GRACE(1)

📦
version 5.1.25 · 3 versions
, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

👑 GRACE — the manual page, but make it make sense 💖

okay so bestie, you've found the manual for Grace — and also xmgrace and gracebat, which are the same icon in three different outfits. It lives in section 1 of the General Commands Manual, so it's a command-line girlie at heart. Let's get into it. ✨

🌸 NAME

  • grace — command line interface 🫶
  • xmgrace — full-featured GUI mode, the main character 💅
  • gracebat — batch mode, prints and then dips immediately 👋

🦋 DESCRIPTION

Grace is a WYSIWYG tool to make two-dimensional plots of scientific data. That's the whole vibe. You see it, you get it, you plot it. No cap. 🔥

✨ SYNOPSIS

grace [ option | filename ]...
xmgrace [ option | filename ]...
gracebat [ option | filename ]...

💅 OPTIONS

Here's the part everyone scrolls to. Every single flag, no skips, no cuts, fr fr.

  • -autoscale x|y|xy|none — sets the autoscale type. pick your axis, or pick none and be free 🕊️
  • -barebones — turns off all the toolbars. minimalism era. 🌿
  • -batch file — runs the batch file on start up. specifically, it happens after all other options have been processed and the UI has been initialized, okay bestie, timing matters ⏰
  • -block file — assume the data file is block data 🧱
  • -bxy x:y:etc. — makes a set from the current block data set, using the current set type, from the columns you name in the argument 📊
  • -datehint iso|european|us|days|seconds|nohint — sets the hint for dates analysis 📅
  • -dpipe descriptor — read data from that descriptor on startup 🔌
  • -fixed width height — locks the canvas size fixed to width*height 📐
  • -free — use free page layout 🍃
  • -graph number — sets the current graph number 🔢
  • -graphtype xy|chart|fixed|polar|pie — sets the type of the current graph. yes, pie. she contains multitudes 🥧
  • -hardcopy — no interactive session at all, just print and quit. in and out, no small talk 🖨️
  • -hdevice device_name — sets the default hardcopy device. peep xmgrace -version for the list of supported devices 👀
  • -install — install private colormap 🎨
  • -legend load — turns the graph legend on 🏷️
  • -log x|y|xy — sets the axis scaling of the current graph to logarithmic 📈
  • -maxpath length — sets the maximal drawing path length 🛤️
  • -mono — run grace in monochrome mode (affects the display only, so your actual data is untouched, don't worry) 🖤🤍
  • -netcdf file — assume the data file is in netCDF format. ⚠️ this option is present only if the netCDF support was compiled in
  • -netcdfxy X_var Y_var — if -netcdf was used previously, read the X_var and Y_var variables from the netCDF file and create a set. if X_var is "null" then it loads the index of Y to X. ⚠️ also only present if the netCDF support was compiled in
  • -noask — assume the answer is yes to all requests. so if the operation would overwrite a file, grace will just do it, no prompting, no warning, no "are you sure?" 😭 protect your files bestie
  • -noinstall — don't use private colormap 🚫
  • -noprint — in batch mode, do not print 🖨️❌
  • -nosafe — disable safe mode 😳
  • -nosigcatch — don't catch signals 🚨
  • -npipe file — read data from named pipe on startup 🪈
  • -nxy file — assume data file is in X Y1 Y2 Y3 ... format 🧮
  • -param file — load parameters from file to the current graph ⚙️
  • -pexec string — interpret string as a parameter setting 🗣️
  • -pipe — read data from stdin on startup 📥
  • -printfile file — save print output to file 💾
  • -remove — remove data file(s) after read 🗑️ (they're gone, girl)
  • -results file — write results of some data manipulations to file 📝
  • -rvideo — exchange the color indices for black and white 🔄
  • -safe — run in the safe mode (this is the default, she's cautious by nature) 🛡️
  • -saveall file — save all to file 💾✨
  • -seed value — integer seed for the random number generator 🎲
  • -settype xy|xydx|... — set the type of the next data file ⏭️
  • -source disk|pipe — source type of next data file 📀
  • -timer delay — set allowed time slice for real time inputs to delay ms ⏱️
  • -timestamp — add timestamp to plot 🕰️
  • -version — show the program version, registered devices and build time configuration information 🏗️
[DEBIAN] Direct PDF output has been disabled, since the PDF library is not free software. There's an easy workaround though — just use the epstopdf script from the texlive-font-utils package. 🐧
  • -viewport xmin ymin xmax ymax — set the viewport for the current graph 🖼️
  • -wd path — set the working directory 📁
  • -world xmin ymin xmax ymax — set the world coordinates for the current graph 🌍
  • -usage | -help — this message 📖

🎀 RESOURCES

When you run it in GUI mode, the interface is subject to X resource settings. 💫 Please refer to the User's Guide for a list of the important ones — iykyk.

🌈 ENVIRONMENT

  • GRACE_HOME — specifies the directory where the Grace docs and libs are stored. default is /usr/local/grace 🏠
  • GRACE_HELPVIEWER — the shell command to run an HTML viewer for on-line browsing of the help documents. it must include at least one instance of "%s", which Grace will replace with the actual URL. default is mozilla %s 🌐
  • GRACE_EDITOR — specifies the editor used to edit sets. default is xterm -e vi ✍️
  • GRACE_PRINT_CMD — the print command 🖨️
  • GRACE_FFTW_RAM_WISDOM — and GRACE_FFTW_WISDOM_FILE — a flag (0 or 1) and a file name which determine whether a FFT should use wisdom when using the FFTW libraries 🧠✨

🍓 FILES

In many cases, when Grace needs to access a file given with a relative pathname, it searches for the file along this path:

./pathname:./.grace/pathname:~/.grace/pathname:$GRACE_HOME/pathname

The following files are of a special importance: 👇

  • gracerc — init file loaded upon start up 🌱
  • templates/Default.agr — the default template, loaded whenever a new project is started 🆕
  • fonts/FontDataBase — the file responsible for font configuration 🔤

🧚 SEE ALSO

grconvert(1), X(1) [or Xorg(1)], Grace User's Guide 📚

🔥 HOME PAGE

http://plasma-gate.weizmann.ac.il/Grace/

💀 BUGS

The best way to submit a bug report is using the "Help/Comments" menu entry. Alternatively, see the home page. 🐛 don't be shy, tell her what's wrong, she wants to know 🫶

👑 AUTHORS

Grace is derived from ACE/gr (a.k.a Xmgr) written by Paul J Turner. From version number 4.00, the development was taken over by a team of volunteers under the coordination of Evgeny Stambulchik. iconic lineage honestly 🌟

Copyright (c) 1991-1995 Paul J Turner, Portland, OR
Copyright (c) 1996-2007 Grace Development Team

🌸 LICENSE

The program is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. 📜

and that's the whole page, bestie!! this edition is dated Jan 28, 2007, from the General Commands Manual, and it's the GRACE(1) page — thanks for reading all the way to the bottom, you're a real one 🫶✨💅

📦 where this page comes from