Setting the Plot Window Limits

XYPLOT automatically sets the plot window limits from the minimum and maximum values in all the data. You may specify new window limits by

  1. using the plot cursor to define a box
  2. manually entering new window limits
The first method is a quick way to zoom in on a region of interest. You can inspect fine detail in whatever region interests you. The second method is useful to make the limits and tic spacings meaningful numbers for the user. It is also useful because in XYPLOT the x limits of the plot window serve to select data for operations such as storing or removing parts of a data set, calculating areas, or making a polynomial fit. This is in analogy to selecting text for block operations in a word processing program.


Setting window limits with the plot cursor

You may zoom in on part of the plot window with the mouse or keypad.


Illustrated Example

Press the Esc key to return to a previous level of display limits. Up to four levels may be stacked. Esc will return through them one at a time.


Setting the window limits by input

Point with the mouse arrow cursor to the icon < > and click the left mouse button, or press the key E, and you will be prompted for the new window limits

Enter new window limits x1, y1, x2, y2:

where (x1, y1) is the lower left corner and (x2, y2) is the upper right corner of the window. You need not specify all of the new coordinates. For example, to change only y1 and y2, you could enter just the new values of y1 and y2.

,y1,,y2

Example

Assume the plot window limits are set to (-10, 0) for the lower left corner, and (10, 100) for the upper right corner. To change the limits to (-20, 0) and (20, 100)

  1. Click on the icon < > with the left mouse button or press the E key.
  2. Enter -20,0,20,100 at the prompt.
The display will appear with the new window limits. The icon now appears as <*>. To return to the previous level of display limits, point at <*> and press the right mouse button, or press the Esc key.

Since you did not change the y limits in this example, you could also have entered

-20,,20

and the unspecified limits will default to the current ones.