The following files are included for demonstration purposes (see below):
The following file is Simtel xml file. It is not required for using RtPlot.
Alternatively, you may load a previously saved configuration from XML file by checking the "Use XML configuration file" box. See Section "XML configuration files".
Once the all parameters are set in the initial dialog, click "OK" and a plot window opens with the data plotted. By default the program checks for data file updates about every 1/10 second. This can be changed by clicking Timer->Set and typing a different number of 1/10 second in the dialog box. For example, typing 10 in the dialog box will set the timer interval to 1 second. Setting the update interval to 0 stops checking for file updates. It is also possible to stop checking for updates by right-clicking anywhere on the plot window area and choosing "Freeze" from the floating pop-up menu. Selecting "Unfreeze" in the pop-up menu will re-enable data updates. Selecting "Update" forces an immediate data update no matter what the value of timer interval is.
Depending on the plotting program and the OS, there is a slight chance that RtPlot will try to read its data while the other program writes the data file. If that happens, increase the timer interval. If you are in control of the source code of the program that writes the data, you can add a file lock (e.g. by using the FileLock API) to the program. RtPlot would then wait for the OS to complete the writing of data.
The x, y ranges can be adjusted either by clicking Plot->Range->x-range (or y-range) in the main menu or "Modify" in the floating pop-up menu. Adjusting the number of x & y "ticks" is similar. Selecting "Line" in the pop-up menu opens sub menu from which it is possible to change color (default black), width (default 1) and style (default solid) of the line. The color is expressed in R-G-B (Re, Green, Blue) units. Each of R, G, B can be any number between 0,255. RGB=(0,0,0) is a black line, RGB=(255,0,0) is a red line, RGB = (0,255,0) is a green line and RGB=(0,0,255) is a blue line.
Small data points are added by default to the plotted line. It is possible to change their size by selecting in the floating pop-up menu line->points and choosing the point size. Selecting 0 will eliminate the data points.
By default, RtPlot adds grid lines to its windows. To disable, click Plot in the menu and uncheck "Grid".Another useful feature is the ability to plot up to 3 most recent data updates in the same plot window. The number of updates can be set by clicking Plot->History in the main menu and then checking any of the numbers in the menu. By default the history number is 0 (no previous data is displayed).
Listed in the title bar of the plot window are (1) The data file name, (2) Plotted columns and (3) time of most recent data update. The time of starting RtPlot appears in the application title bar.
It is possible to open any number of plot windows by clicking File->New Plot in the main menu.
DRAGGING: A useful feature is the ability to drag the plotted data in the plot window and to examine various portions of the plot. This is done by clicking the left mouse button and dragging the mouse while the button is pressed.If you need your plot in GIF format, you may use other tools such as the free command- line utility bmp2gif (downloadable from Simtel) to generate a GIF file from BMP.
To load a plot using an existing configuration file click File and in the "New Plot Information" dialog check the "use XML configuration file" box. A File dialog will open.
Alternatively, a plot defined by a XML configuration file can be loaded on startup using the command line option -x.
The configuration files may be edited using a text editor. RtPlot is somewhat sensitive to the correctness of the XML file. This will probably be improved in a future version. The best way to produce a configuration file is by using the File->Save configuration menu, and then edit it if necessary.
Most tags in a configuration file have either self-explanatory names or the same name as in RtPlot menus. The tag line_color has three comma separated values corresponding to RGB values of the color of curves. The line_style tag accepts the values SOLID, DASH, DOT, DASHDOT and DASHDOTDOT. The window_coordinates tag accepts 4 comma separated values: the first & second are the x & y coordinates of the upper left corner of the plot window (point (0,0) is the upper left corner of the workspace area). The other two values are the width & height of the plot window in pixels. If all four values are set to 0 (i.e. <window_coordinates>0,0,0,0</window_coordinates>), RtPlot ignores this tag and uses the Windows default values.
The package contains a small executable, plottest.exe. Running the executable will
produce two data files: testplot1.txt & testplot2.txt. Initially, the two files include
data for sin & cosine functions with zero phase. As time progresses the phase is
changing and the data in the files is updated every 1/10 second. Loading files to RtPlot
create "moving" sin & cosine plots.
To view the moving sine & cosine type the following two lines in a console window:
start /LOW /B plottest.exe
rtplot -x testplot1.xml testplot2.xml
Note: Windows 95/98/ME does not accept the /LOW /B parameters to start. On these systems just omit these parameters in the first line.
You should see two plot windows with red & green curves being updated every 1/10 second. The first line starts the plottest program in the background. plottest generates the two data files testplot1.txt & testplot2.txt and updates them about every 1/10 second. The second line loads the corresponding configuration files. If the plots are not moving, it is probably because you did not execute correctly the plottest.exe executable.
Permission to use, copy, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose (except as detailed hereunder) is granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies of the software and related documentation. You may not disassemble, decompose, reverse engineer, or alter any of the files in the package.
This software cannot be sold or bundled with any commercial package without express written permission from Dov Bai, its author.
THIS IS FREEWARE. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS-IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THERE IS NO LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.