"hyper" PS_FORM

[Craig Markwardt <craigm(at)cow.physics.wisc.edu>]

The sample programs provided by David Fanning at 

http://www.dfanning.com/documents/programs.html

contain a wealth of good ideas.  In fact, I use XWINDOW, TVIMAGE and
PS_FORM daily to do most of my graphics output.  Thanks David!

One thing I had always wished for was a version of the PS_FORM
function that could be customized with different plot layouts and
paper sizes.  I found myself wanting to make a series of plots with
the same margins and layout.  I also suspect that many European IDL
users would like a PS_FORM that understands metric paper sizes.  So, I
set to work to update PS_FORM.

I am pleased to announce my own version of PS_FORM, available from the
web, which I am distributing with David Fanning's permission.  My
version was designed for use with IDL 4, but it has been tested
cursorily on IDL 5 by Fanning.  You will find it at

http://astrog.physics.wisc.edu/~craigm/idl/idl.html

Although it retains its ancestral ties to PS_FORM, much of the program
is new, and David Fanning can't be responsible for it.  This is pretty
much my own work here.  Please let me know if it helps you out.

Craig

>From the web page:
------------------
PS_FORM.PRO 

Originally by David Fanning, this function creates a printer setup
dialog that can be used when sending output to a Postscript
printer. The user interactively selects the desired attributes of the
Postscript output, such as color and size. The return value of the
function is a structure which can be sent to the DEVICE command. David
Fanning's other superb graphics programs use this function to set up
Postscript printers.

This version is significantly enhanced from Fanning's original, but is
still a drop-in replacement. New features:

 * Selection of paper size, including A4 and a myriad of other eurometric
   paper dimensions. Please test this for me, since our printers are
   exclusively US Letter size here.

 * Custom plot layouts, selectable by dropbox. This is a great way to
   ensure that every plot comes out with standard margins. Several of my
   favorite layouts are included as the default, but you can include your
   own by declaring a common block. The technique is documented under
   "COMMON BLOCKS" at the head of the program file.

 * Streamlined internal operations. The program file is quite a bit
   shorter than the original.


-- 
------------------------------------
Craig Markwardt, Ph.D.              
EMAIL: craigm@lheamail.gsfc.nasa.gov 
------------------------------------