
GENERIC BLT PLOT TOOL

	accepts tsv or ssv datafiles.
	has special smarts for representing unix toy clock
		values as formatted dates
	many features stolen from datamynah's plot tool
	features for customized annotation
	application:  produce decent looking plots for
		display, paper copy, web publishing

To install:

	install the tlib files someplace where you have write priv.

	install the bitmaps in a subdirectory "bitmaps", same location
	
	edit "anyplot" and

		change the path to wishx, so it is right for your installation

		set ucodb to be the right place (where you installed
		the tlib files and bitmaps)

	optionally, install anyplot on some standard path like
	/usr/local/bin or /opt/bin or /opt/share/tcl/bin or
	wherever you like to put useful tcl/tk scripts.  rehash,
	if you use csh/tcsh.

	later you may want to edit anyplot.cf to change preferences.

	remember that for tclx to use a tlib file, it must generate
	a tndx file with a timestamp later than the tlib file.  if
	you plan to have others use the tlib, you must use it at
	least once yourself (with your write privs) to generate the
	tndx file.

To use:

	see the Samples directory.

		anyplot TempLog.dat

	to plot your own data:

	make a valid .dat file (whitespace or TAB separated) which
	for sake of argument we will call yourfile.dat

	optionally, make first line of .dat file start with a hash mark
	and look like this

	# COL somefile.col

	which causes the file somefile.col to be used to identify the
	columns in yourfile.dat

	if you do this, edit somefile.col so that it contains one
	line for each column in yourfile.dat -- each line consists
	of the title or name of the column.

	start anyplot:

	anyplot yourfile.dat

	1. click on one of the data column buttons... the one you want
	   to use as X.
	   the label foreground goes red because it is currently selected

	2. click on the X button.

	3. if this column contains toy clock values (unix toyclock, 
	   time since the start of the Unix universe expressed in seconds)
	   then you can push the Time button and the x axis will be
           labelled in formatted time.

	4. click on any other column button.

	5. click on Show/No to see that trace.

Finer points of use:

	the Show/No button is a click-on, click-off button, as is the
	Time button.

	the None button clears the graph.  the All button plots all
	the columns except the one you have chosen as X.

	by default, all traces share a Y axis (y1, at left) and the same
	scale.  if you want each trace to have its own Y scale, click
	on the Yshare button.  this is another toggle button.

	if (in not-shared mode) you want to use a Y axis to show the
	scale of a particular trace, click on the column button to make
	that vector current, then click on Y1 or Y2 show buttons.

	If you pick a Colour from the menu, the NEXT trace you plot will
	have that colour.  Similarly with Weight.  Each trace will have
	a different colour by default, cycling through the list of
	colours.

	the Rel button converts X to relative X, i.e. delta X from
	the first X value.

	You can load more than one datafile.  notice the little menu
	".dat Files" at the lower right.  however, it's not a real
	file chooser -- you are limited to the .dat files in this
	directory, at present.

Buttons and doohickies on the Plot widget:

	The bold arrow buttons scroll your POV around on the graph.
	These plots only zoom in X because that was all I wanted.
	You could read the code and easily make them zoom in Y, or
	reinstate George's default zoom behaviour.

	The Scale button is not yet working.  Ignore the Notebook
	button for the moment -- beta testing in progress :-)

	Plot Type lets you select different representations of the
	vectors -- scatterplot, step, line, spline.
	Boxcar is only half working (a feature imported from DataMynah
	and not yet fully grafted in).

	You can document the plot (titles/labels) using the large entry
	boxes and buttons at the bottom of the plot window.

	The Postscript button will make a PS file from the plot.
	The Paper button will show you what your plot will look like
	in PS on white paper.  You may decide not to use pale colours
	on white paper.

	The WebImage button will make PGM and GIF files from the plot,
	and if pnmtopng is on your path it will also make a PNG file.

Future features

	the ktplot incarnation of this plot app had a feeble expression
	language, so you could plot colname1+colname3 and so forth.
	I might reproduce this functionality here.

	the datamynah version had a more sophisticated zoom mechanism,
	implemented by hacking George's zoomStack code.  I might do
	that again here.

Summary
	
	for a product less than 2 weeks old, it's not too bad.

