Copyright (C) 1986-2008 by Daniel H. Hudgins, All Rights Reserved.
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To view or use the current version of this Web page you may need to reload or refresh the display of this page by your browser. Just clicking on the browser's [Reload] or [Refresh] icon may not be enough to insure that all of the page's most current contents have been cached and displayed. Some browsers may have additional commands to help display the page's most current contents such as: holding down the [Shift] key and clicking on the [Reload] icon, holding down the [Control] key and clicking on the [Refresh] icon, holding down the [Control] and [Shift] keys and clicking on the [Refresh] icon, pressing the [Control] and [F5] keys, pressing [Control] and the [R] key, or some other combination of keys or clicks. Check to see which commands your HTML browser uses to load the most current page contents into its cache and then to display them onto the screen.
This Web site is dedicated to the thousands of "users" of my programs, those who have helped test my programs over the last 22 or so years, and especially those who shared their experiences with me.
You must read this notice: This is a licensed Web site (HTML document and associated files). You must read and agree to be legally bound in contract by the Terms of Use and conditions given in the End User License Agreement ("EULA"), Legal Notices, Instructions, Warnings, Disclaimers, and all other text in "SECTION: 0" of "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) before reading or using any of the information, software programs, and or files, contained in, linked to, and or associated with, "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files). Any use or "Beta Testing" of "This Web Site" constitutes your acknowledgment of your full agreement with the current End User License Agreement ("EULA") and your decision to have this current license supersede all prior and contemporaneous agreements and understandings. Information and files in "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) have been placed here so that long time users of "The Author's" programs DANCAD3D.COM (tm) , DANCAM.EXE (tm) , or DANPLOT.EXE (tm) could help proofread the text of the documentation files or screens displayed, and also help test data files, example files, and or any software programs that might be made available from time to time, to aid "The Author" in finding mistakes, bugs, and other errors, omissions, defects, mistakes, and faults. Everything in "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) is "Beta Test", "Beta Code", Experimental, Preliminary, requires proofreading, or is being evaluated for possible revision, and is NOT warranted to be free of defect. To help "The Author" report any bugs, foul-ups, defects, or mistakes that you find, see "SECTION: 8" for instructions. "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) and all other files and programs by Daniel H. Hudgins are made available "AS IS" without warranty of any kind express, expressed, or implied. All offers and specifications are subject to change or discontinuation without notice of any kind. Please read "SECTION: 8" of "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) before trying to contact "The Author."
This section has text mostly about revisions to the "Beta Test" version v2.7I of my CAD and v2.74 CAM programs, and might be looked to for updated information relating to changes from v2.7H, regarding some of the revised or added program features. There may be changes made in versions subsequent to the revisions of the version of v2.7I that alter what is described in this section as it applies to that subsequent version. See also any other documentation files, and pages in this Web site (HTML document) for additional and or any more recent information.
The HTML documentation in this SECTION: 3.3.7.9 was derived from the text in the file INFOV27I.TXT that is, or was at one time, included in my *.ZIP file archive DANCAD3D.ZIP (tm). You may find the current revision of DANCAD3D.ZIP (tm) to download by going to SECTION: 9.70.51.0. My file DANCAD3D.ZIP (tm) may also archive some other types of files like the ones described in this section, so check the current *.ZIP file in its current revision to see what exactly might be in it.
You may not distribute, sell, rent, share, or give away these HTML documentation files or printed copies of them. You may not extract text from these HTML documentation files for distribution, sale, rent, sharing, or giving away. You can use the [Print] option in your browser to make one copy for yourself to mark up in order to help me proofread the text for mistakes.
Documents may be available to download from time to time, you can check SECTION: 9 to see what the current situation with regard to downloadable files is. The names of these documentation files may change, and they may be edited, combined, or eliminated in the future, without notice.
You may need to adjust your browser for best viewing of the pre- formatted text by changing the "font" size using the commands in your browser (see the help in your browser, or use the pull-down menus in your HTML browser.) If some letters in words on the screen appear to be missing or scrambled try changing the font size in your browser as this sometimes happens even though the words are spelled correctly in the HTML code.
Use the "Edit, Find in page Ctrl+F" or "Edit, Find (in this page)... Ctrl+F" command in your browser to search for keywords within the documentation text in this HTML page. You will need to search over again in the other pages in this HTML document for the same keyword since your browser may not search for a keyword beyond the current page that is loaded.
My current file DANCAD3D.ZIP (tm) is a *.ZIP file that holds the current "Beta Test" versions of my programs and associated files for "Beta Testing." This section refers to the preliminary revision of the v2.7I version of the programs, look for other sections or documentation relating to any subsequent revisions.
The use and copying of these programs and files are governed by my current Terms of Use and End User License Agreement ("EULA") which are located in SECTION: 0 of this "Beta Test" Web site. You must read and fully agree to be legally bound by the current End User License Agreement ("EULA") before you use or "Beta Test" any of the files in my file DANCAD3D.ZIP (tm). If you are unable to read and agree to the current End User License Agreement ("EULA") do not use or "Beta Test" any of the files in my program distribution, the DANCAD3D.ZIP (tm) archive file.
Be sure that you scan the programs and files in my DANCAD3D.ZIP (tm) for virus or other contamination since you are responsible for checking them before you use them. These programs and this information are made available "AS-IS" and are without warranty of any kind express, expressed, or implied. Since these programs are "Beta Test" you must agree to become a "Beta Tester" before you make any use of them, see the End User License Agreement ("EULA") in this "Beta Test" Web site for more information. Be sure to read the current instructions in this "Beta Test" Web site regarding procedures for reporting program bugs and other such problems.
On some systems the *.ASC data files, or *.MAC macro files, may be able to be renamed *.TXT to avoid certain kinds of file type misinterpretation by text editor type programs and such. Thank you for helping test these "Beta Test" CAD and CAM programs.
A *.TXT file version, similar to some of the text in this S0303079.HTM Section, may be included in the v2.7I revision of my DANCAD3D.ZIP (tm) file (see the "downloads" SECTION: 9 of this "Beta Test" Web site). See the text in any files like README.*, FILES.TXT, and INFOV27I.TXT stored in my current DANCAD3D.ZIP (tm). You should check for the current types of document files because they may be more up-to-date than this *.HTM file, or it is possible that this HTML file could be more up to date, depending on which one got worked on last.
Below is text from file INFOV27I.TXT that was written to be included in a preliminary revision of version v2.7I of my DANCAD3D.ZIP (tm) distribution for preliminary information about changes in version v2.7I of the CAD and v2.74 of the CAM programs. You should read this information before you try to use or "Beta Test" the revised programs. This information is in addition to the previous documentation, i.e. a supplement to, and does not go into detail about many of the previously documented features, so you should therefore review the other sections and documentation as well. See also INFO16.TXT in file DANCAD16.ZIP (tm) for revisions relating to v3.7 of the programs.
The text of INFOV27I.TXT was derived from some notes I made to myself as I worked on the code for v2.7I, so you should check this document, and the other documentation, against the programs before you do any "serious" testing of the programs since there may be some differences between the descriptions here and the current state of development of commands and features in the programs. Please report any discrepancies between the documentation and the programs or files that you find. Some of the text from this section may have been incorporated into the other sections of this Web site, in doing that some of the text may have been further revised, and so may contain additional information, therefore after reading through all of this section you should also read through all of the other portions of this Web site, even those portions that might seem to be duplicates.
I have kept this preliminary information in one long file so that you can use the "find in page" feature of your HTML browser to search for a keyword relating to some new command or feature you are looking for more information about, otherwise you might have to search through more files.
See also the This Section and About DANCAD3D.ZIP (tm) sub-sections above, as well as SECTION: 9.70.0.0 and SECTION: 9.70.51.0 for more information about v2.7.
DOCUMENT: INFOV27I.TXT
Copyright (C) 2004 by Daniel H. Hudgins, All Rights Reserved.
Terms of use: This "Beta Test" document may only be used in accord and within
the limitations imposed by the current End User License Agreement "EULA" posted
at the author's Web site www.DANCAD3D.com (sm) in file S0000000.HTM, any other
use or copying is prohibited. This document is provided "AS IS" without
warranty of any kind express, expressed, or implied. Mistakes, errors, and
omissions should be reported according to the instructions in SECTION: 8 of the
current "On-Line" version of my Web site www.DANCAD3D.com (sm).
Any trade marks mentioned in this document belong to their respective owners,
and are mentioned not as an endorsement or recommendation but rather for
informational and educational purposes to enrich the discussion of the matters
dealt with.
This preliminary document has some brief descriptions of changes made to my CAD
and CAM programs DANCAD3D.COM (tm), DANCAD87.COM (tm), DANCAM.EXE (tm), and
DANPLOT.EXE (tm) between the release of v2.7H and the "Beta Test" release of
v2.7I. This file is meant to be included in the initial "Beta Test" v2.7I
distribution to help long time users acquaint themselves with some of the many
changes that have been made to the programs. If you are not a long time user
you will most probably need to read all of the text located at my "Beta Test"
Web site www.DANCAD3D.com (sm) before you read this document in order to make
practical use of it. This document is not a complete list of changes made to
the programs, and may not reflect the operation of the version of the program
accompanying it in all respects. The programs may be still undergoing change,
so the results obtained from any of the commands may be different than
expected, and the operation of older commands may have changed as well. Since
so many changes have been made to the programs you should not expect any of the
commands to operate as you have used them in the past, and you should
frequently back-up and save what you are working on so that you do not lose
everything when the program crashes. All specifications, descriptions, and
instructions are subject to change without notice.
Be sure to see also the file INFO16.TXT that is in archive DANCAD16.ZIP (tm).
I would like to thank the thousands of users of my programs who have helped
"Beta Test" the many revisions of my programs since about 1986, I hope you will
enjoy checking out some of the newer program features that I have spent so many
years working on. Best wishes for success in your projects.
---
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ABOUT CHANGES IN CAD V2.7I JULY 2, 2004
Be sure you read all of the update and other documentation located at
www.DANCAD3D.com (sm) Web site in addition to this *.TXT file since this file
only covers some of the more recent changes and is not a complete documentation
source for the programs.
Note: Some of the text in this description of the JULY 2, 2004 version may have
been revised to reflect changes in later revisions made after the original
release of this update, and so may only be relevant to those later revisions.
The two main changes from v2.7H to v2.7I are the addition of support for
additional data file formats and the restoration of the graphing command.
The graphing command was part of DANCAD3D.COM v1.xx and was later removed in
order to make more space for other things on the 360KB shareware disk. The
removed graphing code was released as a separate utility program called
DANGRAPH.COM v1.x. I have re-incorporated the graphing code into DANCAD3D.COM
v2.7I, and made some improvements, see the additional information about the
graphing command below.
---
CHANGES TO THE MAIN MENU FILES SAVE MENU
The main menu FILES SAVE command now has a MORE sub-menu that makes a place for
additional commands that will be used to save drawing data. The first addition
to this new sub-menu is the Files Save More XASCII command that saves a special
version of the ASCII file type in such a way that all of the point data is
saved using exponential notation. The use of exponential notation may resolve
some issues and enhance the data accuracy of drawing line point data saved for
some applications. The regular ASCII filetype saves point data in floating
point form for numbers in the mid-range in order to make manual editing of the
point data saved into an ASCII file through use of the Write command or some
other text file editor easier. In cases where you do not plan on editing the
point data the XASCII formatting of the point data in exponential notation
might be preferred, so now you have two menu commands to save ASCII data files,
the Files Save ASCII command and the newer Files Save More XASCII command.
Although the XASCII files might be a little more accurate, they may take more
disk space. The Squeeze command should not be used on XASCII files if you want
to retain the full data accuracy.
---
CHANGES TO THE MAIN MENU FILES LOAD MENU
A new sub-menu has been added to the Files Load menu called More. In the More
sub-menu or the Files Load menu are some new file loading commands that support
older obsolete drawing file types that were once supported by DANCAD3D.COM (tm)
in past releases. These new file loading commands have been added so that you
can try to load old drawings that you made with some older versions of my
programs into the current version of my programs for display and revision.
The Files Load More 3D-Real is ONLY for loading 3D-Real files saved by using
DANCAD3D.COM v1.xx, so if you never used versions like v1.1, v1.2, and such you
should not use this command. If you have old pre-v2.0 3D-Real files this
command may be able to load them if you have enough space in the workspace.
The Files Load More 2D-Integer is ONLY for loading 2D-integer files saved by
using DANCAD3D.COM v1.xx, so if you never used versions like v1.1, and such you
should not use this command. If you have old pre-v2.0 2D-Integer files this
command may be able to load them if you have enough space in the workspace. Do
not confuse the 2D-Real filetype with the 2D-Integer filetype, this command
only loads the obsolete 2D-Integer file type used in very early versions of
DANCAD3D.COM v1.xx. Some of the later versions of 1.xx may have used a
transitional 2D-Real file format rather than this 2D-Integer format. You should
not enlarge elements saved in 2D-Integer format, since curves may look jagged,
which is why this format was dropped and replaced with the 2D-Real binary
format. The main advantage of this format was that it took less disk space for
finished drawings, something that was an issue when computers only had two
360KB floppy disks, today this space difference is no longer much of an issue
for 2D line drawings.
The Files Load More ASCII is ONLY for loading ASCII files saved by using
DANCAD3D.COM v1.xx, so if you never used versions like v1.1, v1.2, v1.3 and
such you should not use this command. If you have old pre-v2.0 ASCII files
this command may be able to load them if you have enough space in the
workspace. Versions prior to v2.0 did not have support for line attributes,
i.e. color, width, shape, and style, so the four numbers for the line
attributes on each data line are missing in v1.xx ASCII files. In other words
the v1.xx ASCII files only had six data values for each line segment, as
opposed to the ten data values used for v2.xx ASCII files. This command can
load the v1.xx ASCII data format, but should never be used to load v2.xx ASCII
files.
The Files Load More Elements is ONLY for loading Elements file sets saved by
using DANCAD3D.COM v1.xx, so if you never used versions like v1.1, v1.2, v1.3
and such you should not use this command. If you have old pre-v2.0 Elements
file sets this command may be able to load them if you have enough space in the
workspace. Elements sets where saved in v1.xx 3D-Real file type in v1.xx,
whereas in v2.xx Elements file sets are saved using the 3D-Quick binary file
type, so this special command is needed to load an Elements file set saved in
the obsolete format. Never use this command to load a v2.xx Elements file set.
Some users may have written there own programs to write files in my v2.xx ASCII
file type, but may have neglected to include the ENTER macro command on the
first line of the ASCII file. If you use the regular Files Load ASCII command
it may report a file type error for files that are un-tagged with the ENTER
command. This command does not fuss over such details and might be able to
read some ASCII files that are not tagged properly. Only use this command to
read v2.xx ASCII files that the regular Files Load ASCII command rejects
because the file is un-tagged. If the ASCII file contains other data
formatting errors you should edit the file's ASCII data with a text editor or
other program in order to bring the data formatting in line with the current
v2.7x formatting practice, i.e. ENTER on the first line, ten data values on
the other lines, the attribute values in range, and ten spaced zeros to flag
end-of-file. This command may change the line width values from 0 to 1, since
the meaning of line width 0 has evolved through the many revisions, i.e. the
line width for regular drawing lines should now range from 1 to 255, with 0
width being reserved for special uses.
Since v1.xx files did not define the line attributes, you should use the Lines
edit Lines style command in the drawing editor to change the color and line
width of the lines in the loaded element to the color and width that you want
that element to have.
The Files Load ASCII command can be used to load files using both the ASCII and
XASCII save commands, so no special command is included in the LOAD menu for
loading the XASCII file type.
Files using real numbers saved by using any version of DANCAD3D.COM (tm) must
be loaded by using DANCAD3D.COM (tm) and not DANCAD87.COM (tm). Files saved by
using any version of DANCAD87.COM (tm) using real numbers must be loaded by
DANCAD87.COM (tm) and not DANCAD3D.COM (tm).
---
CHANGES TO THE DRAWING EDITOR FILES SAVE MENU
An option to save the drawing element from the drawing editor in the XASCII
format has been added. The XASCII file type is like the ASCII file type and is
compatible in most instances, except exponential notation is used for all point
data.
For compatibility between DANCAD3D.COM (tm) and DANCAD87.COM (tm) the
exponential notation range used in the XASCII file type has been limited to the
range that DANCAD3D.COM can read.
---
CHANGES TO THE DRAWING EDITOR FILES LOAD MENU
The FILES LOAD ASCII command can be used to load files using both the ASCII and
XASCII save commands, so no special command is included in the LOAD menu for
loading the XASCII file type.
---
CHANGES TO THE DRAWING EDITOR PULL POINT AND RAPID PULL COMMANDS
The Pull point and Rapid pull commands are in the drawing editor's Lines edit
sub-menu. They have been changed in v2.7I.
The primary change is that these commands can now operate on just one element
or all of the elements rather than just all of the elements. If you want to be
able to grab a point on any element enter element 0 as the selected element to
Pull. When two elements share points in common, you can try to avoid grabbing
a line from the wrong element by entering the number of the element the points
are in that you want to pull.
The secondary change has to do with the way dots are handled. A dot is a line
segment in which both end points have the same location. Dots are sometimes
used for special applications, such as a tool path for drilling or drilling
printed circuit boards, and such. If you select the "Two" or "All" options the
commands will move both end points of a dot to the new location. If you select
the "First" option only one of the end points of the dot will be moved, so that
the dot becomes a line. You can then use the "First" option again to move the
other end of the line that came from the dot. In cases where several lines or
dots are in the same location the "First" option can be used to pull each of
the points away from each other. Sometimes when drawing you hold down the
[0/Ins] key too long and dots get mixed in at the junction of two line
segments. If you use the "Two" or "All" options these dots should get pulled
along with the end points of the lines at the junction you are pulling.
You may need to set the seek tolerance to a somewhat smaller value to avoid
having both ends of the line segment you are pulling pulled and the line being
converted into a dot. Just zoom in a little more and put the cursor on top of
the point you are pulling so that you can use a smaller seek tolerance.
---
CHANGES TO VESA VIDEO MODE LIST MODE SEEK RANGE
The range of VESA video modes the VESA mode selection prompt will scan for has
been changed in v2.7I to VESA mode values between 0 and 511 decimal, or 0000H
to 01FFH Hex. If your video board needs values outside this range you may be
able to enter higher values even if they are not displayed in the VESA mode
list or found with the seek VESA mode commands, but that option is undefined
currently. If the same resolution and color bits for a VESA video mode is
displayed two or more times the VESA mode number value with the lower value is
the one that should be selected, generally. This change in range should not be
a problem for most video boards since the VESA code for 1920x1440x32 resolution
is 321 decimal, I think, on some particular video boards and that is the
highest resolution I am aware of using VESA modes, so most modes that your
video board would support would have VESA mode numbers less than 321 decimal,
probably. If your video board uses VESA modes outside this range, you can try
to let me know what type of video board you have, and what its video modes,
resolutions, and color depths are.
---
THE RE-INTRODUCED GRAPHING COMMAND
As was mentioned elsewhere DANCAD3D.COM (tm) v1.1x had a built in graphing
command to generate a drawing of a graph using data files to plot the data
lines in the graph automatically. I have reworked some of that old code and
added some enhancements so that the re-introduced graphing command can plot
graphs with more options. If you have data files used to make graphs with
DANCAD3D.COM (tm) v1.xx or DANGRAPH.COM (tm) v1.x they might now be used to re-
generate the graphs with the data lines in different colors or with other
revisions.
Plotted graph elements might now be saved in color by plotting the graph
element loaded into the workspace to a BMP file. The BMP file could then be
printed out, plotted to a slide, or displayed with some other program. You
might also use some other program to convert the BMP file to a GIF file for
display on the internet. A GIF file may look better than a JPG file for line
art such as a graph.
The output graphing drawing is saved to an ASCII file, the LOAD ASCII command
can be used to load the graph into the workspace for display etc.
A new macro command GRAPHING lets you generate graph ASCII files from a macro,
see below.
There are some restrictions on the value ranges that can be used in the data
files used for graphing the plotted points in the graph. When the axis is
plotted as a "Log" plot the data points must all be positive and range between
about +1*10E-10 to +1*10E+10. The "Log" scale marker points must be even
amounts in the base used, e.g. 2^4, 2^5, or 10^0, 10^1, 10^2, and so on, so
select units for the scale that fit a range that will have the plotted line fit
with the graph boundaries. When a "Linear" scale is used the values for the
limits of the scale ranges should be limited to numbers that can be displayed
with four or fewer digits since there is limited space for the numbers next to
the scale markers. The data set of the "Linear" scales can include negative
numbers, but in order for those points to get displayed the scale range must
start with a value below, i.e. a larger negative number, than the most negative
value to be plotted. Using negative data point values when plotting on a "Log"
scale may result in a fatal error.
There is an option to have grid lines drawn across the graph, or to just have
"ticks" along the scale sides. You can also have grid lines at both the major
and minor scale ticks, or just the major scale ticks. The minor scale grid
lines are plotted with line width equal to 1, and the major scale grid lines
are plotted with the line width selected for the graph edges and ticks. The
minor ticks are plotted shorter than the major ticks. If you want to contrast
the major and minor grid lines select a line width of 3 or more for the major
grid lines.
The original data file type used by DANGRAPH.COM v1.x used the text file
format, text line 1 had the name of the data set or filename, line two had the
number of data points, and the subsequent lines had the graphing point data in
the format that each line had two spaced numbers, the number on the left had
the x value and the number on the right had the y value, so the total number of
text lines in the data file would be two plus the number of data points.
[name of DANGRAPH.COM v1.x data file]
[number of data points]
[x for point 1] [y for point 1]
[x for point 2] [y for point 2]
[x for point 3] [y for point 3]
[x for point n] [y for point n]
For example, the graphing point data would be written in a DANGRAPH.COM (tm)
*.DTA data file using the format:
SOMEDATA.DTA
6
1.1 3.6
1.2 3.4
1.3 3.7
1.5 3.8
1.8 3.5
2.1 3.2
In this example only 6 data points to plot are recorded, in actual *.DTA files
to plot the number of data points could be fewer or much greater.
The *.DTA graphing point data files could be made using the [W]rite command,
some other text file editor, or by writing a computer program in some language.
To make inputting the graphing point data easier, the new graphing command can
also accept graphing data in the DANCAD3D.COM (tm) v2.7 ASCII file type. When
you draw the data you should draw it as a set of dots, or if you draw the data
as a set of connected lines you should draw the last data point also as a dot
since only the x1 and y1 values are used for the graphing data, the x2 and y2
line end point data is not read for making the graph.
The same data as in the example DANGRAPH.COM (tm) *.DTA file above in an ASCII
drawing data file would look like:
ENTER
1.1 -3.6 0 1.1 -3.6 0 1 1 0 0
1.2 -3.4 0 1.2 -3.4 0 1 1 0 0
1.3 -3.7 0 1.3 -3.7 0 1 1 0 0
1.5 -3.8 0 1.5 -3.8 0 1 1 0 0
1.8 -3.5 0 1.8 -3.5 0 1 1 0 0
2.1 -3.2 0 2.1 -3.2 0 1 1 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Note that the sign of the y values in the ASCII file is not the same as in the
*.DTA file type, keep this in mind if you manually edit the ASCII data in the
[W]rite command. The ASCII file type can be loaded into the drawing editor,
and the [P]ull point command might be used to move the data points around.
The way the graphing point data is to be plotted in the final graph is
regulated by the GRAPHING\*.GTF or "Graphing Template File" that you need to
create using the graphing menu commands before you generate the graph drawing
file. The graph drawing file is output as an ASCII drawing file, and can be
loaded into the workspace for inspection by using the LOAD ASCII command.
The specifics of the values in the *.GTF graphing template file may change in
various program revisions, so be sure to check the data entry values in the
menu commands in the version you are using. What follows is a description of
the *.GTF values used by the initial release of DANCAD3D.COM (tm) v2.7I.
The values entered for the Log scales are somewhat different from the values
entered for the Linear scales. You can select either Log or Linear scale for
the X or Y axis of the graph. So that the scale numbers can be plotted neatly
there are some constraints on the range of values you can select, and the
starting and ending values you can select, for the range of each axis.
The Files Load More DTA command off of the 'CAD main menu can be used to load a
*.DTA (graphing data) file into the drawing workspace so that you can look at
the data points. There are two conversion modes, Mode #1 converts the data
points in to dots, and Mode #2 converts the data points into a chain of lines
when there are two or more data points, and doubles the last point as a dot.
When Mode #2 is used the last point needs to be doubled as a dot since the
GRAPHING command only reads the x1 and y1 point values for each line in an
ASCII file, and so since it does not read the last x2 and y2 point, the last
point is copied such that x2 and y2 of the last line in the chain loaded are
used for x1, y2, and x2, y2 of a dot on the same point. When you load the
graphing data into the workspace you can select the line, and screen, color for
the load data points. When this command is coded into the automatic macro file
the LINETYPE macro command is used to reset the line color after the point data
is loaded into an element in the drawing workspace.
If you want to load a graphing data point set into the drawing workspace so
that you can use the Fit curve or Curve fit commands on the data from a *.DTA
file by using the Files Load More DTA command, you will need to prepare the
loaded element in a special way before you do the curve fitting. Because only
the x1 and y1 values of the line segments in the workspace will be relevant to
the GRAPHING command a dot is added to the last point of the last line segment
in the chain of line segments when the Files Load More DTA mode 2 is used.
Before you use the fit curve or curve fit commands to smooth the chain of line
segments between the graphing data points you need to remove the added dot at
the end. You can remove the added dot by going into the drawing editor's
Drawing sub-menu, you then press the [U] key once to "undo" the last line
segment, which in this case is a dot. You can the use the curve fit command on
the chain of lines remaining. After you have make a curve fit element to your
satisfaction, and that element is the element with the highest number, you then
go into the Drawing sub-menu of the drawing editor and press [J] to bring up
the Jump prompt, you then press [Ctrl] and [L] to make the cursor jump to the
last point in the last element, you then press the [./Del] key to make the
start of a line, you then press the [0/Ins] key to mark the end of a line,
which in this case is a dot since the cursor was in the same place for the
start and end of the new line segment. You can then save the curve fit element
with its added dot as an ASCII file and use that in place of the *.DTA file
with the Graphing command. To summarize, you load the *.DTA file, remove the
last line segment which is a dot, you do the curve fitting, then you add a dot
back at the end of the curve, and save the new element as an ASCII file.
The Graphing command can plot graphing data files, *.DTA or *.ASC, as a solid
line, dotted line, or dashed line, as well as plotting the data points with
symbols such as dots, triangles, squares, or circles. If symbols are used for
the data points the number of data points should be small enough to allow some
spacing between the symbols. Sample ASCII symbol files for dot, triangle,
square, and circle symbols are included, you can also draw additional symbols
using the drawing editor, the symbol should fit into an area about 10 to 20
drawing units in radius with the element center, i.e. x=0 y=0, at the point
that the data plots on the graph. Look in the GRAPHING\ sub-directory made by
INSTALL.BAT of v2.7I for sample symbol files.
The order that the lines and symbols are plotted is somewhat important, since
the last one plotted will be "on top" possibly partially obscuring those
underneath. You are asked how many graphing data files that you want to plot,
when you enter the graphing data file names you should enter the names of the
graphing data files that will be plotted as lines before the ones that will be
plotted as symbols so that the symbols will fall over the lines and look a
little neater perhaps. You can also select the line width for the lines to be
plotted, and the line color. In order to output color drawings for printing in
color you can display the graph by using the main menu Preview command's BMP
"video" mode. The resulting BMP image file can then be loaded into some
graphics program that has access to a driver for your color printer.
Some example *.GTF, a.k.a. Graph Template File, files have been included so
that you can generate some example *.ASC graph files to look at. You just need
to accept the values already in these GRAPHING\*.GTF files. Later you can try
changing the values to see how that affects the result.
EXAMPLE1.GTF makes a x Log scale and y Log scale graph with three lines and
corresponding symbols. Several colors are used, so this graph is best viewed
with the background set to black. You can change the background color with the
Setup Palette command in the drawing editor, this background color affects the
main menu Preview command as well as the drawing editor and the macro Display
command. The default shape for the graph is square, but you can change that
with the Graphing command's *.GTF file values. The graphing data files used
with this EXAMPLE1.GTF file are named EXAM1001.DTA, EXAM1002.ASC, EXAM1003.DTA,
EXAM1004.ASC, EXAM1005.DTA, and EXAM1006.ASC. The *.DTA files were made using
the Write command, while the *.ASC files were made by loading the *.DTA files
with the Files Load More DTA command, undoing the last line segment dot, using
Fit curve, using Jump then [Ctrl] & [L] followed by [./Del] followed by
[0/Ins], then the curve fit element was saved wit the Files Save ASCII command
from the main menu and then made to take less disk space with the Files
Utilities ASCII Squeeze command. If the *.ASC files had not been curve fit the
Graphing command would plot straight lines between the data points, you can see
this by changing the data type from ASCII to DTA for file EXAM1002.ASC and use
EXAM1001.DTA for the data file when you re-configure EXAMPLE1.GTF with the
Files Utilities ASCII Graphing command. EXAMPLE1.GTF is configured to save the
graph into file ASCII\EXAMGRA1.ASC, but you can change the output filename if
you want to save the graph somewhere else. Since this is a sample file I do
not know which font files you have installed into the FONTS\*.FON sub-
directory, so EXAMPLE1.GTF selects the DANCAD3D.FON font file, you can change
the font to another one you downloaded to see how the graph looks with another
font used for the lettering. Since this graph uses colored lines for the
graphing grid you should change the background color to black by using the
Palette command in the drawing editor's Setup sub-menu, the background color is
color index 0, set index 0 to color 0.
When you are using the Fit curve command on a chain of lines that are to be
used with the Graphing command the data points should not be irregularly spaced
or problems with over-shoot may result. This may be more of an issue when one
axis is used for a log scale and another axis is used for a Linear scale,
resulting in disproportionate changes between the values of points. It may be
best to restrict curve fitting to Linear-Linear graphs, and perhaps some Log-
Log graphs. If over-shoot occurs in a data set to be plotted on a Log axis,
the data may become negative in value, and thereby cause an out of range error
when the graph is generated.
EXAMPLE2.GTF plots a graph with Log scale on the Y axis, and Linear scale on
the X axis. The X axis also ranges from negative to positive values. Four
lines are plotted without superimposed symbols, two solid lines, a dotted line,
and a dashed line. The whole aspect of the graphing area has been adjusted and
is no longer square. The subdivision grid lines have been omitted from the X
axis scale. Since this graph uses gray lines for the graphing grid you should
change the background color to black by using the Palette command in the
drawing editor's Setup sub-menu, the background color is color index 0.
EXAMPLE3.GTF plots a polar sort of graph on two Linear axis grid. The minor
sub-divisions have been omitted, and the major ticks count by twos. The graph
line plotting is not limited to lines that go from one side of the graph to
another, the graphing point data is read like a special graphics file and
plotted within the graphing data area of the graph. Just remember that the
last point MUST be stored in the x1 and y1 point of the last line segment if
you use an ASCII file for the graphing data, or else the last line segment will
be missing when the graph is plotted, you can avoid or correct this problem by
loading the *.ASC file, going into the drawing editor's drawing sub-menu,
select [J]ump then press [Ctrl] and [L] to jump to the last point in the loaded
element, then press [./Del] and then press [0/Ins], then save the element back
to an *.ASC file. Since anything that can be drawn from a chain of line
segments can be part of the graph, you might include non-data symbols, grids or
other elements into a graph through the graph data plotting prompt. The
cartioid shaped data lines in this example are only a simple example of what
sort of complex data could be plotted in such a graphing data space. Since
this graph uses gray lines for the graphing grid you should change the
background color to black by using the Palette command in the drawing editor's
Setup sub-menu, the background color is color index 0.
When the graph x and y scaling values are set to 1.0 the graphing plotting area
in the graph generated is sized to 1 by 1 units. The outline border outside of
the axis labels will be an odd size, and does not scale according to the
scaling values entered since the margins around the graphing area do not scale
and remain the same size no matter what size or shape you make the area inside
for the graphing plotting area to be. Having the option of x and y scaling
values to make adjustments to the graphing plotting area just lets you affect
the size of the graphing data plotting area, and so lets you adjust the
graphing plotting area to fixed proportions which may help when you want to try
to take direct measurements off of the graph by using the [M]easure command in
the drawing editor, or by using calipers, etcetera, on the printed graph since
the distance values along each axis can try to be adjusted by known
proportions.
If you are going to be making measurements off of the graph in the drawing
editor, then you probably do not want to have the whole graph element centered
in the workspace, rather you want the lower left origin corner of the graphing
area centered in the workspace. The Centering value in the *.GTF Graphing
template file can be used to have graph centering adjusted, mode 1 centers the
whole graphing element on its outer border points, mode 2 centers on the lower
left border corner, and mode 3 centers on the lower left of the data graphing
area of the graph. You would use mode 3 when you want to make measurements.
You could use mode 2 to make placement of the graph easier in a page layout.
Mode 1 is for general use in printing out graphs since the graph will easier to
have centered in a BMP file saved or when printing directly form the workspace.
The *.GTF graph template file is in ASCII text, and so can be edited with the
Write command, or you could write a program to automatically generate *.GTF
files, although I do not recommend doing so since the contents of the *.GTF
file may change from one program revision to another.
---
NEW MACRO COMMANDS
In order to save ASCII files using all exponential notation an additional file
type was added to the SAVE command,
SAVE XASCII filename.ASC
or
SAVE X filename.ASC
Although both XASCII and ASCII files are loaded by the LOAD ASCII macro command
the macro command interpreter is able to understand the commands LOAD XASCII
and LOAD X, it just sees them as the same as the LOAD ASCII command.
Special LOAD commands have been added for support of the obsolete file types
from v1.xx and such.
LOAD OBSOLETE ASCII filename.ASC
or
LOAD O A filename.ASC
Loads a v1.xx type ASCII file, i.e. an ASCII file without line attributes. Do
not try to load ASCII files made with DANCAD3D.COM (tm) v2.xx or v3.xx with
this command.
LOAD OBSOLETE 3D filename.3D
or
LOAD O 3 filename.3D
Loads a v1.xx 3D-Real type binary file without line attributes, do not try to
load 3D-Real files made with DANCAD3D.COM (tm) v2.xx with this command.
LOAD OBSOLETE 2D filename.2D
or
LOAD O 2 filename.2D
Loads a v1.xx 2D-Integer type binary file without line attributes, do not try
to load 2D-Real files made with DANCAD3D.COM (tm) v1.xx or v2.xx with this
command.
LOAD OBSOLETE ELEMENTS name.SET
or
LOAD O E name.SET
Loads a v1.xx Elements set type binary file without line attributes, do not try
to load Elements files made with DANCAD3D.COM (tm) v2.xx with this command.
LOAD OBSOLETE UN-TAGGED filename.ASC
or
LOAD O U filename.ASC
Loads a v2.xx ASCII type file without the macro ENTER command on the first
line, do not try to load ASCII files made with DANCAD3D.COM (tm) v1.xx with
this command. This command is here to load ASCII files made in other programs
that were not tagged properly as ASCII files, but none the less are otherwise
formatted well enough to be read and loaded. You might use this command to
convert un-tagged ASCII files to tagged ASCII or XASCII files by saving the
loaded element back to disk.
LOAD OBSOLETE DTA mode filename.DTA
or
LOAD O D mode filename.DTA
WHERE: MODE = 1, make dots at the graphing data points.
MODE = 2, make a chain of line segments, plus a dot at the end.
Loads a v1.xx *.DTA or DANGRAPH.COM (tm) graphing point data file into the
drawing workspace so that you can look at or edit the point data. There is not
a corresponding Save command since the revised GRAPHING command can read
graphing point data saved as an ASCII file, so the edited data can be saved as
an ASCII file rather than a *.DTA file. These *.DTA files were also used by
some early versions of DANCAD3D.COM (tm).
There are two conversion modes used by LOAD OBSOLETE DTA, Mode #1 converts the
data points in to dots, and Mode #2 converts the data points into a chain of
lines when there are two or more data points, and doubles the last point as a
dot. When Mode #2 is used the last point needs to be doubled as a dot since
the GRAPHING command only reads the x1 and y1 point values for each line in an
ASCII file, and so since it does not read the last x2 and y2 point, the last
point is copied such that x2 and y2 of the last line in the chain loaded are
used for x1, y2, and x2, y2 of a dot on the same point. When you load the
graphing data into the workspace you can re-set the line, and screen, color for
the load data points by using the LINETYPE macro command after the LOAD
OBSOLETE DTA macro command. When this command is coded into the automatic
macro file the LINETYPE macro command is used to reset the line color after the
point data is loaded into an element in the drawing workspace. If LINETYPE is
not used to re-set the line color the line color will probably default to color
1, which is dark blue in the default palette. See also the notes above about
special processing needed for the loaded element before using curve fitting on
the loaded element.
The new macro command for the graphing command works by reading a template
file. The template file is created by using the program menus. Since the
template files may vary from one program revision to another, it may be best to
execute a graph template in the same program version that created the template
file.
The name of the new graphing macro command is GRAPHING and it is followed by a
graphing mode command code. After the graphing mode command code there may be
other parameters depending on the graphing mode code being used.
When the graphing mode code is 0 some text menus come up that let you create a
graphing template file, i.e. GRAPHING\FILENAME.GTF, by entering values
manually.
GRAPHING 0
When the graphing mode code is 1 the program reads a valid graphing template
file and tries to make an ASCII drawing file of the prescribed graph.
GRAPHING 1 GRAPHING\FILENAME.GTF
The LOAD ASCII file command can then be used to load the graphing drawing saved
in the ASCII drawing file that was made. The name of the ASCII output file is
prescribed in the graphing template file, see above, so to change the ASCII
output filename for the graph you need to use mode 0 with the GRAPHING macro
command, or use the Files Utilities ASCII Graphing menu command off of
DANCAD3D.COM (tm)'s main menu.
---
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Please visit my Web site On-Line at: http://www.DANCAD3D.com/ for additional
information. Please report bugs, mistakes, or other problems with this
document or the programs, see SECTION: 8 at the current On-Line version of my
Web site for current instructions.