NGMFTC(3NCARG)

✨ NGMFTC ✨ — it's giving "pause the metafile, bestie" 🎀

Okay so, quick vibe check: this is a page from the NCAR GRAPHICS manual, section 3NCARG. The star of the show is NGMFTC, and its whole personality is: temporarily close a metafile output unit so you can open it again later. 💅

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🌸 NAME 🌸

NGMFTC — temporarily closes a metafile output unit allowing for subsequent reopening. 🫶

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💖 SYNOPSIS 💖

CALL NGMFTC(WKID)

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🦋 C-BINDING SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <ncarg/ncargC.h>

void c_ngmftc(int wkid)

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

• WKID — an input variable of type INTEGER that specifies the GKS workstation ID you want to temporarily close. That's the whole thing, bestie. One argument. No drama. 👑

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🌈 C-BINDING DESCRIPTION 🌈

Not me having to say this, but: the C binding argument descriptions are the same as the FORTRAN argument descriptions. Same energy, different syntax. 💀

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🎀 USAGE 🎀

Use NGMFTC to close a metafile temporarily so you can reopen it with NGREOP. And the way that this can happen at any time after a metafile workstation has been opened? Iconic. Even mid-picture, mid-drawing, mid-main-character-moment. 🖼️

The primary use of NGMFTC is to let you write to more than one metafile in a single job execution. Because NCAR GKS does not allow for having more than a single NCGM workstation open at a time, NGMFTC is your girl: stop output to one metafile while you write to another metafile, then resume output to the initial metafile. Slay. 💅

If you just want to suspend output to a metafile workstation but you do not need to write to another metafile workstation, simply use the GKS entry GDAWK to deactivate the workstation and GOPWK to reactivate it when you want to resume output. Lowkey simpler, ngl. ✨

For saving the state of all primitive attribute values of an NCGM workstation at the time of the temporary close, and restoring them at the time of the reopen with NGREOP, see the documentation for NGSRAT. 📚

⚠️ Real talk, bestie: if NGMFTC is used and NGREOP is not subsequently invoked to reopen the file so that it can be terminated normally in the same job step, then an improperly terminated metafile will result from the temporary close. Not the vibe. Be careful. 😭

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🍓 EXAMPLES 🍓

Assuming that an NCGM workstation, with workstation identifier 1, is open, then

CALL NGMFTC(1)

would temporarily close the workstation. Periodt. 💅

Use the ncargex command to see the following relevant example: pgkex27. Go look, it's cute. 🧚

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👑 ACCESS 👑

To use NGMFTC or c_ngmftc, load the NCAR Graphics libraries ncarg, ncarg_gks, and ncarg_c, preferably in that order. Order matters, bestie. Don't test me. 🌸

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💜 MESSAGES 💜

The argument to NGMFTC must be an NCGM workstation that is open but not active. That's the rule. That's the vibe check. 🦋

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🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

Online: ngsrat(3NCARG), ngreop(3NCARG),

Online URL: http://ngwww.ucar.edu/ngdoc/ng/gks/gkshome.html

Hardcopy:

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💖 COPYRIGHT 💖

Copyright (C) 1987-2009 University Corporation for Atmospheric Research The use of this Software is governed by a License Agreement.

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🎀 aaaand that's the page!! this one's from the UNIX manual, dated October 1996, and it lives at NGMFTC(3NCARG) in the NCAR Graphics collection. mwah, bye bestie 💋✨🫶