Working with Graph Windows

Resizing Graph Windows, Setting Proportions

You can change the proportions and size of the graph as it appears on the screen simply by resizing the graph window. You will note that if you change the proportions of the graph, the labeling of the axes will generally change, as the number of labeled values will change as an axis gets relatively larger or smaller.

However, RATS will, by default, use standard proportions (generally close to the "Golden Ratio" of 1.6 wide to 1 high) when you print or export a graph, regardless of how the graph appears on the screen. For example, RATS will automatically format the graph to fit the full width or height of the printed page (depending on whether you choose Portrait or Landscape mode, respectively for the printer). If you copy and paste into a document in standard orientation, the graph will generally cover about 1/3 of the page.

If you want RATS to print or save the graph as it appears on the screen, just size the graph window as desired, and then click on the icon. This fixes or "freezes" the graph at its current proportions. RATS will output the graph using these proportions if you print or save the graph (to any of the available formats). You can click on the icon (which replaces the "fix" icon when fix the proportions)—RATS will be free to reformat the graph if you resize the window.

If you want a specific size graph, you use the HEIGHT and WIDTH option on the graphics instruction (GRAPH, SCATTER, GCONTOUR, GBOX, SPGRAPH) or you can set a default size using the HEIGHT and WIDTH options on GRPARM. If you need a specific ratio of sides, but possibly will resize it to fit the output medium in another application, set the HEIGHT and WIDTH to have the desired ratio, and then you can hold <Shift> when resizing in the target application. For the help, we generally used

grparm(width=6.5,height=4.5)

where the measurements are in inches. If you want measurements in centimeters, use the %CM(x) function:

grparm(width=%cm(16),height=%cm(11))

Color or Black and White

RATS can render a graph either in color, or in black and white. Color is almost always the easiest to view on the screen, so that’s the standard way that graphs are shown, but most (print) publications still require graphs in black and white. If you need a grayscale graph, click on the toolbar icon: . If you copy or export the Graph Window, whether that is done in color or black and white will depend upon how you are showing the graph at the time. If you want to change back to color, just click on the same toolbar icon, which will now be in color ().

Grayscale graphs can be hard to read if you have lines that cross many times. If you have such a graph, you may need to either change the style numbers or define your own styles.

Saving and Opening Graphs

If you want to save a graph so you can reload it later, you need to save it in RGF format (RATS Graphics Format). To open a saved RATS graph, select File—Open..., choose “RATS graphics” from the list of file types, and then open the desired graph file. This will show the graph in a new Graph Window, exactly as if it has just been generated by the program.

RGF is designed for temporary storage of graphs. Its specification changes as we add features to our graphics system, so you should only open files with the same version of RATS that created them. It is, however, portable across systems, so a file can be shared by Windows, Mac and UNIX users as long as they are running the same version number of RATS.

Printing

To print a Graph Window, do the following:

1.Make sure the desired graph window is active.

2.Select File—Print, or click on the toolbar icon.

If you have a black and white printer, your graph will print with colors replaced by the black and white patterns, whether or not that is showing in your window. If it’s a color-capable printer, then the graph will print in color if you’re showing the graph in color, or in black and white if that’s what you’re showing.

Printers will allow you to choose between portrait and landscape mode. The results of the two choices are shown below. When you’re printing a graph, you’re more likely to use landscape, since it uses the full page. Portrait generally will only give a partial page (see left picture) since the graph itself is wider than it is tall, but the paper, in that orientation, is the reverse.