 0 0. 35, QU 100, RO 0"

COpies n Printncopies of each drawing in the plot file. Default:COPIES 1

FF Y/N Specifies whether the formfeed character is output at theend of the HP-GL/2 file. This is a communication characterwas required previously for direct operation of the plotter butmay need to be omitted when a print spooler is being used.Default: FF Y

ECutter Y/N Enables the automatic cutter that operates after each plot iscompleted. Default: ECUTTER N

HIgh If selected the driver outputs higher level graphical

primitives such as arcs, circles, and line styles. Default:HIGH is not selected.

MAp Derives the size of the plot from the plot file.

MAp x y w h Defines the position and size of the plot on the paper. Thedefault is to use the plot given in the plot file. Default: MAP

PCL Y/N Specifies that the plotter is operating HP-GL/2 with PCL in adual context. Default: PCL Y

PWidth w1[w2] Specifies the widths of the thin and thick lines in mm. Thethinnest line width possible is selected by specifying it aszero. Default: PWIDTH 0.0 0.35

QUality n Sets the percentage quality level required from the plotter.Where this is available the plotter will trade quality for speedor reduced toner usage. Default: QUALITY 100

RGb pen r g b Selects colour mode and defines the red/green/blue colourmix for the specified logical pen number (pen must be in therange 0-256). The colour values are in the range 0 to 1.Default: Monochrome

ROtate n Rotate the plot by 0, 90, 180, 270 degrees counter-clockwise about the plotter coordinate system origin.Default: ROTATE 0

Example:

pl ot hpgl 2 vi ew. pl pl ot 1. pl t

pl ot hpgl 2 vi ew. pl pl ot 1. pl t "COPI ES 3, ROTATE 90"


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4.6 HOUSTON

Models

This driver supports the Houston Hiplot DMP-40 and DMP-42 pen plotters. These are drumplotters with media movement and registration controlled by knurled gripping areas of thedrum; they take A3 and A1 media sizes, respectively.

These plotters use Houston DM/PL III firmware, which is upwardly compatible with DM/PLand DM/PL+.

Description

The DM/PL device code produced by the driver for these plotters is based on simpleabsolute positioning and drawing commands and assumes that there is a single pen.

OutputFiles output by this driver are not record structured, but contain ASCII codes. They are usedonly for maintenance purposes.

Options

None.

4.7 LASERJET

Models

This driver produces output suitable for any printer that can interpret Hewlett-Packards PCLpage description language, such as the Laserjet Series II devices.

Laserjet printers have a maximum resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi), but can also work at150, 100 or 75 dpi

Description

Laserjet and compatible printers may be used to produce black and white hard copy from

graphical plot files. The PCL language has no facilities for expressing graphical elementssuch as vectors; it provides instead a group of raster graphics commands.

Output

The output from this driver is in device code that may be sent directly to any PCL-compatiblelaser printer. Where the output is to a file, it contains the complete PCL code needed toreproduce the printable document defined by the pseudo-code plot file. This comprises amixture of PCL command escape sequences and 8-bit data that is not formatted and noteasy to inspect.

The Laser j et dr i ver uses compress i on t echni ques t o r educe t hesi ze of i t s out put f i l es and, hence, t he t i me needed t o sendt hem t o t he pr i nt er . Fur t her r educt i ons i n f i l e si ze and dat

a t r ansf er t i me may be achi eved by speci f yi ng a l ower r ast er

Example:

pl ot houst on vi ew. pl vi ew. out


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The total number of vectors that make up the drawing

The number of arcs and circles

The numbers of text strings and text characters

The numbers of block definitions, block references (or inserts), and the maximumdepth of block reference nesting. The DXF input file format can contain blocks.

A list of the pens needed to plot the drawing

The full list of symbol names. Symbols are shown with a prefix character to indicatehow often they are referenced:

The information may be sent to an ASCII file, or it may be listed at your command promptwindow (by specifying output to line 0).

For example, the command:

pl ot l i st pdmspl ot . pl - 0

This would list the content of the pseudo-code plot file avevaplot.pl, containing an A1drawing, thus:

I nt erpr eter : PDMSFi l e Header: pi per 18/ 07/ 04 12. 25

Dr awi ng: 1

Si ze 841 by 594 MMVectors 3403Pens 1 2

The list driver does not use any options but will display any that are specified on thecommand line or from a soft driver as a combined options string.

4.9 PDMS

Models

This driver generates output in AVEVA plot file format.

Description

This file format (which is also one of PLOTs valid input formats) is intended primarily fortransferring graphical data between the modules of PDMS. PLOTs output driver also allowsyou to transfer data to PDMS from other sources that generate HPGL or GPGP formattedgraphics.

Output

Files output by the plotting driver are in binary format and comprise a textual header blockfollowed by the graphical data.

The header block contains:

Prefix References

none unreferenced

+ once

* one or more times


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A user identifier - up to 6 characters - derived from the login user name (truncated iflonger than 6 characters).

The current date- in the format DDMMYY.

The current time- in the format HHMM.

The graphical data is a sequence of coded items, including pen moving and drawingcommands, pen changes, and paper size definitions. The code is made more efficient bythe provision of special codes for short line drawing and moving operations, and for drawinghorizontal or vertical lines.

Options

None.

4.10 PENMAN

Models

This driver outputs directly to the Penman Turtle Plotter.

Description

The Turtle plotter has a pen with an up/down mechanism mounted on a wheeled carriagethat is connected for power and control via a flying cable. It uses a home marker that it candetect optically to register its origin.

Output

The output from this driver is device code that is sent directly to the Turtle plotter. The devicecode uses simple absolute positioning and drawing commands. Periodic returns to theorigin, to re-establish a datum point, limit the build up of positional errors during plotting.

Files output by this driver are ASCII coded and record structured. They are used only formaintenance purposes.

OptionsNone.

4.11 PNG

Models

This driver generates output in PNG file format.

Example:

pl ot pdms vi ew. pl ul ay2. pdms

(output must be to a file)

Example:

pl ot penman vi ew. pl - 1


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Description

The PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format is a patent-free replacement for GIF and canalso replace many common uses of TIFF. It provides a means for the lossless, portablestorage of well-compressed raster images.

PNG is designed to work well in online viewing applications, such as the World Wide Web,and for user interface and general usage.

Note that the standard PLOTDRIVERS file changes the default for this driver to use PDMScolours. To find out how to restore the colours to their previous state and other details aboutmodifying the default options of the built-in drivers see the section on creating your owndevice drivers.

Output

Files output by the PNG driver are in binary format.

Options

The syntax for each option is as follows (individual options must be separated by commas):

4.12 POSTSCRIPT or PS

(The POSTSCRIPT and PS drivers are identical.)

BItmap width height Defines the size of the bitmap image in pixels. Sizes shouldbe greater than 16 x 16 and the upper size limit is 8000 x8000. The default size is 600 x 400.

LAyout type Defines how the image is placed in the bitmap, where typeisone of the following:

FIT reduces the width or height of the bitmap so that it fitsthe image exactly. This is the default.

CENtre places the image in the centre of the bitmap.

CORner places the image at the top left corner of thebitmap.

RGb pen r g b Selects colour mode and defines the red/green/blue colourmix for the specified logical pen number (pen must be in therange 0-15). The colour values are in the range 0 to 1. Thebackground colour of the image is black by default but thiscan be changed by defining pen 0, e.g. RGB 0 1 1 1 sets it towhite.

SIze width height Defines the minimum plot size in millimetres that is scaled tofill the bitmap image. Increasing the size of a number of plotsto a common value means that their pixel scaling is also thesame. This is important if the bitmap files are to bemanipulated by other programs.

TRan Sets the image background to be transparent.

Example:

pl ot png i n. dxf out . png "BI TMAP 32 32"


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Models

These drivers produce output suitable for any printer that can interpret the Postscript pagedescription language.

The driver default options give output suitable for immediate use with the commonest laserprinters, which take A4 paper and which produce monochrome and grey-scale output at aresolution of 300 dots per inch (for example, the QMS-810 printer).

The drivers provide a very wide range of options that may be used with PLOTs soft driverfacility to create drivers for other forms of Postscript output (see Creating your Own DeviceDrivers). For example, printers with different paper sizes or with paper tray selection.

Description

Postscript is a widely used page description language that efficiently describes theappearance of text, images and drawings on the printed page.

Output

The output from these drivers is an ASCII record structured file that conforms to thestandard structuring conventions for Postscript multiple page documents. It contains thecomplete Postscript program needed to print the document defined by the input pseudocode file.

The output is in device code that may be sent directly to the laser printer or may be includedin another document as an illustration. The laser printer is treated as a plotter with a singlepen, grey-scale pens or colour pens, which can draw vectors in all line styles for both normaland thick lines.

The drawing is scaled to form an image that fills the specified paper size, with options to set

margin widths, page orientation, and so on. Other options allow you to control features suchas a summarising banner page, page headers and footers, and page layout.

It may be useful to override the parameters of this driver in the PLOTDRIVERS file, forexample to use PDMS colours by default. See the description of this file for further details.

Options

The POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers provide many options. You can specify these either directly,as PLOT command line arguments (see Running PLOT), or indirectly, as parameters in asoft driver definition (see Creating your Own Device Drivers).

For convenience, the descriptions of the driver options are split into two functional groups:

Layout options, which control the overall page presentation.

General options, which control the banner page and the detailed graphics plotting(including monochrome/grey-scale/colour, scaling, resolution, etc.).


[Key : int= an integer; string= a text string]


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Layout Options

The LAYOUT MARGIN and LAYOUT FIGURE settings provide locations for three headertexts and three footer texts at the left, centre and right of the page, in the top and bottom

LAyout type Defines the output page layout as type, where typeis one of

the following:Drawing- this produces a PostScript file that takes dimensions from

the input plot file and the output is matched to the input. It isunscaled and is not rotated. This layout is suitable for usewhen a PostScript file is to be used later to produce a pdffile.

Landscape- uses the whole page for graphics. The drawing is rotated by90 degrees and is positioned into the bottom right-handcorner of the image area of the page. If the width and heightallow it the drawing will be output unscaled and the message'1:1 SCALE' is displayed and is repeated in the annotation ofthe output file. If the drawing is oversize it will be rescaled to

fill the page (retaining the original width/height ratio).The output file is a complete PostScript document that maycontain many pages and may start with a banner page.

The values from the MAPoption are used directly with thisoption. There are no margin or other adjustment factors. Thepositioning is applied before the rotation, its x valuesincrease to the right, and y values increase upwards.

Portrait- this is identical to the Landscape layout except that it ispositioned into the bottom left-hand corner of the image areaof the page and there is no rotation of the drawing.

Whole- uses the whole page for graphics, except for a 7 mm margin

on all four sides. The drawing is rescaled (retaining theoriginal width/height ratio) and rotated to fill the page asefficiently as possible. The output file is a completePostScript document that may contain many pages and maystart with a banner page.

Margin - uses the whole page for graphics, except for a 26 mmmargin on all four sides (to allow for punch holes andheader/footer texts, etc.). The drawing is rescaled (retainingthe original width/height ratio) and rotated to fill the page asefficiently as possible. The output file is a completePostscript document that may contain many pages and maystart with a banner page.

Figure- this layout is identical to MARGIN, except that the drawing isnotrotated.

Include- produces a file suitable for inclusion in another PostScriptdocument. The layout is identical to FIGURE, but the filecontains none of the general Postscript commands to printpages etc. (since these will be provided by the document inwhich the file is included).


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margins, respectively. These are set as follows:

Note: If a header or footer text is to include spaces, string must be enclosed betweensingle quotes.

You may include the following special characters within header and footer texts:

As an example of the page layout options as part of a command:

pl ot ps dr g. pl dr g. out "LA M, TL ' Page #' , TR Fi gur e, BC %"

This sets the page layout as follows:

Layout is of the type 'Margin' (i.e. 26 mm margins all round).

Left-head header reads 'Page 1', 'Page 2', etc.

Right-hand header text reads 'Figure'.

Centred footer shows the current date.

TLstring Sets the left-hand header text (TL=Top Left) to string.

Default: empty string.

TCstring Sets the central header text (TC=Top Centre) to string.


TRstring Sets the right-hand header text (TR=Top Right) to string.


BL string Sets the left-hand footer text (BL=Bottom Left) to string.


BCstring Sets the central footer text (BC=Bottom Centre) to string.


BRstring Sets the right-hand footer text (BR=Bottom Right) to string.


# is replaced in the printed output by the current page number (with pages beingnumbered automatically, starting from a number which you may define).

% is replaced in the current date(in the format day, month, year).

PAge in t Defines an initial page number for the translation of the # character whenusing automatic page numbering. The default is PAGE 1.


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General Options

BAnner Y/N Specifies whether or not a banner page is output at the headof the document. Default: BA Y

EOt Y/N Specifies whether the EOT character is output at the end ofthe PostScript file. This is a communication characterrequired previously for direct operation of a printer but mayneed to be omitted when a print spooler is being used.Default: EOT Y

IGraphics Y/N Allows the use of the initgraphics command. (You should notnormally need to change this setting.) Default: IG N

PType string Sets page type to string. Where string is a sequence ofprinter specific PostScript commands to be inserted into theoutput file at the point where paper size and tray selectionmight take place. This option does not affect anything else(e.g. scaling).

For example, below is an example of the PostScriptcommand to set up a printer to select a particular paper try,perhaps one containing A3 sized paper. The PostScriptstring used with PTYPE is not standard and needs to beobtained for each model of printer. Below are two examplesshowing how the printer specific commands might look liketo select a particular tray and to select manual feed.

PTYPE 'statusdict begin 2 setpapertray end'

PTYPE 'statusdict begin /manualfeed true def end'

Default: PT

MAp x y val1 val2 Defines the position of the plot on the paper (x and ycoordinates of its origin expressed in mm). It defines the plotdimensions as val1wide by val2 high. Default: MA 0 0 283.6197.3

STepsval Sets the printer steps per inch (i.e. the printer resolution) toval. Default: ST 300

GRay Selects grey-scale output to represent colours.

MOno

Selects monochrome output.

RGb

Selects RGB colour output (using default colour definitions


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Default colour representation: MONO

RGbpenr g b Selects RGB colour mode and defines the red/green/bluecolour mix for the specified logical pen number (penmustbe in the range 0-15).

Default: The colours of the graphics screen device (seefollowing table).

Number Colour Red Green Blue

0 White 1 1 1

1 Black 0 0 0

2 Orange 1 0.5 0

3 Green 0 1 0

4 Red 1 0 0

5 Blue 0 0.78 1

6 Magenta 0.78 0 1

7 Yellow 1 1 0

8 Sand 1 0.78 0

9 Yellow 1 1 0

10 Cyan 0 1 1

11 Indig 0 0 1

12 Violet 0.5 0 0.5

13 Light Grey 0.75 0.75 0.75

14 Mid Grey 0.5 0.5 0.5

15 Dark Grey 0.25 0.25 0.25

BAnner Y/N Specifies whether or not a banner page is output at the headof the document. Default: BA Y


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As an example a command with the general Postscript control options:

pl ot ps drg. pl drg. out "BA Y, MA 5 5 250 175, ST 400,RGB 9 0 1 0. 5"

This has the following effects on the printed output:

The banner page is printed.

The graphical plots have their origins moved 5 mm in each direction from the pageorigin and the plot sizes are reduced to 250 mm wide by 175 mm high (landscapeformat).

The printer resolution is set to 400 dots per inch.

The colour for logical pen number 9 is redefined as the colour mix (0 red)/(1 green)/(0.5blue).

The overall default settings for allPOSTSCRIPT/PS driver options (both layout and generaloptions) are equivalent to:

"BA N, LA L, MA 0 0 283. 6 197. 3, MO, I G N, PT, ST 300"

FOntname string This specifies the font name to be used for text. It is present

in the plot file (not as vectors) if the HIGH option is selected.This font is also used for the user name on the banner page.Default: FONT Courier

FLush Changes the format of the output file so that a new line isused for each graphical primitive instead of packing eachoutput line. The resulting output file is slightly larger as aresult. Default: Not selected.

HIgh Specifies that higher-level primitives may be used for textand other output. Default: Not selected.

Example:

pl ot ps vi ew. pl f i g1. ps

(Output to file, e.g. for inclusion in another file)

pl ot post scr i pt vi ew. pl f i g1. ps

(Output to file, e.g. for inclusion in another file)

pl ot post scr i pt vi ew. pl - 2

(output direct to printer)

pl ot ps vi ew. pl - 2 "LA M, BR ' Page #' , MA 10 40 100 70"

(Note nested quotation marks.These are needed as 'Page #' is all one string)


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4.13 SCREEN

Models

The SCREEN driver displays plot files on a workstation graphics screen.

Description

This driver provides a convenient plot file viewing facility, allowing you to preview your plotfiles before plotting or printing hard copies.

Output

This driver always creates a new graphics window to view the input plot file. There is nooutput file and -0 takes its place on the command line. If the output drawing comprises morethan one page, the display pauses at each page until you press a key or button.

User Interaction

The SCREEN driver is an interactive plot viewer with zoom and pan actions under mousecontrol with appropriate cursors and 'rubber-banding'. To use the viewer:

To pan the view by a specified distance, press and hold down the left mouse buttonwhile you move the mouse. Release the button to pan the view by a specified distance.A cursor 'rubber-band' shows you the move while you are holding the button.

As an alternati ve to scro ll bars press and release the left mouse button withoutmoving the mouse to 'snap' the current point under the cursor to the centre of thescreen.

To select a new view, press and hold down the middle button of your mouse while youmove it between the opposite corners of its boundary.

To snap the current point to the centre of the screen and then zoom in by a fixedamount, press and then release the middle mouse button (without moving the mouse).

Snap the current point to the centre of the screen and then zoom out by a fixedamount, press and release the right mouse button without moving the mouse.


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Command Summary

Note: For a 2-button mouse the effect of the middle button can be achieved by pressingboth buttons together.

Options

Note that the standard PLOTDRIVERS file changes the default for this driver to use PDMScolours. To find out how to restore the colours to their previous state and other details about

modifying the default options of built-in drivers see the section on creating your own devicedrivers.

Key/button Description

Home View all of the drawing

Shi f t - Home Refresh the window

Ar r ow keys Pan down/left/right/up by 10% of window

Cont r ol - Ar r ow Pan down/left/right/up by 2% of window

Shi f t - Ar r ow Pan down/left/right/up by 50% of window

H or ? Display help text

X Toggle cursor style, small cross and crosshair

/ Toggle cursor style, ISO and crosshair

N or Space Next drawing from plot file

Q or Return Quit viewer

0 t o 9 Set cursor colour (1=white)

Mouse 1 Press/Move/Release pans around drawing. Press/release(no move) centres this position in the window.

Mouse 2 Press/Move/Release zooms in on the box cursor. Press/release (no move) centres this position in the window and

zooms in by 20%.

Mouse 3 Press/Move/Release zooms in on the box cursor. Press/release (no move) centres this position in the window andzooms out by 20%.


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MAp x y val1 val2 Defines the position of the plot on the screen (x and ycoordinates of its origin expressed in pixels). It defines thegraphics window dimensions as val1 pixels wide by val2pixels high. Default: To match the graphics screen device.

CUrsor n Sets the long cursor pen number and must be in the range1-15. The default value is 4.

RGbpen r g b Defines the red/green/blue colour mix for the specifiedlogical pen number (pen must be in the range 0-15).Default: The colours of the graphics screen device (seefollowing table).

Number Colour Red Green Blue

0 Black 0 0 0

1 White 1 1 1

2 Orange 1 0.5 0

3 Green 0 1 0

4 Red 1 0 0

5 Blue 0 0.78 16 Magenta 0.78 0 1

7 Yellow 1 1 0

8 Sand 1 0.78 0

9 Yellow 1 1 0

10 Cyan 0 1 1

11 Indigo 0 0 1

12 Violet 0.5 0 0.5

13 Light Grey 0.75 0.75 0.7514 Mid Grey 0.5 0.5 0.5

15 Dark Grey 0.25 0.25 0.25

Example:

pl ot scr een l ogo. pl t - 0 "CUR 10, MA 20 40 250 150"


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4.14 XDUMP

This driver outputs the plot to a specially formatted bitmap image file, such as that produced

by the X-Windows utility, xwd and displayed by xwud.

Description

This driver produces a bitmap image file. This is always a single plane image thatrepresents the plot in monochrome, with the graphics from all pens drawn in the foregroundcolour.

This form of output file can be used to compare whether two plots look the same, regardlessof overdrawing and the order in which the graphical elements are drawn.

Output

Files output by this driver are in binary format and consist of a headerand datasections.

See the X-Windows and xwd utility for references to its format definition.

The drawing is scaled to a size that fills the bitmap. It is automatically rotated by 90 degreesif this makes better use of the available area.

Options

The syntax for each option is as follows (individual options must be separated by commas):

BItmap width height Defines the size of the bitmap image in pixels. Sizes shouldbe greater than 100 x 100. The default size is 1000 x 800,and the upper size limit is 9600 x 5000.

Size width height Defines the minimum plot size in millimetres that is scaled tofill the bitmap image. Increasing the size of a number ofplots to a common value means that their pixel scaling isalso the same. This is important if the bitmap files are to bemanipulated by other programs.

Example:

pl ot xdump vi ew. pl vi ew. px "BI TMAP 200 200"


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