Axes Definition Menu

Once instance of the Axis Definition Menu is spawned for each Plot Definition Menu. The menu is created silently that is it does not pop immediately up onto the screen. It is added to the Menu List in the lower section of the Control Panel and can be brought to the foreground from that listing.

This menu contains all of the definable axis related options for the Plot Definition with which it is associated. All options are available to all axes which include the four principle plot axes (Left-Y Axis Right-Y Axis, Top-X Axis and Bottom-X Axis) as well as for the annotated axis on any displayed color bar and 1D Cut plots. The latter are generated in conjunction with either Contour Plots or plots which have undergone Contour Smoothing.

The default Axis Definition Menu prior to any selection of UDF sources looks appears as. 










Top Section Menu Options






CLOSE


CLOSE closes the Axes Definition Menu window.





Main Section Menu Options






MINIMUM VALUE


MINIMUM VALUE associated with the axis.  This field is ignored in
the case of the X-axis when the X-axis is based on time.  In addition
this field may be automatically set in response to selections of other
menu options.  If the axis is specified to be a function of either 
Theta or Phi it is set to -90 or -180 
respectively.  If the binning along the axis is selected to be 
User Defined then this field is set to
value assigned as the minimum bin value.  Lastly this field may be
set when the source is selected if suitable units can be obtained from
the PIDF.



MAXIMUM VALUE


MAXIMUM VALUE associated with the axis.  This field is ignored in
the case of the X-axis when the X-axis is based on time.  In addition
this field may be automatically set in response to selections of other
menu options.  If the axis is specified to be a function of either 
Theta or Phi it is set to 90 or 180 
respectively.  If the binning along an Axis is selected to be 
User Defined then this field is set to
value assigned as the maximum bin value.  Lastly this field may be
set when the source is selected if suitable units can be obtained from
the PIDF.



SCALING


SCALING defines how the axis is scaled.  This field is ignored in
the case of the X-axis when the X-axis is based on time.  The options are:











 Option Definition

 LINEAR
     Axis is scaled linearly.

 LOG
     Axis is scaled logarithmically.  With this selection 
                      neither the maximum nor minimum axis values can be 
                      less than or equal to zero.





If the axis is specified to be a function of either 
Theta or Phi the field is set to Linear.  If the binning along 
the axis is selected to be User Defined then 
the field is set to the scaling used in the binning.  Lastly this field may 
be set when the source is selected if suitable units can be obtained from
the PIDF.



MAJOR TICKS


MAJOR TICKS sets the number of intervals into which the major 
ticks break an axis.  Note: This is not the number of major ticks 
which is always one less than the number of intervals.  This field is 
ignored for the X-Axis when that axis is defined to be time-based.



MAJOR TICK LENGTH


MAJOR TICK LENGTH determines the length of the major ticks along 
the axis.  Valid values run from 0 to 32767 and a value of 1024 is 
approximately the width of the plot.



MAJOR TICK FORMAT


MAJOR TICK FORMAT determines how the major tick marks are output 
along the axis. The options are:







 Option Definition

 INSIDE
     The tick marks are drawn to the inside 
                      (plot side) of the axis.

 OUTSIDE
     The tick marks are drawn to the outside (anti-plot
                      side) of the axis.

 STRADDLE
     The tick marks are drawn centered on the plot axis.

 SPAN
     The tick marks are drawn from one the axis left to
                      right Y axes or the top to bottom X axes.







MINOR TICKS


MINOR TICKS sets the number of intervals into which the minor 
ticks intervals are broken.  Note: This is not the number of minor 
ticks which is always one less than the number of intervals.  This field is 
ignored for the X-Axis when that axis is defined to be time-based.



MINOR TICK LENGTH


MINOR TICK LENGTH determines the length of the minor ticks along 
the axis.  Valid values run from 0 to 32767 and a value of 1024 is 
approximately the width of the plot.



MINOR TICK FORMAT


MINOR TICK FORMAT determines how the minor tick marks are output 
along the axis. The options are:







 Option Definition

 INSIDE
     The tick marks are drawn to the inside 
                      (plot side) of the axis.

 OUTSIDE
     The tick marks are drawn to the outside (anti-plot
                      side) of the axis.

 STRADDLE
     The tick marks are drawn centered on the plot axis.

 SPAN
     The tick marks are drawn from one the axis left to
                      right Y axes or the top to bottom X axes.







NUMERICAL LABEL SIZES


NUMERICAL LABEL SIZE sets the size of any numerical labels 
associated with the major ticks along the axis.  Sizes run from 3 to 32767 
with character size increasing with value.  As a general rule of thumb 
12 to 25 is a good size.  At a value of 1000 a single character will 
completely fill the plot window.



NUMERICAL LABEL FORMAT



NUMERICAL LABEL FORMAT sets the output format for the numerical labels  
associated with the major ticks along an axis.  The formats are identical to 
the C language output format specifications with the exception of:







 log - 
     Output is given as 10exponent

 expon - 
     Outputs the exponent only

 .aE - 
     Output is similar to standard C %.ae format with the exception
     that the exponential is output as x10exponent.  There
     is always one number before the decimal point. The .a is not
     necessary.







NUMERICAL AUTOLEVELS


NUMERICAL AUTOLEVELS sets the autoleveling feature of the axis
numerical labeling to OFF and ON.  When autoleveling is on, 
numerical labels will be output for each major tick provided numerical
labels are to be output.  The labels can be output on multiple levels 
(lines), the levels being changed whenever a label would overlap a 
previously output label on the same level.  When autoleveling is turned
of, any label which would overlap a previously output label is not output. 
Overlap is not checked for time outputs.



NUMERICAL LABEL OFFSET



NUMERICAL LABEL OFFSET set the distance from the axis to the
first line of numerical labels.  The distance is given in units of 
character height at the current numerical label size.  A value of
.75 is then .75 of the current character height.



NUMERICAL LABEL SPACING



NUMERICAL LABEL SPACING defines the distance between adjacent 
lines of output numerical labels.  The distance is given in units of 
character height at the current numerical label size.  This option is 
only applicable when the NUMERICAL AUTOLEVELS 
option for the axis is set to ON.



NUMERICAL LABEL GAP


NUMERICAL LABEL GAP defines the minimum acceptable gap between 
adjacent numerical labels on the same output level (line).  Labels
with a smaller gap will either placed on a new output level or dropped
depending on the setting of the NUMERICAL AUTOLEVELS 
option.



NUMERICAL LABEL SKIP


NUMERICAL LABEL SKIP specifies the number numerical labels to skip
between output labels.  A value of 0 will output all possible labels.  A 
value of 1 outputs every other numerical label along the axis, a value of 
2 every third label, and so on.



TEXT LABEL SIZE


TEXT LABEL SIZE sets the size of any text labels associated with 
the axis.  Sizes run from 3 to 32767 with character size increasing with 
value.  As a general rule of thumb 12 to 25 is a good size.  At a value 
of 1000 a single character will completely fill the plot window.  Standard
axis text labels are the axis definition and unit labels.



TEXT LABEL OFFSET


TEXT LABEL OFFSET sets the distance from the last line of
numerical labels or from the axis if there are not numerical labels,
to the first line of text labels.  The distance is given in units of 
character height at the current text label size.  A value of
.75 is then .75 of the current character height.  Standard axis 
text labels are the axis definition and unit labels.



TEXT LABEL SPACING


TEXT LABEL SPACING sets the distance between adjacent levels of
text along an axis.  The distance is given in units of character height 
at the current text label size.  Standard axis text labels are the axis 
definition and unit labels.




Option Effects



The following examples show some of the effects obtainable through the
Axis Definition settings.



Maximum/Minimum Options

A sample menu showing the minimum and maximum settings for the Left-Y
axis.  Right-Y axis are left in the default configuration and the X-axis
values are not set.  The latter does not matter as the X-Axis is based
on time.











The plot produced is:












Tick Mark and Label Size Options

Make the following changes in the Axis Definition menu associated
with the the upper plot shown above.





 



  •  Set Major Ticks along the Y axis to 10.

    

  •  Set the Major Tick Format to SPAN for 
     both the X and Y axis;

    

  •  Set the Minor Tick Format to STRADDLE for 
      the Left Y-Axis and to OUTSIDE for Right Y-Axis. 

    

  •  Set the Numerical Label Size to 12 for 
      the Left Y-Axis.


    • 

    

    


    

    

    
The upper plot when compared to the lower plot, which still has its Axis
Definition settings in the default state, illustrates the option effects.