Technical Questions

How can I plot directly on the screen?

You can plot directly on the screen with the keyword 'CONS' in the DISLIN routine METAFL. METAFL must be called before the initialization routine DISINI. On windows screens, you can also use the keyword 'XWIN' in METAFL that creates a smaller window while METAFL('CONS') creates a full size window.

How can I get a white background on the screen?

By default, the background colour is black and the foreground colour is white for screen output. You can reverse these colours by using the routine SCRMOD before DISINI with the keyword 'REVERSE'. SCRMOD ('REVERSE') works for screen output, PostScript, TIFF and PNG files.

How can I change the graphs background colour?

The statement PAGFLL (NCLR) fills the plotting page with the colour NCLR while the statement AXSBGD (NCLR) defines a background colour for an axis system plotted with GRAF.

How can I increase the resolution of image files?

The resolution of image files such as PNG, TIFF, GIF and BMP files can be defined with the routine WINSIZ before DISINI.

How can I increase the quality of PNG files?

You can increase the resolution of PNG files with the routine WINSIZ and you can use bitmap fonts with the routine BMPFNT instead of vector fonts.

Can I use DISLIN as a viewer for PostScript files?

No, the DISLIN driver utility DISDRV can only display PostScript files created by DISLIN.

Can I use DISLIN as a viewer for TIFF files?

No, the DISLIN driver utility DISTIF can only display TIFF files created by DISLIN.

Can I import DISLIN PostScript files into TeX?

Yes, DISLIN PostScript files contain a bounding box so that they can be imported directly into TeX or other third party products.

What is the best output format for importing DISLIN graphics into MS-Word?

I think it's the Windows metafile format that can be defined in DISLIN with the keyword 'WMF' in the routine METAFL.

How would I draw ticks inward rather than outward?

You can use the keyword 'REVERS' in the routine TICPOS for plotting ticks inside of an axis system.

Can I plot multiple axis systems on one page?

You can plot multiple axis systems on one page by terminating an axis system with the routine ENDGRF and creating a new axis system with the GRAF routine.

How can a create a DIN A3 PostScript of PDF file?

You have to set the hardware page for PostScript or PDF to DIN A3 with the routine HWPAGE. For example CALL HWPAGE (2790, 4200). Note that the parameters in HWPAGE should define a hardware page in portrait mode.

How can I plot indices in DISLIN?

You can enable shift characters for indices and exponents with the routine MIXALF. The default shift characters are '[' for exponents, ']' for indices and '$' for moving back to the base line. Alternate shift characters can be defined with the routines NEWMIX and SETMIX. For example, the string 'A]1$' will be interpreted in DISLIN as the character A with the index 1 after a call to SETMIX.

How can I plot Greek letters in axis titles?

You have to define shift characters for the Greek alphabet with the routine SMXALF. For example, the statement SMXALF ('GREEK', '{', '}', 1) defines the shift characters '{' and '}' for the Greek alphabet. The charater '{' shifts to the Greek alphabet and the character '}' back to the base alphabet. For example, the term '{D}' in a string will be interpreted as a uppercase Greek delta in DISLIN. Take a look at the character sets in the DISLIN manual for the ASCII codes of the Greek letters.

How can I reset automatic scaling?

Automatic scaling can be reset with the keyword 'SETSCL' in the routine RESET and with the keywords 'XRESET', 'YRESET', 'ZRESET' and 'RESET' in the routine SETSCL.

How can I port old DISSPLA programs to DISLIN?

Before I have developed DISLIN, I have written many plot programs with other plotting packages such as DISSPLA and Calcomp. This description contains some notes and interface routines for porting DISSPLA programs to DISLIN.

How can I use TrueType fonts in an X11 window on Linux?

If you have installed TrueType fonts on your Linux system, you can define them within a Dislin program with the routine X11FNT. The corresponding X11 names in X11FNT for some TrueType fonts are:

Parameter in X11FNT
TrueType Font
-monotype-courier new-medium-r-normal-
Courier New
-monotype-courier new-bold-r-normal-
Courier New Bold
-monotype-courier new-medium-i-normal-
Courier New Italic
-monotype-courier new-bold-i-normal-
Courier New Bold Italic
-monotype-times new roman-medium-r-normal-
Times New Roman
-monotype-times new roman-bold-r-normal-
Times New Roman Bold
-monotype-times new roman-medium-i-normal-
Times New Roman Italic
-monotype-times new roman-bold-i-normal-
Times New Roman Bold Italic
-monotype-arial-medium-r-normal-
Arial
-monotype-arial-bold-r-normal-
Arial Bold
-monotype-arial-medium-i-normal-
Arial Italic
-monotype-arial-bold-i-normal-
Arial Bold Italic
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