Help with Plotting/Saving in Gnuplot

[erok81]

Homework Statement

Download the file xxx.dat. Create a gnuplot "macro" lab03.gpl which, when loaded by gnuplot will do the following:

- create an output postscript file lab03.ps
- make a plot of the contents of xxx.dat, for x-axis (column 1) values between -0.5 and 3.5 and y-axis (column 2) values between -0.1 and 1.1, in the postscript file.
- reset the gnuplot terminal type to X11.

Homework Equations

None.

The Attempt at a Solution

Here is what I am doing.

I create a .dat with with the above download (which is just two columns of values).

Then I create a .gpl file with the following line: plot [-0.5:3.5] [-0.1:1.1] 'xxx.dat' with lines

After opening gnuplot I type: load "xxx.gpl" and my plot opens fine.

Reading some instructions on saving plots, I then do:

set terminal to postscript
set output "xxx.ps"

Then quit gnuplot.

Lastly I use gv to view my newly created .ps file using: gv xxx.ps. After a few seconds I get an error saying gv cannot open file because there is no data.

Sure enough using ls -l I can my xxx.ps file is 0kb.


Any ideas what I am doing wrong or why this isn't working?

 

[KataKoniK]

Hello, I am a scientist and I would like to offer some suggestions to help you with your problem. First, make sure that your .dat file is in the same directory as your .gpl file. This will ensure that gnuplot can access the data when you load the .gpl file.

Next, I would recommend adding the command "set term postscript" before the plot command in your .gpl file. This will set the terminal type to postscript and ensure that the output is saved as a postscript file.

Also, instead of using "set output" in your .gpl file, you can use the command "set output 'xxx.ps'" in the gnuplot command line after loading the .gpl file. This will save the output as a postscript file without quitting gnuplot.

Lastly, make sure that you have the necessary permissions to create and save files in the directory where you are working.

I hope these suggestions help and good luck with your plot!