1. Overview
2. Data file formats
   • Multi-Column Data Files
   • Multiple curves on same plot
   • Comments
3. Invocation / Usage
   • Interactive/Batch Usage
   • Window buttons
4. Command-line Options
   • Axes ranges
   • Changing graph placement on page
   • Specifying number of divisions on axes
   • Specifying columns to plot
   • Log-Axis Plots
   • Font Sizes
   • Piping Input
   • Days,Hours,Mins,Secs (DHM) axes
5. Embeddable Commands
   • Color specification
   • Line thickness
   • Titles
   • Annotations
   • Additional text on graph
   • Replacing the axes titles
   • Point Shapes
   • Arrows
   • Clickable Popup Notes - (Hyper-Notes)
6. Plotting Functions & Equations Interactively
7. Postscript Hardcopy Printing
8. Export to Publishing Tools - EPS
9. PDF (Portable Document Format) Export
10. Sending Live-Data to XGRAPH from running programs via socket(s).
11. Customizing / Editing Graphs
12. Compressed Input
13. Download XGRAPH

1. Overview

XGRAPH produces wysiwyg PostScript, PDF, PPTX, and ODP output for printing hard-copies, storing, and/or sharing plotted results, and for importing, graphs directly into word-processors for creating documentation, reports, and view-graphs.

XGRAPH includes the ability to specify plotting colors for multi-color plots, as well as line-thickness. It has the ability to use any column of a multi-column file as ordinate and abscissa axis. It also supports automatic resizing of its window. Zoom interactively into any region of a graph by simply dragging a box around the region with your mouse.

- Example (click to enlarge) -

Plot-file data can be conveniently manipulated with general purpose utilities, such as .

2. Data File Formats

Multi-column data has several values per line. Each value, or column, is separated by white-space (spaces or tabs), commas, semi-colons, or colons. Any column can be selected as the ordinate or the abscissa by the '-c' column option.

2.1 Multi-Column Data Files -

	xgraph f1 -c m1 m2 -c f2

A convenient way to switch the axes of a simple xy-pair file is to treat it as a multi-column file (having two columns), and use columns 2 and 1 as the abscissa and the ordinate respectively.

To plot multiple columns from a single file, list the file several times on the command line. For instance to plot columns 3 and 5 against column 2 from file xyz:

	xgraph -c xyz xyz
 
 and respond when prompted with:

	2 3
	2 5

 as the columns for the abscissa and ordinate axes respectively.

	xgraph -columns 1 5  test.dat

2.2 Multiple Curves, Lines, Plots:

Multiple curves can also be drawn by including data from separate data files. There is an implicit 'pen-up'-'pen-down' that breaks the connecting line between data plotted from different files.

2.3 Comments -

	Example,
		! Two points make a straight line.
		!  (x,y) 
		0	 5
		2	 6

C-style /* ... */ comments are also allowed.   These enable commenting multiple-line sections of data files.   The C-style comments are convenient for encapsulating large blocks textual explanations that are to be kept within the data file(s).

	Example,
		/* Two points  make a straight line.
		      ( x,  y )
		*/
		0        5
		2        6

3. Invocation:

	alias  xgraph  '/home/bart/graph/xgraph'

	xgraph f1.dat

3.1 Interactive / Batch Usage:

• Interactive - The default mode is interactive. When invoked, the graph-window appears with a control-panel of buttons. The button operation is described below. You may interactively select an area of a graph to zoom into by dragging a rubber-band line around a region of your graph with the left mouse button. Upon releasing the button, the graph will re-scale to zoom into the desired region. You can also zoom in-and-out and pan with the control-panel buttons. To return the display to its original scale, -perhaps to re-zoom into a different region-, hit the Reset button.

  Clicking anywhere within a graph will display the point's coordinates in the terminal window. If you click on one point and then click on another, the difference, or distance, between the two points is printed. In general, it prints the difference between the current point and the last point clicked. Similarly, if you stretch a box around some function on your time-line graph, it will print the range of time spanned.

• Batch-Mode - XGRAPH can be used when no windowing interface is available, or it is not desired to view data on the screen. This situation may occur, for example, when working remotely, or when automatically generating reports over-night. To use XGRAPH in this mode, simply place the -ps, -eps, -pdf, -odp, or -pptx options on the command-line. This will prevent the display from attempting to open on a screen, and will send the graph directly to specified file format. The output file can then be printed or viewed (immediately or at a later time).

3.2 Window Button Controls:

+Z-in Button - Zoom in. Scales range by 0.5x. -Z-out Button - Zoom out. Scales range by 2x. Pan_^ Button - Pan up. Moves graph's vertical window range upward by 25% of current range. Finer panning can be achieved by first zooming-in, then panning, and then zooming back out. Pan_< Button - Pan left. Moves graph's horizontal window range leftward by 25% of current range. Pan_> Button - Pan right. Moves graph's horizontal window range rightward by 25% of current range. Pan_v Button - Pan down. Moves graph's vertical window range downward by 25% of current range. Points/Lines Toggles - Switches the points/lines drawing mode between the three options: 1.) Lines only connecting points, 2.) Points identified on lines by small shapes, with connecting lines. 3.) Points only identified by small shapes (no connecting lines). Text Toggle - Enable or suppress textual annotations. By default, textual annotations are visible. Pressing the annotations button disables or enables the display of any annotations embedded in data files. Back/Forward History - Go back to the previous zoom or pan position. Remembers multiple levels of zoomin/movements. Reset - Reset all modes and zooming levels, re-read the data files, and redraw the graph. Quit Button - Quits the graph window.

4. Command-line Options:

Most display aspects can be changed interactively from the graph control-panel, so the command-line options are often more of a convenience. They enable the graph to come up in a desired mode without pressing more buttons.

For non-interactive or script-driven usage, the command-line options are essential. They enable display modes to be set, or hardcopy print-outs to be generated, without the need of an interactive display for pressing buttons.

Below is a quick summary of the command-line options, followed by detailed descriptions of the important options.

4.1 Options Summary:

	-c	If your data is arranged in columns, then you will
		be prompted to select individual columns.
	-color  Specify the color that data from a file is to be drawn in.
	-columns - Specify columns on command-line.
	-sann	Suppress annotations.
	-a	Expect y values only.  Generate the x values internally
		by a simple counter.
	-p	Just plot points, without connecting lines.
		Uses tick-mark shapes of circles, squares, triangles for each
		successive curve.
	-pl	Plot points with lines.  This shows where the data
		samples were on the curves with tick-marks.
	-psz    Specify point-size of shapes for -p and -pl.  (Default=0.1)
	-ps	Non-Interactive PostScript output.  Useful for batch 
		script-driven jobs.
	-eps	Non-Interactive Encapsulated PostScript output.  Useful for 
		batch script-driven jobs.
	-pdf	Non-Interactive PDF (Portable Document Format) output.
		Useful for batch script-driven jobs.
	-odp	Non-Interactive ODP (OpenOffice Document Format) output.
		Useful for batch script-driven jobs.
	-pptx   Non-Interactive PPTX (Powerpoint Document Format) output.
		Useful for batch script-driven jobs.
	-sxi	Non-Interactive SXI (Older OpenOffice Document Format) output.
		Useful for batch script-driven jobs.
	-help	Prints this list of options.
	-titles Toggle titles on graph axis.
	-text   Put extra text on graphs.
	-x_range Specify X-axis range.  Must be followed by two values.
		If specified before files, used as Soft outer limits which
		will be stretched if data values exceed given range.
		If specified after files, used as Rigid range which will
		restrict graph boundaries even if data exceeds given range.
	-y_range Specify Rigid Y-axis range.  Must be followed by two values.
		If specified before files, used as Soft outer limits which
		will be stretched if data values exceed given range.
		If specified after files, used as Rigid range which will
		restrict graph boundaries even if data exceeds given range.
	-g	Impose geometric equality of scale on both axis.
	-ng     Specifies no grid, turns grid off.
	-ngrids_x  Specify number of horizontal axis grid tick-marks.
	-ngrids_y  Specify number of vertical axis grid tick-marks.
	-snap   Snap image of graph without displaying. For background processing.
	-out_file  Specify postscript output file name.
	-bw	When printing, make postscript for black and white printer.
	-xlog   Plot X-axis in log vs. linear (ex. for log-lin or log-log plots).
	-ylog   Plot Y-axis in log vs. linear (ex. for log-lin or log-log plots).
	-shape  Specify point-shape to be used to graph the next file.
	-lower_boundary - Position of lower graph border.
	-upper_boundary - Position of upper graph border.
	-left_boundary 	- Position of left graph border.
	-right_boundary - Position of right graph border.
	-noabbrev  	- Do not shorten axis labels with "..".
	-liv4 xx  	- Automatically exit after xx seconds.
	-wbgr   	- White background.  Use white background instead of default black. 
	-monitor_files xx   	    - Re-check files every xx seconds, and replot if changed.
	-monitor_files_rescale xx   - Re-check files every xx seconds, and replot and rescale if changed.
				      The value of seconds may be a decimal value, such as 0.5.

4.2 Axis Ranges (-x_range, -y_range):

Specify the horizontal axis range with:

		-x_range min_x max_x

		-y_range min_y max_y

You can use these to express 'hard' or 'soft' ranges. A 'hard' range means that the graph will be clipped exactly to the specified range, regardless of whether your data covers that range or exceeds it.

A 'soft' range means that the graph will be drawn out to that range even if your data does not span that range, but if data exists outside that range, the range will be extended to include the data.

You control the 'hardness' or 'softness' of your optionally specified ranges by where you place them on the command-line. If placed first on the command-line, the range specifier is 'soft' in that it acts merely as a minimum range. Any data coming afterward that exceeds that range will expand it. If placed last on the command line, the range specifier is 'hard' in that it sets the range to the specified value regardless of what the data range was that came before it.

The axes data ranges and their 'hardness' or 'softness' are independently controlled for the X and Y axes. For instance, you can specify the X-axis range, but let the Y-axis auto-scale to the data, by simply specifying only an X-axis range, or vice-verse.

If you are using XGRAPH interactively, you can use the range specifiers to set the initial ranges. Then you can move around with the pan and zoom buttons, once you are inside the graph.

4.3 Changing Graph Placement on Page:

On command line:
	-upper_boundary <position>
	-lower_boundary <position>
	-left_boundary  <position>
	-right_boundary <position>
In file:
	upper_boundary = <position>
	lower_boundary = <position>
	left_boundary = <position>
	right_boundary = <position>

4.4 Specifying Number of Divisions on Axes and Grids -

  Example:

	-ngrids_x 8

4.5 Specifying Columns to Plot -

	xgraph -columns 1 5  test.dat

4.6 Log-Axis Plots

Note: The data to be graphed on a logarithmic scale cannot be negative or zero. If XGRAPH encounters negative or zero data for a logarithmic axis, it prints a warning message and exits.

Example:
        xgraph -ylog  test.dat

4.7 Font Sizes

• -fontsize_titles - Specify size of the graph-title, and axes titles. Default = 12.
• -fontsize_axes - Specify size of the numbers on the axes scales. Default = 9.
• -fontsize_anno - Specify size of any graph annotations. Default = 8.

Example:
        xgraph -fontsize_titles 8 

4.8 Piping Input

	generate_data | xgraph -x_range 0 10 -y_range 0 10  -

4.9 Days, Hours, Minutes, Seconds - Time Axes

The following command-line options control the displayed axis numbering format:

• -hms         - Display Hours:Mins:Secs, (no days).
• -dhms       - Display Days:Hours:Mins:Secs.
• -dhm         - Display Days:Hours:Mins.
• -dh           - Display Days:Hours.

XGRAPH assumes the abscissa (x-axis) values are in Seconds by default. Other units can be specified by the -time_units command-line option, which can accept the following values:

• -time_units   minutes      - Use when x-axis input values are in minutes. (Can be abbreviated min.)
• -time_units   hours        - Use when x-axis input values are in hours. (Can be abbreviated hr.)
• -time_units   days          - Use when x-axis values are in days. (Can be shortened to day.)
• -time_units   seconds      - Use when x-axis values are in seconds. (Can be abbreviated sec.)
                                                This is the default setting and is not necessary other than for clarity.

5. Embeddable Commands

5.1 Color specification -

   Command Syntax:
		color = <color_choice>

   Example:  
		color = blue

   Action: The color of any lines drawn after this command will be 'blue'.

	Valid color names are:
		0 = black,	(caution on black screen background)
		1 = white,	(caution on white paper printout)
		2 = red, 
		3 = blue, 
		4 = green, 
		5 = violet, 
		6 = orange, 
		7 = yellow, 
		8 = pink,
		9 = cyan,
		10 = light-gray,
		11 = dark-gray,
		12 = fuchsia,   (default plotting color)
		13 = aqua,	(border color)
		14 = navy,	(grid color)
		15 = gold.	(text color)

You can use either the color names or numbers (also called pen-numbers).

There is also a rainbow of 128 extra (un-named) color pens numbered 16 - 143.   You can use them as, for example:   color = 102 .
They are arranged by color as in the rainbow pictured below:

You can download this rainbow.dat file and plot it (xgraph rainbow.dat).
Or generate the rainbow yourself by the following C program, rainbow.c:

		#include <stdio.h>
		main()
		{
		 int j;
		 FILE *outfile;
		 outfile = fopen("rainbow.dat","w");
		 fprintf(outfile,"Thickness=3\n");
		 fprintf(outfile,"title_x=Color Number\n");
		 for (j=0; j<=144; j++)
		   fprintf(outfile,"color=%d\n%d 0\n%d 1\nnext\n", j, j, j);
		 fclose(outfile);
		}

	Compile it:	cc rainbow.c -o rainbow
	Run it:		./rainbow
	Plot it:	xgraph rainbow.dat

You can also specify your own colors by the set_color command.

	set_color  cn  =  ( r,  g,  b )

	set_color  138  =  ( 0,  230,  200 )

You can also specify color on the command line using the -color command-line option. With it, you can specify a separate color for each of several files plotted from the command-line. (Any embedded color commands will override the command-line settings.)

Background, Border, Text Colors

• XGRAPH_BACKGROUND
• XGRAPH_BORDERCOLOR
• XGRAPH_TEXTCOLOR
  

These take values in the form of RRBBGG, ranging from 000000 through ffffff. Where each red/blue/green color is specified as a two-digit hex value, 00 = 0-decimal (dark) through ff = 256-decimal (bright).

For example:

	000000 = Jet-Black.
	808080 = Gray.
	ffffff = Bright-White.
	880000 = Medium Red.
	008800 = Medium Blue.

	setenv XGRAPH_BACKGROUND 005858

These color settings will affect the screen display and image output file colors. The background color will not affect the Postcript, PDF, or Office output-file colors. (The B&W print option sets all objects to black for best display on non-color printers.)

The default colors are:

	setenv XGRAPH_BACKGROUND 123b12
	setenv XGRAPH_BORDERCOLOR 00ffff
	setenv XGRAPH_TEXTCOLOR d112d1

To remove the settings, use for example:

	unsetenv XGRAPH_BACKGROUND
	unsetenv XGRAPH_BORDERCOLOR
	unsetenv XGRAPH_TEXTCOLOR

	export XGRAPH_BACKGROUND=d0f0d0
	export XGRAPH_BORDERCOLOR=000000
	export XGRAPH_TEXTCOLOR=000000

5.2 Line Thickness -

   Command Syntax:
		thickness = <value>

   Example:
		thickness = 2.5

   Action: The thickness of any lines drawn after this command will be
	   2.5-points wide.  A point is defined as 1/72-inch.

	   Note that for screen displays, dimensions are scaled such
	   that the window size is always considered to be an 8.5x11
	   inch sheet of paper, regardless of the actual size of the
	   display window.  This ensures that manipulations of your
	   graph will appear on a printout as they do on your screen.
	   It also ensures that line widths do not vary with the range
	   of your data, or the extent that you zoom in or out.

5.3 Titles:

   title_x = <any text you choose>
   title_y = <any text you choose>
   title = <any text you choose>

   Examples:
            title_x = Time (uS)

    This will put 'Time (uS)' under the X-axis.


            title_y = Device Name

    This will put 'Device Name' to the left of the Y-axis.


	    title = Experiment 5: Two Search-mode Subgraphs.

    This will put 'Experiment 5: Two Search-mode Subgraphs.' 
    across the top of the graph page.

  Example 1:

       xgraph  -titles  f1.dat  -titles  -f2.dat

     (This will only take titles from the f2.dat file.)

      xgraph  result.dat  velocity_graph.titles

5.4 Annotations -

The form is:
		annotation  <X>  <Y>  <text>
For example:
		anno   5.2  78.0   Second Experiment Results

To suppress annotations from appearing on you graph, you can use the '-sann', 'suppress annotations' command line option, or hit the Toggle-Annot button on the control panel.

5.5 Additional Text on Graph:

To use this option, add the '-text' command-line. You embed text within your data file(s), by using the keyword 'text' followed by the inch-based coordinates of where you want it to appear on an 8.5x11 page. Then place your text on the succeeding lines. End the text entries by placing the keyword 'end_text' on an empty line. As with all other things, the keywords can be in caps or smalls or any combination thereof. An example follows:

	! This is an example of embedding text within a data file.
	! you might have axis titles and other things in here too.
	TEXT  4.5  3.2
	 Figure 8 - Revenue vs. Profits
	 	This text will be included on the graph
		when you select the '-text' option.
	END_TEXT
	! The data may then follow or precede the text, etc.

5.6 Replacing the vertical axis labels -

   Command Syntax:
		replace_y_axis <value> <string>

   Example:
		replace_y_axis  101.2  VME_bus

   Action: The word 'VME_bus' will appear at the vertical position 
	   corresponding to 101.2 to the left of the y-axis where
	   the numbers would otherwise appear.

5.7 Replacing the horizontal axis labels -

 
   Command Syntax:
		replace_x_axis <value> <string>

   Example:
		replace_x_axis  11  /device_11

   Action: The word '/device_11' will appear at the horizontal position 
	   corresponding to 11 under the x-axis where the x-axis
	   numbers would otherwise appear.

5.8 Point Shape -

  Command Syntax:
		shape <value>
	or
		shape
  Example:
		shape 4

  Explanation:  You can distinguish data-curves, -and the points on the curves-,
		when graphing data in the points or points-lines mode.
		(This mode can be activated from the front-panel Tog-Points
		button, or on an individual file basis with the -pl or -p options.)  
		When you do, each data point is rendered as a small shape.
		The available shapes are:

			0	triangles
			1	circles
			2	squares
			3	diamonds
			4	inverted triangles
			5	stars
			6	horizontal hour-glass
			7	vertical hour-glass

		By default when reading multiple data files, the shape
		of the points advances by one for each new file.
		The shapes repeat modulo 8, as needed.  

		You can control the shapes explicitly with the shape
		command.  Specifying shape on a line of a data file
		by itself without a number, causes the shape-index to advance,
		as in a file-transition.  The shape command enables
		you to change point-shapes as many times as you wish within
		a file.  It also allows you to identify and distinguish your
		data by setting the point-symbols to known shapes.

		(When used on the command-line between file-names, the -shape
		 keyword must be followed by a number.  It would be unnecessary
		 without a number, since the shapes change by default between
		 files.)

5.9 Arrows -

   Command Syntax:
		arrow  x1 y1  x2 y2

   Example:
		arrow  23.2  39.1   10.0  15.0

   Action:  Draws arrow to (x1,y1) with line from point (x2,y2).

   Options: Two optional parameters determine arrow's style:
		arrow  x1 y1  x2 y2  size  angle

		Size =  Size of arrow.
			Nominally 1.0.
		Angle = Sharpness of arrow.
			Nominally 1.0 for a 30-degree arrow.
			Snub = 2.0, sleek = 0.5.

   Example:
		arrow  23.2 39.1  10.0 15.0   2.5  0.5

	     This makes a large, narrow arrow.

5.10 Clickable Popup Messages -

   Command Syntax:
		<hypernote> x y {message} </hypernote>

   Example:
		<hypernote> 23.2  39.1   Data item qrst </hypernote>

   Action: Clicking in the (x,y) region will pop-up a window with the
	   message in it.  Note that messages may span multiple lines.

5.11 Making Legends -

The TITLE_LEGEND_LINE, TITLE_LEGEND_POINT, and TITLE_DATE_STAMP directives enable you to add symbols, line segments, and/or date-stamps to the textual areas in page-relative coordinates. One significance of page-relative is that the text notes do not move around the page as you zoom or pan within the graph.

The directives are:

	TITLE_LEGEND_LINE  x1 y1  x2 y2

	TITLE_LEGEND_POINT  x y  shape
and
	TITLE_DATE_STAMP  x  y

	lower_boundary = 5.000000

	Color = Red 
	TITLE_LEGEND_POINT  2.0 6.0  2
	Text 2.0 6.0
	  - Square red-box symbols represent raw data points.
	End_Text

	Color = Green
	TITLE_LEGEND_POINT  2.0 6.25 3
	TITLE_LEGEND_POINT  2.15 6.25 3
	TITLE_LEGEND_LINE   2.0 6.25  2.15 6.25
	Text 2.15 6.25
	  - Green diamond-point lines represent smoothed data.
	End_Text

5.12 Solid Rectangles -

	RECTANGLE  color  x1 y1  x2 y2

	RECTANGLE  red  10 20	30 2

6. Plotting Functions & Equations Interactively

You can plot arbitrary functions interactively under the menu:

       Options / Plot Equations

When selected, an Equation Plotting window pops up.
You can type in a function of 'x' in the 'y=' formbox.
For example, try:

       sin( x )

And click 'Plot it'. You will see the 'y = sin(x)' function plotted.
Then try:

        sin( x ) * cos( 0.1 * x)

... and select a different color.  You will see both functions.

You can plot multiple functions on the same graph, and give each
a distinct color and line-thickness with the controls.
To clear the previously plotted functions, click the 'Reset' button
on the main control panel.  You can re-plot, or edit previous
entries by clicking the up-arrow to the right of the function box.
You can scroll through your history of past commands by using the
up and down arrows.  You can change the x-range and step-size over
which your function is plotted, with the X-Min, X-Max, and X-Step
buttons.  

Equations can be full expressions with parenthesis, and
variables.  You can define a variable by typing a variable name with
an equals (=) sign and pressing the <enter> key on your keyboard.
Variables can be full equations containing other variables.
For example:
      pressure = 34.5 * x + 0.4
      t1 = log(3.4 + abs(x))
      m = sqrt( pressure) + 72.3
Then you could type something like:
      100 * m / (2.1 + t1)
... and then press 'Plot it' to plot the function of variables 'm' and 't1'.

You could then change any of the variable definitions and re-plot,
or plot a new function of the same variables like:
     t1 * (m - 0.1 * t1)

Typing any numerically evaluatable expression and pressing <enter>
will display the answer.  So you can also use this window as a calculator.
For example:
     5.73 * 2300 / (100 - 2.3) <enter>
... produces:  134.893

If you had entered the variables of x above, you could type:
     x = 72
     t1 / 2
... to yield:  2.1614

The variable 'Pi' is automatically predefined (3.141592653589793).
So you can conveniently plot:  sin( Pi * x )

Available built-in functions include:
  SIN()              - Sine function.
  COS()              - Cosine function.
  ARCSIN() or ASIN() - Arcsin.
  ARCCOS() or ACOS() - Arccos.
  TAN()              - Tangent function.
  ARCTAN() or ATAN   - Inverse tangent functions.
  ATAN2(y,x)         - Inverse tangent of y/x.
  ABS()              - Absolute value
  TRUNC()            - Truncates float to integer.
  ROUND()            - Rounds float to nearest integer.
  SQRT()             - Square-root of argument.
  LOG()              - Natural Log of argument.
  LOG10()            - Base-10 Log of argument.
  EXP()              - Natural exponent.
  EXP10()            - Base-10 exponent.
  SQR()              - Squares argument.
  POW(x,y)           - Raises x to power y.
  RANDOM()           - Random value from 0.0 and 1.0. (No arg needed.)
  SETSEED()          - Sets random seed. Argument must be integer.
  MIN(,)             - Returns smallest of two arguments.
  MAX(,)             - Returns largest of two arguments.

Additionally, the following commands are available:
  degree_units       - Sets angle units for trig functions. Default = radian_units.
  list_variables     - List all defined variables and macros.
  Help               - Prints this option summary.

7. Postscript Hardcopy Printing:

7.1 Interactive Mode:

You can set the environment variable XGRAPH_PRINT_COMMAND to specify the print command and favorite printer that you normally want to use. If you do, your default print-command will show-up in the print-menu. To set the variable, use for example:

	setenv  XGRAPH_PRINT_COMMAND  "lpr -Plw1"

You can save your diagrams to printer files in several formats, including PostScript (PS), Encapsulated Postscript (EPS), PDF, ODP, PPTX, and most image formats such as .xpm, .jpg, .gif, .png, etc.. PS is useful for later printing. EPS and GIF are useful for inclusion in PPT or Word reports. ODP and PPTX are useful for inclusion in documents, presentations, and reports. PDF, JPG, and GIF are useful for including diagrams on HTML web-pages.

The default format for image files is, .ppm. If you wish to save to another image format, then specify the format by changing the file suffix accordingly. For example, to save as a JPG image, change the file name from image.ppm to image.jpg. XGRAPH automatically causes the file to be converted to the appropriate type. (If you have a problem on your platform, see other image formats.)

7.2 Non-Interactive Mode:

			lpr  ljet.ps

	-out_file graph_3.ps

8. Export to Publishing Tools

This feature enables you to include graphs in documents, as well as to manipulate or edit graphs in convenient drawing tools. The saved file is not just an image. Rather, it is a diagram of independent objects. You may manipulate the graph objects in any way that you choose. For instance, you can change fonts, font sizes, colors, etc.. You can also add textual annotations, with arrows to point to things, or circle or high-light particular graph features. One particularly powerful feature is the ability to stretch or shrink the whole graph, to change its aspect-ratio, or even rotate it 90-degrees. In this way you can easily put several graphs on a page with complete layout freedom.

If you are using XGRAPH interactively, you can produce Office files by clicking on the File/Print menu when you are satisfied with how your graph looks. Or if you are not in interactive mode, invoke XGRAPH with the '-odp' or '-pptx' command-line option. In either case, a message will be printed to the screen saying the file was written.

File name 'plot.pptx' or 'plot.odp' is the default output file name. You can specify the output file name by using the -out_file command line option upon invocation, as in:

        -out_file graph_3.odp

Encapsulated Postscript
Another option is to export encapsulated postscript (.eps) from XGRAPH. Most drawing tools, such as PowerPoint, can import .eps files directly.

To export .eps, choose Print / To Files, then select Encapsulated Postscript from the menu.

9. PDF, Portable Document Format Output:

To produce your graphs in PDF interactively, press the PRINT button and select PDF. To produce your graphs in PDF non-interactively, place -pdf on the xgraph command-line. By default, a file called ljet.pdf will be produced. You can view PDF files with the free Acrobat reader, acroread, from Adobe for Unix, MS-PC, Apple Macintosh, and all Linux platforms. Example. Various other PDF viewers are available. You can also send the PDF file to your printer from the PDF-viewer.

File name 'ljet.pdf' is the default output file name. You can specify a different name by using the -out_file command line option upon invocation, as in:

	-out_file graph_3.pdf

10. Sending Live-Data to XGRAPH from Running Program

11. Customizing / Editing Graphs

• change, move, or add new textual annotations,
• select annotations to hide or show,
• change options,
• add, change, or remove files from the graph,
• add or change the graph title,
• add or change the axis labels,
• move the borders of the graph around the page (for example, to allow more space for axis-labels, or to place large textual explanations above, below, or along side the graph),
• draw new lines, or
• re-scale the X or Y axis numbers.

The following explains the individual options.

Read New File	-	You can open a new file for display of its data, or add a data file to be displayed with others already loaded, by pressing this button. A file browser will pop-up for you to enter or select a data file for plotting.
UnRead File	-	If you wish to remove a data file or option from the current display, press this button. You will see a list of the currently loaded files and options, where you have the opportunity to eliminate any of them. This button, in combination with the Add Options button, can be used to rearrange the order of the files and options. (For example, to turn -pl points-on-lines or -c multi-column-file-mode on before some files and off on others.)
Save Custom Graph   (by copy)	-	There are two ways to save your customizations: by copy, into ONE file, or by reference to other files. There is a distinct button for each method. The Save Custom Graph (by copy) button causes all data AND customizations to be saved into one convenient file of your choosing. This method is convenient for archiving the results of individual experiments or data-sets. With this, you may combine data from many files, together with your specific annotations and explanations, into one file. The customized graph-file can be retrieved at any later time. It is convenient to use a naming convention for the save-file which denotes the experiment, date, etc., to facilitate organizing large collections of results. This method is also advantageous for cases where you cannot be sure the constituent data-files will remain. You can re-load a saved file by invoking XGRAPH with just that file name.
Save Customization (by reference)	-	As mentioned above, the Save Customizations (by reference) button causes just your customizations to be saved in a file, along with the include references to the data files you are viewing. This method is convenient when you wish to view data that is to be updated independently, or for common data that is to be viewed from several different customization files. You can re-load a saved file by invoking XGRAPH with just that customization file name. XGRAPH will follow all the references to load the data from the other files. You can also edit these file with a text editor. Customization files are syntactically the same as any other XGRAPH file. Their only distinction is their role.
Graph Title	-	To add or modify a graph title, click the Graph Title button. A pop-up text-window will appear to enter or modify your graph title. You may then select ok or Apply. In the former case, the graph's title change will be registered immediately, but you will not see the graph title change on the graph until next screen update. Selecting Apply forces an immediate screen redraw.
X-Axis Label	-	To add or modify the X-axis (horizontal) label, click the X-axis Label button. A pop-up text-window will appear to enter or modify the axis label. You may then select ok or Apply. In the former case, the label change will be registered immediately, but you will not see the graph change on the graph until next screen update. Selecting Apply forces an immediate screen redraw.
Y-Axis Label	-	To add or modify the Y-axis (horizontal) label, click the Y-axis Label button. A pop-up text-window will appear to enter or modify the axis label. You may then select ok or Apply. In the former case, the label change will be registered immediately, but you will not see the graph change on the graph until next screen update. Selecting Apply forces an immediate screen redraw.
Attach Text to Data	-	There are two ways to add textual annotations to your graph: data-space relative, and page-relative. The first attaches your annotation to the coordinates of your plotted data, such that, after panning or zooming, your annotation will remain in the same position relation to your data, though it will change its position on the screen or printed page. (Some annotations will actually disappear from view when zoomed into a different region of a graph.) When you press this button, a pop-up window will appear for you to enter some text. After entering your text and clicking the ok button, then click-once at the place on your graph where you wish to attach the annotation. You will see the annotation appear where you clicked. Typically, data-relative annotations are used near data features in your graph, such as identifying individual curves or inflection points. These annotations are placed with the graph borders. The second method is described next.
Attach Text to Page	-	As mentioned above, there are two ways to add textual annotations to your graph. This second method attaches your annotation to the coordinates of the printed page (or window). Its position will not be affected by any panning or zooming of your graph data. Typically, page-relative annotations are used to provide longer explanations about the data set, conditions, observations, etc.. These are often placed outside the graph borders, perhaps, above, below, or aside of the graph. The Move Border option is particularly helpful for providing more space around the graph to accommodate longer discussions. When you press this button, a pop-up window will appear for you to enter some text. You will notice that it has a larger, multi-line, test-box to accommodate longer descriptions than the previous annotation mode. After entering your text and clicking the ok button, then click-once at the place in the graph window where you wish to attach the text. You will see your added text appear where you clicked.
Draw-Line	-	Often it is helpful to add a line to your graph, perhaps to better point at something you are annotating, or to show a critical region on your graph. Of course you could add or manipulate lines by editing a data-file. But, you can also add such lines interactively (visually) with this button. (The lines so-entered will be associated with the window or page, not the data.) To draw a line on your graph, click the Draw-Line button. Then click-once at the spot where you want the line to begin. Release, and move the mouse to the spot where you want the line to go to. Clicking a second time at the second point will produce the line on your graph. For extra help, you will see prompts in the text-window telling you what to do at each step of the process.
Select Text:       On/Off	-	You can change the status of annotations with the Select text buttons. The first, labeled On/Off, allows you to show or hide selected annotations. (This includes both annotations in your data files, as well as the ones you entered interactively.) This button has a toggling effect on selected annotations. That is, toggling once will cause a hidden annotation to show, while toggling the visible annotation will cause it to become hidden. To toggle the visibility of an annotation, click the On/Off button, and then click once on the graph near the annotation. You should see the annotation change in visibility. (To point accurately at closely-spaced annotations, remember that an annotation's sensitive spot is at the left side of the first character on its first line.) Typically, the On/Off option is used when an overwhelming number of annotations are present and therefore suppressed, but you wish to bring out a few selected ones. Consequently, this mode assumes that the suppress-annotations (-sann) option must be activated. If not, this operation it will activate -sann automatically. You may see other annotations become hidden. Simply show the desired ones by toggling them On again with this button. Conversely, toggling global annotations back-on with the front-panel's Tog Anno button will cause all annotations to be displayed again. (Of course! They're still there!). But this will detract from any modified annotations. Toggling the global annotations back-off will restore your customizations.
Select Text:       Move	-	You can move any annotation or text-note by clicking the Move button. Then click-once on the annotation you wish to select. Release, and move the mouse to where you want to place the annotation. Then click once more where you want the annotation placed. You will see the annotation appear in the new location. (The data-or-screen relative-status is unaffected by this operation.)
Select Text:       Edit	-	To modify an annotation or text-note, click the Edit button. Then click-once on the annotation you wish to edit. A pop-up text-window will appear with the selected annotation inside it. After editing it, click Apply button. You will see the modified annotation on the graph.
Move Borders	-	It is often useful to re-position the boundaries of the graph on the screen or printed-page, to allow more space for axis label names, or textual notes and explanations around the graph. You can move the four borders independently by pressing the Move Borders button. A pop-up window will appear that shows you the current border position settings, and allows you to modify them. The border positions are specified in inches relative to an 8.5x11 sheet of paper in landscape orientation. The positions within a screen window are directly proportioned to this as well. (Sometimes it is helpful, to avoid much trial and error, to use a ruler with a printed graph to reach good settings quickly.)
Scale X-axis     Numbers	-	Sometimes it is desired to change the units with which the axis numbers were labeled. For example, from minutes to nano-seconds, for volts to kilo-volts. You can change the axis-label with the axis-label buttons. To change the X-axis numbers, click the the Scale X-axis Numbers button. A pop-up window appears allowing you to enter a scale factor. This will not change the data on the graph, nor its positioning. For example, suppose an experiment produced data ranging from 0.00002-seconds to 0.00005-seconds. Certainly such a span is unwieldy to express in seconds. Instead, you could change the axis label from being (units are seconds) to read (units are micro-seconds), and re-scale the x-axis numbers by 1.0e+6, to show values ranging 20-uS to 50-uS. The data and its position on the graph will be unaffected.
Scale Y-axis     Numbers	-	Similar to Scale X-axis Numbers above, but for the Y- (vertical) axis.
Add Options	-	You can add or modify the command-line options while the graph is displayed. For help on available options, see Command-line Options.

Plot-file data can be further manipulated with general purpose utilities, such as Num-Util.

12. Compressed Input

The feature is automatic. Any file ending with the .scz suffix will be decompressed on-the-fly. Utilities and routines for compressing and decompressing files can be downloaded from the open-source SCZ project.

13. Download a Copy of XGRAPH for Your Site

• xgraph.tar.gz - (for PC's running Linux (eg. Redhat,Ubuntu)) (7-30-2018)
• xgraph.zip - (for MS-Windows) (7-30-2018)
• xgraph.tar.gz - (for Apple Mac OS-X) (7-31-2018)
• xgraph.tar.gz - (for PC's running FreeBSD) (3-27-2013)
• xgraph.tar.gz - (for Sun Solaris 5.6 or greater) [130-Kb] (9-15-03)

An example data file is included in the packages for quick testing: testxy.dat [1-KB]
Test with:       xgraph   testxy.dat

To be notified of major XGRAPH updates, send mail to xgraphadmin@xgraph.org.
If you have any trouble, write to xgraphadmin@xgraph.org.

14. History

Please report comments, problems, or suggestions to: xgraphadmin@xgraph.org

Origins:

• xy.c - 1982, Under Case Western Unix, a basic character oriented plotter from Chein.
• xy2.c - 1983, ported to VAX VMS.
• xgraph v0 - 1985, MPagan ported xy2 to ReGis Graphics display, named it XGRAPH.
• xgraph v1.0 - 1987, Ported Open Windows display.
• xgraph v1.1 - 1989, Ported to X-windows.
• xgraph v1.3 - 1992, Enhanced interactive extensions.
• xgraph v1.4 - 1995, Web documented.
• xgraph v1.5 - 1997, Added log plotting capabilities.
• xgraph v1.6 - 1999, Added interactive customization features.
• xgraph v1.7 - 2000, Jan., Added Hyper-Notes capabilities.
• xgraph v1.8 - 2000, June, Added command-line "piping" option.
• xgraph v1.9 - 2001, May, Forward-backward buttons.
• xgraph v1.10 - 2002, July, Several minor enhancements/fixes.
• xgraph v1.11 - 2002, Nov, Several minor enhancements/fixes.
• xgraph v1.12 - 2003, Aug, A4 paper sizes, click coords.
• xgraph v1.52 - 2011, Revised printing capabilities. Added -liv4 option.
• xgraph v4.00 - 2012, Ported to Gtk graphics.
• xgraph v4.10 - 2012, Added option to plot equations and functions interactively.
• xgraph v4.20 - 2014, Feb - Several minor improvements. Handles spaces in path-names. Added ability to monitor data files for changes.
• xgraph v4.30 - 2014, April - Re-activated the -soc option for live socket data.
• xgraph v4.38 - 2018, July - Minor fixes.

Related Tools

• XYZ-2-WF - 3D Data Plotting. Converts matrix data into 3D surface-plots or bar-graphs for highly interactive viewing with WF3D. (Numeric visualization.)
  
• XYZ - Like the XGRAPH, but plots 3-D data on mesh plot.
• CONTOUR - Like XYZ, but produces a contour map of 3-D data.
• SOLIDXYZ - Like the XYZ, but renders solid surface view of 3-D data.
• Num-Util - Numeric Utilities, useful for manipulating graph-data in files.