QUICKPLOT(1)

📦
version 1.0.1~rc · 2 versions
, in debian trixie, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 QUICKPLOT 💖

okay bestie, sit down, hydrate, and let me tell you about quickplot(1) — a genuinely iconic little general commands manual page entry. she's a fast interactive 2D plotter and she's about to become your whole personality. 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

quickplot — a fast interactive 2D plotter

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

quickplot [OPTIONS]

like, that's it. that's the whole vibe. toss her some options and watch her go. 💅

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

Quickplot is an interactive 2D plotter. Her primary focus? Interactively displaying 2D plots, obviously. She's that girl. She can also generate PNG image files when you need receipts. 🌸

Quickplot has a graphical user interface, lots of command line options, and a command line shell interface as well. She's flexible like that, no cap. Quickplot can load ASCII text files and many sound file formats using the libsndfile library. And yes, she can read standard input as a pipe or regular file — main character energy fr fr. 😌

The full documentation for Quickplot is maintained as a HTML document in a file named help.html. You can get the latest version at <http://quickplot.sourceforge.net/help.html>. The options part in this man page is generated from the same source as the options part of the HTML document. so like, same DNA, different outfit. ✨

listen up bestie, this next bit is IMPORTANT: the order of argument options matters. 👑

Options take effect in the order that they are given, with later options overriding earlier ones. The options that cause actions like graph "something" must come after the option that says to read the file that has "something" in it. In general, the order of argument options gives the order in which things happen as Quickplot starts up. it's giving ✨chronological✨. respect the timeline or suffer. 😭

✨ OPTIONS ✨

  • FILE — read data from file FILE. If FILE is - (dash) then standard input will be read. This is the same as the --file option. See also --pipe. 🍓
  • --about or -a — display introductory information about Quickplot in a browser and exit. a lil "hi hello here's who I am" moment. 💖
  • --auto-scale or -A — automatically select the X and Y scales for graphs containing more than one plot. This is the default. See also --same-x-scale, --same-y-scale, --same-scale, --different-scale. ✨
  • --background-color RGBA or -C RGBA — set the color of the graph background. RGBA may be any string that GTK+ can parse into a RGB or RGBA color. For example, --background-color='rgba(0,0,255,0.5)' will make translucent blue, and -C '#050' will make a dark green. aesthetic customization, we love to see it. 🎀
  • --border or -b — add a border to main window. This is the default. See also --no-border. (yes she comes dressed by default 💅)
  • --buttons — show the button bar in the main window. This is the default. See also --no-buttons.
  • --cairo-draw or -c — draw graphs using the Cairo API. Cairo drawing may be slower, but you get translucent colors and anti-aliasing in all aspects of the graph and in saved image files. slower but prettier, the eternal tradeoff. ✨ See also --x11-draw.
  • --default-graph or -D — create the default graph for the current file and turn default graphing for future files read. If you give a --graph or --graph-file after this option you will generate an additional graph. A default graph will be made each time this option is encountered, so this can be used to control when, in the sequence of command line options, graphs are made. See also --no-default-graph. 👑
  • --different-scale or -d — graphs with more than one plot will have different scales if the extreme values in each plot are not all the same. See also --same-scale, --same-x-scale and --same-y-scale.
  • --file FILE or -f FILE — read data from file FILE. If FILE is - (dash) then standard input will be read. See also --pipe. 🍓
  • --fullscreen or -F — make the main window fullscreen. See also --no-fullscreen and --maximize. going full cinema mode, iconic.
  • --gaps — interpret NAN, -NAN, INF, -INF, and double overflow numbers as a gap in the plot, and don't draw a connecting line to adjacent non-gap points. This is the default. See also --no-gaps.
  • --geometry GEO — specify the position and size of the main window. To set the geometry back to the default just set GEO to NONE. Example: --geometry=1000x300-0+30
  • --graph LIST or -g LIST — make a graph with plots LIST. The LIST is of the form "x0 y0 x1 y1 x2 y2 ...". For example: --graph "0 1 3 4" will make two plots in a graph. It will plot channel 1 vs channel 0 and channel 4 vs channel 3 in the same graph. Data channels are numbered, starting at 0, in the order that they are created as files are read. A separate graph tab will be created for each --graph option given. This --graph option must be after the file loading options that load the channels that it lists to plot. See also --graph-file. 🦋
  • --graph-file LIST or -G LIST — make a graph with plots LIST. The LIST is of the form "x0 y0 x1 y1 x2 y2 ...". Example: --graph-file "0 1 3 4" will make two plots in a graph. It will plot channel 1 vs channel 0 and channel 4 vs channel 3 in the same graph. A separate graph tab will be created for each --graph-file option given. This is like the --graph option except that the channel numbers start at zero for the last file read. They are relative channel numbers. So channel numbers for ---graph-file may be negative to refer to channels that came from files before the last file. This is handy if you load a lots of files and lose count of the number of channels loaded in each file. not me losing count every single time 😭
  • --grid — draw a grid with the graph. This is the default. See also --no-grid.
  • --grid-font FONT or -T FONT — set the font used to in the grid label numbers. Example: --grid-font='Sans Bold 12'. The default grid font is "Sans 10". cute font choices, we stan. 🎀
  • --grid-line-color RGBA — set the graph grid lines color. RGBA may be any string that GTK+ can parse into a RGB or RGBA color. For example --grid_line_color='rgba(255,0,0,0.5)' will make a translucent red. 🔥
  • --grid-line-width PIXELS or -W PIXELS — set the width of the grid lines if there are any
  • --grid-numbers — show grid numbers. This is the default. The grid must be showing to show grid numbers too. See also --no-grid-numbers.
  • --grid-text-color RGBA — set the graph grid text color. RGBA may be any string that GTK+ can parse into a RGB or RGBA color. For example --grid_text_color='rgba(0,255,0,0.5)' will make translucent green. 💚
  • --grid-x-space PIXELS or -X PIXELS — set the maximum x space between vertical grid lines. The minimum will be about half this. This distance varies as the scale changes due to zooming. This distance cannot be fixed due to the way Quickplot scales your graphs and always picks reasonable grid line spacing. See also --grid-x-space. (yes babe, she cites herself, queen behaviour 👑)
  • --grid-y-space PIXELS or -Y PIXELS — set the maximum y space between horizontal grid lines. See also --grid-x-space above.
  • --gtk-version — print the version of GTK+ that Quickplot was built with and then exit
  • --gui — show the menu bar, button bar, tabs bar, and the status bar. This is the default. See also --no-gui. ✨
  • --help or -h — display help in a browser and exit 🫶
  • --label-separator STR or -p STR — specifies the label separator string STR if labels are read in from the top of a text data plot file. The default value of STR is " " (a single space). See option: --labels.
  • --labels or -L — read labels from the first line of a text file that is not skipped. See also: --skip-lines, --label-separator and --no-labels. 🏷️
  • --libsndfile-version — print the version of libsndfile that Quickplot was built with and then exit
  • --line-width PIXELS or -I PIXELS — specify the plot line widths in pixels. May be set to AUTO to let Quickplot select the line width based on the plot point density. AUTO is the default.
  • --linear-channel [OPTS] or -l [OPTS] — OPTS are START|[STEP]. This option prepends a linear series channel to the file being read. 📈
    • START — set the first value in the sequence to START. The default START value is 0.
    • STEP — set the sequence step size to STEP. The default STEP is 1. There must be a START before STEP. For example: --linear-channel='100 0.2' will make a linear channel that starts at 100 and steps 0.2. Sound files will always have a linear channel that contains the time prepended. Using this option with a sound file would prepend an additional channel. Any file loaded that contains just a single channel will automatically have a channel prepended. Using this option with a single channel file will not prepend an additional channel, but will let you set the start and step values for that prepended channel. See also --no-linear-channel. (read that part twice bestie, it's sneaky 😭)
  • --lines Y|N|A or -j Y|N|A
    • Y — yes show lines.
    • N — no don't show lines. Same as --no-lines.
    • A — auto, be smart about it. This is the default. ✨
  • --local-menubars — disable that darn Ubuntu Unity globel menu bar. This will do nothing if not running with Unity. 🙈
  • --maximize or -m — maximize the main window. See also --no-maximize and --fullscreen.
  • --menubar — show the menu bar. This is the default. See also --no-menubar. This will do nothing if not running with the Ubuntu Unity window manager.
  • --new-window or -w — make a new main window for each graph
  • --no-border or -B — display graphs main windows with no borders
  • --no-buttons — hide the button bar in the main window. See also --buttons.
  • --no-default-graph or -U — stop making the default graph for each file loaded. See also --default-graph.
  • --no-fullscreen — don't make the main window fullscreen. This is the default. See also --fullscreen.
  • --no-gaps or -J — draw a line across NAN (-NAN, INF, -INF and overflow double) values if there are finite values on both sides. See also --gaps.
  • --no-grid or -H — don't draw graph grid lines in the graph. See also --grid.
  • --no-grid-numbers — don't show grid numbers. See also --grid-numbers.
  • --no-gui or -z — don't show the menu bar, button bar, tabs bar, and status bar. See also --gui.
  • --no-labels or -Q — don't read channel labels from the file. This is the default. See also --labels.
  • --no-linear-channel or -k — turn off adding a linear channel for up coming files. See also --linear-channel.
  • --no-lines or -i — plot without drawing lines in the graph. See also --lines.
  • --no-maximize — don't maximize the main window. This is the default. See also --maximize.
  • --no-menubar, -M — bestie, this one hides the menu bar in the main window. 💅 Peep --menubar if you want the opposite. Heads up tho: this literally does nothing unless you're running the Ubuntu Unity window manager. Not me being dramatic, that's just the rules.
  • --no-new-window, -Z — don't open a fresh main window for the graph. This is the default, so it's giving "lazy but correct". See also --new-window.
  • --no-pipe, -N — don't read data from standard input, even if there's input sitting there waiting to be read. Rude? Maybe. Intentional? Absolutely. See also --pipe.
  • --no-points, -o — plot without drawing points in the graph. Just the lines, no little dots, minimal aesthetic. ✨ See also --points.
  • --no-readline — don't use GNU readline with the Quickplot command shell when you run with --shell. This turns off line editing, shell history, and tab command completion — so no more Tab magic, sad. This option does nothing if Quickplot isn't built with GNU readline in the first place.
  • --no-shape — turn off the X11 shape extension. See also --shape.
  • --no-statusbar — hide the status bar in the main window. See also --statusbar.
  • --no-tabs — don't show the graph tabs in the main window. See also --tabs.
  • --number-of-plots NUM, -n NUM — sets the default maximum number of plots for each graph to NUM. That's the cap, bestie, plan accordingly. 📊
  • --pipe, -P — read graph data from standard input. Okay so by default Quickplot looks for data on standard input and then stops looking if nothing shows up in some short amount of time. This option makes Quickplot wait for standard input indefinitely — no clock, no pressure, it will sit there and wait for you like a loyal bestie. 🫶 If you wanna type data in from the terminal, this is your girl. Same thing as --file=-.
  • --point-size PIXELS, -O PIXELS — start Quickplot using plot point size PIXELS wide in pixels. You can also set this to AUTO, which makes quickplot automatically pick the point size based on the point density in the graph. AUTO is the default. Lowkey obsessed with a self-aware option.
  • --points — show points in the plots in the graph. This is the default. ✨
  • --print-about — prints the About document to standard output and then exits. If you want the HTML glow-up version of the Quickplot About info, use --about instead. 💖
  • --print-help — prints this Help document as ASCII text to standard output and then exits. For the HTML version of this help, use --help. Fancy fonts only on request, apparently.
  • --read-pipe-here, -R — this is a little placeholder that tells Quickplot when to read the data from standard input. It's here so you get a say in the timing, since Quickplot otherwise automatically decides whether to read standard input or not. See --file, --pipe and --no-pipe.
  • --same-scale, -s — plot all plots in the same graph scale. See also --different-scale, --same-x-scale and --same-y-scale.
  • --same-x-scale Y|N|A, -x Y|N|A — use this instead of --same-scale or --auto-scale when you want finer control over how the x values of the plots get scaled while you've got more than one plot on a graph.
    • Y — yes, same x scale
    • N — nope, different x scales
    • A — auto, be smart about it. This is the default. See also --same-y-scale.
  • --same-y-scale Y|N|A, -y Y|N|A — use this instead of --same-scale or --auto-scale when you want finer control over how the y values of the plots get scaled while you've got more than one plot on a graph. (Yes, the manpage literally says "x values" here too — we report, we don't rewrite the source code. 🙈)
    • Y — yes, same y scale
    • N — nope, different y scales
    • A — auto, be smart about it. This is the default. See also --same-x-scale.
  • --shape — makes graphs see-through. 👑 It uses the X11 shape extension, which got famous thanks to xeyes. Fair warning: the X11 shape extension may be a little flashy on some systems. Try --shape together with --no-gui, --no-grid, and --no-border if you want a floating graph just vibing on your display. 🌈 The X11 shape extension is a property of the main window, not each graph tab. Also this may not work well with fullscreen view, and it will slow down graph drawing considerably. You can toggle it on and off with the x key. See option --no-shape.
  • --shell, -e — runs a Quickplot command shell that reads commands from standard input and writes out to standard output. Default is no shell, in which case standard input gets read as graph data. If Quickplot is reading standard input for plot data, it'll read shell commands from the controlling terminal (/dev/tty) after all of standard input has been read. You can use --no-pipe to stop standard input from being read as graph data. The shell can do pretty much everything command-line options can do and a whole lot more. Run an interactive shell with quickplot --shell and use the help and tab completion to see how it works. You can also connect a Quickplot command shell to an already-running Quickplot program with the program quickplot_shell. 🐚
  • --signal PID — signal SIGUSR1 to process PID after Quickplot is running.
  • --silent — don't spew even on error. 🤫 The --silent option will override the effect of the --verbose option.
  • --skip-lines NUM, -S NUM — skip the first NUM lines when reading the file. This applies to all types of files that quickplot can read. Set NUM to zero to stop skipping lines.
  • --statusbar — show the status bar below the graph. This is the default. See also --no-statusbar.
  • --tabs — show the graph tabs. This is the default. See also --no-tabs.
  • --verbose, -v — spew more to standard output. See also --silent.
  • --version, -V — print the Quickplot version number and then exit, returning 0 exit status. Clean exit, no notes. 💅
  • --x11-draw, -q — draw points and lines using the X11 API. This is the default. Drawing may be much faster than with Cairo, but there will be no translucent colors and no anti-aliasing in the drawing of the plot lines and points. There will be translucent colors and anti-aliasing in the background and grid. Also, saved images will not have translucent colors like they do with the Cairo draw mode. You can start drawing with X11 and switch to drawing with Cairo when you want to save an image. Use the r key or the View menu to switch back and forth between drawing with X11 and Cairo. See also --cairo-draw.

🌸 SEE ALSO 🌸

quickplot_shell(1)

Copyright (C) 1998-2011 Lance Arsenault

Quickplot is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

Quickplot is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with Quickplot. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

Fr fr, that warranty disclaimer is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Read the license, bestie, it's free software and it's iconic for it. 🎀

⭐ AUTHOR ⭐

Lance Arsenault <lanceman@users.sourceforge.net>

Send bug reports or comments to the above address.

For more information, see the Quickplot homepage at <http://quickplot.sourceforge.net/>.

And that's a wrap, bestie!! 💖✨ This was Quickplot Version 1.0.1rc, dated 10 Jan 2016 04:50:02 UTC, and the page you just consumed is QUICKPLOT(1). Go make some graphs, you absolute main character. 🦋👑

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