gnuplot(1)

1GNUPLOT(1)                  General Commands Manual                 GNUPLOT(1)
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NAME

6       gnuplot - an interactive plotting program
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SYNOPSIS

9       gnuplot [X11 options] [options] [file ...]
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DESCRIPTION

12       Gnuplot is a command-driven interactive plotting program.
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14       If file names are given on the command line, gnuplot loads and executes
15       each file in the order specified, and exits after the last file is pro‐
16       cessed.   If  no  files are given, gnuplot prompts for interactive com‐
17       mands.
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19       Here are some of its features:
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21       Plots any number of functions, built up of C operators, C math  library
22       functions, and some things C doesn't have like **, sgn(), etc.
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24       User-defined constants and functions.
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26       All  computations  performed in the complex domain.  Just the real part
27       is plotted by default, but functions like imag() and  abs()  and  arg()
28       are available to override this.
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30       Many  presentation  styles for plotting user data from files, including
31       surface-fitting, error bars, boxplots, histograms, heat maps, and  sim‐
32       ple manipulation of image data.  There is an on-line demo collection at
33       http://gnuplot.info/demo
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35       Nonlinear least-squares fitting.
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37       2D and 3D plots with mouse-controlled zooming, rotation, and hypertext.
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39       Shell escapes and command line substitution.
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41       Load and save capability.
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43       Support for a huge variety of output devices and file formats.
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OPTIONS

46       -p,  --persist  lets  plot  windows  survive after main gnuplot program
47       exits.
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49       -c scriptname ARG1 ARG2 ..., load script using gnuplot's "call"  mecha‐
50       nism and pass it the remainder of the command line as arguments
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52       -d, --default-settings settings.  Do not read from gnuplotrc or ~/.gnu‐
53       plot on entry.
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55       -e "command list" executes the requested commands  before  loading  the
56       next input file.
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58       -s,  --slow  wait  for  slow font initialization rather than continuing
59       with an error.
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61       -h, --help print summary of usage
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63       -V, --version show current version
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X11 OPTIONS

66       For terminal type x11, gnuplot accepts the standard X  Toolkit  options
67       and  resources such as geometry, font, and background. See the X(1) man
68       page for a description of common options.   For  additional  X  options
69       specific  to  gnuplot, type help x11 on the gnuplot command line. These
70       options have no effect on other terminal types.
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ENVIRONMENT

73       A number of shell environment  variables  are  understood  by  gnuplot.
74       None of these are required.
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76       GNUTERM
77              The  name  of the terminal type to be used by default.  This can
78              be overridden by the gnuplotrc or .gnuplot start-up  files  and,
79              of course, by later explicit "set terminal" commands.
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81       GNUHELP
82              The pathname of the HELP file (gnuplot.gih).
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84       HOME   The name of a directory to search for a .gnuplot file.
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86       PAGER  An output filter for help messages.
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88       SHELL  The program used for the "shell" command.
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90       FIT_SCRIPT
91              Specifies  a gnuplot command to be executed when a fit is inter‐
92              rupted---see "help fit".
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94       FIT_LOG
95              The name of the logfile maintained by fit.
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97       GNUPLOT_LIB
98              Additional search directories for data and  command  files.  The
99              variable  may  contain  a  single  directory  name, or a list of
100              directories separated by ':'. The contents  of  GNUPLOT_LIB  are
101              appended  to  the  "loadpath"  variable,  but not saved with the
102              "save" and "save set" commands.
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104       GDFONTPATH
105              Several gnuplot terminal drivers access TrueType fonts  via  the
106              gd  library.  This variable gives the font search path for these
107              drivers.
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109       GNUPLOT_DEFAULT_GDFONT
110              The default font for the terminal drivers that  access  TrueType
111              fonts via the gd library.
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113       GNUPLOT_FONTPATH
114              The font search path used by the postscript terminal. The format
115              is the same as for GNUPLOT_LIB. The contents of GNUPLOT_FONTPATH
116              are  appended to the "fontpath" variable, but not saved with the
117              "save" and "save set" commands.
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119       GNUPLOT_PS_DIR
120              Used by the postscript driver to locate external prologue files.
121              Depending  on  the  build  process,  gnuplot  contains  either a
122              builtin copy of those files or simply a default hardcoded  path.
123              Use  this  variable  to test the postscript terminal with custom
124              prologue files. See "help postscript prologue".
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FILES

127       gnuplotrc
128              When gnuplot is run, it first looks for a  system-wide  initial‐
129              ization  file  named  gnuplotrc.   The standard location of this
130              file expected by the program is reported by the "show  loadpath"
131              command.
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133       .gnuplot
134              After  loading the system-wide initialization file, if any, Gnu‐
135              plot looks for a private initialization file in the HOME  direc‐
136              tory.   It may contain any legal gnuplot commands, but typically
137              they are limited to setting  the  preferred  terminal  and  line
138              types and defining frequently-used functions or variables.
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140       fit.log
141              The default name of the logfile output by the "fit" command.
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AUTHORS

144       Original authors: Thomas Williams and Colin Kelley.  Starting with gnu‐
145       plot version 3.8, the project source  is  cooperatively  maintained  on
146       SourceForge by a large number of contributors.
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BUGS

149       Please report bugs using the project bug tracker on SourceForge.
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