Downloading DATAPLOT for the PC

Alan Heckert Statistical Engineering Division Room 331, Building 820 National Institute Of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-8980 (301) 975-2899 or FTS 879-2899 alan.heckert@nist.gov

Jim Filliben Statistical Engineering Division Room 353, Building 820 National Institute Of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-8980 (301) 975-2855 or FTS 879-2855 james.filliben@nist.gov

1. A command line version built with the Microsoft Fortran compiler. This version is referred to as either the command line version or the Microsoft version.

   NOTE: Starting with the 3/29/2002 version, I have upgraded to the Compaq Visual Fortran Compiler. This is essentially a more recent version of the Microsoft compiler. This compiler was recently sold to Intel, so it is now called the Intel Visual Fortran compiler.

2. A version with a graphical user interface (GUI) built with the Lahey Fortran compiler and the Tcl/Tk scripting language. This version is referred to as either the GUI version or the Lahey version.

I find it useful to keep both the command line and GUI versions installed. The command line version is useful for large data files, to run canned macros, and for those who are already familiar with the Dataplot command language. The GUI is useful for exploring what Dataplot can do, for new users, and for those who are infrequent or casual users of Dataplot.

The standard installation will install both the command line version and the GUI version.

• The current version of Dataplot runs under Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.

  DOS, OS/2, and Windows 3.1 are not explicitly supported. There is a version that will run in a DOS prompt window. However, it does not support screen graphics.

• Pentium-level machines are recommended for running Dataplot. The command line version may in fact run on older hardware (386/486), but I recommend Pentium level or better for decent performance.

  If you have old hardware (e.g., 100MHZ or less), you may want to consider sticking with the command line version. My experience is that 200MHZ level machines give acceptable performance for the GUI version.

• Pentium-level machines should generally have sufficient RAM for the command line version. I would recommend at least 64MB of RAM for the graphical interface version for decent performance. Basically, RAM should not be an issue unless you have rather old hardware.

• You should have approximately 100MB of free space on your hard drive.

  I have setup installations to run off ZIP drives. This is one option if you have limited space on your hard drive (and a ZIP drive installed). Although I have in fact run Dataplot off a CD-R, I found the performance to be more sluggish than it should be.

  Again, disk space should only be an issue on older machines.

• The command line version will run in standard VGA mode. At least SVGA mode is preferable.

  The GUI version requires a minimum of 800x600 to run. However, you will get a warning message at this level and some of the windows are minimized, so a resolution greater than 800x66 is preferred for the GUI.

• Dataplot supports Postscript and HP-GL output for printers. There is a special version of the HP-GL driver for LaserJet printers.

  For other printers, we recommend downloading the ghostscript/ghostview programs.

  Questions 8 and 9 in the FAQS addresses printing in the Windows environment and importing graphics into other software programs such as word processors.

The PC version is distributed in executable form since most users do not have the necessary Fortran compilers.

1. A complete installation. This downloads all needed files in one large self-extracting WinZip file.

2. A component installation. The installation is split into a number of smaller components. This is useful for an update (e.g., you might need to retrieve a new executable with a bug fix, but you do not need to do a complete re-install). It may also be helpful if you have a slow or problematic Internet connection (this may particularly be an issue for international downloads).

This is a WinZip self-extracting file. It does not matter in which directory you download this file, but for the discussion below, I assume that the file was downloaded to "C:\WINNTGUI.EXE".

1. You already have Dataplot installed and you only need to update a specific piece (e.g., a new Dataplot executable).
2. You have trouble downloading the file for the complete installation. This is primarily an issue for international sites. I recommend requesting a CD-R if you only have phone access.

1. tcl830.exe. This file contains version 8.3.0 of the Tcl/Tk utility.

2. dplahzip.exe. This file contains the Dataplot executable for the GUI version.

3. dpmszip.exe. This file contains the Dataplot executable for the command line version.

4. dpaux.exe. This file contains the Dataplot auxillary files. These consist of:
   • Files common to both the command line version and the GUI version. These include the on-line help files, sample data files, sample macros, and so on.
   • The Tcl/Tk script files.
   • The ASCII files that contain the contents of the menus for the Dataplot GUI.

I simply do not have the time or expertise to diagnose these types of problems. I can check to see if our ftp server is up, but not much beyond that.

If you are unable to download via the Web, you can do the following:

1. You can try using anonymous ftp directly.

   ftp  ftp.nist.gov
   user name> anonymous
   password>  your e-mail address
   >cd /pub/dataplot/pc/winntgui
   >binary
   >get  winntgui.exe  cwinntgui.exe
                

   I only recommend this if you are already reasonably familiar with using anonymous ftp.

2. I can send the Dataplot installation on a CD-R. This is much easier for me than trying to diagnose ftp/browser/firewall problems. There is no charge, just send a request to Alan Heckert. Be sure to include your mail address (not e-mail) and the desired platform.

Open a DOS prompt window and do the following.

1. If you downloaded the full installation, enter
   C:\WINNTGUI.EXE

   You will be prompted for the directory. The default is C:\DATAPLOT. You can change the drive if space is limited, but I do suggest keeping the structure (e.g., D:\DATAPLOT). If you change the structure, you will need to be more careful in performing some edits later.

2. If you performed a components download, then enter
   C:\DPLAHZIP.EXE
   C:\DPMSZIP.EXE
   C:\DPAUX.EXE
   

   For each of these, you will be prompted for the directory. I recommend leaving the structure intact, although you can change the drive (e.g., D:\ instead of C:\). If you change the structure, you will need to be more careful in performing some edits later.

C:\DATAPLOT\TCL830.EXE

If you have an earlier version of Tcl/Tk installed, I recommend upgrading to the current version (8.3) since it has better performance.

NOTE: Tcl/Tk is now distributed by ActiveStates. I have tested Dataplot with their current version, 8.3.4.3 (as of 2/2002). Their license does not allow me to distribute Tcl/Tk directly with Dataplot, although it is freely downloadable.

If you do not already have version 8.3 or higher installed on your system, I recommend installing the supplied version of Tcl/Tk first. Then, if you like, feel free to download the current production release from:

http://aspn.activestate.com/

C:\DATAPLOT\VFRUN66AI.EXE

REM THIS FILE CONTAINS A BATCH JOB THAT CAN BE EXECUTED FROM A SHORTCUT.
REM
REM IN THE SHORTCUT, THE COMMAND LINE SHOULD BE SETUP AS:
REM
REM      C:\DATAPLOT\DP.BAT
REM
REM YOU SHOULD ALSO CHECK THE FOLLOWING:
REM
REM    1) IF YOU INSTALLED TCL/TK OR DATAPLOT IN NON-DEFAULT DRIVES,
REM       MODIFY THE TWO SET VARIABLES BELOW TO REFLECT THE CORRECT DRIVE.
REM       YOU SHOULD KEEP THE STRUCTURE WITHIN THE DRIVE 
REM       CONSISTENT WITH THE DEFAULT INSTALLATIONS.  THAT IS, YOU
REM       CAN INSTALL DATAPLOT ON THE D: (OR ANY OTHER) DRIVE, BUT
REM       YOU SHOULD INSTALL IT INTO THE D:\DATAPLOT DIRECTORY.
REM       IF YOU CHANGED THE STRUCTURE, YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE ADDITIONAL
REM       CHANGES BELOW.
REM
REM       DPDIR IS THE DRIVE DATAPLOT WAS INSTALLED ON AND TCLDIR IS
REM       THE DRIVE TCL/TK WAS INSTALLED ON.
REM
REM       YOU MAY WANT TO CHANGE THE DIRECTORY FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS
REM
REM        1) TO USE A DRIVE WITH MORE FREE SPACE.
REM        2) TO RUN OFF A ZIP DRIVE OR A NETWORK DRIVE.  I RECOMMEND
REM           INSTALLING TCL/TK ON YOUR LOCAL HARD DRIVE, BUT ALL OF THE
REM           DATAPLOT FILES CAN RESIDE ON A ZIP DRIVE OR A NETWORK DRIVE.
REM           I HAVE A VERSION RUNNING ON MY LOCAL PC OFF OF A ZIP DRIVE,
REM           AND I FIND THE PERFORMANCE QUITE GOOD.
REM
REM           ALTHOUGH I HAVE ALSO DONE SOMETHING SIMILAR WITH A CD-R
REM           DRIVE, I HAVE FOUND THE PERFORMANCE SLUGGISH.  IF YOU
REM           RECEIVE THE INSTALLATION ON A CD-R, I RECOMMEND INSTALLING
REM           THE DATAPLOT FILES ON YOUR HARD DRIVE.
REM 

SET DPDIR=C:
SET TCLDIR=C:

REM       THE FILES "XDPCWNNT" AND "XDPCWN95" IN THE FRSCRIPT DIRECTORY
REM       NEED TO HAVE A FEW PATH NAMES CHANGED AS WELL IF YOU DID
REM       DID NOT INSTALL DATAPLOT IN C:\DATAPLOT.  LOOK FOR "C:\"
REM       IN THESE FILES AND CHANGE ANY DRIVES THAT DON'T MATCH THE
REM       LOCATION ON YOUR SYSTEM.
REM
REM    2) THE LATEST VERSION OF THE SCRIPT EXPECTS VERSION 8.3 OF
REM       TCL/TK.  IT MAY RUN WITH 8.1 OR 8.2, BUT WE RECOMMEND THAT
REM       YOU UPGRADE TO 8.3.
REM
REM    3) SOME WINDOWS 95/98 MACHINES HAVE A PROBLEM WITH INADEQUATE
REM       ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE SPACE.  ON SOME MACHINES THIS SHOWS
REM       UP AS AN EXPLICIT MESSAGE SAYING "OUT OF ENVIRONMENT SPACE".
REM       ON OTHER SYSTEMS IT SHOWS UP AS "UNABLE TO START THE DATAPLOT
REM       EXECUTABLE ...".  IF THIS OCCURS, THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO FIX IT.
REM
REM
REM        i) USE WINDOWS EXPLORER, GO TO THE FILE
REM           "C:\DATAPLOT\DP.BAT", RIGHT CLICK AND SELECT "PROPERTIES".
REM           UNDER "PROPERTIES", SELECT MEMORY AND THEN SELECT "ENVIRONMENT
REM           MEMORY" AND SET THE AMOUNT OF MEMORY FOR ENVIRONMENT
REM           SPACE TO BE AT LEAST 2048.
REM
REM       ii) ALTERNATIVELY, YOU CAN CHANGE THE SHORTCUT TO
REM
REM             C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM /e:2048 /c   C:\DATAPLOT\DP.BAT
REM
REM    4) THE FILE "C:\DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT\XDPCONFIG" ALLOWS YOU TO
REM       CONFIGURE CERTAIN OPTIONS FOR THE DATAPLOT GUI.  
REM
REM       THE WINDOWS 95 AND WINDOWS NT VERSIONS ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.
REM       THIS BATCH FILE COPIES A VERSION FOR WINDOWS 95 OR NT.  UNCOMMENT
REM       THE APPROPRIATE LINE BELOW.   YOU SHOULD ALSO VIEW THIS FILE
REM       (IT IS AN ASCII TEXT FILE) TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES YOU
REM       WOULD LIKE TO MAKE.  AS LONG AS EVERYTHING IS INSTALLED IN DEFAULT
REM       DIRECTORIES, YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CHANGE ANYTHING.
REM

SET DATAPLO$=%DPDIR%\DATAPLOT\
SET FED$=%DPDIR%\DATAPLOT\
SET PATH=%PATH%;%DPDIR%\DATAPLOT

REM FOLLOWING LINES FOR GUI VERSION ONLY OF DATAPLOT
SET TCL_LIBRARY="%TCLDIR%\Program Files\TCL\LIB\TCL83"
SET TK_LIBRARY="%TCLDIR%\Program Files\TCL\LIB\TK83"

SET XDP_FILE=%DPDIR%\DATAPLOT\FRMENUS
SET XDP_CODE=%DPDIR%\DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT

REM USE 1 OF THE FOLLOWING 2 LINES (WINDOWS 95/98 IS THE DEFAULT)
COPY C:\DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT\XDPCWN95 C:\DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT\XDPCONFIG 
REM COPY %DPDIR%\DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT\XDPCWNNT %DPDIR%\DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT\XDPCONFIG 

REM THE FOLLOWING ACTUALLY INITIATES THE DATAPLOT GUI.  
REM NOTE THAT THE "-right" OPTION JUSTIFIES THE WINDOWS TO THE RIGHT OF THE
REM SCREEN.  YOU CAN CHANGE THIS TO "-left" FOR LEFT JUSTIFICATION OR OMIT
REM FOR CENTER JUSTIFICATION.  THIS IS SIMPLY A MATTER OF TASTE.
"%TCLDIR%\Program Files\Tcl\bin\wish83.exe" %DPDIR%\dataplot\frscript\xdp -pc -right %1
      

1. If you installed Dataplot in the C:\DATAPLOT directory, the only modification to the DP.BAT file should be choosing which of the configuration files to copy. Specifically, the lines
   COPY C:\DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT\XDPCWN95
                 C:\DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT\XDPCONFIG
   REM COPY %DPDIR%\DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT\XDPCWNNT
                 %DPDIR%\DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT\XDPCONFIG
   
   copy a configuration file for either Windows NT/2000 (XDPCWNNT) or Windows 95/98/ME (XDPCWN95). One of these should be active and one should be commented out (start with REM). Activate the line that is appropriate for your system.

2. If you installed Dataplot in a drive other than the C:\ drive, modify the line "SET DPDIR=C:" in DP.BAT to reflect the correct drive.

   In addition, if you did not install Dataplot on the "C:\" drive, the files "<drive>DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT\XDPCWNNT" and "<drive>DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT\XDPCWN95" should modify the lines

   dataplot windows c:/Dataplot/dplahey.exe
   library windows c:/Dataplot
   to reflect the correct drive on your installation.

3. Likewise, if you installed Tcl/Tk on a drive other than the C:\ drive, modify the line "SET TCLDIR=C:" in DP.BAT to reflect the correct drive.

4. If you changed the underlying directory structure (not recommended), then you need to carefully check the definitions in this file to make sure they match where certain directories are installed on your machine.

1. Start up the Windows Explorer.
2. Locate the file C:\DATAPLOT\DP.BAT (or whatever drive you installed Dataplot on)
3. right click on "DP.BAT" and select "Properties".
4. Select "Memory".
5. Select "Initial Environment" and set it to "4096".

On some platforms, you may get the message that XDP_MENU or XDP_CODE is undefined.

1. Move the mouse to a backgound area of the screen and press the right mouse button.
2. Select "New" and then "Shortcut" from the menu.
3. The "Shortcut" menu will prompt you for a Command Line. Enter
   C:\DATAPLOT\DP.BAT
4. The Shortcut menu then prompts for a name for the shortcut. Enter XDP (or whatever else seems convenient to you).

The shortcut for the command line version is setup in a similar fashion. The Command Line should be set to:

C:\DATAPLOT\DATAPLOT.EXE -svga

C:\DATAPLOT\CPCOMM.BAT -svga

The "-svga" option sets the size for the initial windows (this option assumes super VGA resolution). You can omit it (assumes VGA resolution) or use "-large" (1280x1040 resolution).

FEEDBACK OFF
DEVICE 1 QWIN
DEVICE 2 POSTSCRIPT
.
DIMENSION 40 VARIABLES
TITLE DISPLACEMENT 2
TIC OFFSET UNITS SCREEN
TIC OFFSET 5 5
CASE ASIS
.
BACKGROUND COLOR BLUE
LET STRING FORE = YELLOW
.
LINE COLOR ^FORE ALL
CHARACTER COLOR ^FORE ALL
SPIKE COLOR ^FORE ALL
BAR COLOR ^FORE ALL
BAR FILL COLOR ^FORE ALL
FRAME COLOR ^FORE ALL
TIC MARK COLOR ^FORE
TIC MARK LABEL COLOR ^FORE
LABEL COLOR ^FORE
TITLE COLOR ^FORE
LEGEND COLOR ^FORE
.
FEEDBACK ON

The default DPLOGF.TEX file will look something like this. Feel free to modify it to suit your taste and needs.

C:\DATAPLOT\DPLAHEY.EXE
DEVICE 1 DISCRETE

Enter the following command:

LET A = PI**2

THE COMPUTED VALUE OF THE CONSTANT A = .9869605E+01

PLOT SIN(X) FOR X = 0 0.1 6

Test Dataplot's HELP command (for documentation) by entering

HELP

A good general test is to execute the command

CALL MINITEST.DP

EXIT
STOP
HALT
END
QUIT
BYE

You should see some white text on a black foreground in the "Graphic1" window. If you only see a black window with no text (and no prompt), this indicates that your monitor is in "true color" mode. If this is the case, click on "x" in the upper right corner to kill the Dataplot run and do the following:

• Use your favorite ASCII text editor and edit the file "C:\DATAPLOT\DPLOGF.TEX".
• Look for the line
  . SET QWIN COLOR DIRECT
• Remove the leading ". " from this line and save the file.

  Note: Starting with the 3/29/2002 version, an alternate, and preferred, way to do this is to specify the -true switch when you initiate DATAPLOT.EXE. Typically, you would add this to the command line on the shortcut. This method is preferred because it sets the true color mode in Dataplot a bit earlier. The result is that you do not lose some of the initial printing to the screen that occurs in the previous method.

If the second graphics window was not automatically opened, at the Dataplot prompt enter the command

DEVICE 1 QWIN

CALL MINITEST.DP

phone: 301-975-2899
e-mail: alan.heckert@nist.gov

• Your platform (NT, Windows 98, etc.).
• The installation steps you followed.
• What specifically is the error you are getting.

• You don't see any text when you type in the command window.

  This probably means that your monitor is in "true color" mode. The fix is to put the following 2 lines at the beginning of the C:\DATAPLOT\DPLOGF.TEX file (the order of the commands is important):

  SET QWIN COLOR DIRECT DEVICE 1 QWIN

  Note: Starting with the 3/29/2002 version, an alternate, and preferred, way to do this is to specify the -true switch when you initiate DATAPLOT.EXE. Typically, you would add this to the command line on the shortcut. This method is preferred because it sets the true color mode in Dataplot a bit earlier. The result is that you do not lose some of the initial printing to the screen that occurs in the previous method.

• Did you install Tcl/TK?

• For Windows 95/98/ME users, did you set the amount of environment memory for the DP.BAT file? This is the most common problem for the GUI version.

• If you did not install Dataplot in the "C:\DATAPLOT" directory, did you edit the "DP.BAT" and DPCOMM.BAT" files to reflect the correct locations? Also, you need to modify the XDPCWNNT and XDPCWN95 files in the C:\DATAPLOT\FRSCRIPT directory.

If you have WinZip, you can download the Unix tar file. Otherwise, you can do the following:

ftp ftp.nist.gov
user>anonymous
password><email address>
cd /pub/dataplot/other/src
prompt off mget *.f
mget *.INC
mget *.c
quit

The Dataplot code is written to be portable. Most 32-bit Fortran 77/90 compilers should be able to compile Dataplot. However, there are two issues you need to be aware of.

1. In order to generate screen graphics, you will need to have a graphics device driver for the compiler. Most 32-bit Fortran compilers will come with some type of graphics library, so the coding should not be too difficult.

   One complication in the Windows world is that graphics is often intertwined with Windows and GUI's. For running Dataplot in a command line mode, you typically need a "text" window for entering commands and a "graphics" window for generating plots. The Microsoft/Visual Fortran (Compaq/Intel) compiler provides a "QuickWin" mode which handles this quite nicely. However, the Lahey compiler uses the Winteractor library. Although this is in fact a nice graphics library, it does force you to write your application as a GUI. This does not work well for Dataplot. I have no experience with ABSOFT, the other major PC Fortran compiler.

2. Related to the above is the issue of compatibility with Tcl/Tk. If you want to use the GUI, then you want to build Dataplot in a "console" mode since Tcl/Tk needs control of the windows. However, even in console mode there may be compatibility problems between Dataplot Tcl/Tk. For the Microsoft version, the console mode of Dataplot works with Windows NT, but not Windows 95/98. The console executable built with the Lahey LF90 compiler works in all the Windows platforms supported. I have no experience with the ABSOFT compiler.
3. System specific statements are contained in DP1.FOR file. This defines machine constants, file operations, issuing DOS commands, etc. It is generally straightforward to develop a working version of DP1.FOR for a given compiler.

Date created: 6/5/2001
Last updated: 3/29/2002
Please email comments on this WWW page to sedwww@cam.nist.gov.