Dekink Filter
- Last UpdatedNov 24, 2025
- 2 minute read
The Dekink filter can streamline your plot files in a number of ways.
Plot files that are produced by some programs can contain instances where the same line is drawn over a number of times (for example, where an original wireline 3D model was involved). This extra information can increase the size of the file unnecessarily. The coincidence removal function of the Dekink filter corrects this problem, and so can reduce the size of output files by a considerable amount.
The filter can employ either a travel or a connect method to re-order the graphics. The travel method minimizes the total pen travel distance, whereas the connect method maximizes the connection between vectors.
The filter travel method reduces the total distance that the pen needs to travel, and the number of times that the pen is raised and lowered. This can speed up the operation of pen plotters.
The filter connect method maximizes the connection of vectors while retaining all existing connectivity, including directions.
Note: For speed of processing, the filter makes most of its changes to the plot file where items concerned are close to each other in the file. Note that it may not remove all coincident lines when they are far apart in the file.
The Dekink filter is selected by the option:
DEKInk resol coinc travel tabmin tabmax
The arguments are as follows and omitted parameters take their default values:
|
resol |
Resolution value is specified in mm. Used to decide whether lines are coincident or connected to each other. Default: 0.025 |
|---|---|
|
coinc |
This selects whether coincidence removal is active or not. The value is set to Y for yes and N for no. Default: Y |
|
travel |
This selects whether the travel method is active. Otherwise the connect method is used. Y = travel method; N = connect method. Default: Y |
|
tabmin |
This is the minimum size of the working table used by the filter. Must be an even number in the range 10-600. The default value is suitable for most purposes. Default: 50 |
|
tabmax |
This is the maximum size of the working table used by the filter. Must be an even number in the range 10-600. The default value is suitable for most purposes. Default: 200 |
After the input file has been processed, a report is produced on the effect of the Dekink filter. This gives the change in the total distance that the pen needs to travel, and the change in the number of lines in the output file (both as percentages). For example:
DEKINK reduced pen travel by 68.99% and number of lines by 43.93%