RLPlot - First Steps
mainpage and downloadsDownload the Windows executable. Unpack the the downloaded *.zip file and you will have RLPlot.exe in your current folder. You may start RLPot directly by double-clicking the program file. In fact no further Installation is needed. However, you may find it more convenient to create a folder the main program directory (e.g. C:\programs\RLPlot\) and copy the program file of RLPlot to this location. At this stage you may also create links in the program menu and/or the tray.
The RLPlot spreadsheet
RLPlot opens with a spreadsheet. This sheet accepts the data which will be used to create your graphs. It behaves very much like a spreadsheet that you are used to. It accepts formulas and functions, operates on ranges etc. In most cases it is possible to copy data from and to the RLPlot spreadsheet.
My first graph
Once the data are entered into the spreadsheet you may go to the menu Graph->Create Graph. Select a template and enter the data ranges in the following dialogs. Thats all. A window with your graph is created.
If you mark a range of data before, this range will appear in the respective dialogs.
The whole graph is a user interface. Double clicking individual elements of the graph will open a dialog which allows for the individual adjustment of the appearence of each element. Please remember to save your work from time to time.
Graphs may be exported in several formats. A simple copy and paste to another program will insert a 600 dpi bitmap into the document. Most publishers will be happy if you supply 600 dpi b/w gaphs and 300 dpi color plates.
Copy and paste may also used inside RLPlot, e.g. to create an inset inside another graph. In this case the inset will be a vector graph with RLPlot's own format.