This is the major help file for MacroPlot.

Macroplot was initially devised to produce two dimensional graphics for scientific publications with the following objectives

• That it is simple and easy to use, requiring only a short learning curve
• That the program is small and easy to produce
• That it allows easy editing of the bitmap at the user interface

To achieve this, the production of a bitmap is separated into two stages. The first stage is the production of macros, a series of meta-codes each controlling a graphical procedure. The second stage is when the program interprets the macros and produce the bitmap.

The idea is for any statistical procedure to produce and publish the macros and the initial bitmap. The user can then edit the macros to change line thickness, colors, and so on to produce the final bitmap.

MacroPlot is most commonly used within the web pages of StatTools. Once the user is satisfied with the graphic produced, the bitmap can be harvested like any other graphic file on a web page, by right clicking it, then copied to the clipboard or saved to a file.

As there are but few codes, and they are easy to remember, users increasingly create bitmaps by directly writing the codes themselves. This in turn trigger the development of other macros to increase the number of plotting functions and to handle the bitmap.

A further development is the conversion of macros into Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) codes, which can be inserted into the macro box in PowerPoint to produce vector graphics. This greatly expanded the usefulness of MacroPlot, as the vector graphic format is required by publishers of scientific journal and books, as changing the size of the bitmap will then not cause distortions.

MacroPlot is controlled by a series of macros, each macro controls a plotting procedure in the program. For most purposes in bio-social research, a presentable plot can be produced by 10-20 macros, and in more complex plots, up to 100 macros may be required. As modern computers have large memories, the text area provided by the program can accommodate more than 2000 macros, way in excess of what is usually required. Only in extreme situations, such as plotting a whole database of tens of thousands of coordinates, does the program have to access macros in an external file, and only MacroPlot Desk top can do this.

The macros, either in the text area of the program, or in a text file, must have the following structure

• Each macro must occupy its own line, and the elements in each line are separated by spaces or tabs
• Any macro that does not begin with one of the 6 key words Image Bitmap Plot Line Fill and Font is considered by the program as irrelevant and ignored. The key word, the first element in the macro, is case insensitive.
• Macros beginning with the key word Image which access computer files and clipboard only work in the desk top version of the program.
• The program performs plotting tasks in the order of the macro list. Any setting of colors, line thickness, and fonts will be used in subsequent plotting tasks until they are changed.

The first macro, which begins the plotting tasks, must be one of the initialisation statements. The three are

• Image Initialise filename initialises using an existing bitmap in file, and only works in the desk top program
• Image Initialise clipboard initialises using a bitmap currently in the clipboard, and only works in the desk top program
• Bitmap Initialise width height red green blue alpha initialises a blank bitmap of size width x height, with background color defined by red, green, blue, and alpha (all 0-255). This is the only initialising procedure that works in a php program, an applet, and the desk top program.

Once initialised, all plotting commands begins with the keyword Bitmap. The coordinates used for plotting is x/y, where x is the number of pixels from the left border, and y the number of pixels from the top border.

In most plotting tasks, coordinates are related to the values of the variables used. To enable plotting using variable values, the following macros are used.

• The central area for plotting is defined by default as 15% of the width from the left, 5% of the width from the right, 5% of the height from the top, and 15% of the height from the bottom. The greater margin on the left and bottom are to allow labelling. In most cases this default can be used.
• To override the default, the macro Plot Pixels lp tp rp bp can be used, where lp and rp are the left and right border of the plotting areas, defined by pixel numbers counting from the left, and tp and bp the top and bottom borders, defined by pixel numbers from the top.
• The macro Plot Values lv tv rv bv is obligatory. lv and rv define the x values at pixel lp and rp, while tv and bv defines the y values at tp and bp. This macro allows the program to subsequently transforming x and y values into pixel numbers for plotting.

Once the values are defined, plotting commands with the keyword Plot can be used, and the coordinates refers to x or y values within the range declared by lv-rv and bv-tv

Conventions used in MacroPlot

• Coordinates in Bitmap macros are pixels x the number of pixel from the left border, y number of pixel from the top border
• Coordinates in Plot macros are values within the range defined in the Plot Values lv tv rv bv
• Distances such as radius or shifting a plot are in number of pixels
• Angles are in degrees (0 to 360) with 0 at 3 O'clock and going clockwise
• Color of lines, fonts, and fill during plotting are as most recently assigned
• Text to be written onto the bitmap must be one word with no gap. If a gap is needed           the underscore is used, which is removed before plotting. e.g. Hello_There will           be converted to Hello There

A Macro beginning with the word Bitmap handles the bitmap in pixel forms. The x location refers to the number of pixels from the left border, and the y location the number of pixels from the top border

Bitmap Initialise w h r g b a

• This is the first, obligatory command in any bitmap creation on a web page
• This creates a blank bitmap w pixels wide and h pixels in height and the background color of rgba(red green blue alpha), each with values 0-255. Note alpha a is optional, having a default value of 255 if unstated
• e.g. Bitmap Initialise 700 500 255 255 255 255 initialises a bitmap 700 pixels wide and 500 pixels high, with solid white background.
• Note : There is an incompatibility between some web browsers and desk top applications, in that a bitmap with transparent background produced on the web page, when copied and pasted via the clipboard to other desk top applications such as Powerpoint or Word, the background appears black. However if the bitmap on the web page is saved as a .png file, then inserted from the file into the desk top application, then the background transparency works as intended. Alternatively, the background can be opaque White (255 255 255 255), and after copying to Powerpoint, use the formatting tool of the powerpoint to convert white to transparent.

Bitmap FloodFill x y r g b a

• This command is used only in desk top programs, and irrelevant to the web page.
• It starts at the pixel defined by x/y, changes it and all pixels with the color of that pixel to the new color of rgba(r g b a), extending in all directions until it reaches the bitmap border or a pixel with a different color
• e.g. Bitmap FloodFill 0 0 255 0 0 255

Bitmap FloodToBorder x y bR bG bB bA nR nG nB nA

• This command is used only in desk top programs, and irrelevant to the web page.
• It starts at the pixel defined by x/y, changes it to the new color rgba(nR nG nB nA), extending in all directions until it reaches the bitmap order or a pixel with the color rgba(bR bG bB bA)
• e.g. Bitmap FloodToBorder 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 255 starts left top corner, turns all pixels solid blue(0 0 255 255) until it comes across a red pixel (255 0 0 255)

Bitmap Bar x1 y1 x2 y2

• Draws a bar with the corners at x1,y1 and x2,y2.
• e.g. Bitmap Bar 10 12 20 15

Bitmap Line x1 y1 x2 y2

• Draws a line from x1,y1 to x2,y2
• e.g. Bitmap Line 0 0 20 30

Bitmap Oval xRadius yRadius x y

• Draws an oval centered on x and y with xRadius the radius for width and yRadius the radius for height
• e.g. Bitmap Oval 5 10 50 60 oval centres at x=50 and y=60, xradius = 5 and y radius = 10

Bitmap Polygon x y radius nSides startDegree

• Draws an polygon centered at x,y and radius as defined. It has nSides sides (e.g.triangle is 3 and pentagon is 5), and the first point is at startDegree (0 is at 3 O'clock and the angle increases clockwise
• e.g. Bitmap Polygon 50 60 20 5 270 a pentagon centered at x=50 and y=60, a radius of 20 pixels, 5 sides with the first point pointing upwards (270 degrees)

Bitmap Dot radius x y

• Dots are used to plot data points in a two dimensional bitmap. A number of dot types are available (see below).
• The dot is centered on x,y coordinate, with the defined radius. Examples of standard dots are
  • Bitmap circle 5 10 20
  • Bitmap square 5 10 20
  • Bitmap diamond 5 10 20
  • Bitmap UTriangle 5 10 20
  • Bitmap DTriangle 5 10 20
  • Bitmap LTriangle 5 10 20
  • Bitmap RTriangle 5 10 20
  • Bitmap plus 5 10 20
  • Bitmap cross 5 10 20

Bitmap HText halign valign x y text

• Draws horizontal text at pixels coordinate x y
• halign= horizontal alignment 0=left 1=center 2 = right
• valign= vertical alignment 0=top 1=middle 2=bottom
• text a single word using underscore _ for space
• e.g. Bitmap HText 0 0 10 10 Hello_there

Bitmap VText halign valign x y text

• Draws vertical text (horizontal text rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise at pixels coordinate x y
• halign= horizontal alignment 0=left 1=center 2 = right
• valign= vertical alignment 0=top 1=middle 2=bottom
• text a single word using underscore _ for space
• e.g. Bitmap VText 0 0 10 10 Hello_there

Bitmap HLabel label d

• Places a single word heading label (with underscore _ for gaps) in the center of the bitmap d pixels from the top of the bitmap
• e.g. Bitmap HLabel My_Picture 10

Bitmap Wedge x y radius shift startAngle FinishAngle txt

• Places a wedge on the bitmap.
• x y = pixel coordinate of centre of wedge circle
• radius = radius of wedge circle
• shift = number of pixel the whole wedge is shifted centrifugally
• Start and end angles are degrees (0-360) going anticloclwise from 0 at 3 O'clock
• txt is text to put inside the wedge. It can be left out, resulting in no labelling of the wedge
• e.g. Bitmap Wedge 200 200 100 10 90 180 A_Big_Wedge

Format
Formatting macros defines size and color of the output elements. Once declared, all subsequent drawings will conform to the format until ist is changed. Formatting comes under the 3 Macro beginnings of Line, Fill, and Font

Line Color red green blue alpha

• Defines the color of lines drawn and text output. The 4 color values are from 0 to 255,
• The default value for Alpha is 255 (full color no transparency) if it is not stated
• e.g. Line Color 255 0 0 255 is the same as Line Color 255 0 0, solid red lines and fonts
• The default line and font color is black non-transparent (0 0 0 255)

Line Thick p

• Defines the width or thickness of lines p = thickness in number of pixels
• e.g. Line Thick 3
• The default line thickness is 1 pixel

Fill Color red green blue alpha

• Defines the filling or background color of circles, bars, etc. The 4 color values are from 0 to 255,
• The default value for Alpha is 255 (full color no transparency) if it is not stated
• e.g. Fill Color 255 0 0 255 is the same as Fill Color 255 0 0
• The default fill color is white non-transparent (255 255 255 255)

Font Type v

• Defines the font to use for text output
• v can be one of the 4 standard fonts
  • 0=arial(sans serif)
  • 1=times(serif)
  • 2=cour(monospaced)
  • 3=verdana (Serif)
• The default font type is Verdana

Font Style s

• Defines the font style, where 0=normal, 1=bold
• e.g. Font Style 1
• The default font style is 0 (normal)

Font Size h

• Defines the font size, height in pixels
• e.g. Font Size 16
• The default font size is 14

Font Color red green blue alpha Calling Font Color results in the same as calling Line Color

0 0 0 #000000	0 0 63 #00003f	0 0 127 #00007f	0 0 191 #0000bf	0 0 255 #0000ff
0 63 0 #003f00	0 63 63 #003f3f	0 63 127 #003f7f	0 63 191 #003fbf	0 63 255 #003fff
0 127 0 #007f00	0 127 63 #007f3f	0 127 127 #007f7f	0 127 191 #007fbf	0 127 255 #007fff
0 191 0 #00bf00	0 191 63 #00bf3f	0 191 127 #00bf7f	0 191 191 #00bfbf	0 191 255 #00bfff
0 255 0 #00ff00	0 255 63 #00ff3f	0 255 127 #00ff7f	0 255 191 #00ffbf	0 255 255 #00ffff
63 0 0 #3f0000	63 0 63 #3f003f	63 0 127 #3f007f	63 0 191 #3f00bf	63 0 255 #3f00ff
63 63 0 #3f3f00	63 63 63 #3f3f3f	63 63 127 #3f3f7f	63 63 191 #3f3fbf	63 63 255 #3f3fff
63 127 0 #3f7f00	63 127 63 #3f7f3f	63 127 127 #3f7f7f	63 127 191 #3f7fbf	63 127 255 #3f7fff
63 191 0 #3fbf00	63 191 63 #3fbf3f	63 191 127 #3fbf7f	63 191 191 #3fbfbf	63 191 255 #3fbfff
63 255 0 #3fff00	63 255 63 #3fff3f	63 255 127 #3fff7f	63 255 191 #3fffbf	63 255 255 #3fffff
127 0 0 #7f0000	127 0 63 #7f003f	127 0 127 #7f007f	127 0 191 #7f00bf	127 0 255 #7f00ff
127 63 0 #7f3f00	127 63 63 #7f3f3f	127 63 127 #7f3f7f	127 63 191 #7f3fbf	127 63 255 #7f3fff
127 127 0 #7f7f00	127 127 63 #7f7f3f	127 127 127 #7f7f7f	127 127 191 #7f7fbf	127 127 255 #7f7fff
127 191 0 #7fbf00	127 191 63 #7fbf3f	127 191 127 #7fbf7f	127 191 191 #7fbfbf	127 191 255 #7fbfff
127 255 0 #7fff00	127 255 63 #7fff3f	127 255 127 #7fff7f	127 255 191 #7fffbf	127 255 255 #7fffff
191 0 0 #bf0000	191 0 63 #bf003f	191 0 127 #bf007f	191 0 191 #bf00bf	191 0 255 #bf00ff
191 63 0 #bf3f00	191 63 63 #bf3f3f	191 63 127 #bf3f7f	191 63 191 #bf3fbf	191 63 255 #bf3fff
191 127 0 #bf7f00	191 127 63 #bf7f3f	191 127 127 #bf7f7f	191 127 191 #bf7fbf	191 127 255 #bf7fff
191 191 0 #bfbf00	191 191 63 #bfbf3f	191 191 127 #bfbf7f	191 191 191 #bfbfbf	191 191 255 #bfbfff
191 255 0 #bfff00	191 255 63 #bfff3f	191 255 127 #bfff7f	191 255 191 #bfffbf	191 255 255 #bfffff
255 0 0 #ff0000	255 0 63 #ff003f	255 0 127 #ff007f	255 0 191 #ff00bf	255 0 255 #ff00ff
255 63 0 #ff3f00	255 63 63 #ff3f3f	255 63 127 #ff3f7f	255 63 191 #ff3fbf	255 63 255 #ff3fff
255 127 0 #ff7f00	255 127 63 #ff7f3f	255 127 127 #ff7f7f	255 127 191 #ff7fbf	255 127 255 #ff7fff
255 191 0 #ffbf00	255 191 63 #ffbf3f	255 191 127 #ffbf7f	255 191 191 #ffbfbf	255 191 255 #ffbfff
255 255 0 #ffff00	255 255 63 #ffff3f	255 255 127 #ffff7f	255 255 191 #ffffbf	255 255 255 #ffffff

Table of colors used on this web site

255 255 255 #ffffff	224 224 224 #e0e0e0	128 128 128 #808080	128 0 0 #800000	255 0 0 #ff0000
96 48 96 #603060	48 16 64 #301040	96 96 160 #6060a0	160 160 96 #a0a060	160 160 0 #a0a000
153 191 164 #99bfa4	160 160 96 #a0a060	97 24 0 #611800	204 63 200 #cc3fc8	224 224 224 #e0e0e0

Patterns of complementary colors

A	105 93 70 #695d46	255 113 44 #ff712c	207 194 145 #cfc291	161 232 217 #a1e8d9	255 246 197 #fff6c5
B	115 0 70 #730046	201 60 0 #c93c00	232 136 1 #e88801	255 194 0 #ffc200	191 187 17 #bfbb11
C	97 24 0 #611800	140 115 39 #8c7327	71 164 41 #47a429	153 191 164 #99bfa4	242 239 189 #f2efbd
D	20 87 110 #14576e	140 33 90 #8c215a	230 133 38 #e68526	195 102 163 #c366a3	242 207 242 #f2cff2
E	64 1 1 #400101	48 115 103 #307367	96 166 133 #60a685	242 236 145 #f2ec91	229 249 186 #e5f9ba
F	55 89 21 #375915	166 60 60 #a63c3c	115 108 73 #736c49	166 157 129 #a69d81	242 224 201 #f2e0c9
G	115 36 94 #73245e	166 69 33 #a64521	217 182 78 #d9b64e	242 218 145 #f2da91	242 242 242 #f2f2f2
H	255 77 0 #ff4d00	102 87 71 #665747	125 179 0 #7db300	153 138 122 #998a7a	217 195 98 #d9c362
I	128 0 38 #800026	128 128 83 #808053	92 153 122 #5c997a	163 204 143 #a3cc8f	255 230 153 #ffe699

Bitmap produced by MacroPlot on the web page can be harvested in the same manner as any other bitmap attached to a web page, by right clicking the mouse over the bitmap, and choose copy to clipboard or save picture as file.

Alternatively, the bitmap can be harvested by using screen capture facilities of the computer.

• If the computer is a Windows based PC, then pushing the Prnt Scrn button on the keyboard near the top right corner will capture the desk top screen as a bitmap to the clipboard.
• In some Window based computers, such as the Microsoft Suface, no print screen button is provided. Users will need to consult the technical manuals for the protocol of screen capture. For example, for the Surface, it is ctrl+Fn+spacebar
• If the computer is the Mac from Apple, the desktop can be saved as a bitmap file (.png) on clicking Command+Shift+3. The file can then be opened in a graphic editor and edited. Alternatively, clicking Command+Shift+4 will initiate a cursor, which is used to mark the portion of the screen to be saved as a file. In both cases, the .png file is saved under desktop, and the file icon displayed on the screen.

There are incompatibilities between web browsers and desk top programs such as Microsoft Office, in that any alpha value (governing transparency of colors) that is not the maximum of 255 will appear black when the bitmap is transferred using the clipboard. To get around this problem, users should use one of the following strategies is they create bitmaps with transparency controls.

• Right click on the bitmap, and save it as a file, then import that file from the desk top program such as Powerpoint. The image will from then on have no problems.
• Use the default alpha value of 255 for all colors, then transfer the image via clipboard to the desk top program. Use the transparency tools of the desk top program to modify the bitmap.

Initially, StatTools produces its graphic as a bitmap, of the .png type. This works well for web pages and slides, but is problematical for printouts and publications, as the graphic distorts when the size changes.

On the suggestions of users therefore, a vector graphic capability is included.

Macroplot converts each macro into a VBA plotting code, organized into a number of subroutines, and these can be copied and pasted into the macro editor in PowerPoint. When these macros are run, the plot is reproduced as a Vector Graphic bitmap in Powerpoint, which can be modified, copied, and handled as any other bitmap in Powerpoint.

Visual Basic Macros and Powerpoint

This section is for those not familiar with using VBA macros with Powerpoint.

Microsoft Office provides a facility that allows short programs, known as macros, written in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), to run in the background. The intension is to reduce tedious and repetitive tasks to a keystroke.

As a large library of subroutine is provided for this purpose, this macros facility is a very powerful tool, and many commercial software are written for Office documents using macros.

Although the major part of the library can be used for all Office documents, some are more specific. Users should therefore be aware that the macros produced by MacroPlot are specific for PowerPoint.

For those unfamiliar with using macros on PowerPoint, there are many web pages and tutorials on the Internet to help them. Microsoft has also provided documentations, and the ones I found most useful in my development of this program are in the link section.

However, to use the codes provided by MacroPlot, all the user needs to do is to open the macros editor, paste the codes in, and click run.

Different versions of PowerPoint

The macros are tested on the 2007 and 2010 versions of PowerPoint. The codes work on both these version except the pie chart, which will not work on the 2007 version, because the auto shaped pie is named differently and is stored in the Office directory, so calling for it in the program will flag an error.

The macro editor is in different spots also. For the 2007 version, it can be found on the menu bar Tools→macros. For the 2010 version, the macros button is on the view panel.

Security, Permission and File names

Hackers have targeted Microsoft Office, hiding their malicious codes as macros. Consequently, in the more recent versions of Office, the macros utility is blocked by default, files containing macros have to have a specific appendix before macros can be saved, and users need to switch the block off at the computer level before macro containing files can be opened.

Consequently, there are dire warnings everywhere, and complicated procedures explained, whenever the macro editor is switched on.

Fortunately, none of these applied to using macros produced by MacroPlot, as Powerpoint is opened without macros, the macros are pasted into the editor and run in the debugging mode, and macros are not saved when PowerPoint closes.

In other words, other than looking at the macros (which are texts) to make sure there are no malicious codes attached, users can ignore all the security issues raised by Office. If the macros need to be saved, save it as a text file, separate from Powerpoint.

VBA produced by MacroPlot

The intension of the program is to produce VBA macros which can be copied in whole, pasted into the macros editor of PowerPoint, produce the graphics in PowerPoint, then deleted. It is therefore essential that the volume of code be reduced to the absolute minimum to make the whole process easier. Whenever possible therefore abbreviations are used.

For most users, there is no need to understand the codes produced, as the primary purpose is to duplicate the graphics in PowerPoint

For those who wishes to reuse the macros, or to tweak it in some way, the following explanations of the abbreviations may be useful.

• lTh represents line thickness or weight. It is directly translated from the program where it meant the number of pixels, but in Powerpoint, they will be used as weights. The thickness of the lines are therefore similar but not exactly the same.
• lCl represents line color, and is usually set as RGB(red, green, blue) from 0 to 255. Please note transparency is not set here.
• lTp represents line type. As StatTools uses only solid lines, the default is msoLineSolid. For those who wishes to tweak this manually, the following are available. msoLineSolid msoLineRoundDot msoLineSquareDot msoLineDash msoLineDashDot msoLineLongDash msoLineLongDashDot msoLineDashDotDot
• foSz represents font size in points
• foNm represents font name. StatTools uses only 4 fonts, Arial and Verdana, both non serif, Times which is serif, courier which is monospaced. Verdana is used as the default. Users may substitute any font name that is available in their copy of PowerPoint
• foCl represents font color, and is usually set as RGB(red, green, blue) from 0 to 255.
• foSt represents font style, 0 for normal and 1 for bold. Currently italics and underlines are not supported.
• fiCl represents fill color, and is usually set as RGB(red, green, blue) from 0 to 255.
• fiTp represents fill type, 0 for transparent and 1 for solid. Whenever a fill color is set, the program switches fiTp to 1 (solid), and to set fill to transparent the command fitp = 0 is needed. Currently patterns and shading are not supported.

MacroPlot also produces the following supportive subroutines, which are included in each set of macros.

• Sub ASh(shapeType, x, y, w, h) adds a shape on the slide. x and y represents the left top corner of the shape, w and h represents the width and height. Colors, lines and fill are as defined by module level variables. This command will place any of the msoAutoShape available in Powerpoint on the screen, and the reference for a large (but not complete) list are in Microsoft reference page. The shapes used by MacroPlot are msoShapeOval msoShapeRectangle msoShapeDiamond msoShapeIsoscelesTriangle and msoShapePie
• Sub ALn(x1, y1, x2, y2) adds a line on the slide from x1 y1 to x2 y2. Characteristics of the line is as defined in module level variables.
• Sub DTx(ort, hA, vA, x, y, txt) draws a text string on the slide.
  • ort is orientation, 0 for horizontal and 1 vertical.
  • hA is horizontal alignment, 0 on the left, 1 middle, and 2 right.
  • vA is vertical alignment, 0 top, 1 middle, and 2 bottom.
  • x and y the coordinate the text is aligned to.
  • txt is the text to draw.
  • Font characteristics are as defined by module level variables.
• Sub DWg(l,t,w,h,a1,a2) draws a pie on the slide, and is used to draw pie charts.
  • l and t are left and top of the circle of which the pie is a part,
  • w and h are width and height of that circle and should be the same in a circular pie.
  • a1 and a2 are angles (in degrees) of the start and end of the pie.
  • Line and fill characteristics are as defined by module level variables.
• sub DoPlot() is the main or controlling subroutine at the beginning of the editing box. It sets the default parameters represented by the module level variables.
  • For lines, it sets line thickness to 1, color to black, and type solid.
  • For font it sets name to Verdana, size to 18, color to black, and type to normal.
  • For fill it sets color to white and transparent.
  • The remainder of this subroutine consists of resetting the parameters, and calling one of the 4 drawing subroutines. The exceptions are curves, polynomial and normal, where the curve is drawn as a series of short lines, the coordinates of which are calculated on the run.

Links to useful VBA references

Getting Started with VBA in Office

PowerPoint Object Model Reference

MsoAutoShapeType Enumeration