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Saving or Printing Graphs

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14.2 Saving or Printing Graphs

Graphs can be exported to several image formats. A convenient Save as PDF option is also available. Graphs can also be printed directly from the plot viewer with standard print options, as well as Adobe PDF and PostScript file output, this process is described in the printing graphs section below.

When saving or printing a plot, only non-hidden graphs in the plot viewer will appear in the output along with the optional currently visible Full Domain View and Annotation Tracks.

Saving Graphs to Image Formats

To save graphs to an image file, select File > Save as Image. This opens the Save as Image dialog which includes a preview of the image that will be saved as well as various options applicable to saving an image. These options are detailed below. See Figure 108.

If the amount of memory needed to save the data is greater than the specified analysis memory cache size, a warning “Insufficient memory. Increasing the analysis cache size limit may alleviate this problem.” will be displayed. See “Insufficient memory.” Warning for more information.

[Picture]

Figure 108: Save as Image dialog
  • Preview: A scaled view of the image to be saved is displayed in the Preview window. Larger plots may take longer to draw. The progress of the computation and drawing is shown above the preview. If the progress has not reached 100% before saving, an additional progress dialog will appear. Once the computation has finished the image will be saved. Zoom tools are available below the preview to examine the image more closely.
  • Output File: Select the output file by clicking Browse.... Available image types may include:
    • PNG: Portable Network Graphic
    • BMP: Windows Bitmap
    • JPG: Joint Photographic Experts Group
    • PPM: Portable Pixmap
    • SVG: Scalable Vector Graphic
    • TIF: Tagged Image File Format
    • XBM: X11 Bitmap
    • XPM: X11 Pixmap
  • Image Size: The image size can be changed in pixels by specifying the width and height. If Maintain aspect ratio is checked, changing either dimension results in a proportional change in the other.
  • Margins: The top, bottom, left and right margins (in pixels) can be altered independently by adjusting the appropriate control box.
  • Graph Options: Two graph options are available:
    • Full domain view: The full domain view is shown at the top of the image. This view can be hidden by unchecking this box. Its minimum size can be adjusted by moving the slider bar. To increase the size of the full domain view, move the slider to the right. To decrease the size of the full domain view, move the slider to the left.
    • Annotation Tracks: When annotation tracks are available in the Plot Viewer, this control is available in the Save as Image dialog. The entire view can be hidden by unchecking this box, individual tracks can be hidden by hiding them in the plot viewer before the Save as Image dialog is opened. Its minimum size can be adjusted by moving the slider bar. To increase the total size alloted to the drawing of annotation tracks, move the slider to the right. To decrease the total size of the annotation tracks, move the slider to the left.

To save the image click Save. To cancel and return to the plot viewer, click Cancel. If an output file has not been selected, a reminder to choose an output file before proceeding will appear.

Saving Graphs to a PDF

To save graphs to a PDF file, select File > Save as PDF. This opens the Save as PDF dialog which includes a preview of the PDF output that will be saved as well as various options applicable to saving a PDF. These options are detailed below. See Figure 109.

If the amount of memory needed to save the data is greater than the specified analysis memory cache size, a warning “Insufficient memory. Increasing the analysis cache size limit may alleviate this problem.” will be displayed. See “Insufficient memory.” Warning for more information.

[Picture]

Figure 109: Save as PDF dialog
  • Preview: A scaled view of the output on the selected paper size is displayed in the Preview window. Larger plots may take longer to draw. The progress of the computation and drawing is shown above the preview. If the progress has not reached 100% before saving, an additional progress dialog will appear. Once the computation has finished the PDF will be saved. Zoom tools are available below the preview to examine the output more closely.
  • Output File: Select the output file by clicking Browse....
  • Paper: There are several paper options available for both Save as PDF and for printing. These options are:
    • Unit: The paper size can be specified in various units. The available units are: Inch, Millimeter, Pica, Pixel, and Point. Changing the unit changes the meaning of the paper size and margin values.
    • PPI: (Pixels Per Inch) This value represents pixel density. Increasing this value increases the amount of detail that can be shown on a given page size. The memory required to generate the output increases as the square of the PPI so exercise caution when selecting large PPI values.
    • Page Size: There are several standard paper sizes available to choose from.
    • Width: The width of the paper can be manually set by changing this value. The Page Size will then be set to Custom.
    • Height: The height of the paper can be manually set by changing this value. The Page Size will then be set to Custom.
  • Margins: The top, bottom, left and right margins (in the selected units) can be altered independently by adjusting the appropriate control box.
  • Orientation: The paper orientation can either be set to Portrait or Landscape.
  • Page Range: If there are multiple visible plots in the plot viewer, they may be arranged to span multiple pages. All pages, or a subset can be included in the output. The page range can be specified using hyphens and commas. For example, “1-2,5” results in pages 1, 2 and 5 being included in the output.
  • Graph Options: Three graph options are available:
    • Maximum graphs per page: The maximum number of graphs can be set by changing this value. There are minimum sizes enforced for graphs, so SVS will try to fit the specified number of graphs on one page, but it may not be possible, in that case the remaining graphs will be moved to additional pages.
    • Full domain view: The full domain view is shown at the top of the image. This view can be hidden by unchecking this box. By default, the full domain view is only shown on the first page, by checking On all pages, the full domain view will be shown at the top of every page. Its minimum size can be adjusted by moving the slider bar. To increase the size of the full domain view, move the slider to the right. To decrease the size of the full domain view, move the slider to the left.
    • Annotation Tracks: When annotation tracks are available in the Plot Viewer, this control is available in the Save as PDF dialog. The entire view can be hidden by unchecking this box, individual tracks can be hidden by hiding them in the plot viewer before the Save as PDF dialog is opened. By default, the annotation tracks are only shown on the last page, by checking On all pages, the annotation tracks will be shown on the bottom of every page. Its minimum size can be adjusted by moving the slider bar. To increase the total size alloted to the drawing of annotation tracks, move the slider to the right. To decrease the total size of the annotation tracks, move the slider to left.

To save the PDF click Save. To cancel and return to the plot viewer, click Cancel. If an output file has not been selected, a reminder to choose an output file before proceeding will appear.

“Insufficient memory.” Warning

If the amount of memory needed to save or print the data is greater than the specified analysis memory cache size, then this warning will be displayed:

[Picture]

Figure 110: Insufficient memory warning message when saving or printing data from the plot viewer.

After seeing this warning there are at least four potential actions that can be taken.

  1. Increase the analysis cache size. This will allow more data to be stored in memory allowing for plots with more data points to be saved or printed.

    To increase the analysis cache size, close preview dialog (Save as Image, Save as PDF or Print Setup) and the plot viewer then save and close the project. From the program welcome screen, go to Tools > Global Product Options. On the Application tab, under Memory Usage, increase the Transpose and analysis memory usage value. A reasonable value for this parameter is half of the available RAM for the computer.

  2. Decrease the PPI value. This will require that less data be saved or printed per inch and thus requires less memory.

    To decrease the PPI value, within either the Save as PDF or Print Setup dialogs, change the specified PPI value to a smaller number if possible. In Print Setup the minimum PPI value is dictated by the selected printer, so changing the printer can allow for a smaller PPI value to be selected.

  3. Decrease the printable area. This will require that less data be saved or printed per inch and thus requires less memory.

    To decrease the printable area...

    • by increasing margins, change the specified margins to a larger value.
    • by decreasing the paper size, in Print Setup, select a smaller paper size or choose a Custom page size and change the width and height to smaller values.
    • by reducing the image size, in Save as Image select a smaller width and height in pixels.
  4. Save or print regardless of warning. This option will print or save all the data possible with the current cache sizes. The data saved or printed may not match the data visible in the preview.

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