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Downloading DATAPLOT for Windows Vista
Contact Information March 2005

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

Windows Vista The version of the Dataplot setup file given here is specifically for Windows Vista. Windows 95/98/NT4/ME and Windows 2000/XP have separate installation programs.
Introduction The setup file installs two distinct Dataplot executable files.
  1. The DATAPLOT.EXE executable is used to run Dataplot as a command line program. There is a text window for entering commands and graphics window for displaying graphs.

  2. The DPLAHEY.EXE executable is a console based program that is used by a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI is built using the Tcl/Tk scripting language. This version is referred to as the GUI version.
Both of these executables are built using the Intel Fortran compiler using essentially the same source code. The distinction is that the GUI version has the screen graphics disabled. This is required for the GUI so that the Tcl/Tk scripts have control over all windows. It does not reflect any inherent difference in capabilities.

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.

Note: Dataplot is now also supported in the cygwin environment (this is a Linux-like environment that runs on Windows). This is discussed under the Unix implementations.

Hardware/Software Requirements Some hardware/software requirements for Dataplot:
  • This installation of Dataplot runs under Windows Vista.

  • Pentium-level machines running Windows Vista should have sufficient CPU speed and RAM to run Datplot.

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

  • The command line version will run in standard VGA mode. At least super SVGA mode is preferable. Higher resolutions are a matter of personal taste.

    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 800x600 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 using Ghostview. We include links to Ghostview and Ghostscript below.

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

Downloading

The PC version is distributed in executable form since most users do not have the necessary Fortran compilers. You can download the source from the Unix download pages if you are interested.

Step 1: Download the Dataplot Files In order to install the Dataplot under Windows Vista, download the following files: Although you can download these files anywhere that it is convenient, the discussion below assumes that they are downloaded to the "C:\" directory.

The Ghostscript and Ghostview programs are not strictly required for running Dataplot. However, it is highly recommended that you download these programs as Dataplot uses them both for printing to non-Postscript printers and for generating certain types of bitmapped graphics (e.g., JPEG). If you already have a resonably current version of Ghostscript/Ghostview installed on your system, you can skip this step. Dataplot should work well with any relatively recent version of these programs.

Problems With Downloading Sometimes users do have problems downloading Dataplot from the web pages. Note that I do not maintain the NIST ftp/web servers (I do provide the content for Dataplot, but I am not a system adminstrator for these servers). Downloading problems may be caused by firewalls, ftp/browser configurations, etc.

In particular, the following three problems can sometimes occur.

  1. Our anonymous ftp site performs an "nslookup" command in order to identify the requesting site. The nslookup command is used to query internet domain name servers. If our ftp site rejects you, it is likely due to the failure of this nslookup query to resolve your internet name/address. If this happens, I cannot really provide any assistance. My only suggestion would be to talk to your local system administrators to see if there is some reason why your machine is not resolved by nslookup. It is unlikely that NIST will change its policy regarding the use of nslookup to resolve names.

  2. Our ftp server also has a 60 user limit. This limit is sometimes reached. If the ftp request is rejected, you may want to try connecting at a time when the site is likely to be less busy.

In general, 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 request the Dataplot installation on a CD-R. This is 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 full mail address (not e-mail) and the desired platform.

Step 2: Perform the Installation The following assumes you download the files to the "C:\" directory. If you downloaded them to another directory, then use the appropriate path in the instructions below.

Run the following files to perform the Dataplot installation. You can either open a DOS prompt window and type the commands listed or you can use Windows Explorer and double click on the indicated files. All the files below use automatic installation programs (e.g., Install Shield), so just respond to the menu prompts.

  • C:\SETUP.EXE - this performs the basic Dataplot installation.

    The installation program will create desktop shortcuts for both the command line version and the GUI version of Dataplot. It will also add them to your "Start/Programs" menu.

  • C:\GS850W32.EXE - this installs version 8.50 of Ghostscript.

  • C:\GSV48W32.EXE - this installs version 4.8 of Ghostview. Note that you should install Ghostscript before Ghostview.

  • C:\TCL830.EXE - this installs version 8.3 of Tcl/Tk.

    If you have a more recent version of Tcl/Tk, then skip this step. If you have an older version of Tcl/Tk, then we strongly recommend that you upgrade to this newer version.

Step 3: Post Downloading Instructions At the end of "SETUP.EXE", a README file is displayed. This discusses a few post download instructions. In particular,
  • If you did not install Tcl/Tk in the default location (C:\Program Files\Tcl), you need to edit a line in the DP.BAT file. Details are given in the README file.

  • The README file discusses several configuration issues. Specifically,
    1. Options for the shortcuts.
    2. Customizing the Dataplot startup file DPLOGF.TEX.
    3. Customizing the configuration file for the GUI.
    Details are provided in the README file. Note that Dataplot should run without modifying these files. You may want to take a quick look (to see what things can be changed) at first and then come back to them after you have more experience with Dataplot.
Step 4: Testing the Installation Before testing the GUI, it is a good idea to test the command line executable first. Open a a DOS Prompt window and enter the following:
    C:\Program Files\NIST\DATAPLOT\DPLAHEY.EXE
    DEVICE 1 DISCRETE
You should see a sign-on banner after executing Dataplot. The DEVICE 1 DISCRETE command tells Dataplot that you do not have a screen graphics device (it will draw text-based graphs on the screen).

Enter the following command:

    LET A = PI**2
The following text will appear in the text window:
    THE COMPUTED VALUE OF THE CONSTANT A = .9869605E+01
Enter the following command:
    PLOT SIN(X) FOR X = 0 0.1 6
This will generate a plot of sin(x) evaluated at x = 0, with increments of .1, up to x = 6. This will be a "character" plot, not a screen graphics.

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

    HELP
You should see some HELP text on the screen. After about 20 lines of text, Dataplot will ask for whether you desire to see more help information. If you desire more, hit a carriage return. if you do not wish to see any more help information, enter N or NO followed by a carriage return. If you continually choose to continue, about 5 screenfuls of text will ultimately be generated.

A good general test is to execute the command

    CALL MINITEST.DP
Exit out of Dataplot by entering any of the following:
    EXIT
    STOP
    HALT
    END
    QUIT
    BYE
You can test the command line version in a similar fashion. When you start up DATAPLOT.EXE, a large window (the Dataplot "frame window") should appear. Within the frame window, there should appear a smaller window labeled "Graphic1". This is the Dataplot "text window" where you enter commands and see the output generated by Dataplot. You may also see a second window opened as well. This is the graphics window where plots will be generated. You can resize both of these windows with the mouse to suit your taste.

At this point, I recommend entering the command

    CALL MINITEST.DP
as a good general test.
Installation Problems If you have problems with the installation, contact Alan Heckert.
    phone: 301-975-2899
    e-mail: alan.heckert@nist.gov
Your e-mail should specify the following:
  • Your platform (XP, Vista, etc.).
  • The installation steps you followed.
  • What specifically is the error you are getting.
If the GUI does not seem to be working, go through the following checklist before contacting me:
  • Did you install Tcl/TK?

  • If you did not install Dataplot in the default location ("C:\Program Files\NIST\DATAPLOT"), did you edit the "DP.BAT" and DPCOMM.BAT" files to reflect the correct locations? Also, you need to modify the XdpConfig file in the FRSCRIPT directory.
Downloading Dataplot Source Code Since most users do not have Fortran compilers on the PC, we distribute Dataplot in executable form. However, for those who want it, the source code is available.

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
Typically, the primary reason for downloading the source would be to make local modifications to the source. If you wish to do this, I recommend that you contact Alan Heckert for guidance.

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: 8/10/2007
Last updated: 2/28/2008
Please email comments on this WWW page to sedwww@cam.nist.gov.

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