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Command Panel

The following buttons are in the command panel.

Quit: Exit from xfig
Port/Land: Change orientation of canvas to/from Portrait and Landscape
New: Delete all object from the canvas
Undo: Undo the last operation
Redraw: Redraw the canvas
Paste: Paste object from cut buffer
File: Load/save fig file
Export: Export figure in various file formats
Print: Print figure to PostScript printer
Help: Popup help menu

Quit

Exit from xfig. The accelerator Meta-q will also perform this function. Many window managers have a facility to terminate windows, and it is also possible to terminate xfig with this.

If the figure has been modified and not saved, a popup panel will appear to ask the user if he wants to save the figure first and then quit, quit without saving, or cancel the quit altogether.

If xfig is terminated with signals such as HUP or INT (for example, by the kill command or an internal error of xfig), xfig will try to save the figure in the SAVE.fig file.

Port/Land

Change the orientation of the xfig canvas between portrait and landscape. The orientation will also be used as the default orientation when Exporting or Printing a figure.

The default orientation may be specified by command line options. The orientation is automatically changed when loading a fig file to correspond to the setting in the file.

New

Delete all objects from the canvas and erase the current file name to make a new figure. The accelerator Meta-n will also perform this function. This operation may be undone by Undo.

If you attempt to save the figure without specifying a file name after this, the File panel will appear and you will be asked for a file name. If you want to delete all the objects and retain the file name, you may use accelerator Meta-d. If you want to delete selected objects, you may use DELETE.

Undo

Undo the last operation such as object creation, deletion or modification. The accelerator Meta-u will also perform this function.

Multi-level undo is not supported. If Undo is clicked twice, it will revert the state before the first undo.

Redraw

Redraw the canvas. The accelerators Meta-r and Ctrl-l will also perform this function.

Paste

Paste the object previously copied into the xfig cut buffer (see also COPY and DELETE) into the current figure. The accelerator Meta-t will also perform this function.

The object will appear on the canvas under or near the mouse where it may then be moved and placed by pressing mouse button 1.

This function can be used to copy part of another figure into the figure being edited. The cut buffer will shared between xfigs if a user opens two or more xfig windows at the same time, and it is possible to copy objects between those xfig windows. If you want to copy an entire figure from another file, you can merge the file using File panel.

Normally, the ``.xfig'' file in user's home directory is used as the cut buffer.

File

The File button provides the facility to load/save fig files. Use Export if you want to output figure with a format other than a Fig file, and use IMPORTING PICTURE OBJECTS if you want to insert image files into the figure.

If the File button on the command panel is clicked by mouse button 3 (`Save shortcut'), a save is performed without poping up the File panel. This is very useful when saving figure to the same file after editing the figure. The accelerator Meta-s will also perform this function.

Clicking the File button with mouse button 1 (`Popup') will pop up the File panel. The accelerator Meta-f will also perform this function.

Current Filename

The name of the current file is displayed here, and a save to the file will be performed if the Save button is clicked without entering a file name in the Filename field, or if the File button on the command panel is clicked with mouse button 3 (`Save shortcut').

When the file has been loaded or saved, Current Filename will be updated to the name of the file.

Filename

Specify the name of file to be loaded or saved. If this field is empty, the file indicated at Current Filename will be accessed.

The file name in the Filename field may be changed by clicking a file name in File Alternatives list, or by typing the file name on the keyboard . If return is typed after the file name is entered, the file will be loaded as if the Load button was clicked.

(File) Alternatives

The files in the current directory matching the pattern specified by Filename Mask are displayed here, and users may select a file name from the list.

Clicking a file name in this list with mouse button 1 will copy the file name to Filename field. Double-clicking a file name in this list with mouse button 1 will load the file as if the Load button was clicked.

Filename Mask

Only the files which match this pattern will be listed in the File Alternatives list. The pattern is similar to the one which is used in the UNIX shell, so it is possible to use meta-characters like ``*'' or ``?''.

Typing return in this field will cause a rescan of the current directory as if the Rescan button was clicked. The initial value of this string is ``*.fig*'', which will show all Fig files including compressed files and backups, but it may be changed by the Fig*file_panel*mask*string resource if necessary.

Current Directory

This shows the current directory, and files in the directory will be displayed in the File Alternatives list.

The directory name in the Current Directory field may be changed by clicking a directory name in Directory Alternatives list, or by typing the directory name on the keyboard. If return is typed after the directory name is entered, the directory will scanned as if the Rescan button was clicked and the contents of File Alternatives list will be updated.

(Directory) Alternatives

List of directories in the current directory is displayed here, and clicking any item in this list with mouse button 1 will cause a move to the directory. Normally, hidden directories are not displayed here, but that may be toggled with the Show Hidden button.

``..'' indicates the parent directory. Moving to the parent directory may also be performed by clicking mouse button 3 on the File Alternatives list or the Directory Alternatives list.

Load/Merge figure offset

Specify amounts of offset the figure should be shifted when loaded or merged. The figure will be shifted to right or down by the amounts specified here. It is also possible to shift figure to left or up by specifying negative values here. Unit of the amounts may be Inches, Centimeters, or Fig Units (1/1200 inch in version 3.x).

Home

Clicking this button will move to the home directory of the user.

Show Hidden

This button controls whether hidden directories (directories whose name starts with ``.'') are displayed or not. Clicking this button will toggle the state. By default, hidden directories are not displayed.

Rescan

Clicking this button will scan the files in the current directory and update the File Alternatives list with those files whose names match the Filename Mask. The accelerator Meta-r will also perform this function.

Cancel

Clicking this button will close the File panel. The accelerator Meta-c will also perform this function.

Save

Clicking this button will save the figure to the file specified in the Filename field if any, or the file name in Current Filename. The accelerator Meta-s will also perform this function. Clicking File button with mouse button 3 (`Save shortcut') will perform the same action without popping up the File panel.

When trying to save to an existing file other than Current Filename, a popup panel will appear and the user will be asked if he wants to save over that file.

Also, Current Filename is updated to reflect the new file name.

Before saving the file, the original file (if any) will be automatically renamed to the same name but with the suffix ``.bak'' to leave it as a backup file.

Load

Clicking this button will load the file specified by the Filename field. The accelerator Meta-l will also perform this function.

Before loading the file, the figure on the canvas is cleared. If the figure on the canvas has been modified and not saved, a popup panel will appear and the user will be asked to save the current figure, discard it and load the new file or cancel the load of the new file altogether.

The figure will be shifted by the amounts specified by Load/Merge figure offset.

xfig can also read files compressed by compress or gzip (files which have suffix .Z, .z, or .gz). Before loading a compressed file, the file will be uncompressed by uncompress or gunzip.

A newer version of xfig can always load Fig files created by older version of xfig, but the reverse is not true. When loading files of older format, xfig will notify the user in a popup message panel and will convert the file to the current version. There is no way to save a Fig file in an older version format.

Merge

Clicking this button will read the figure from the file specified by the Filename field and merge it with the figure on the canvas. The accelerator Meta-r will also perform this function.

As in Load, the figure will be shifted at the amounts specified by Load/Merge figure offset.

Export

The Export button provides a facility to output the figure in various format such as PostScript, GIF, JPEG, HP-GL, etc. to a file. This is useful when you want to read figures by other applications (LaTeX or FrameMaker, for example). Use Print if you want to print the figure to a PostScript printer.

If the Export button on the command panel is clicked by mouse button 3 (`Export shortcut'), export will be performed without popping up the Export panel.

Clicking the Export button with mouse button 1 (`Popup') will popup the Export panel. The accelerator Meta-e will also perform this function.

Magnification

Specify the magnification when exporting figure in percent of full size (%). The default is 100% and may be set by the Fig.magnification resource.

Fit to Page

Clicking this button will set the Magnification automatically so that the figure size will just fill current Paper Size with at least 1/2 inch margin all around. This is effective only when PostScript is selected as Language.

Orientation

Specify the orientation of the output as Landscape (horizontal) or Portrait (vertical). The default orientation is same as the orientation of the canvas which may changed by Port/Land.

Justification

Specify if the figure should be Flush Left or Centered on the paper of the size selected by Paper Size. This is effective only if PostScript is selected at Language.

Paper Size

Specify the size of the paper. See description in Print Panel about available paper sizes. This is effective only if PostScript is selected at Language.

Pages

If Multiple is selected, the figure will be split into multiple pages if the figure is larger than Paper Size. If Single is selected, this facility will not used. This is effective only if PostScript is selected at Language.

Export Offset

When exporting figure, the figure will be shifted to the right or down by the amount specified here. Use negative numbers to shift it left and/or up. The unit of the amounts may be selected from Inches, Centimeters, and Fig Units(1/1200 inch in version 3.x).

Language

Specify the format (language) to be generated as output. The default is Encapsulated PostScript, but may be changed with the resource Fig.exportLanguage.

The following formats are available:

LaTeX picture environment
PicTeX macros
IBMGL (HP-GL)
Encapsulated PostScript (EPSF)
PostScript
Combined PostScript/LaTeX
Textyl
TPIC
PIC
ACAD (AutoCAD slide format, SLD)
MF (MetaFont)
PCX paintbrush format
PNG Portable Network Graphics
GIF
JPEG
PBM Portable Bitmap package
TIFF Tag Image File Format
Tk (Tck/Tk toolkit)
XBM X11 Bitmap
XPM X11 Pixmap
PPM (Portable Pixmap)

As a variation of the LaTeX format, epic, eepic and eepicemu macros are also available. It is also possible to output the text part of the figure in LaTeX and the graphics part in PostScript using Combined PostScript/LaTeX. This is especially useful when complex numerical formulas are included in the figure (see also TEXT FLAGS).

Not all of the features in xfig are supported by all export languages. For example, imported pictures are not supported for IBMGL export. The PostScript export language supports all features of xfig and a fairly high quality output will be generated.

To export the figure in a bitmap format such as GIF or JPEG, you must have the GhostScript and netpbm packages on your system.

Transparent Color

For GIF export, it is possible to specify one of the colors as ``transparent''. When displaying the figure with GIF viewers that support Transparent GIF (such as Netscape Navigator, for example), the color will not appear but the background of the viewer will show through in place of the color. This menu button will only appear for GIF export.

The default is None.

Default Filename

Output will be written to this file if Output Filename is empty.

This file name is the figure name plus an extension that reflects the output format at the default, and it will be changed to the specified file name if export has been performed by specifying a file name in Output Filename.

Output Filename

Specify the file name the output should be written to. If this field is empty, the file name in the Default Filename field will be used.

The file name in the Output Filename field may be changed by selecting a file name in the File Alternatives list, or typing the file name from keyboard directly. If return is typed after file name is entered, export to the file will be performed as if the Export button was clicked.

(File) Alternatives

The list of files in the current directory (only files matching the pattern specified by Filename Mask) are displayed, and users may select a file for output from the list.

Clicking a file name in this list with mouse button 1 will copy the file name to the Output Filename field. Double-clicking a file name in this list with mouse button 1 will cause exporting to the file as if Export button was clicked. Note that exporting to the existing file will over-write the old contents of the file.

Filename Mask

Only the files matching this pattern will be put in the File Alternatives list. The pattern is similar to the one used by the UNIX shell, and it is possible to use meta-characters like ``*'' or ``?''.

Typing return in this field will cause rescan of the current directory as if Rescan button was clicked. The initial value of this string is ``*ps'', but it may changed by the Fig*export_panel*mask*string resource if necessary.

Current Directory

This shows the current directory, and files in the directory will be displayed in the File Alternatives list.

The directory name in the Current Directory field may be changed by clicking a directory name in Directory Alternatives list, or by typing the directory name from keyboard directly. If return is typed after directory name is entered, the directory will scanned as if Rescan button was clicked and the contents of File Alternatives list will be updated.

(Directory) Alternatives

The list of directories in the current directory is displayed here, and clicking any item in this list with mouse button 1 will cause a move to the directory. Normally, hidden directories are not displayed here, but this may be toggled by Show Hidden button.

``..'' indicates the parent directory. Moving to the parent directory may also be performed by clicking mouse button 3 on the File Alternatives list or the Directory Alternatives list.

Home

Clicking this button will move to the home directory of the user.

Show Hidden

This button controls if hidden directories (directories whose names start with ``.'') should be displayed or not. Clicking this button will toggle the state. Normally, hidden directories are not displayed.

Rescan

Clicking this button will scan files in the current directory and update the File Alternatives list. The accelerator Meta-r will also perform this function.

Cancel

Clicking this button will close the Export panel. The accelerator Meta-c will also perform this function.

Export

Clicking this button will export to the file specified by Output Filename field if any, or the file in Default Filename. The accelerator Meta-e will also perform this function.

When trying to export to an existing file other than Default Filename, popup panel will appear and the user will asked to confirm the export operation. If the figure is exported to a file other than Default Filename, then Default Filename will be set to the actual export file name.

Print

The Print button provides the facility to print figures to PostScript printers. Use Export if you want to store the output to a file.

If the Print button on the command panel is clicked by mouse button 3 (`Print shortcut'), Print to Printer will be performed without popping up the Print panel. If the Print button is clicked while the SHIFT key is down, Print to Batch will be performed.

Clicking the Print button with mouse button 1 (`Popup') will popup Print panel. The accelerator Meta-p will also perform this function.

Magnification

Specify the magnification when printing figure in percent of full size (%). The default is 100% and may be set by the Fig.magnification resource.

Fit to Page

Clicking this button will set the Magnification automatically so that figure size will just fill current Paper Size with at least 1/2 inch margin all around.

Orientation

Specify the orientation of the output as Landscape (horizontal) or Portrait (vertical). The default orientation is same as the orientation of the canvas which may changed by Port/Land.

Justification

Specify if the figure should be Flush Left or Centered on the paper of size selected by Paper Size.

Paper Size

Specify the size of the paper.

The following paper sizes are available:

Letter (8.5in x 11in)
Legal (8.5in x 14in)
Tabloid (17in x 11in)
ANSI A (8.5in x 11in)
ANSI B (11in x 17in)
ANSI C (17in x 22in)
ANSI D (22in x 34in)
ANSI E (34in x 44in)
ISO A4 (21cm x 29.7cm)
ISO A3 (29.7cm x 42cm)
ISO A2 (42cm x 59.4cm)
ISO A1 (59.4cm x 84cm)
ISO A0 (84cm x 118.8cm)
JIS B5 (18.2cm x 25.7cm)

Pages

If Multiple is selected here, the figure will be split into multiple pages if the size of the figure is larger than Paper Size. It allows the user to output a figure larger than paper size by pasting those papers together (to make it easier, xfig generates output so that the parts of the figure will be overlap).

If Single is selected here, this facility will not be used; any part of the figure outside the paper boundary will be clipped.

PostScript Printer

Specify the printer name output should be directed to. If this field is empty, output will be directed to the default printer.

The default value is specified by the resource Fig*printer*string or the environment variable $PRINTER.

Print Job Params

The string specified here will be passed as command-line options when executing lpr (lp on System V system). If %f is included in the string, (it may appear more than once) it will be replaced by the name of the figure.

The default is empty, but it may be specified by Fig*job_params*string resource.

Figures in batch

This indicator shows how many figures have been put in the batch file for printing. Figures may be printed into the batch file by Print FIGURE to Batch, and those figures may be sent to the printer as one print job by clicking on Print BATCH to Printer.

Dismiss

Clicking this button will close the Print panel. The accelerator Meta-c will also perform this function.

Print FIGURE/BATCH to Printer

Clicking this button will spool the figures in the batch file if any, or the current figure if none, to the printer. The accelerator Meta-p will also perform this function.

The label of this button will be Print BATCH to Printer if there are any figures in the batch file, or Print FIGURE to Printer if there are none.

When printing to the printer, xfig will first convert the figure to PostScript with fig2dev program, and pass the result to lpr (lp on System V system). When executing lpr (or lp), the printer name specified by PostScript Printer field and options specified by Print Job Params will be passed as command-line options.

Print FIGURE to Batch

Clicking this button will append the current figure to the batch file. The accelerator Meta-b will also perform this function.

The figures stored in the batch file will be printed to the printer when Print BATCH to Printer is clicked later. You can use this facility when you want to send some figures to the printer at one time.

Clear Batch

Clicking this button will erase the accumulated figures in the batch file. The accelerator Meta-x will also perform this function. The figures are automatically deleted from the batch file when Print BATCH to Printer is clicked.

Help

The Help button pulls down a menu to view various help information.

Xfig Reference: Launch an external HTML browser (netscape is the default) specified by the Fig.browser resource to view the XFIG Users Manual, xfig reference manual in HTML.
How-to Guide: Launch an external PDF viewer (acroread is the default) specified by the Fig.pdfviewer resource to view the Xfig How-to Guide written by Peter Hiscocks.
Man Pages: Launch an external PDF viewer to view the xfig man pages in PDF. However, the Xfig Reference above is much better.
About Xfig: Popup a window showing the xfig version and copyright information:

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