STRC · NAWIPS FAQ

NAWIPS FAQ

Q: How can I create multi-panel plots for viewing in NTRANS? A little bit of history...we, here in the trenches, run an AFOS procedure to display model parameters from the ETA,NGM and AVN at an AFOS AGGG. This is very helpful is deciding on which model is performing best and we can see all 3 model solutions side by side. I'm essentially trying to do the same thing using a GEMPAK script.

A: Multi-panel plots in NTRANS can be created two ways, by running GDPLOT (or any GEMPAK program) multiple times with CLEAR=NO, or they can be constructed on the fly by the NTRANS interface itself.

To construct multi-panel panel plots in the NTRANS interface:

  1. Select a model, file, and group
  2. Press the Valid Time "Set" button
  3. Pick the panel structure of choice
  4. Load the graphics in whichever panel you'd like
  5. Pick next model, file, group
  6. Load the graphics in whichever panel you'd like
  7. Repeat steps 5 & 6 until you've filled all the panels
You'll notice that when the frames are loading, the valid times are being synchronized so that you can compare the panels directly.
In some cases, however, you want a pre-generated multi-panel plot. For example, if you always look at the same graphics in multi-panel, or if it's important to see the graphic quickly (no time to press all those buttons listed above), a pre-generated multi-panel plot is better. To construct a multi-panel plot comparing 500mb hghts for the Eta, AVN, and NGM models, here's what you need to do: 


	$GEMEXE/gdplot << EOF
	
	GDFILE=97010800_eta.gem
	GFUNC=HGHT
	PANEL=UR
	CLEAR=YES
	...
	run
	
	GDFILE=97010800_ngm.gem
	PANEL=UL
	CLEAR=NO
	run
	
	GDFILE=97010800_avn.gem
	PANEL=LL
	run
	
	exit
	EOF
	$GEMEXE/gpend

Note how only the first (Eta) run of the program must specify all the variables. The subsequent runs only have to specify CLEAR=NO and the PANEL location. If you intend to create other graphics after this multi-panel plot, be sure to turn PANEL back to "0" (which means "fill the screen"), and CLEAR=YES.

Q: Is there a way to change the size of the 'Select Model' and 'Select Group' boxes in NTRANS? You can't read the name of the meta_files in the 'Select Model' box.

A: You can change the size of these windows by adding two lines to the NTRANS resource file. The file is $NAWIPS/resource/Ntrans2, and the two lines are:

Ntrans2*group_list.width: 400 Ntrans2*model_list.width: 400

where "400" is the width in pixels. You'll have to experiment with this until you get the size wide enough. I recommend that you place these lines in the "group selection" and "model selection panel" sections of the Ntrans2 file, respectively. I also recommend that you make and keep a copy of the original Ntrans2 file, before you make any changes.

Q: Is it possible to get the high-resolution county maps on my gempak generated plots like I can get with GARP?

A: Not only is it possible, but it's quite easy. You can select any alternate GEMPAK map by using the GEMPAK variable $MAPFIL. For example:

$MAPFIL=hicnus.gsf

gives you the high resolution county map. The following

$MAPFIL=hipowo.cia

gives you back the default map. Don't forget to set the map back to the default value after using an alternate map.

If you use this in a script, be sure to escape the leading "$":

\$MAPFIL=hicnus.gsf

There are a variety of GEMPAK maps, including rivers, roads, islands county warning areas, RFCs etc. See the $MAPFIL help file for more details (Chapter 3 in manual, or "phelp mapfil" at any GEMPAK prompt).