Help for 'slides' program.

Date help created:  18 May 1996
Date last updated:  18 May 1996
'slides' creates a Postscript file composed of multiple frames, each frame originating as an individual Postscript file as created using plot1 or plot2.

To run the program type

	slides <slides script file>

The output file is effectively just a concatenation of the input files (with some translation, scaling and clipping), and in particular the size of the output file is approximately the sum of the size of the input files.

In this help file the terms x and y refer to the directions after the paper has been properly oriented (as portrait or landscape).

In this help file the measurement units are either inches (the default) of centimeters (if specified), except for font sizes, for which the units are points (72 per inch).

In this help file words which appear in single quotations are to be used without the quotation marks.

The key words can appear in any order in the script (one per line).

The following is the list of allowed key words in the script file, grouped (approximately) according to function:

Syntax and more details about <key word> (where <key word> is any of the above key words) can be obtained by typing

slides help <key word>

input

input <number of input files>

	This specifies the number of input files.  The next
	<number of input files> lines must contain the following
	information (one input file per line):

		<file name> <slide text>

	The text is optional, but if there is text then double
	quotation marks must delimit the text.  The text appears in
	the slide frame of the given input file.  The first frame is
	the frame at the top left of the slide.  If there is more
	than one frame in the x direction then the second frame is
	to the right of the first frame, otherwise the second frame
	is below the first frame.  And so on.

	The <number of input files> must be the product of the
	number of frames in the x direction (as defined by x_frames)
	and the number of frames in the y direction (as defined by
	y_frames).

	This key word is mandatory.

output

output <file name>

	This specifies the name of the output file.
	This key word is mandatory.

x_frames

x_frames <number of frames in x direction>

	This specifies the number frames in the x direction.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the number of frames is 1.

y_frames

y_frames <number of frames in y direction>

	This specifies the number frames in the y direction.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the number of frames is 1.

title

title <slide title>

	This specifies the text to appear as the slide title.
	The text is optional (however there is no point having
	the key word otherwise), but if there is text then double
	quotation marks must delimit the text.
	This key word is optional.
	By default there is no title.

title_font

title_font <font name>

	This specifies the (Postscript) font for the title.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the font is Times-Roman.

title_size

title_size <font size>

	This specifies the font size (in points) for the title.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the font size is 18 point.

title_justify

title_justify <placement in x direction>

	This specifies the placement of the title in the x direction.
	The <placement in x direction> must be one of 'left',
	'center', or 'right'.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the placement is at the 'left'.

title_edge

title_edge <placement in y direction>

	This specifies the placement of the title in the y direction.
	The <placement in y direction> must be 'top' or 'bottom'.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the placement is at the 'top'.

date

date

	This specifies that the time and date (when the program is
	run) should appear on the slide.
	This key word is optional.
	By default there is no date.

date_font

date_font <font name>

	This specifies the (Postscript) font for the date.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the font is Times-Roman.

date_size

date_size <font size>

	This specifies the font size (in points) for the date.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the font size is 12 point.

date_justify

date_justify <placement in x direction>

	This specifies the placement of the date in the x direction.
	The <placement in x direction> must be one of 'left',
	'center', or 'right'.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the placement is at the 'right'.

date_edge

date_edge <placement in y direction>

	This specifies the placement of the date in the y direction.
	The <placement in y direction> must be 'top' or 'bottom'.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the placement is at the 'bottom'.

text_font

text_font <font name>

	This specifies the (Postscript) font for the text that
	(optionally) appears in each frame.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the font is Times-Roman.

text_size

text_size <font size>

	This specifies the font size (in points) for the text
	that (optionally) appears in each frame.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the font size is 12 point.

text_justify

text_justify <placement in x direction>

	This specifies the placement in the x direction of the
	text that (optionally) appears in each frame.
	The <placement in x direction> must be one of 'left',
	'center', or 'right'.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the placement is at the 'center'.

text_edge

text_edge <placement in y direction>

	This specifies the placement in the y direction of the
	text that (optionally) appears in each frame.
	The <placement in y direction> must be 'top' or 'bottom'.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the placement is at the 'bottom'.

x_margin

x_margin <margin>

	This specifies the margin between the edge of the paper
	and the left (and right) frames of the slide.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the margin is 0.

y_margin

y_margin <margin>

	This specifies the margin between the edge of the paper
	and the bottom (and top) frames of the slide.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the margin is 0.

x_space

x_space <space>

	This specifies the space between the individual frames
	in the x direction.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the space is 0.

y_space

y_space <space>

	This specifies the space between the individual frames
	in the y direction.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the space is 0.

x_size

x_size <size>

	This specifies the size of the individual frames in the
	x direction.
	This key word is optional, but if it occurs the key word
	y_size must also occur.
	By default the size is calculated from the x_margin, the
	x_space and the paper_size.

y_size

y_size <size>

	This specifies the size of the individual frames in the
	y direction.
	This key word is optional, but if it occurs the key word
	x_size must also occur.
	By default the size is calculated from the y_margin, the
	y_space and the paper_size.

picture_clip

picture_clip

	This specifies that x_clip and y_clip refer to the picture
	size, rather than the margin size, to which the individual
	input pictures are to be clipped.
	This key word is optional.
	By default x_clip and y_clip refer to the margin size.

x_clip

x_clip <size>

	This specifies the size to which the individual input
	pictures are to be clipped in the x direction before they
	are inserted into their corresponding slide frames.
	The size refers either to the margin size (the default) or
	the picture size (if the key word picture_clip occurs).
	This key word is optional.
	By default the size is 0.

y_clip

y_clip <size>

	This specifies the size to which the individual input
	pictures are to be clipped in the y direction before they
	are inserted into their corresponding slide frames.
	The size refers either to the margin size (the default) or
	the picture size (if the key word picture_clip occurs).

	This key word is optional.
	By default the size is 0.

left_clip

left_clip <size>

	This specifies the additional clipping size at the left of
	the individual input pictures, to be used only for the
	frames at the left of the slide.
	This size refers to the change in picture size (normally
	non-negative), not the change in margin size (normally
	non-positive), independently of how x_clip and y_clip are
	specified.

	This key word is optional.
	By default the size is 0.

right_clip

right_clip <size>

	This specifies the additional clipping size at the right
	of the individual input pictures, to be used only for the
	frames at the right of the slide.
	This size refers to the change in picture size (normally
	non-negative), not the change in margin size (normally
	non-positive), independently of how x_clip and y_clip are
	specified.

	This key word is optional.
	By default the size is 0.

top_clip

top_clip <size>

	This specifies the additional clipping size at the top of
	the individual input pictures, to be used only for the
	frames at the top of the slide.
	This size refers to the change in picture size (normally
	non-negative), not the change in margin size (normally
	non-positive), independently of how x_clip and y_clip are
	specified.

	This key word is optional.
	By default the size is 0.

paper_size

paper_size <size>

	This specifies the paper size for the output picture.
	This must be one of 'A4', 'A3', 'A', 'B', or must contain
	two numbers, the explicit sizes in the x and y directions.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the size is 'A4'.

portrait

portrait

	This specifies that the output picture is to be oriented
	as portrait (rather than landscape).
	This key word is optional.
	By default the orientation is landscape.

centimeters

centimeters

	This specifies that the values specified in the script
	are in units of centimeters (rather than inches).
	This key word is optional.
	By default the units are inches.

EPS

EPS

	This specifies that the output file should be in EPS
	(Encapsulated Postscript) format.
	This key word is optional.
	By default the output is in (ordinary) Postscript format.

keep_border

keep_border

	This specfies that the border (consisting of the title
	and date) of the individual input pictures should be kept
	in the frame (but it might be removed by the clipping).
	This key word is optional.
	By default the border is removed (if it can be identified!).

Azara help: slides / W. Boucher / azara@bioc.cam.ac.uk