Graph Contour

This option is used to set the contour plot options in AutoSignal's 2D graphs. This option incorporates a copy of the current graph. All changes made in any of the contour options are immediately reflected in the graph.

Evaluation Grid

For the 2D graphing engine, only a square mesh is supported. The nX,nY item is used to set the x and y mesh count of the grid used to evaluate the parametric or non-parametric model interpolating or approximating the 3D surface. A mesh of 35x35 results in 1225 vertices where Z must be computed and a minimum of 1156 major polygons that must be filled. Note that the vertex count can be halved by dropping to a 25x25 mesh.

The maximum mesh supported of 300x300 produces 90,000 vertices and 89,401 major polygons. A high mesh offers the best possible resolution in laser printer output. For such printing, it is recommended that the mesh count be adjusted just prior to printing, and reduced afterward. Very high mesh counts may also assist in revealing regions of the surface that are unstable or undefined. Right clicking the spin button or edit field will offer a menu of available mesh sizes.

Gradient

A gradient plot will involve drawing some number of minor polygons with each major polygon where a gradient transition occurs. The total number of polygons that must be rendered in a gradient contour can be quite high, especially when using a 32 or 48 color gradient. Gradient plots are thus computationally demanding and rendering performance may suffer when a high mesh count is specified. The colors within the gradients are not adjustable.

The gradient spectrum plots include five 24-color (24 Spectrum, 24 Spec Excel, 24 Spec L123, 24 Spec QPW, 24 Spectrum II), one 32 color (32 Spectrum), and one 48 color (48 Spectrum). The are four 32 color unigradient plots (Gray, Cyan, Green, Red), two 32 color dual gradient (Blue-Red, Blue-Green), and two 48-color dual gradient (Red-Yellow, Blue-Cyan). In these plots, the Z-range of the graph is mapped to a gradient of colors and the polygons are drawn within this overall gradient.

The 24 Spectrum gradient is available in custom palettes which use exact colors contained within the palettes defined by Excel, Lotus 123, and Quattro Pro in 256-color mode. This enables you to paste an AutoSignal contour plot into a spreadsheet and have exactly the same colors as the 24 used by AutoSignal. Note that these options are of value only in 256-color mode. In higher color modes, the spreadsheets should adequately render all colors within the spectrum plots.