SCREEN
- Last UpdatedNov 24, 2025
- 3 minute read
Models
The SCREEN driver displays plot files on a workstation graphics screen.
Description
This driver provides a convenient plot file viewing facility, allowing you to preview your plot files before plotting or printing hard copies.
Output
This driver always creates a new graphics window to view the input plot file. There is no output file and ‑0 takes its place on the command line. If the output drawing comprises more than one page, the display pauses at each page until you press a key or button.
User Interaction
The SCREEN driver is an interactive plot viewer with zoom and pan actions under mouse control with appropriate cursors and 'rubber-banding'. To use the viewer:
-
To pan the view by a specified distance, press and hold down the left mouse button while you move the mouse. Release the button to pan the view by a specified distance. A cursor 'rubber-band' shows you the move while you are holding the button.
-
As an alternative to scroll bars press and release the left mouse button without moving the mouse to 'snap' the current point under the cursor to the centre of the screen.
-
To select a new view, press and hold down the middle button of your mouse while you move it between the opposite corners of its boundary.
-
To snap the current point to the centre of the screen and then zoom in by a fixed amount, press and then release the middle mouse button (without moving the mouse).
-
Snap the current point to the centre of the screen and then zoom out by a fixed amount, press and release the right mouse button without moving the mouse.
Command Summary
|
Key/button |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Home |
View all of the drawing |
|
Shift-Home |
Refresh the window |
|
Arrow keys |
Pan down/left/right/up by 10% of window |
|
Control-Arrow |
Pan down/left/right/up by 2% of window |
|
Shift-Arrow |
Pan down/left/right/up by 50% of window |
|
H or ? |
Display help text |
|
X |
Toggle cursor style, small cross and crosshair |
|
/ |
Toggle cursor style, ISO and crosshair |
|
N or Space |
Next drawing from plot file |
|
Q or Return |
Quit viewer |
|
0 to 9 |
Set cursor colour (1=white) |
|
Mouse 1 |
Press/Move/Release pans around drawing. Press/release (no move) centres this position in the window. |
|
Mouse 2 |
Press/Move/Release zooms in on the box cursor. Press/release (no move) centres this position in the window and zooms in by 20%. |
|
Mouse 3 |
Press/Move/Release zooms in on the box cursor. Press/release (no move) centres this position in the window and zooms out by 20%. |
Note: For a 2-button mouse the effect of the middle button can be achieved by pressing both buttons together.
Options
Note that the standard PLOTDRIVERS file changes the default for this driver to use PDMS colours. To find out how to restore the colours to their previous state and other details about modifying the default options of built-in drivers see the section on creating your own device drivers.
The syntax for using each option is as follows (individual options must be separated by commas):
|
MAp x y val1 val2 |
Defines the position of the plot on the screen (x and y coordinates of its origin expressed in pixels). It defines the graphics window dimensions as val1 pixels wide by val2 pixels high. Default: To match the graphics screen device. |
|---|---|
|
CUrsor n |
Sets the long cursor pen number and must be in the range 1-15. The default value is 4. |
|
RGb pen r g b |
Defines the red/green/blue color mix for the specified logical pen number (pen must be in the range 0-15). Default: The colors of the graphics screen device (see following table). |
|
Number |
Color |
Red |
Green |
Blue |
|
0 |
Black |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
1 |
White |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
2 |
Orange |
1 |
0.5 |
0 |
|
3 |
Green |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
4 |
Red |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
5 |
Blue |
0 |
0.78 |
1 |
|
6 |
Magenta |
0.78 |
0 |
1 |
|
7 |
Yellow |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
8 |
Sand |
1 |
0.78 |
0 |
|
9 |
Yellow |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
10 |
Cyan |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
11 |
Indigo |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
12 |
Violet |
0.5 |
0 |
0.5 |
|
13 |
Light Grey |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
|
14 |
Mid Grey |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
|
15 |
Dark Grey |
0.25 |
0.25 |
0.25 |
Example
plot screen logo.plt -0 "CUR 10,MA 20 40 250 150"