plotws

Process Help

PLOTWS - plot the intersection lines of a plane with a wireframe

Process Name	Menu Path	Link to Command Table
PLOTWS	Command line only	Click here

Introduction
Files, Fields and Parameters
Notes
Example
Errors

Introduction

Section plot in any direction through a wireframe model.

Files, Fields and Parameters

Input Files

Name	Description	I/O Status	Required	Type
WIRETR	Input wireframe triangle file.	Input	Yes	Wireframe Triangle
WIREPT	Input wireframe point file.	Input	Yes	Wireframe Points
PROTO	Plot prototype file. Must contain the fields X, Y, S1, S2 and CODE (numeric, explicit) and XMIN, XMAX, YMIN, YMAX, XSCALE, YSCALE (numeric, implicit). If these last 6 values set in PROTO , then corresponding parameters need not be set.	Input	Yes	Plot Prototype
SECTION	Optional section definition file.	Input	No	Section Definition

Output Files

Name	I/O Status	Required	Type	Description
PLOT	Output	Yes	Plot	Output plot file.

Parameters

Name	Description	Required	Default	Range	Values
LINECODE	(1001) Line code for plotting - 1001 faint, or 1002 bold.	No	1001	1001, 1006	Undefined
FRAME	(0) Set to 1 if frame required around plot.	No	0	0,1	0,1
CHARSIZE	Character size in millimetres (4).	No	4	Undefined	Undefined
ASPRATIO	Aspect ratio, width / ht. for chars (0.9).	No	0.9	Undefined	Undefined
	Colour [as 'pen' number] for plot (1).	No	1	Undefined	Undefined
APPEND	Plot append flag. If set to 1 then the new plot will be appended to the PLOT file, if it exists and is a valid plot file (0).	No	0	0,1	0,1
XSCALE	X scale in user data units per millimetre. If specified here or in PROTO this value will override section limits.	No	Undefined	Undefined	Undefined
YSCALE	Y scale in user data units per millimetre. If specified here or in PROTO this value will override section limits.	No	Undefined	Undefined	Undefined
VERTEXAG	Controls vertical exaggeration. This must be set to allow different scales. The default is forced equal scales (1). = 0 allows different scales for both axes determined by XSCALE and YSCALE if provided or else by filling the data area to the section limits. > 0 sets value of XSCALE/YSCALE.	No	1	Undefined	Undefined

Notes

Scaling is completely automatic in this process, and any plot file or null prototype may be used; all that need be defined is the paper size.
PLOTWS produces an output plot file containing the intersection of a given plane with a wireframe model. The triangles of the wireframe model have not been intersected in any particular sequence, so there is no simple means in this program of generating an output perimeter.
Set section orientation as follows :-
>>> SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING --
>>> 1 VERTICAL OR INCLINED SECTION >>> DEFINED ABOUT CENTRE POINT
>>> 2 VERTICAL SECTION DEFINED BY >>> END POINTS
>>> 3 PLAN VIEW DEFINED BY CORNER >>> POINTS
(>>> 4 SECTION FROM SECTION DEFINITION) (>>> FILE(if defined) ) >>> Supply 1,2, or 3 (or 4) as appropriate.
If 1 selected, interaction as follows -
XC > X co-ordinate of centre of plane.
YC > Y co-ordinate of centre of plane.
ZC > Z co-ordinate of centre of plane.
DIP> Dip of section plane.
AZI> Azimuth of section plane.
HSIZE > Horizontal size of section plane.
VSIZE > Vertical size of section plane.
These are then echoed back, followed by the prompt
>ARE THESE CORRECT (Y/N) ? If any reply other than Y or y, interaction repeated from the beginning.
If 2 selected, interaction as follows -
X1 > X co-ordinate of bottom left corner of section plane.
Y1 > Y co-ordinate of bottom left corner of section plane.
X2 > X co-ordinate of top right corner of section plane.
Y2 > Y co-ordinate of top right corner of section plane.
Z1 > Z co-ordinate of bottom left corner of section plane.
Z2 > Z co-ordinate of top right corner of section plane.
These are then echoed back, followed by the prompt
>ARE THESE CORRECT (Y/N) ? If any reply other than Y or y, interaction repeated from the beginning.
If 3 selected, interaction as follows -
>>> DEFINE XMIN,YMIN,XMAX, AND YMAX
X1 > X co-ordinate of bottom left corner of section plane.
Y1 > Y co-ordinate of bottom left corner of section plane.
X2 > X co-ordinate of top right corner of section plane.
Y2 > Y co-ordinate of top right corner of section plane.
ZC > Z co-ordinate of section plane.
These are then echoed back, followed by the prompt
>ARE THESE CORRECT (Y/N) ? If any reply other than Y or y, interaction repeated from the beginning.
If 4 selected, interaction is as follows:-
>>> WHICH SECTION DO YOU WANT (OR ? FOR A LIST)
Enter SVALUE section number, or ? for a list of available sections.

Example

!PLOTWS

&WIREPT(ZON1PT),&WIRETR(ZON1TR),&PROTO(WZON1PRT,

&PLOT(WSZN1PLT),&SECTION(ZON1SEC)

Error and Warning Messages

Message	Description	Solution
>>> ffffffff IS NOT A SECDEF FILE, FIELD aaaaaaaa MISSING	One of the fields SVALUE, XCENTRE, YCENTRE, ZCENTRE, SDIP, SAZI or STHICK is missing from the section definition file. Processing continues, but the section definition file is not available.

>>> ERR 120 <<< ( n) IN PLOTWS	An error has occurred when reading the input point or triangle file e.g. one or more of the essential fields in the file is absent or of the wrong type. Fatal; the process is exited.