Tools for bulk editing and updating Grapher™ files and generating resulting products.
These are scripts for automating common updates related to creating and modifying graph figures through the Grapher™ program.
Included here are scripts for doing common bulk updates. Example use case: Data in some spreadsheet is updated. This allows for regenerating a series of PDFs descended from that, assuming no changes to the Grapher™ file (.grf) are needed. Another common task is that figures need to be renumbered both in the file name and on the figure (which can be time intensive), included is a script that bulk updates figure text.
To use, Golden Software's Grapher™ installation is required. Grapher™ comes with an included script execution/automation platform "Scripter". This is also required and may require some additional configuration to set up.
Operating System is expected to be Windows. However, no other library requirements are currently identified.
General usage on these scripts is to place it in the directory with Grapher™ files (.grf) in question, and then execute through the Scripter interface. Scripter should open up Grapher™ then iterate through all of the grapher files in the directory and execute the requested commmand.
Warning Grapher™ files (.grf) are in some ways like a HTML file in that they are a description of how data (and sometimes images) should be displayed, however acutal data, etc. exist in other linked files (e.g. Microsoft Excel files). Depending on how things are organized, these linked files could be located anywhere (even on different volumes).
Best Practices are that all of the files required for a .grf are located in the same directory or a subdirectory. Additionally (as of 2021) for maxium backwards compatablity, linked images should not be used, rather images should be inserted into the file as Image Metafiles.
With the default settings, this will go through and generate Vector PDFs for each .grf file in the directory it is in.
By default this supports vector PDFs in letter size (8.5 inches x 11 inches).
Commented out code also includes support for:
- Ledger size (11 in x 17 in) vector PDF
- PNG images
Also commented out code provides example of text that would provide auto-timestamp.
With the default settings, this will go through and modify the figure number text so that it matches the filename of the file. Makes it easier to reorder a series of files.
To work, the figure text must be in a specific location (file.Shapes.Item(1).Shapes.Item(5)) in Grapher "Object Manager". Grapher™ counts from the bottom up, so it must be in a group located at the bottom (item 1), and it must be the 5th item from the bottom in that group (item 5).
Note some of the PDF tools are designed to add the figure text automatically.
Miles McCammon - milesm@stetsonengineers.com Project Link: https://github.com/stetson-engineers/grapher_scripter_tools
The need for this was originally developed in 2014 for the need to rapidly update PNG files as part of a chain to support and rapidly update the Camp Pendleton Groundwater Monitoring Program (GWMP) Binder.