Favourite plotting software

[Eric_T]

May I suggest the LaPrint script for Matlab:
http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentr...bjectType=file
It converts your Matlab plot to an eps-file with all the numbers and text replaced by psfrags elements, and a tex-file which contains all the actual data.
That means that this will be passed through your latex compiler, and you will get the same font and size as in the rest of your document. That way you get a very consistent looking article. You can also edit the labels and ticks after you've saved the plot. I've used it for several of my publications. Nowadays I mostly use Tecplot for my plotting, since it's more flexible. However, I still use "tricks" to get labels and such passed through the latex compiler.

[ahmatti]

I think MATLAB does a bad job when plotting on log-log scale especially with the grid lines on (How do I make the grid lines solid instead of dotted!!). But you are right, hideous is a relative term. Also the default font is too thin and looks bad when compared to any TeX font. All this might just be my fault as I might not have explored all the options available in MATLAB (I will try to tinker around with all the graph options). I was just looking at alternative options out there. I have a very limited experience with gnuplot but will give it a try again. Thanks for all the help

Formatting the graphs has become much easier in Matlab since version 7, I really recommend exploring the options. I really like matlabs "export setup" feature, where you can set the resolution, figure size, fonts, line widths etc. for the whole figure And you can save the options too, I have saved the settings for different journals for fast access...

There also an option in Matlab to use latex interpreter for the text in figures that you may want to try!

As for the grid lines: Right click axis -> choose "Show propery editor" -> from property editor choose "More properties" -> Look for "Gridlinestyle". Or do it from the command line (see matlab help).

[ahmatti]

May I suggest the LaPrint script for Matlab:
http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentr...bjectType=file
It converts your Matlab plot to an eps-file with all the numbers and text replaced by psfrags elements, and a tex-file which contains all the actual data.
That means that this will be passed through your latex compiler, and you will get the same font and size as in the rest of your document. That way you get a very consistent looking article. You can also edit the labels and ticks after you've saved the plot. I've used it for several of my publications. Nowadays I mostly use Tecplot for my plotting, since it's more flexible. However, I still use "tricks" to get labels and such passed through the latex compiler.

Thanks for the tip ! This makes Matlabs output even better... I don't think (?) there is an option in Matlab to use Latex formatting for tick numbers... Otherwise Matlabs latex interpreter does the same thing.

[pillu]

May I suggest the LaPrint script for Matlab:
http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentr...bjectType=file
It converts your Matlab plot to an eps-file with all the numbers and text replaced by psfrags elements, and a tex-file which contains all the actual data.
That means that this will be passed through your latex compiler, and you will get the same font and size as in the rest of your document. That way you get a very consistent looking article. You can also edit the labels and ticks after you've saved the plot. I've used it for several of my publications. Nowadays I mostly use Tecplot for my plotting, since it's more flexible. However, I still use "tricks" to get labels and such passed through the latex compiler.

Thanks Eric...LaPrint looks very good....now I have got one more thing to tinker around with...Yay!!

pillu