Graph Styles and Style Numbers

RATS graphs data using lines, fill patterns, or symbols, depending upon the settings you choose for the STYLE and OVERLAY options: for instance, the “painted” styles like BAR, STACKEDBAR, and POLYGONAL all use fill patterns. For each category (line, fill, symbol) RATS supports up to thirty different styles for color mode, and a corresponding thirty for black and white mode.

Styles are identified and selected by number, from 1 to 30, plus style 0 which is used by the SHADE option. The default styles used by RATS have been chosen to be fairly easily distinguishable roughly for style numbers 1 through 10. You can use Graph Style Sheets to create your own definitions for the style numbers.

By default, RATS uses style number one for the first series being graphed (the series listed on the first supplementary card), style number two for the second series, and so on. You can use the stylenum parameter on the supplementary cards of GRAPH and SCATTER to select different styles. For example:

graph 2

# x1 / 4

# x2 / 2

selects style number four for the X1 series and style number two for the X2 series. Style numbers above 30 simply wrap around so 41 is the same as 11.

Color and Black and White Styles

RATS normally displays graphs in color, using different colors to distinguish series. In color mode, with the default style definitions, lines are drawn as solid lines in different colors, fill patterns as solid fills in different colors, and symbols using the same symbol in different colors. These usually are easy to distinguish.

RATS switches to the corresponding black and white (grayscale) styles if you:

•print to a black and white printer

•use the toolbar button

•use the PATTERNS option on the graphing instruction

•set GRPARM(PATTERNS) which applies to all later graphs

With the default styles, lines are drawn in black using different dash patterns to distinguish series. Fills are drawn using different “hatch” patterns, and different symbols (in black) are used.

If you have a graph with several intertwined lines, it can be hard to see the detail of the lines when you can’t use color. The solid black (style 1) isn’t the problem; it’s the dashed lines which lose detail and may seem to disappear at times. If you have one series which is fairly smooth and one which is more volatile, list the volatile one first so it gets style 1. If that won’t work, you may need to use thicker solid grayscale lines—styles 8, 9, 10 and 11 are defined that way (this may look a bit odd in color). However, it may not be possible to make the graph work if it’s too busy, and you may need to think of a different way to show the data.