PLOT

User Guide
 AVEVA Sol ut io n s L td

Disclaimer 
Information of a technical nature, and particulars of the product and its use, is given by AVEVA
Solutions Ltd and its subsidiaries without warranty. AVEVA Solutions Ltd and its subsidiaries disclaim
any and all warranties and conditions, expressed or implied, to the fullest extent permitted by
b y law.
Neither the author nor AVEVA Solutions Ltd, or any of its subsidiaries, shall be liable to any person or 
entity for any actions, claims, loss or damage arising from the use or possession of any information,
particulars, or errors in this publication, or any incorrect use of the product, whatsoever.

Copyright
Copyright and all other intellectual property rights in this manual and the associated software, and every
part of it (including source code, object code, any data contained in it, the manual and any other 
documentation supplied with it) belongs to AVEVA Solutions Ltd or its subsidiaries.
All other rights are reserved to AVEVA Solutions Ltd and its subsidiaries. The information contained in
this document is commercially sensitive, and shall not be copied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted without the prior written permission of AVEVA Solutions Ltd. Where such
permission is granted, it expressly requires that this Disclaimer and Copyright notice is prominently
displayed at the beginning of every copy that is made.
The manual and associated documentation may not be adapted, reproduced, or copied, in any material
or electronic form, without the prior written permission of AVEVA Solutions Ltd. The user may also not
reverse engineer, decompile, copy, or adapt the associated software. Neither the whole, nor part of the
product described in this publication may be incorporated into any third-party software, product,
machine, or system without the prior written permission of AVEVA Solutions Ltd, save as permitted by
law. Any such unauthorised action is strictly prohibited, and may give rise to civil liabilities and criminal
prosecution.
The AVEVA products described in this guide are to be installed and operated strictly in accordance with
the terms and conditions of the respective license agreements, and in accordance with the relevant
User Documentation. Unauthorised or unlicensed use of the product is strictly prohibited.
First published September 2007
© AVEVA
AVEVA Solutions Ltd, and its subsidiaries
AVEVA Solutions Ltd, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HB, United Kingdom

Trademarks
AVEVA and Tribon are registered trademarks of AVEVA Solutions Ltd or its subsidiaries. Unauthorised
use of the AVEVA
AVEVA or Tribon trademarks is strictly forbidden.
AVEVA product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of AVEVA Solutions Ltd or its
subsidiaries, registered in the UK, Europe and other countries (worldwide).
The copyright, trade mark rights, or other intellectual property rights in any other product, its name or 
logo belongs to its respective owner.
 AVEVA Sol ut io n s L td

Disclaimer 
Information of a technical nature, and particulars of the product and its use, is given by AVEVA
Solutions Ltd and its subsidiaries without warranty. AVEVA Solutions Ltd and its subsidiaries disclaim
any and all warranties and conditions, expressed or implied, to the fullest extent permitted by
b y law.
Neither the author nor AVEVA Solutions Ltd, or any of its subsidiaries, shall be liable to any person or 
entity for any actions, claims, loss or damage arising from the use or possession of any information,
particulars, or errors in this publication, or any incorrect use of the product, whatsoever.

Copyright
Copyright and all other intellectual property rights in this manual and the associated software, and every
part of it (including source code, object code, any data contained in it, the manual and any other 
documentation supplied with it) belongs to AVEVA Solutions Ltd or its subsidiaries.
All other rights are reserved to AVEVA Solutions Ltd and its subsidiaries. The information contained in
this document is commercially sensitive, and shall not be copied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted without the prior written permission of AVEVA Solutions Ltd. Where such
permission is granted, it expressly requires that this Disclaimer and Copyright notice is prominently
displayed at the beginning of every copy that is made.
The manual and associated documentation may not be adapted, reproduced, or copied, in any material
or electronic form, without the prior written permission of AVEVA Solutions Ltd. The user may also not
reverse engineer, decompile, copy, or adapt the associated software. Neither the whole, nor part of the
product described in this publication may be incorporated into any third-party software, product,
machine, or system without the prior written permission of AVEVA Solutions Ltd, save as permitted by
law. Any such unauthorised action is strictly prohibited, and may give rise to civil liabilities and criminal
prosecution.
The AVEVA products described in this guide are to be installed and operated strictly in accordance with
the terms and conditions of the respective license agreements, and in accordance with the relevant
User Documentation. Unauthorised or unlicensed use of the product is strictly prohibited.
First published September 2007
© AVEVA
AVEVA Solutions Ltd, and its subsidiaries
AVEVA Solutions Ltd, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HB, United Kingdom

Trademarks
AVEVA and Tribon are registered trademarks of AVEVA Solutions Ltd or its subsidiaries. Unauthorised
use of the AVEVA
AVEVA or Tribon trademarks is strictly forbidden.
AVEVA product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of AVEVA Solutions Ltd or its
subsidiaries, registered in the UK, Europe and other countries (worldwide).
The copyright, trade mark rights, or other intellectual property rights in any other product, its name or 
logo belongs to its respective owner.
 PLOT User Guide
Guid e

PLOT User Guide

Guid e

Co n t en t s Pag e

PLOT
 Ab
 A b ou t th
t h i s Manu
Man u al . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1
Who t he Manual i s Meant For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1
How the
th e Manual is Set Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1
Conventi
Conv entions
ons Used in the
th e Manual
Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1

Intro
Int rodu
du cing
ci ng PLOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:1
What PLOT
PL OT Does . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:1
Input
Inpu t For mats That PLOT Can
Can Acc ept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:1
Output Formats That PLOT Can Generate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:2

How To Use
Us e PLOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:1
Befor
Bef ore
e You B egin
egi n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:1
Runni
Run ning
ng PLOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:1
General Comm and Lin
L ine
e Optio ns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:2
Specifying the Plotting Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:3
Scaling the Plot to Fit the Paper.Pape r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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

i 12.0
 PLOT User Guide

Creating your Own Devic e Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:8

Soft Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:8
Soft Driver Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:9
Overriding 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 PLOT’s 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:11
Summarising the Contents of Plot Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:12
Running on Windo ws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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-Pack ard (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

ii 12.0
 PLOT User Guide

Driv er Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:1

Changes to t his Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:1

ii i 12.0
 PLOT User Guide

iv 12.0
 PLOT User Guide
About this Manual

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 of 
AVEVA (and some third party) programs. It performs a variety of conversions and other 
operations 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 that
generates plot files, as long as the file format is compatible with PLOT’s input requirements.
No particular prior knowledge of plotting utilities is assumed, but it is assumed that you are
familiar 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 file
formats that it can recognise.
How To Use PLOT first explains some hardware considerations that you must be aware of 
before you use PLOT. It then describes the range of facilities available when using PLOT
and the commands needed to control them.
Device Drivers  is a reference section that details the options available for each of PLOT’s
output formats.
Driver Quick Reference   is a quick reference guide and summarises the driver specific
options and the options that apply to drivers generally.
Changes to this Manual  describes 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, Introducing
PLOT  and the first three sections of How To Use PLOT . You will also need to refer to at
least one section in Device Drivers , depending on what you intend to use the PLOT output
for.

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 preceding
example) is the minimum permissible abbreviation. Where a command word is first
introduced, or where its use is defined, it will usually be shown in bold type, thus

1:1 12.0
 PLOT User Guide
About this Manual

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 / Out put Sequence Typef ace
Note: Examples of command syntax throughout the manual use uppercase characters to
make them easily identifiable within the body of the main text.

1:2 12.0
 PLOT User Guide
Introducing PLOT

2 Introducing PLOT

2.1 What PLOT Does

The graphical plotting utility, PLOT, allows you to interpret pseudo-code plot files generated
by 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 pen
plotter 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 resulting
data to a specified hardware device, including interaction with the output device where
necessary to ensure that data transmission protocol is correctly observed.
PLOT can recognise source files in any of the formats described in the following section and
translate them into any of a wide range of output formats by using the appropriate device
drivers 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 graphics
for engineering drawings in device-independent terms.

HPGL
A Hewlett-Packard plotter code format recognised by a range of commercial plotting and
printing 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 a
more consistent functionality between plotters. It supports many types of device including
pen, laser and electrostatic. The HP-GL/2 plotter code is compact, especially for vectors that
have 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 is
best for most purposes to regard them as entirely different. HP-GL/2 is often available in a
dual context with Hewlett-Packard’s PCL.

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 PLOT User Guide
Introducing PLOT

DXF
This is the AutoCAD representation of a drawing in their DXF (drawing interchange) file
format. It is an ASCII file format, widely used to exchange drawing file data. The file does
not define the units that its values are held in, so explicit scaling is needed when these
values are not in millimetres.
Data from all sections of the DXF file is interpreted. This includes the LTYPE and LAYER
tables, 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 printer 
directly, or it can send the translated output to another file in a format suitable for inclusion
into, say, a word processor or desktop publishing document. It can, alternatively, send the
translated output to a graphical window for immediate viewing.
The device drivers incorporated into PLOT, which determine the output format, are as
follows:

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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 PLOT User Guide
Introducing PLOT

These generic plot drivers determine the general format of the output plot file only. The
output generated is compatible with specific hardware devices, as detailed in Device
Drivers, but you may need to customise the drivers to suit a particular plotter or printer.
PLOT’s soft driver  facility allows you to do this.
You will notice that four of the output drivers (HPGL, HPGL2, PDMS and DXF) match input
file formats. This means that you may use PLOT to translate plot files between these
formats in either direction.
Note: The HPGL format can exist in slightly different dialects. If you wish to input an HPGL
file obtained from an outside source, you must ensure that it is fully compatible with
the HPGL format that is generated by PLOT. If it is not, you may need to carry out
some preprocessing on the file before using PLOT to convert it to an AVEVA plot file.

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 PLOT User Guide
Introducing PLOT

2:4 12.0
 PLOT User Guide
How To Use PLOT

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 printing
from the graphical window created by the screen driver. This method uses a normal
Windows 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 print
command. This method allows the user to take full control of the printing operation, and
responsibility for the compatibility of the file type with the device. For example the command
to send a PostScript file to a printer service that supports and recognises this file format
would 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 name of the output device driver.
The available device drivers are:
BENSON
CALCOMP
DXF
HOUSTON
HP or HPGL
HPGL2
LASERJET
LIST
PDMS
PENMAN
PNG
POSTSCRIPT or PS
SCREEN
XDUMP

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 PLOT User Guide
How To Use PLOT

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 have
been adopted as industry standards, and many other plotters are designed to emulate one
or other of them. The corresponding PLOT drivers may often be used successfully with such
plotters, but only when the emulation offers true compatibility with the standard.
• plotfile = the name of 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 input plot file format used (PDMS, HPGL, DXF or 
GPGP) by identifying some coding characters at the start of the file, so there is no
provision 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 your 
computer. 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 operating
system 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 Windows
print 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; these
are described in General Command Line Options . Other options are relevant only to
specific device drivers; these are described separately in Device Drivers.
Note: The driver-specific options must be 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. The
latter file could then be used as an underlay in a drawing module, for example.
pl ot scr een pl ot a2 - 0
This reads graphical data from file plota2 and displays it in a window on your workstation
screen. 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 to
scale the output dimensions to be 0.8 of those of the input file. Another driver option
specifies 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 the
driver-specific options described in Device Drivers . You can use all of these options with the
soft 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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 PLOT User Guide
How To Use PLOT

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 the
command line options
SCALE=factor 
SCALE: factor 
Here, factor  is 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 string
as the other options available with soft drivers.
The option has no effect when drivers are scaling a plot to fill an area. Drivers that do
this 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 , you
may instruct PLOT to adjust the output plot scale automatically so that it will fit the available
paper size. This option allows PLOT to handle oversize input plots; without it (the default
situation), processing will be terminated with an error message.
To specify automatic reduction of oversize plots, use the option
 ADJ Ust

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 by
the size of a rectangle enclosing all graphics in the file. The whole input file is read an extra
time for this purpose.
To set the drawing size from the limits of the graphics, use the option
 AUTOs ize
The AUTOSIZE option applies only to DXF, HPGL and HP-GL/2 input files. It is useful in
cases where the drawing size in the file is wrong for any reason.

3.3.4 Specifying How Arcs and Circles are Represented

Most plotters are unable to plot true circular arcs and instead represent them by a series of 
straight 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 different
representation, use the option
 ARCSi ze integer 
Here, integer   is the number of chords per complete circle and must be in the range 12 to
175.
For example, ARCS 120 will plot smoother arcs than the default setting; ARCS 25 will plot
less 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 passed
unchanged to the output file or device ( output). You can intercept these settings, and modify
them to achieve independent control of the way in which the output is plotted, by using the
PENS and associated  ATTR (attributes) commands. PLOT can have up to 256 pens, and
can 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 the
input 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 No
This sets the individual pen numbers from the input file to be ignored and all output to be
plotted using pen 1. You might use this mode, for instance, when the output is intended for a
single-pen device.
To redirect the output to use a pen other than pen 1, use the command line option:
 ATTR 1 integer 
Here, integer  specifies 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 in
the 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 line
width settings in the input file are ignored, the settings for these in the output file being
determined 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 if 
required, use the option:
 ATTR integer1 integer2 linestyle linetype width

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This substitutes output pen integer2 for input pen integer1 and sets its line style to linestyle
and its line width to linetype with optional width value.
Possible settings for linestyle  are SOlid , DOt , DAsh , CHain or DChain . The default, if 
linestyle is omitted, is SOLID.
Possible settings for linetype  are Normal or Thick . The default, if linetype  is omitted, is
NORMAL . THICK  is optionally followed by the width value, expressed in millimetres. If width
is 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 pe n 3 to be
output 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 is
output 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 width
for all output, use the command line option:
 ATTR 1 integer linestyle linetype width
Here, integer  specifies the required output pen number and the other arguments set its line
style to linestyle and its line width to linetype with optional width  value.
Possible settings for linestyle  are SOlid , DOt , DAsh , CHain or DChain . The default, if 
linestyle is omitted, is SOLID.
Possible settings for linewidth  are Normal or Thick . The default, if linetype  is omitted, is
NORMAL . THICK  is optionally followed by the width value, expressed in millimetres. If width
is 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 is
drawn over a number of times (for example, where an original wireline 3D model was
involved). This extra information can increase the size of the file unnecessarily. The
coincidence removal function of the Dekink filter corrects this problem, and so can reduce
the size of output files by a considerable amount.
The filter can employ either a travel   or a connect   method to re-order the graphics. The
travel   method minimises the total pen travel distance, whereas the connect  method
maximises the connection between vectors.

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The filter travel   method reduces the total distance that the pen needs to travel, and the
number of times that the pen is raised and lowered. This can speed up the operation of pen
plotters.
The filter connect  method maximises the connection of vectors while retaining all existing
connectivity, including directions.
Note: For speed of processing, the filter makes most of its changes to the plot file where
items concerned are close to each other in the file. Note that it may not remove all
coincident 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:

resol Resolution value is specified in mm. Used to decide whether lines are
coincident or connected to each other.
Default: 0.025
coinc This selects whether coincidence removal is active or not. The value is
set to Y for yes and N for no.
Default: Y
travel This selects whether the travel method is active. Otherwise the connect
method 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 be
an even number in the range 10-600. The default value is suitable for 
most purposes.
Default: 50
tabmax This is the maximum size of the working table used by the filter. Must be
an even number in the range 10-600. The default value is suitable for 
most purposes.
Default: 200

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 by
43. 93%

3.3.7 Spl it ti ng a Lar ge Pl ot

The split option is a facility for dividing large plots into sheets. This is particularly useful
where an extra large plot needs to be divided into a number of A0 sheets. The option is
followed by two values that specify the size of the constituent sheets in millimetres.
To split a plot, use the option
SPLIt width height

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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 the
border. Note that this is particularly useful when used with the SPLIT option.
To create a border for a plot, use the option
BORDer  integer 

3.3.9 Adding Cutter Control Markers

This feature enables the Dahle 3625 Plot Cutter (or similar) to take roll feed output from a
plotter 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, and
repositions 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). The
CUTMARK option can be used with any driver (but is probably only useful with the Calcomp
driver).
This feature can be used in conjunction with the WINDON option to specify the distance that
separates 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 of 
the 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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Example

Paper Edge

Drwg No

Paper Edge

Figure 3:1. Cutmarks Example

Figure 3:1.: Cutmarks Example   shows six start marks and one end mark. This could be
produced by:
CUTMARK 6 1 1 0. 1 8. 0 5. 0 2. 0 5. 0

3.4 Creating your Own Device Drivers

3.4.1 Soft Drivers

PLOT provides a soft driver   facility that lets you define your own named device drivers,
each based on a combination of a standard driver   and a set of command options
appropriate to that standard driver.
To define a soft driver, use the following command syntax:
soft_driver | standard_driver |option1, option2, ...
Here, soft_driver   is the name to be allocated to your new driver, standard_driver   is one of 
the driver names listed in Output Formats That PLOT Can Generate  and Running PLOT,
and option1, option2, etc. are any command line options applicable to standard_driver .
The three parts of the command are separated by | (vertical bar) characters. The options
(and any associated values) in the third part are separated by commas. If the command line
becomes too long, a \ (backslash) character may be used to allow continuation of the
command on the next line. Spaces at the start of continuation lines are ignored.
The name soft_driver   must not be the same as that of any of the standard device drivers.
Names are not case sensitive; that is, upper and lower case characters are treated equally.
All soft driver definitions are held in the file PLOTDRIVERS. PLOT looks for this file firstly in
the directory defined by the CADC_PLOT_DIR environment variable, then in the current
directory and finally in the same directory as the Plot Utility Program itself.

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3.4.2 Soft Dr iv er Ex amp les

As an example, the soft driver definition:
PSRGB| POSTSCRI PT| BANNER Y, RGB, \
PTYPE ' st at usdi ct begi n 2 set paper t r ay end'
This defines a soft driver named PSRGB that uses the POSTSCRIPT driver with options to
switch on the banner page, select colour output and set page type to select paper tray 2.
The PTYPE string used here is a fragment of PostScript that is specific to a particular model
of printer. For further details of the POSTSCRIPT driver options see POSTSCRIPT or PS.
The following command uses the soft driver definition:
pl ot psr gb pl ot a22 pl ot a22. out
It has exactly the same effect as the longer version:
pl ot post scr i pt pl ot a22 pl ot a22. out
" BANNER Y, RGB, PTYPE ' st at usdi ct begi n 2
set paper t r ay end' "
As a further example, the following lines illustrate the use of the continuation character (\) to
enter a long command that defines all of the former default postscript driver parameters:
PS_ OLD| POSTSCRI PT| BA Y, LAY W, MAP 0 0 283. 6333 197. 2733, \
MONO, I G Y, PT a4, STEPS 300
When a plot driver has an RGB option to set the colour mix of pens, this can be done with a
soft driver. For example, the following driver sets the default PDMS colours for the screen:
pdmsc | sc r een| RGB 1 . 659 . 659 . 659, RGB 2 . 8 0 0, RGB 3 . 93 . 604 0, \
RGB 4 . 8 . 8 0, RGB 5 0 . 8 0, RGB 6 0 . 93 . 93, RGB 7 0 0 . 8, \
RGB 9 . 647 . 165 . 165, RGB 10 1 1 1, RGB 11 . 803 . 569 . 62, \
RGB 12 . 4 0 . 6, RGB 13 0 . 75 . 8, RGB 14 . 2 0 . 4, RGB 15 0 0 0
Each line in the PLOTDRIVERS file is the definition of a soft driver or, if it begins with a #
character, it is a comment.
When a soft driver is used with the command line options, the command line options are
placed after those from the soft driver and thus take priority.
For example, the command:
pl ot psr gb pl ot a22 pl ot a22. out " BA N"
This has the same effect as the (similar) command above, except that the banner page is
switched off.

3.4.3 Overriding Built-in Driver Defaults

The PLOTDRIVERS file can also provide a method for changing the default options of built-
in drivers. This only applies when the driver is used directly. It does not affect its use when
used from a soft driver.
To change the default options of a built-in driver the usual soft driver definition is used.
However, both of the driver names are set to the built-in driver name.
For example syntax:
scr een| scr een| RGB 0 0 0. 2 0. 2
This definition changes the background colour when the screen driver is used with the plot
command. Defaults defined in this way can be modified by command line options.

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The SCREEN and PNG drivers now have PDMS colours set as default using this
mechanism and the standard PLOTDRIVERS file. The previous colours can be restored by
deleting 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 your 
command prompt window while you are using PLOT. The messages are divided into two
categories: those that you can expect to see under normal operating conditions and those
that 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 command
window
- - - - - begi nni ng of pl ot - - - - -
When the file interpretation has finished it displays the message
- - - - - end of pl ot - - - - -
(See Modifying PLOT’s Message File  for 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 constraints
on 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 then
terminates 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 in
use.
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 have
access 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 actual paper size (if output is to a plotter or printer) or for 
the defined paper 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 drivers
listed in Output Formats That PLOT Can Generate   and Running PLOT, or is a valid soft
driver name.
War ni 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 plot
to suit its destination device or file. No action is needed.

3.5.3 Modifying PLOT’s Message File

By default, PLOT uses its internally defined messages at relevant stages of its processing
operations. If you wish to display different  messages, such as messages in a different
language, you can copy the standard messages into a file, edit them, and then use this file
as 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 .MF in the current directory. You may then edit
this 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 directory
defined by the CADC_PLOT_DIR environment variable, then in the current directory. It finds
neither 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 ar e: benson cal comp dxf houst on hp hpgl hpgl 2
i nt er l eaf l aser j et l i st pdms penman png post scr i pt ps
scr 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 ot out . ps
pl ot scr een dr wg3. pl t - 0
 The SCALE=val ue opt i on pr ovi 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 dr wg3. pl t dr wg3. 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 Check in g Dr iver Op ti ons

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 Driver 
Quick Reference  of this manual.

3.7 Summarising the Contents of Plot Files

The LIST driver 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 and
text characters.
For structured files there are the total numbers of definitions and references, the maximum
depth 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 network
printing. PLOT can be launched directly from a shortcut on the desktop so that it can be
used independently of other products.

3.8.1 Scr een Dr iver Pr int ing

Start by displaying a view of a plot file by running PLOT with the SCREEN driver. The view
window can be selected with the normal pan and zoom controls before a printing. A print is
initiated with the keyboard accelerator Control-P, the standard keyboard accelerator used by
Windows programs for PRINT. The SCREEN driver displays a Windows print dialog to
select the printer and set printing options.
The print dialog has a Print range group with the choices  Al l  and Selection . Select  Al l  to
print the whole drawing and Selection  to 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 current
plot 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 keyboard
accelerator used by Windows programs for SAVE. The SCREEN driver displays a Windows
Save As  dialog to select the EMF output file name and directory. A copy of the output file is
automatically copied to the clipboard.

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

3.8.3 Shortcuts and Browsing

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

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

Start i n: C:\temp
Name: Plot
Target defines the command line to run Plot with the screen driver. Note that
the 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.

When this command is run from the shortcut a Multiple-File Open dialog and a Console
window are created. Select one or more plot files and plot will view them all in the order 
specified. At each stage the file can be viewed and printed. Close the graphics window or 
press Q to move on to the next file. After all files have been viewed Plot returns to the
multiple-file open dialog. Click Cancel  to finish.
Other drivers can be used with the input file set to "*". For example the list driver can be
used 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 as
browsing for them if the shortcut target is a small batch file DragDropPlot.bat, containing
lines such as the following:
set f i l e=%1
i f " %f i l e%" == " " set f i l e=" *"
st ar t / b C: \ AVEVA\ pdms\ pl ot \ pl ot . exe pl ot sc r een %f i l e% - 0 " AUTO"

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Device Drivers

4 Device Drivers

This is a reference chapter that describes each of the available PLOT device drivers. The
information 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 the
driver.

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 paper 
layout.
Note that such options must be enclosed between quotation marks in the command line and
if 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 settings
for 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 it
does not translate input plot file data into a different format, but instead provides
summarised information about the overall content of the file. The functions of the
LIST 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 plotter 
with a roll paper feed mechanism. The code-compatible Benson 1322 plotter is also
supported.

Description
The device code for these plotters is based on the relative positioning and drawing
commands 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 ar e s equent i al and cont ai n
symbol i c codes. They ar e used onl y f or mai nt enance pur poses.

Options
None.

Example:

pl ot benson vi ew. pl - 1

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. The
data is encoded and is unintelligible. The device protocol means that the code is organised
to include synchronising sequences and checksums. Transmission is synchronised by
waiting for a plotter response after each message.
The coded format for each data record is as follows:

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Device Drivers

( Preamble) 0-10 null padding characters

Sync One or two specified synchronisation characters

Bias Bias character; always a Space

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

(Checksum) Checksum character 

End-of-message End-of-message (EOM) marker 

(Postamble) 1-10 null padding characters

Newline

The message $? is o utpu t to r equest a good, 0<cr>, or 

(Respons e Request)
1<cr>, response. bad, A b a d resp on se c a uses the d a ta
to be transmitted again.

Files output by this driver are ASCII coded and record structured. Their content comprises
all the data shown above, except for 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 plotter 
code 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 a
soft 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 = Yes or No ]

BUffer int 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: CH
YEOm intSets the end-of-message character to int (int must
be in the range 0-127). Default: EO 3
HEader Y/N Specifies whether or not a search address is to be included
in the output header. Default: HE Y
LIne int Sets the line length of the output data field to int characters
(int must 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
PAd int Sets the number of padding characters to be used before
SYNC and after EOM to int  characters (int  must be in the
range 0-10). Default: PA 10
RAdix int Sets the number conversion radix to int (int must be 64 or 
95). Default: RA 95

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

RESpon se 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 option
with STEPS to compress and expand the data to reduce the
size (and accuracy) of the device code. Default: SC 1
STeps val Sets the number of plotter steps per mm (i.e. the plotter 
resolution) to val. Default: ST 80.0
SYnc int1 int2 Sets the number of Synch characters to int1 and the Sync
character itself to the control character represented by int2
(int1 must be 1 or 2; int2 must be in the range 0-31) Default:
SY 1 2
WAit Y/N Specifies whether or not the plotter is switched off-line
between plots. Default: WA Y
WIndon val Sets the distance to be left blank between adjacent plots to
val mm. Default: WI 20.0

The defaults specified in the standard CALCOMP driver are equivalent to the following
options 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 select
no 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 the
CALCOMP64 driver. The latter version has the following option defaults, almost all of 
which differ from those of the standard CALCOMP driver:

" BU 2, CH Y, EO 13, HE N, LI 125, NL Y, PA 0, PE N, RA

64, 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 to
your desired final specification.

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"

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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 Ou tpu t Fi le Con ten ts

This is an ASCII file, and is record structured. The records are organised in pairs and these
are called groups . Each group contains a group code (an integer), and a group value that
is 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 NEDC
recommendations). This includes the units employed in the drawing, and the date the
file was formed. The Header section itself includes the $LIMMIN, $LIMMAX, $EXTMIN
and $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 the
line patterns available to the Entities section. It also contains a LAYER and a style
table.
• 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 and
the 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 by
commas):

HEader filename The contents of the supplied filename  are copied into the
DXF output file in place of the Header, Tables and Blocks
sections that would normally be generated by the driver. If 
the filename is omitted, or the file cannot be read, the driver 
will suppress the production of these sections. The file can
be a complete DXF file. The copy is stopped before the "0"
"SECTION" "2" "ENTITIES" sequence that starts the
Entities section.
POlylines Y/N Specifies whether the driver outputs lines and arcs as LINE
and ARC entities, or as POLYLINE entities.
Default: POLYLINES Y
UNits value Sets the type of coordinates in the DXF output file as
INCHES or MM. Default: UNITS MM
ZAxis value Selects the output of a Z value with all XY coordinates. The
value parameter defines the constant Z coordinate value.
Default: No Z coordinate.

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Example:

pl ot dxf vi ew1. pl vi ew1. dxf " UNI TS I NCHES"

4.4 Hewlett-Packard (HP or HPGL)

Models
PLOT incorporates tw o  Hewlett-Packard drivers, HP and HPGL, both of which support all
Hewlett-Packard pen plotters and the standard HP-GL file format. The reference device
supported by these drivers is the HP7580B plotter, but they also support the HP7586 plotter,
with or without a roll feed option, the HP7550 plotter, which has an automatic sheet feed, the
IBM 6184 and 6186 plotters, and many other plotters which use HP-GL code. The drivers
also support the HP7475 plotter, which has more restricted line style capabilities than the
HP7580.

Description
The difference between the two drivers lies in the type of HP-GL code which each uses:
• The HP driver uses only vectors and absolute positioning, and uses straight-line chords
to simulate arcs and circles. Each draw and move operation is output on a separate
line of the file. This makes this form of the code easier to interpret.
• The HPGL  driver uses vectors and relative positioning, and uses true arcs and circles.
Draw and move commands are merged together, and as many commands as possible
are put into each line of the file. These features make this the more compact code of 
the two
The drivers derive the plotter model number by interrogating the device, so that they allow
for use with the HP7475 with its limited functionality. They similarly determine the paper 
handling capabilities if used with an HP7586 plotter, to allow it to be used with cut-sheet as
well as roll-fed paper. They make special provision for producing long plots on roll feed
versions of the latter plotter.

Output
The output from this driver is device code which is sent directly to the HP plotter.
These drivers do not mix the two types of HP-GL command, namely graphical commands
and communication commands, within a line of output.
Files output by this driver are ASCII coded and record structured. They can be used as input
to other conversion programs to produce device code for otherwise unsupported devices.

Options
Several options are available which allow you to control the output from these drivers. You
can specify these options either directly, as PLOT command line arguments (see Running
PLOT), or indirectly, as parameters in a soft driver definition (see Creating your Own Device
Drivers).

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

[Key: val = a real number; Y/N = Yes or No ; x y = x,y coordinates

in mm]
CEntre Y/N Specifies if the physical coordinate origin for the plotter is at
the centre (Yes) or corner (No) of the paper after the default
positions of the scaling points P1 and P2 have been
established. Plotters that use HPGL can be of either of 
these types. The driver itself corrects for the type in the
output 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 and
compacted 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 the
HPGL 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 y
coordinates of its origin expressed in mm). It derives the
size of the plot from the plot file.
MAp x y val1 val2 Defines the position of the plot on the paper (x and y
coordinates of its origin expressed in mm). It defines the plot
dimensions as val1 wide by val2 high. Default: MA for both
the HP and HPGL drivers
STeps val Sets the number of plotter steps per mm (i.e. the plotter 
resolution) to val.
Default: ST 40.0
WAit Y/N/P Specifies actions to take place between plots.
Y selects that the plotter is switched off-line and waits for the
operator.
P  selects that the plotter completes the present plot and
then advances to start the next. N selects no special action.
Default: WA Y

The defaults specified in the standard HP driver are equivalent to the following options
string:
" 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 options
string:
" 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 the
HIGH and WAIT options apply when the plot is sent directly to a plotter .

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Example

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"

4.5 HPGL2
This driver supports HP-GL/2, which is the standardised version of the Hewlett-Packard
Graphical language. This attempts to provide a consistent functionality between plotters and
caters for pen, monochrome and colour electrostatic and other devices. The code is
compact, especially for vectors that have a special encoding scheme. HP-GL/2 is a binary
format.
Although HPGL and HP-GL/2 are related, HP-GL/2 is not a strict superset of HPGL. It is
best 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 is
necessary to ensure correct behaviour.

Options
These options enable you to control the output of this driver. You can specify these options
either directly, as PLOT command line arguments (see Running PLOT), or indirectly, as
parameters in soft driver definition (see Creating your Own Device Drivers ).
The syntax for using each option is as follows (individual options must be separated by
commas):

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

COpies n Print n  copies of each drawing in th e plot file. Default:

COPIES 1

FF Y/N Specifies whether the formfeed character is output at the

end of the HP-GL/2 file. This is a communication character 
was required previously for direct operation of the plotter but
may 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 is
completed. 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. The
default 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 a
dual context. Default: PCL Y
PWidth w1 [w2] Specifies the widths of the thin and thick lines in mm. The
thinnest line width possible is selected by specifying it as
zero. 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 speed
or reduced toner usage. Default: QUALITY 100
RGb pen r g b Selects colour mode and defines the red/green/blue colour 
mix for the specified logical pen number (pen must be in the
range 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

The defaults specified in the standard HP-GL/2 driver are equivalent to the following options
string:
" CO 1, EC N, MAP, PCL Y, PW 0. 0 0. 35, QU 100, RO 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 drum
plotters with media movement and registration controlled by knurled gripping areas of the
drum; they take A3 and A1 media sizes, respectively.
These plotters use Houston DM/PL III firmware, which is upwardly compatible with DM/PL
and DM/PL+.

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

Output
Files output by this driver are not record structured, but contain ASCII codes. They are used
only for maintenance purposes.

Options
None.

Example:

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

4.7 LASERJET
Models
This driver produces output suitable for any printer that can interpret Hewlett-Packard’s PCL
page 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 at
150, 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 elements
such 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-compatible
laser printer. Where the output is to a file, it contains the complete PCL code needed to
reproduce the printable document defined by the pseudo-code plot file. This comprises a
mixture of PCL command escape sequences and 8-bit data that is not formatted and not
easy to inspect.
 The Laser j et dr i ver uses compr ess i on t echni ques t o r educe t he
si ze of i t s out put f i l es and, hence, t he t i me needed t o send
t 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

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gr aphi cs r esol ut i on ( i . e. a l ower dpi set t i ng) .

When multiple copies of a drawing are required, use of the COPIES option gives increased
speed by using the inbuilt printer facilities rather than by repeated data transmission.
The drawing is scaled to a size that fills the printable area of an A4 sheet. It is drawn
automatically in portrait or landscape orientation to make the best use of the available area.

Options
You can specify the LASERJET driver options either directly, as PLOT command line
arguments (see Running PLOT), or indirectly, as parameters in a soft driver definition (see
Creating your Own Device Drivers ).
The syntax for using each option is as follows (individual options must be separated by
commas):

COpies integer  This prints integer  copies of each drawing in th e plot

file. The default is 1 co py.

DPi integer  Sets the printer resolution to integer   dots per inch, where
integer   may be 300, 150, 100 or 75. The default is 150 dpi,
which usually gives a suitable compromise between image
quality, file size and data transmission speed.

Example:

pl ot l aser j et vi ew. pl pl ot 1. pl t

(output to a file)

pl ot l aser j et vi ew. pl - 1

(output direct to printer)

pl ot l aser j et vi ew. pl - 1 " CO 3, DPI 300"

(print 3 copies of each drawing at 300 dpi resolution)

4.8 LIST
The LIST driver differs from the others in that it does not translate input plot file data into a
different format, but instead provides summarised information about the overall content of 
the file.
The information derived from the file includes:
• The pseudo-code format in which the file is written (PDMS, HPGL, HP-GL/2, DXF or 
GPGP)
• The file header block
• Details of the drawing in the file, namely:
• The drawing number, with its identifying number in brackets if it is a GPGP file
• The dimensions of the drawing, in mm

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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 maximum
depth 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 indicate
how often they are referenced:

Prefix References

none unreferenced
+ once
* one or more times

The information may be sent to an ASCII file, or it may be listed at your command prompt
window (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 A1
drawing, thus:
I nt er pr et er : PDMS
Fi l e Header : pi per 18/ 07/ 04 12. 25
Dr awi ng: 1
Si ze 841 by 594 MM
Vect or s 3403
Pens 1 2
The list driver does not use any options but will display any that are specified on the
command line or from a soft driver as a combined options string.

4.9 PDMS
Models
This driver generates output in PDMS plot file format.

Description
This file format (which is also one of PLOT’s valid input  formats) is intended primarily for 
transferring graphical data between the modules of PDMS. PLOT’s output driver also allows
you to transfer data to PDMS from other sources that generate HPGL or GPGP formatted
graphics.

Output
Files output by the plotting driver are in binary format and comprise a textual header block
followed by the graphical data.
The header block contains:

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• A user identifier  -
  - up to 6 characters - derived from the login user name (truncated if 
longer than 6 characters).
• The current date - in the format DDMMYY
DDMMY Y.
• The current time - in the format HHMM.
The graphical data is a sequence of coded items, including pen moving and drawing
commands, pen changes, and paper size definitions. The code is made more efficient by
the provision of special codes for short line drawing and moving operations, and for drawing
horizontal or vertical lines.

Options
None.

Example:

pl ot pdms vi ew. pl ul ay2. pdms

(output must be to a file)

4.10 PENMA N
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 carriage
that is connected for power and control via a flying cable. It uses a home marker that it can
detect optically to register its origin.

Output
The output from this driver is device code that is sent directly to the Turtle plotter. The device
code uses simple absolute positioning and drawing commands. Periodic returns to the
origin, 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 for 
maintenance purposes.

Options
None.

Example:

pl ot penm
penman vi ew. pl - 1

4.11 PNG
Models
This driver generates output in PNG file format.

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Description
The PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format is a patent-free replacement for GIF and can
also replace many common uses of TIFF. It provides a means for the lossless, portable
storage 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 PDMS
colours. To find out how to restore the colours to their previous state and other details about
modifying the default options of the built-in drivers see the section on creating your own
device 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):

BItmap width height Defines the size of the bitmap image in pixels. Sizes should
be greater than 16 x 16 and the upper size limit is 8000 x
8000. The default size is 600 x 400.
LAyout type Defines how the image is placed in the bitmap, where type is
one of the following:
FIT reduces the width or height of the bitmap so that it fits
the 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 the
bitmap.
RGb pen r g b Selects colour mode and defines the red/green/blue colour 
mix for the specified logical pen number (pen must be in the
range 0-15). The colour values are in the range 0 to 1. The
background colour of the image is black by default but this
can be changed by defining pen 0, e.g. RGB 0 1 1 1 sets it to
white.
SIze width height Defines the minimum plot size in millimetres that is scaled to
fill the bitmap image. Increasing the size of a number of plots
to a common value means that their pixel scaling is also the
same. This is important if the bitmap files are to be
manipulated by other programs.
TRan Sets the image background to be transparent.

Example:

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

4.12 POSTSCRIPT or PS
PS
(The POSTSCRIPT and PS drivers are identical.)

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Models
These drivers produce output suitable for any printer that can interpret the Postscript page
description language.
The driver default options give output suitable for immediate use with the commonest laser 
printers, which take A4 paper and which produce monochrome and grey-scale output at a
resolution 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 PLOT’s soft driver 
facility to create drivers for other forms of Postscript output (see Creating your Own Device
Drivers). For example, printers with different paper sizes or with paper tray selection.

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

Output
The output from these drivers is an ASCII record structured file that conforms to the
standard structuring conventions for Postscript multiple page documents. It contains the
complete Postscript program needed to print the document defined by the input pseudo
code file.
The output is in device code that may be sent directly to the laser printer or may be included
in another document as an illustration. The laser printer is treated as a plotter with a single
pen, grey-scale pens or colour pens, which can draw vectors in all line styles for both normal
and 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 such
as 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, for 
example 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 a
soft 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.).
The syntax for using each option is as follows (individual options must be separated by
commas):
[Key : int = an integer; string = a text string]

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Layout Options

LAyout type Defines the output page layout as type, where type is 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 is
unscaled and is not rotated. This layout is suitable for use
when a PostScript file is to be used later to produce a pdf 
file.
Landscape - uses the whole page for graphics. The drawing is rotated by
90 degrees and is positioned into the bottom right-hand
corner of the image area of the page. If the width and height
allow it the drawing will be output unscaled and the message
'1:1 SCALE' is displayed and is repeated in the annotation of 
the 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 may
contain many pages and may start with a banner page.
The values from the MAP  option are used directly with this
option. There are no margin or other adjustment factors. The
positioning is applied before the rotation, its x values
increase to the right, and y values increase upwards.
Portrait - this is identical to the Landscape layout except that it is
positioned into the bottom left-hand corner of the image area
of 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 the
original width/height ratio) and rotated to fill the page as
efficiently as possible. The output file is a complete
PostScript document that may contain many pages and may
start with a banner page.
Margin - uses the whole page for graphics, except for a 26 mm
margin on all four sides (to allow for punch holes and
header/footer texts, etc.). The drawing is rescaled (retaining
the original width/height ratio) and rotated to fill the page as
efficiently as possible. The output file is a complete
Postscript document that may contain many pages and may
start with a banner page.
Figure - this layout is identical to MARGIN, except that the drawing is
not rotated.
Include - produces a file suitable for inclusion in another PostScript
document. The layout is identical to FIGURE, but the file
contains none of the general Postscript commands to print
pages etc. (since these will be provided by the document in
which the file is included).

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

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margins, respectively. These are set as follows:

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

Default: empty string.
TC string Sets the central header text (TC=Top Centre) to string.
Default: empty string.
TR string Sets the right-hand header text (TR=Top Right) to string.
Default: empty string.
BL string Sets the left-hand footer text (BL=Bottom Left) to string.
Default: empty string.
BC string Sets the central footer text (BC=Bottom Centre) to string.
Default: empty string.
BR string Sets the right-hand footer text (BR=Bottom Right) to string.
Default: empty string.

Note: If a header or footer text is to include spaces, string  must be enclosed between
single quotes.
You may include the following special characters within header and footer texts:

# is replaced in the printed output by the current page number   (with pages being
numbered 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 when
using automatic page numbering. The default is PAGE 1.

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.

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General Option s

BAnn er Y/N Specifies whether or not a banner page is output at the head
of the document. Default: BA Y
EOt Y/N Specifies whether the EOT character is output at the end of 
the PostScript file. This is a communication character 
required previously for direct operation of a printer but may
need 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 not
normally need to change this setting.) Default: IG N
PType string Sets page type to string. Where string  is a sequence of 
printer specific PostScript commands to be inserted into the
output file at the point where paper size and tray selection
might take place. This option does not affect anything else
(e.g. scaling).
For example, below is an example of the PostScript
command to set up a printer to select a particular paper try,
perhaps one containing A3 sized paper. The PostScript
string used with PTYPE is not standard and needs to be
obtained for each model of printer. Below are two examples
showing how the printer specific commands might look like
to 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 y
coordinates of its origin expressed in mm). It defines the plot
dimensions as val1 wide by val2 high. Default: MA 0 0 283.6
197.3
STeps val Sets the printer steps per inch (i.e. the printer resolution) to
val. 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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BAnn er Y/N Specifies whether or not a banner page is output at the head
of the document. Default: BA Y
Default colour representation: MONO
RGb pen r g b Selects RGB colour mode and defines the red/green/blue
colour mix for the specified logical pen number ( pen  must
be in the range 0-15).
Default: The colours of the graphics screen device (see
following 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

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Device Drivers

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 is
used for each graphical primitive instead of packing each
output line. The resulting output file is slightly larger as a
result. Default: Not selected.
HIgh Specifies that higher-level primitives may be used for text
and other output. Default: Not selected.

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

pl ot ps dr g. pl dr g. 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 page
origin and the plot sizes are reduced to 250 mm wide by 175 mm high (landscape
format).
• 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)/(0.5
blue).
The overall default settings for all POSTSCRIPT/PS driver options (both layout and general
options) are equivalent to:
" BA N, LA L, MA 0 0 283. 6 197. 3, MO, I G N, PT, ST 300"

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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Device Drivers

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 plot
files before plotting or printing hard copies.

Output
This driver always creates a new graphics window to view the input plot file. There is no
output file and -0 takes its place on the command line. If the output drawing comprises more
than 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 mouse
control with appropriate cursors and 'rubber-banding'. To use the viewer:
• To pan the vi ew by a specifi ed distance , press and hold down the left mouse button
while 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 alt ern ati ve to sc ro ll bar s   press and release the left mouse button without
moving the mouse to 'snap' the current point under the cursor to the centre of the
screen.
• To select a new view , press and hold down the middle button of your mouse while you
move it between the opposite corners of its boundary.
• To snap the curr ent point to the centre of the screen and then zoom in by a fix ed
amount , 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 fixed
amount , press and release the right mouse button without moving the mouse.

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Device Drivers

Command Summary

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 Ret ur n Quit viewer 

0 to 9 Set cursor colour (1=white)

Mous e 1 Press/Move/Release pans around drawing. Press/release

(no move) centres this position in the window.

Mous e 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%.

Mous e 3 Press/Move/Release zooms in on the box cursor. Press/

release (no move) centres this position in the window and
zooms out by 20%.

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

Options
Note that the standard PLOTDRIVERS file changes the default for this driver to use PDMS
colours. 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 device
drivers.

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Device Drivers

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

MAp x y v al1 val2 Defines the position of the plot on the screen (x and y
coordinates of its origin expressed in pixels). It defines the
graphics window dimensions as val1 pixels wide by val2
pixels high. Default: To match the graphics screen device.
CUrsor n Sets the long cursor pen number and must be in the range
1-15. The default value is 4.
RGb pen r g b Defines the red/green/blue colour mix for the specified
logical pen number ( pen  must be in the range 0-15).
Default: The colours of the graphics screen device (see
following 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 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 Indigo 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

Example:

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

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Device Drivers

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 that
represents the plot in monochrome, with the graphics from all pens drawn in the foreground
colour.
This form of output file can be used to compare whether two plots look the same, regardless
of 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 header   and data sections.
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 degrees
if 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
Size width height
Defines the size of the bitmap image in pixels. Sizes should
be greater than 100 x 100. The default size is 1000 x 800,
and the upper size limit is 9600 x 5000.
Defines the minimum plot size in millimetres that is scaled to
fill the bitmap image. Increasing the size of a number of 
plots to a common value means that their pixel scaling is
also the same. This is important if the bitmap files are to be
manipulated by other programs.

Example:

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

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 PLOT User Guide
Driver Quick Reference

5 Driver Quick Reference

PLOT DRIVERS AND PARAMETERS

The following options apply to drivers generally. Options can be abbreviated to a minimum
of 4 characters, except where specified otherwise.
This summary is also displayed if plot -drivers  is entered on the command line.

option description

ADJUST Scale the plot to fit the paper  

ARCSIZE n Set the circle and arc approximation
ATTR n s [s] [s] [v] Set pen attributes
BORDER [n] Draw the plot border using the pen number  
CUTMARK ... Draw marks for automatic cutters
DEKINK ... Select the dekink output filter  
PENS [s] Set the pen selection mode (Abbreviation PE)
SPLIT w h Split drawings into sheets

The drivers are listed below in alphabetic order. The driver specific options can be
abbreviated to 2 or more characters, except where specified otherwise.

BENSON Driver 
No options

CALCOMP Driv er 

Default
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

option description

BUFFER n Number of data buffers

CHECKSUM [Y|N] Checksum enabled
EOM n End of message character  

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Driver Quick Reference

option description

HEADER [Y|N] Include search address in header  

LINE n Line length
NL [Y|N] Output newline after each line
PAD n Number of padding characters
RADIX n Data conversion radix, 64 or 95
RESPONSE [Y|N] Plotter response used for flow control (Abbreviation RES)
SCALE n Plotter device scale factor  
STEPS v Plotter device steps per MM
SYNC n n Number of sync characters and the sync character  
WAIT [Y|N] Plotter to wait at the end of each plot
WINDON v Wind-on distance between plots in MM

CALCOMP64 Driver 

This is equivalent to the CALCOMP driv er with the option s

BU 2,CH Y,EO 13,HE n,LI 125,NL Y,PA 0,PE N,RA 64,RES N,SC 0, ST 40,SY 2 22,WA
N,WI 20

DXF Driver 

Default
POLY Y,UNITS MM

option description

AUTOSIZE Set drawing size from extent of graphics

HEADER [s] File supplying header, tables and blocks sections
POLYLINES [Y|N] Lines and arcs are output within polyline entities
UNITS [s] Define units as MM or INCHES
ZAXIS v Define the constant Z-axis value

HOUSTON Driver 
No options

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Driver Quick Reference

HP Driver 

Default
CEN N,MAP,STEPS 40,WAIT Y

option description

AUTOSIZE Set drawing size from extent of graphics

CENTRE [Y|N] Physical coordinate origin position
HIGH Use higher level graphics primitives
MAP x0 y0 [w h] Define the position and size of plot
STEPS v Plotter steps per MM
WAIT [Y|N|P] End of plot action

HP7580B Driver 
This is an alternative name for the HP driver.

HPGL Driver 

This is equivalent to the HPGL with the follo wing opt ions
CEN NO,HIGH,MAP,STEPS 40,WAIT Y

HPGL2 Driver 

Default
COP 1,ECUT N,FF Y,MAP,PCL Y,PWI 0.0 0.35,QUA 100,ROT 0

option description

COPIES [n] Print multiple copies

ECUTTER [Y|N] Enable cutter  
FF [Y|N] Formfeed after HP-GL/2
HIGH Use higher level graphics primitives
MAP x0 y0 [w h] Define the position and size of plot
PCL [Y|N] Dual HP-GL/2 and PCL context
PWIDTH v [v] Pen widths for thin and thick pens (MM)
QUALITY n Quality level, percentage
RGB n r g b Define red/green/blue mix for pen number  
ROTATE n Rotate plot by 0/90/180/270 degrees

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Driver Quick Reference

INTERLEAF Driv er 

Default

option description

HEADER s Select file header, default or RAPPORT

HIGH Use higher level graphics primitives

LASERJET Driv er 

Default
COP 1,DPI 150

option description

COPIES n Print multiple copies

DPI n Printer resolution, dots per inch

LIST Driver 
No options

PDMS Driver 
No options

PEGS Driver 

Default
LAYERS 11 20 11 20,POLY Y,TSCALE 1.0

option description

FLAT Output without symbol structure

LAYERS n n [n n] Select Pegs layers for output
POLYLINES [Y|N] Lines are output as connected polylines
TSCALE v Text size relative scale factor  

PENMAN Driver 
No options

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Driver Quick Reference

PNG Driver 

Default
BITMAP 600 400,LAY FIT

option description

BITMAP w h Set the bitmap dimensions

LAYOUT Define bitmap layout of the graphics
[FIT|CENTRE|CORNER]
RGB n r g b Define red/green/blue mix for pen number  
SIZE w h Set the minimum plot size in MM
TRANSPARENT Set the bitmap background transparent

POSTSCRIPT Driv er 

Default
BA N,EOT Y,LAY L,MAP 0 0 283.6333 197.2733,MONO, IG N,PT,STEPS 300

option description

BANNER [Y|N] Print banner page

BC s Bottom centre label
BL s Bottom left label
BR s Bottom right label
EOT [Y|N] EOT after PostScript
FONTNAME s Graphical text font
FLUSH Graphical primitives start on new lines
GRAY Grayscale output, see MONO and RGB
HIGH Use higher level graphics primitives
IGRAPHICS [Y|N] Include an "initgraphics" command
LAYOUT Define the page layout
[L|P|W|M|F|I|E|D]
MAP x0 y0 [w h] Define the position and size of plot
MONO Monochrome output, see GRAY and RGB
PAGE n Set the initial page number  
PTYPE [s] Include a page type command
RGB n r g b Define red/green/blue mix for pen number  

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Driver Quick Reference

option description

STEPS v Plotter device steps per inch

TC s Top centre label
TL s Top left label
TR s Top right label

PS Driver 
This is an alternative name for POSTSCRIPT

SCREEN Driver 

Default
DEV 13

option description

CURSOR n Set the long cursor colour  

MAP x0 y0 [w h] Define the window position and size
RGB n r g b Define red/green/blue mix for pen number

XDUMP Driver 

Default
BITMAP 1000 800

option description

BITMAP w h Set the bitmap dimensions

SIZE w h Set the minimum plot size in MM

5:6 12.0
 PLOT User Guide
Changes to this Manual

6 Changes to this Manual

This revision of the manual has a number of objectives. It starts by describing a number of 
new features that have been introduced to the Plot Utility Program. Content that no longer 
reflected printing and plotting practice on current platforms has been revised replaced or 
removed. There has also been a general revision of the document to improve details of the
layout to make the text easier to read.
Here is a summary of the changes:
• Added Driver Quick Reference  to provide a quick reference to all the driver options.
• Added Changes to this Manual  (this one) to summarise the changes to the manual.
• Driver Defaults:
The PLOTDRIVERS file can now be used to change the default parameters of built-in
drivers.
The directory containing the Plot Utility Program has been added as an extra place to
look for the PLOTDRIVERS file. This means that soft drivers are much easier to
configure and use.
The Screen and PNG drivers are set to the default PDMS colours in the standard
PLOTDRIVERS file. The previous driver colours can be restored by commenting out
these lines in the file.
• Screen Driver:
The standard PLOTDRIVERS file now changes this driver to use PDMS colours by
default.
New option to set the cursor pen number.
New ISO cursor style is available.
Added the description of a desktop drag and drop shortcut.
• PostScript Driver:
Added the LAYOUT D option to the driver to create PostScript files for conversion to
PDF files easier.
Changed the PTYPE examples to avoid ambiguity.
• PNG Driver:
The standard PLOTDRIVERS file now changes this driver to use PDMS colours by
default.
The background colour can be changed by setting the colour of pen 0.
• Details of the PLOT.MF messages file directory search have been corrected.
• References to the Unix specific run_plot script have been removed.
• Details about serial line operation have been withdrawn.

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 PLOT User Guide
Changes to this Manual

6:2 12.0
 PLOT User Guide

Index

Numerics
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:8
 A DEKINK command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:6
Adding a border  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:7
ADJUST command (general) . . . . . . . . . 3:3
ARCSIZE command (general) . . . . . . . . 3:3
ATTR command (general) . . . . . . . . . . . 3:4
D
Dates (in Postscript files) . . . . . . . . . . . 4:17
Dekink filter  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:5
Dividing plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:6
DPI command (LASERJET driver) . . . . 4:11
driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:12
Drivers, output device See individual named
drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:2 3:1
,

ATTR command (general) . . . . . . . . . . . 3:4 DXF driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:5

AUTOSIZE command (general) . . . . . . . 3:3 DXF pseudo-code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:2 3:2 ,

B E
BANNER command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers) ECUTTER command (HP-GL/2 drivers) 4:9
4:18 EOM command (CALCOMP driver) . . . . 4:3
BC command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers) 4:17 Error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:10
BENSON driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:2
BITMAP command (XDUMP driver) 4:14 4:24 ,
F
BL command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers) 4:17
Border  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:7 FLUSH command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers)
BORDER option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:7 4:20
BR command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers) 4:17 FONTNAME command (POSTSCRIPT/PS driv-
BUFFER command (CALCOMP driver) . 4:3 ers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:20

C G
CALCOMP driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:2 GPGP pseudo-code . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:2 3:2 ,

CALCOMP64 driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:4 GRAY command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers)

CENTRE command (HP/HPGL drivers) . 4:7 4:18
CHECKSUM command (CALCOMP driver) 4:3
Coincidence removal:Dekink filter  . . . . . . 3:5 H
Connect method:Dekink filter  . . . . . . . . . 3:5
Cutter markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:7 HEADER command (CALCOMP driver) 4:3

Index page i 12.0

 PLOT User Guide

HEADER command (DXF driver) . . . . . . 4:5
HEADER option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:5
Help with syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:11
HIGH command (HP/HPGL drivers) . . . . 4:7
HIGH command (HP-GL/2 drivers) . . . . . 4:9
HIGH command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers)
4:20
HOUSTON driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:10
HP driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:6
HPGL driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:6
HPGL pseudo-code . . . . . . . . . 2:1 2:3 3:2 , ,
HP-GL/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:1
PCL command (HP-GL/2 drivers) . . . . . 4:9
Pen numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:4
PENMAN driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:13
PENS command (general) . . . . . . . . . . . 3:4
Plot command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:1
Plot splitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:6
Plot option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:11
PLOTDRIVERS file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:8
PLOYLINES command (DXF driver) . . . 4:5
POSTSCRIPT driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:14
PS driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:14
pseudo-code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:1 3:2 ,

HPGL2 driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:8 PTYPE command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers)

4:18
I PWIDTH command (HP-GL/2 drivers) . . 4:9

IGRAPHICS command (POSTSCRIPT/PS driv- Q

ers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:18
QUALITY command (HP-GL/2 drivers) 4:9 4:14 ,

L
LASERJET driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:10
LAYOUT command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers)
4:16
LINE command (CALCOMP driver) . . . . 4:3
Line styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:4
Line widths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:4
LIST driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:12 4:11
, RGB command (SCREEN driver) . . . . 4:23
M
MAP command (HP/HPGL drivers) . . . . 4:7
MAP command (HP-GL/2 drivers) . . . . . 4:9
MAP command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers)
4:18
MAP command (SCREEN driver) . . . . . 4:23
Messages, error  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:10
Messages, modifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:11
R
RADIX command (CALCOMP driver) . . 4:3
Reducing file size:Dekink filter  . . . . . . . . 3:5
RESPONSE command (CALCOMP driver) 4:4
RGB command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers)
4:18
ROTATE command (HP-GL/2 drivers) . . 4:9
S
SCALE command (CALCOMP driver) . . 4:4
SCALE command (general) . . . . . . . . . . 3:3
Scaling the plot:to suit graphics . . . . . . . 3:3
Scaling the plot:to suit paper size . . . . . 3:3
SCREEN driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:21
SIZE command (XDUMP driver) . 4:14 4:24 ,

Messages, run-time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:10 Soft driver facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:8

MONO command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers) SPLIT command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:6
4:18 STEPS command (CALCOMP driver) . . 4:4
STEPS command (HP/HPGL drivers) . . 4:7
N STEPS command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers)
4:18
NL command (CALCOMP driver) . . . . . . 4:3 SYNC command (CALCOMP driver) . . . 4:4

O T
Output files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:2 TC command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers) 4:17
TL command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers) 4:17
P TR command (POSTSCRIPT/PS drivers) 4:17
Travel method:Dekink filter  . . . . . . . . . . 3:5
PAD command (CALCOMP driver) . . . . . 4:3
Page numbers (in Postscript files) . . . . 4:17

Index page ii 12.0