PLOTTEST

Table of Contents

FUNCTION

DESCRIPTION

EXAMPLE

TEST PATTERN FEATURES

FUNCTION

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PlotTest plots an example graphic to test your graphics configuration. The graphic created by PlotTest uses every Accelrys GCG (GCG) graphics feature. It should resemble the example graphic in the Program Manual.

DESCRIPTION

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GCG has been configured to work with a number of different graphics devices. PlotTest is a tool that tests every major funtion that might be included in graphical output from a GCG program. It is intended for end users and system administrators. The output in the figure below should be carefully compared to what you get when you run PlotTest to be sure that your graphics configuration is correct. It can also be used to see what graphic features are supported by a graphics device.

PlotTest really exists to validate GCG graphics programs.

EXAMPLE

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Here is how you run PlotTest:

% plottest -SHOwFonts

  When your LaserWriter attached to tty07 is ready, press <Return>.

  Interactive Plotter

  PLOTTEST normal exit

RELATED PROGRAMS

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We can't think of anything quite like PlotTest.

RESTRICTIONS

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Not every option works with every graphics device.

SUGGESTIONS

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Turn to the Introduction to the Program Manual and look at the command-line parameters for all GCG graphics programs. PlotTest is an ideal vehicle for testing these. Be sure to play with the zoom and pan options.

If you run PlotTest with -NOTEXt and -COLor=1 it plots the test pattern very rapidly on most devices.

OUTPUT

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Here is a black-and-white version of the PlotTest output from our Apple LaserWriter:

TEST PATTERN FEATURES

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Clipping

is seen at the corners of the top of the inner square. The same corners have unclipped lines at the bottom. The text Clip stops at the border of the inner (blue) rectangle, while No Clipping continues outside the inner (blue) rectangle. Use -NOCLIpping to plot the test pattern without clipping.

Text Slant

The words Bottom, Right, etc., are slanted to the right 10 degrees. The words Rising and Falling are not slanted. The R and the F should both touch the perpendicular diagonal. The device name at the top should be drawn without any character slant.

Text Position

GCG programs must be able to control text position very accurately. The phrase Anti-Clockwise Text should fill the arc between the diagonals, leaving only enough room for two more letters. The tick labels should be accurately centered above the tick marks.

Aspect Ratio

The inner square labeled Bottom, Right, Top, and Left should be perfectly square. The circle with the text should be a perfect circle with the inner square making tangents to it in four places. The inner ellipse should have a 1 x 10 aspect ratio. The outermost rectangle should be exactly 1.0 x 1.5. For paper that is 11 x 17 inches in HP plotters, the outer rectangle should be exactly 10 x 15 inches.

Pen Speed

When the specified graphics device is a plotter, the eight vertical lines in the inner (blue) rectangle should each be drawn at a different speed from slowest to fastest.

Color

The number of colors available for the specified device should be printed at the top of the plot.

If more than one color is available, the eight vertical lines in the inner (blue) rectangle should each be drawn with a different color. The first four should be black, green, blue, and red in order from left to right. None of the eight lines should be adjacent to a line of the same color. The actual color of lines five through eight is not important.

Line Styles

Lines may be stylistically differentiated, dashed or dotted, etc. None of the eight vertical lines in the inner (blue) rectangle should be adjacent to a line of the same style.

Line Width

Lines can be drawn at any thickness on some devices. A second line next to the rectangular box underneath the square box appears on some devices to be two platen units wide. As this was being written, only the LaserWriter supported this feature.

Character Aspect

The letters of the words Accelrys should be drawn out horizontally, but the words Accelrys should be centered under the inner (blue) rectangular box.

Fonts

If different character fonts are available, then each font should be represented with the word Font and a number.

Auto Paper Feed

If you run PlotTest with -AUTOFeed, it should make two test patterns and feed the paper automatically on automatic plotters or prompt you to reload the paper on all others. If you type <Ctrl>C while the first plot is plotting, it should stop the first plot and start the second. The word Auto-Feed appears on both plots.

Platen Boundary

The large rectangle around the test pattern defines the area of the platen in which GCG plots are drawn. Since GCG plots have a lower aspect ratio than most graphics devices, there are small triangles showing the corners of the device platen. The pen can be moved anywhere within these boundaries by programs like Figure.

Heading

The heading tells the name of the device that GCG thinks you are using and the date. The name of the driver and the date on which it was last modified should also appear in the heading.

Interactive Device

If your plotter allows a plot to be interrupted for input from the terminal, the test pattern should say Interactive Device and the same text should appear on your terminal screen. Most GCG programs do not use this feature.

GRAPHICS

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GCG must be configured for graphics before you run any program with graphics output! If the % setplot command is available in your installation, this is the easiest way to establish your graphics configuration, but you can also use commands like % postscript that correspond to the graphics languages GCG supports. See Section 5, Using Graphics in the User's Guide for more information about configuring your process for graphics.

<CTRL>C

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If you need to stop this program, use <Ctrl>C to reset your terminal and session as gracefully as possible. Searches and comparisons write out the results from the part of the search that is complete when you use <Ctrl>C. The graphics device should stop plotting the current page and start plotting the next page. If the current page is the last page, plotters should put the pen away and graphic terminals should return to interactive mode.

COMMAND-LINE SUMMARY

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All parameters for this program may be added to the command line. Use -CHEck to view the summary below and to specify parameters before the program executes. In the summary below, the capitalized letters in the parameter names are the letters that you must type in order to use the parameter. Square brackets ([ and ]) enclose parameter values that are optional.

Minimal Syntax: % plottest -Default

Prompted Parameters: None

Local Data Files: None

Command Line Options:

-SHOwfonts        writes "Font nn" in each available font

-TEXt=something   prints "Something" on the bottom of the plot

All GCG graphics programs accept these and other switches. See the Using

Graphics section of the USERS GUIDE for descriptions.

-FIGure[=filename]  stores plot in a file for later input to FIGURE

-FONT=3             draws all text on the plot using font 3

-COLor=1            draws entire plot with pen in stall 1

-SCAle=1.2          enlarges the plot by 20 percent (zoom in)

-XPAN=10.0          moves plot to the right 10 platen units (pan right)

-YPAN=10.0          moves plot up 10 platen units (pan up)

-PORtrait           rotates plot 90 degrees

LOCAL DATA FILES

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None.

PARAMETER REFERENCE

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You can set the parameters listed below from the command line.

-SHOwfonts

Plots an example of each available software font next to the test pattern.

-TEXt='Holy high-tech graphics"," Batman!'

Prints Holy high-tech graphics, Batman! on the plot in place of the line Interactive Device ....

The parameters below apply to all GCG graphics programs. These and many others are described in detail in Section 5, Using Graphics of the User's Guide.

-FIGure=programname.figure

Writes the plot as a text file of plotting instructions suitable for input to the Figure program instead of sending it to the device specified in your graphics configuration.

-FONT=3

Draws all text characters on the plot using Font 3 (see Appendix I).

-COLor=1

Draws the entire plot with the pen in stall 1.

The parameters below let you expand or reduce the plot (zoom), move it in either direction (pan), or rotate it 90 degrees (rotate).

-SCAle=1.2

Expands the plot by 20 percent by resetting the scaling factor (normally 1.0) to 1.2 (zoom in). You can expand the axes independently with -XSCAle and -YSCAle. Numbers less than 1.0 contract the plot (zoom out).

-XPAN=30.0

Moves the plot to the right by 30 platen units (pan right).

-YPAN=30.0

Moves the plot up by 30 platen units (pan up).

-PORtrait

Rotates the plot 90 degrees. Usually, plots are displayed with the horizontal axis longer than the vertical (landscape). Note that plots are reduced or enlarged, depending on the platen size, to fill the page.

Printed: May 27, 2005 14:03

Technical Support: support-us@accelrys.com, support-japan@accelrys.com,
or support-eu@accelrys.com

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All other product names mentioned in this documentation may be trademarks, and if so, are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are used in this documentation for identification purposes only.