Printing Graphs¶
TableCurve 2D Graphs offer a full print preview Print option. You can use this option to print a half-page, full-page, or custom size graph.
The dialog will contain a preview image of the graph, rendering the image to be printed as accurately as possible. This preview graph will be updated as orientations are changed, options are selected, margins are set, and font scalings changed.
Frame Graph¶
You may elect to print a bounding frame around the graph by checking the Frame Graph option.
Color or Black and White¶
You may print the graph in color by checking the Use Color item. Note that black and white graphs can be printed regardless of the current color scheme. TableCurve 2D internally uses the Page White BW color scheme for monochrome printing.
Adding Numeric Summary¶
This option is available in both fixed and custom portrait modes. The numeric summary is printed immediately below the graph. This option is available only for Curve-Fit Graphs.
Margins¶
If you wish to print a custom portrait or landscape graph, you must specify the four margins which define the boundaries of the graph.
Font Scaling¶
In some instances, TableCurve 2D may use a larger screen font to maintain legibility in graphs. If this Print Preview indicates the need to increase or decrease the overall font scaling, you may enter a different value in the Font % field. You may also use the spin buttons to change this value or you may select the value from a popup menu activated by holding the right mouse button down when over the field or spin buttons.
Line Width¶
With high resolution output devices, the single width lines used for drawing peaks may appear too light. These lines can be darkened by increasing the line width. Since this width cannot be effectively represented within the limited screen resolution, the print preview will not reflect this line width setting.
Save Custom Settings¶
You may Save a custom print file containing the current information. This custom print graph file will have a default [CPG] extension.
Read Custom Settings¶
Use the Read option to import a custom print settings from a custom print [CPG] file.
Printer Setup¶
To select a given printer, use the Setup button. When you select a printer, you will also have the option to modify the printer driver's own dialog, as in the case of setting printer resolution, paper size, and printing multiple copies.
Initiating the Print¶
Simply press OK to begin the printing, or Cancel to abandon printing. Once printing begins, there will be a brief time where a print job can be canceled during the Windows spooling operation. After that time, a print job must be canceled from Windows Print Manager.
Postscript Printing¶
When printing, the print spooler within Windows writes a file to its temporary directory. When printing a TableCurve 2D graph to a Postscript printer, this file can be as large as 3-4 Mb in size. A Windows error message will result if there is insufficient space on the temporary drive. If this occurs, the best solution is to make sufficient disk space available, by freeing space on the current drive. As an alternative, you may specify a reduced Function Resolution for the graph. This can significantly reduce the size of Postscript streams.
Discerning Inactive Points on Black and White Printers¶
The default inactive point state uses a different color rather than an unfilled symbol. To discern inactive points on black and white printers, you will need to uncheck the Inactive Fill in the Point Format dialog.
Driver Problems¶
For some printer and plotter drivers, particularly those from HP, you may need to set the orientation for the plot within the printer setup dialog.
You may also find that the HP Plotter driver does not support rotation for True Type and Adobe Type Manager fonts. You may need to use the Modern, Roman, or MS San Serif font in order to have the proper rotation for the the Y-axis title.
TableCurve 2D Graphs use a special procedure for producing enhanced grid lines which look very good with digital devices. For plotter output, you will probably need to set a Grid Level of 0 ( a pure line) in order for grids to appear. This zero grid level may also be necessary with certain versions of the Deskjet driver which only partially render grid lines or which do so with incorrect colors.