Support graphic file of PloView series Update
Apr. 26, 2019 
Support graphic file of PloView series
  This homepage explains the following graphic files supported by PloView series products.
HP-GL, HP-GL/2, HP RTL, PDF, DXF, DWG, GERBER, NC-Drill, IGES, SXF, TIFF, JPEG, BITMAP, EMF, PCX, FPX, PNG, GIF
Index
About HPGL
Creation method of HPGL file
HPGL file to which PloView series supportsL
Image file to which PloView series supports
PDF file to which PloView series supports
DXF and DWG file to which PloView series supports
GERBER file to which PloView series supports
GERBER configuration file of PloView series products
Special shape aperture registration of RS-274X parameter
NC-Drill file to which PloView series supports
NC-Drill configuration file of PloView series products
IGES file to which PloView series supports
SXF file to which PloView series supports
Drawing area when reading files of PloView series products
Contact us
  About HPGL
  HP-GL is the command set of the plotter control that is the abbreviation of Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language and was developed with the HP company. We can instruct various actions to the plotter from the computer with the combination of the alphabets of only 2 letters, to picture the diagram by this command set. Many computer aided design systems are supporting the plotter output in this HP-GL command set. Also, many measuring device are supporting the function that outputs the measurement data with the HP-GL command set.
HP-GL has three specifications, HP-GL, HP-GL/2, and HP RTL.
  HP-GL  : Vector data for pen plotter control
  HP-GL/2: Vector data for raster plotter control
  HP RTL : Raster image data for raster plotter control
HP-GL/2 have added many functions to HP-GL released first.
HP RTL is instruction set of raster image data in abbreviated name of HP's Raster Transfer Language. HP RTL is included in HP-GL data. There are the following data compression modes.
　row-base unencoded
　run-length encoding
　TIFF rev.4.0 Packbits encoding,seed-row encoding
　block-based unencoded
　adaptive encoding
　CCITT group3 1-dimensional encoding
　CCITT group3 2-dimensional encoding
　CCITT group4 encoding
Please refer to "The Hp-Gl/2 and Hp Rtl Reference Guide: A Handbook for Program Developers" of HP issue for details.

- HP-GL/2 and HP RTL Reference Guide : PDF file(3.7MB)
- Reference Guide of HP-GL (outline)
     What is HPGL

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Creation method of HPGL file
Some creation methods of the typical HP-GL file are shown.
In addition, the word "CAD" currently used here says the application which outputs HP-GL, and says CAD software, word-processing software such as WORD, drawing software, etc.
How to create an HP-GL file
1. Direct Output
CAD and the measuring instrument with HP-GL output function can carry out the direct output of the HP-GL file. Since the HP-GL output method changes with each CAD and measuring instruments, refer to each operations manual for it.
2. Windows Printer Driver Output
Install the printer driver which outputs HP-GL by "Add printer" of Windows. In addition, set the output destination to the file. HP-GL file can be outputted if it outputs to this printer driver by CAD. HP-GL output is possible for all the Windows applications in which printer output is possible. In AutoCAD, this driver is called Windows system driver and the device outputted from this driver is called the printer.

<Windows printer driver>
The Windows printer driver that language is HP-GL/HP-RTL in the printer or plotter specification list at the homepage of the printer or plotter maker corresponds. Generally these drivers are prepared for OS of Windows (a list is displayed by addition of the printer of Windows). Downloading from the homepage of the printer or plotter maker is also possible. As a result of investigating on our side, the printer driver which can perform the HP-GL output of the main printers and plotter makers is as follows.
Input(CAD data) Line Surface Text Image
Output(HP-GL data)   Line   Image Surface  Image Surface   Text    Image  Image
Maker, Driver name                
HP DesignJet 1050C by HP A B A B - - A A
HP DesignJet 500 42+HPGL Card A - A - - - A A
Oce TCS400 Color A B A B - - A A
MUTOH RJ-850C A B A B - A A A
MUTOH RJ-301C A B A B - - A A
SII LS-3310(C2 VR) A A A A A - A A
SII LS-2165(C2 VR) Monochrome A A A A A - A A
SII IP-3010 A - A - - - A A
Zerox 4024-2 Monochrome A A B B A - A A
RICHO IPSio CX9000 RP-GL/2 A - A - A A A A
Note :
A: Use is possible.
B: In HPGL viewer, it is hard to use.
-: Data does not come out.

<The Windows printer driver installation method>
The printer driver is installed by operation of addition of the printer of Windows OS. Please choose File by selection of the port of the printer then.

<From CAD to the HP-GL file output method>
Start CAD and "Print" or a "Printer setting" menu is chosen, "Print" dialog will come out. Chose the printer driver name installed here. By pressing the "Property" button, you can set various HP-GL output conditions such as HP-GL file name.
3. Printer Driver Output Only for CAD
The special HP-GL output printer driver is installed in specific CAD. HP-GL file can be outputted if it outputs to this driver in CAD. It is a part of CAD, such as AutoCAD, that this driver is prepared. In AutoCAD, this driver is called non-system driver and the device outputted from this driver is called the plotter. The non-system driver of AutoCAD is called an ADI driver by R14J and LT98, and is called the HDI driver by AutoCAD after it.

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HPGL file to which PloView series supports
1.Input
Formats of HP-GL file are HP-GL and HP-GL/2 of vector data, and HP RTL (H.P.'s Raster Transfer language) of image data. HP-GL, HP-GL/2 accept the following commands. Other commands are ignored.

PA,PR,PD,PU,PW,PS,PB,PT,PM,PC,PE,PG,SP,SC,SI,SR,SU,SL,SS,SA,SM,SD,
AA,AR,AD,AT,AF,AH,CI,CP,CT,CR,CS,CA,IP,IR,IN,IW,LB,LO,LT,LA,LM,DT,
DI,DR,DU,DF,DV,ES,EA,EP,ER,EW,BL,BP,BR,BZ,RA,RR,RO,RF,RT,FT,FP,WG,
UC,MG,MC,NR,TR,TL,XT,XA,YT,YA,GR,FR,UL,DL,AC

XY is the integer of 0.025mm unit and the coordinate system is maximum of +-2,147,483,647(+-53,687,091mm), when not having applied the scaling.
An integer or the real number can be used by the user coordinate system using IP and SC command.
The default of the extension of the file name is .HGL.
When one HP-GL file is constituted from IN (initialization) command by two or more drawings, the mode which displays those drawings in piles, and the mode which changes and displays the page of the drawing can be chosen.

The change command of the letter font that pictures it with the LB command is as follows.
(1) SD, AD, CS, and CA command define standard letters set and alternative character set.
(2) If it is defined as 1611, 1643 at Character set, or 80,152,153 at Typeface by SD and AD command, it will become 2 bytes of JIS code Japanese. Moreover, if it is defined as 101 by CS and CA command, it will become 2 bytes of JIS code Japanese. If other Typeface is defined, it will become 1 byte of ASCII character.
(3) Font to be used can be specified with set menu, respectively.
(4) Can be change a standard letter and alternate letter with SS, SA command.
(5) By inserting CHR $ (15) shift-in or CHR $ (14) shift-out in the middle of the character string of the LB instruction, you can switch between standard characters and substitute characters like SS and SA commands.

Opening compressed file of LZH or ZIP format directly enables.
However, please obtain separately the decompressing archiver DLL (UNLHA32.DLL for LZH format, UNZIP32.DLL for ZIP format). And it is necessary to put it in "\ Windows\System32" folder for 64 Bit OS and "\Windows\SysWOW64" folder for 32 Bit OS.

2. Output
Output supports to HP-GL, HP-GL/2, and HP RTL.
HP-GL specification of data outputted with plotter parameter can be selected from the next three kinds.
  - HP-GL
  - HP-GL/2
  - HP-GL/2+HP RTL

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  Image file to which PloView series supports
 
The format of image file which can be read is described below.
Bit/Pixel 1 4 4 8 8 16 24 32
File format Colors   B/W   Color  Gray   Color  Gray    Color  Color  Color
Windows BMP/DIB * * * * * * * *
Windows BMP/DIB(RLE4)   * *          
Windows BMP/DIB(RLE8)       * *      
FPX(Basic function）         *   *  
GIF * * * * *      
JPEG         *   *  
JPEG2000         *   *  
PCX * * * * *   *  
PNG * * * * *   *  
TIFF/ Un-compressing * * * * * * * *
TIFF/CCITTRLE *              
TIFF/GROUP3-1D *              
TIFF/GROUP3-2D *              
TIFF/GROUP4 *              
TIFF/PACKBITS * * * * * * * *
TIFF/LZW * * * * * * * *

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PDF file to which PloView series supports
PDF (Portable Document Format) file of Adobe Systems Incorporated can be opened.
Extension must be ".pdf."
When reading the PDF file, it converts it to HP-GL/2+HP RTL and displays it.
Refer to the following HP for details of PDF specification.
 PDF Specification

Limitation 1:
Password-locked PDF files cannot be read by PloView series products.
There are many paid and free softwares that reads PDF files with password and converts them into PDF files with unlocked password.
There are also softwares that can convert many PDF files at once or convert them on the command line.
Use these software to create PDF files with the password unlocked in advance, and then open it with PloView series products.

Limitation 2:
PloView, PloComp, or PloCon do not support clipping or regions of complex shapes other than rectangles.
When creating a PDF file, do not use clipping or regions with complex shapes other than rectangles, and create shapes after clipping.
If you need to read a PDF file that has complex clipping or regions, PloImage supports this, so read the PDF file with PloImage and save the file's kind as HPGL or TIFF. Then read this file with PloView, PloComp, or,PloCon. Please note that this file is an image file, so if you enlarge it, it will look rough, and you cannot edit, request, or display with changed pen information.

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DXF and DWG file to which PloView series supports
1.Reading
DXF, DWG file created by AutoCAD of AutoDesk can be opened.
When DXF, DWG file is read, it is converting and displaying on HP-GL/2+HP RTL.
Although DXF, DWG file has various versions, AC1015 (equivalent to 2000 / 2000i/2002 in AutoCAD version) is supported.
Design concept of AutoCAD is as follows.
Modeling is carried out with real dimension, and when printing, scale down is carried out at paper size.
Therefore, if DXF, DWG file is read directly, it will become general very big figure. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out scale down and to read.
DXF, DWG file does not use black pen. Moreover, since white pen is used, when background is white, it disappears.
In that case, please set the background color to other than white in "SetPen" or "Color is changed when pen color is same color as background" setting.
Image is another file and needs to exist in folder specified within DXF data, or the same folder as DXF file.
Images are ignored in DWG file.
Figure which can be read, and figure which cannot be read are shown below.
 Notes: It is necessary to install free software "ODA File Converter" in input and output of DWG file.
 Figure which can be read  figure which cannot be read
 3DFACE  3DSOLID
 ARC  ACAD_PROXY_ENTITY
 ATTDEF  BODY
 ATTRIB  MLINE
 CIRCLE  OLEFRAME
 DIMENSION  OLEFRAME
 ELLIPSE  RAY
 HATCH  REGION
 IMAGE  RTEXT
 INSERT  SHAPE
 LEADER  TOLERANCE
 LINE  VIEWPORT
 LWPOLYLINE  WIPEOUT
 MTEXT  XLINE
 POINT  
 POLYLINE  
 SOLID  
 SPLINE  
 TEXT  
 TRACE  

2.Output
The output corresponds to two kinds of old version GX-5 and new version 2002.
GX-5 is old version and has few functions, but its structure is simple so it's easy to import with CAD other than AutoCAD.
The new version of 2002 has abundant functions, but the structure is complicated so there are few CADs that can be imported by anything other than AutoCAD..

Text font:
Contents that were set up with "Set" "Text".
-When Vector Font is selected, Vector Font of PloView is used and be transformed to all the line segment data in the DXF, DWG file.
-When Windows Font is selected, next Vector Font of AutoCAD is used and be transformed to the letter data in the DXF, DWG file.
 GX-5: 1byte text is "txt", 2bytes text is "BIGFONT"
 2002: 1 byte text and 2bytes text is "MS Gothic"

Figure which can be outputted : "-" does not output in table.
   GX-5  2002
 Line

POLYLINE

LWPOLYLINE
 Circle  POLYLINE  LWPOLYLINE
 Arc

POLYLINE

LWPOLYLINE
 Text of Vector Font

POLYLINE

LWPOLYLINE
 Text of Windows Font TEXT TEXT
 Hatching BLOCK
INSERT		  HATCH
 Painting out  -  HATCH
 Image  -  IMAGE
 IW(clip)  -  

In the case of Ver.2002, if you output the image with DXF, you can create one PNG image file of "the same DXF file name + numerical value(1-). png" at the end of the file name for one image in the DXF output folder. When there are plural images, plural PNG files are made. If you pass a DXF file to another CAD, please pass this PNG file in pairs as well.
When DXF output, DWG output with GX - 5, or DWG output in Ver.2002, the image is ignored.
Refer to the following HP for details of DXF specification.
 About the DXF Format

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GERBER file to which PloView series supports
It supports to input of GERBER file.
GERBER file is used in order to print printed wiring board data designed by CAD on high precision film by photograph plotter.
When GERBER file is read, it is converting to HP-GL/2 and displaying.
GERBER format is black-and-white information, and there is much painting-out surface, and there is reversal of positive and negative.
Draw in reversal color on painting-out surface.
For PloView series products, data other than GERBER is not drawn with pen 0, but there is such a background, and in GERBER data, PloView is trying to draw black with pen 0 and white with pen 1.
When you open GERBER file by PloComp, please set up pen by Set-Pen beforehand to be shown below. Otherwise, don't display well.
- "Color is changed when pen color is same color as background" is check OFF.
- "Back Pen No." is 0.
- "Display procedure" is Momentary display 2.
Refer to "Problem about color, and solution : When two or more pile surface has become".
There are two kinds of GERBER format as follows.
・ EIA standard RS-274D format
・ RS-274X format based on "RS-274X format User's Guide" written by "c Copyright 1998 Barco Graphics, Gent, Belgium, and Barco Gerber Systems, South Windsor, CT, USA."
RS - 274D has only information about aperture selection, linear movement, arc movement, shutter ON / OFF degree.
Therefore, information such as aperture shape, absolute coordinates / relative coordinates, number of coordinate digits, coordinate zero-omit method, polarity, rotation, mirror image, scale etc. must be conveyed separately in paper.
RS-274X includes all information to it.
PloView can open both of GERBER files.
However, in RS-274D format, insufficient information is to draw.
The missing information should use initial values of PloView series products or be described in the following setting file.

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GERBER configuration file of PloView series products
- It is written in the same format as the RS-274X parameter where the first character of the line is "%" and the last character of the line is "*%".

- When letter of beginning of line is";", the line is comment line and nothing processes it.

- Specify coordinates unit as inch (it will become inch if there is no specification).
 %MOIN*%

- Specify coordinates unit as mm (it will become inch if there is no specification).
 %MOMM*%

- Next specification of coordinate values.
    Omit leading zeroes / Omit trailing zeroes
    Absolute coordinates / Relative coordinates
    Number of digits to the left of the decimal point
    Number of digits to the right of the decimal point
  general Notation: %FS<L or T><A or I><Xnm><Ynm>*%
    L : omit leading zeroes of coordinate value
        Example: 15.0mm 0015000 -- > 15000
    T : omit trailing zeroes of coordinate value
        Example: 15.0mm 0015000 -- > 0015
    A : absolute coordinate
    I : relative coordinate
    Xnm,Ynm : n is number of digits to the left of the decimal point, and
              m is number of digits to the right of the decimal point
        Example: X12.5mm X32 -- > X01250
    < > Select option or either
  Example: %FSLAX32Y32*%
    Omit leading zeroes of coordinate value, absolute coordinate,
    number of digits to the left of the decimal point is 3 and
    number of digits to the right of the decimal point is 2.
  An omission uses %FSLAX00Y00*% .

- Specification of aperture size to D-code number
  General notation: %ADD<D-code number>C, <diameter>*%
  <D-code number>: Specify D-code number (10 to 999)
  <diameter> : Specify the aperture size in the above coordinate unit
  Example : %ADD10C, 2.0*%
            Aperture of diameter 2.0 to D-code number 10.

- Refer to the following RS-274X parameter for registration method of special shape aperture.

- For other settings, refer to the RS-274X specification described in the UCAMCO company website below.
  The Gerber File Format Specification

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Special shape aperture registration of RS-274X parameter
1. General RS-274X parameter notation

%Parameter code<required modifiers>[optional modifiers]*%

Parameter code
Parameter codes are codes (AD, AM, FS, etc.) of two characters.

<required modifiers>
It is indispensable modifier.

[optional modifiers]
It is modifier described if needed.

2. AD parameter : definition of aperture
AD parameter is used in order to define shape of aperture (D code) used in RS-274 X-Files.
There are standard aperture and special aperture.
Standard aperture describes shape (circle, rectangle, Long circle, polygon) of aperture, size, painting part, and blank part to D code in AD parameter.
Special aperture associates AM (aperture macro) parameter to D code in AD parameter.
AM (aperture macro) parameter defines aperture shape, and size carries out numerical definition within AM parameter, or is set into variable modifier, and describes numerical value within AD parameter.

General AD parameter notation

%ADD<D-code number><aperture type>,<modifier>[X<modifer>]*%

<D-code number>

D code number to define (10-999)

<aperture type>

Aperture description.
In the case of standard aperture, specify any one of (C, R, O, P, and T) as <aperture type>.
In the case of special aperture, describe aperture macro name defined as <aperture type> by AM parameter.


<modifier>[X<modifer>]

Be dependent on aperture type.
Divide plural <modifier> in text of X.

2.1. Definition after <aperture type> of standard aperture

Aperture shape  Definition after <aperture type>
Circle

C,<outside diameter>[X<X-axis hole dimension>[X<Y-axis hole dimension>]]


Put diameter of outside circle into <outside diameter>.
In order to define painting-out circle, input only diameter of outside circle.
When blank circle is in painting-out circle, put diameter of blank circle into the first <X-axis hole dimension>.
When blank rectangle is in painting-out circle, put width of blank rectangle into <X-axis hole dimension>, and put height of blank rectangle into <Y-axis hole dimension>.
The central point of outer circle and center of middle blank circle and rectangle are in accord.
Example of description:
%ADD10C,.05X0.025*%
Define circle aperture which has blank circle of diameter .025 in circle outside diameter 0.05 as D code 10.
Rectangle

R,<X-axis dimension>X<Y-axis dimension>[X<X-axis hole dimension>X<Y-axis hole dimension>]

Put width of outside rectangle into <X-axis dimension>.
Put height of outside rectangle into <Y-axis dimension>.
If it is only painting-out rectangle, it is not necessary to put in parameter any more.
When putting blank circle into inside, put diameter of blank circle into <X-axis hole dimension>.
When putting blank rectangle into inside, width of blank rectangle is put into <X-axis hole dimension>, and it puts height of blank rectangle into <Y-axis hole dimension>.
The central point of outer rectangle and center of middle blank circle and rectangle are in accord.
Example of description:
%ADD22R,0.020X0.040*%
Define aperture of painting-out rectangle of width 0.02 and height 0.04 as D code 22.
Long circle 

O,<X-axis dimension>X<Y-axis dimension>[X<X-axis hole dimension>[X<Y-axis hole dimension>]]

Put width of outside Long circle into <X-axis dimension>.
Put height of outside Long circle into <Y-axis dimension>.
If it is only painting-out Long circle, it is not necessary to put in parameter any more.
When putting blank circle into inside, put diameter of blank circle into <X-axis hole dimension>.
When putting blank rectangle into inside, width of blank rectangle is put into <X-axis hole dimension>, and it puts height of blank rectangle into <Y-axis hole dimension>.
The central point of outer Long circle and center of middle blank circle and rectangle are in accord.
Example of description:
%ADD22O,0.020X0.04X0.005X0.010*%
Define Long circle aperture which has blank rectangle of width .005 and height 0.01 in Long circle outside width 0.02 and height 0.04 as D code 22.
Regular polygon

P,<outside dimension>X<number of sides>[X<degrees of rotation>[X<X-axis hole dimension>X<Y-axis hole dimension>]]

Put outside dimension into <outside dimension>.
Put the number of corners (3-12) into <number of sides>.
Put angle (degree) from the X-axis of the first direction into <degrees of rotation>.
If only painting-out regular polygon becomes, it is not necessary to put in parameter any more.
When putting blank circle into inside, put diameter of blank circle into <X-axis hole dimension>.
When putting blank rectangle into inside, width of blank rectangle is put into <X-axis hole dimension>, and it puts height of blank rectangle into <Y-axis hole dimension>.
Center of the central point of outer Long circle, middle blank circle, and rectangle is in accord.
Example of description:
%ADD17P,.030X4X0.0*%
Define regular polygon aperture which does not have blank into outside dimension .03, zero angle, and four corners as D code 17.


2.2.Definition after <aperture type> of special aperture

<aperture type>,<modifier>[X<modifer>]*%

<aperture type>

Describe aperture macro name with defined AM parameter.

<modifier> and after
Be dependent on aperture macro. Divide plural <modifier(s)> in text of X.

Example of description:
%ADD32DONUT,0.100X0X0X0.080*%
Define special aperture with defined aperture macro name DONUT of AM parameter as D code 32.
The size is 0.1, 0, 0, and 0.08.

3. AM parameter : definition of aperture macro

AM parameter is used in order to define aperture (call it special aperture) which had named.
Special aperture can make complicated-shaped aperture from putting many shape called primitive together in single aperture.
It is not necessary to set primitive with center of aperture.

AM parameter syntax rule
Like other parameters, begin in text of % and end in text of %.
Separate each primitive group by end-of-block character (usually *) within AM parameter block.
Divide modifier by comma within each primitive group.
modifier may put in 0, 1, 2, or numerical value like 9.05.
Within AM parameter, it may describe as variable modifier of $1-$n, and may describe value corresponding to it in AD parameter.
Within AM parameter, four operations and substitution can be performed between variable Modifier and numerical value.

Numbering $1 of AD parameter at the first variable, and numbering $2 of AD parameter at the 2nd variable etc. assign a number continuously from the left to the right.
When inputted instead of numerical value being variable modifier within AM parameter, variable modifier changes as follows.
For example, when numerical value is registered into the first variable, variable is set to $1 even if it is the 2nd primitive modifier.

Interpretation of each modifier changes with each primitives.

General notation of AM parameter

%AM<aperture macro name>*<primitive number>,<modifier$1>,<modifier$2>,[<...>]*[<primitive number>[<modifiers>]]*...*%

<aperture macro name>*

Aperture macro name quoted in AD parameter

<primitive number>
Primitive number identifies shape (circle, straight line, polygon, etc.).

<modifier$1>,<modifier$2>,<modifier$3>
Modifier differs in number and descriptive content by Primitive number.

Primitive of aperture macro

Primitive
number		 Shape  Modifier
 1 Circle

$1 Exposure ON/OFF 0=OFF,
   1=ON, 2=Reversed to the
   present exposure
$2 Diameter
$3 Center X coordinates
$4 Center Y coordinates
2 or 20 Straight line
(line segment designation)

$1 Exposure ON/OFF 0=OFF,
   1=ON, 2=Reversed to the
   present exposure

$2 Line width
$3 Starting point X
   coordinates
$4 Starting point Y
   coordinates
$5 End point X coordinates
$6 End point Y coordinates
$7 Angle of rotation
21 Straight line
(Central point designation)

$1 Exposure ON/OFF 0=OFF,
   1=ON, 2=Reversed to the
   present exposure

$2 rectangle width
$3 rectangle height
$4 central-point X
   coordinates
$5 central-point Y
   coordinates
$6 angle of rotation
22 Straight line
(Lower left point designation)

$1 Exposure ON/OFF 0=OFF,
   1=ON, 2=Reversed to the
   present exposure

$2 rectangle width
$3 rectangle height
$4 lower-left point X
   coordinates
$5 lower-left point Y
   coordinates
$6 angle of rotation
4 Polygon

$1 Exposure ON/OFF 0=OFF,
   1=ON, 2=Reversed to the
   present exposure

$2 The number of outside
   corners
$3 Starting point X
   coordinates
$4 Starting point Y
   coordinates
$5 1st point X coordinates
$6 1st point Y coordinates
$7 2nd point X coordinates
$8 2nd point Y coordinates
It continues to maximum number 50.
$9 or the last number
   Angle of rotation
5 Regular polygon

$1 Exposure ON/OFF 0=OFF,
   1=ON, 2=Reversed to the
   present exposure

$2 The number of polygon
   corners
$3 Central point X
   coordinates
$4 Central point Y
   coordinates
$5 Diameter
$6 Angle of rotation
6 Moire

$1 Central point X
   coordinates
$2 Central point Y
   coordinates
$3 Outside diameter
$4 Circle line width
$5 Gap length of circle
$6 The number of circles
$7 Line width of cross line
$8 The length of cross line
$9 Angle of rotation
7 Thermal

$1 Central point X
   coordinates
$2 Central point Y
   coordinates
$3 Outside diameter
$4 Inside diameter diameter
$5 Line width of cross line
$6 Angle of rotation

example 1:
%AMDONUT*1,1,$1,$2,$3*1,0,$4,$2,$3*%
Define aperture macro name DONUT containing two circles.
1,1,$1,$2,$3
Those values are described by circle (1), exposure on (1), diameter ($1), center X ($2), and center Y ($3) within AD parameter.
1,0,$4,$2,$3
Circle (1), Exposure off (0), diameter ($4, the first circle is differed from), Center X ($2) and Y ($3) use the same value as the first circle.

%ADD32DONUT,0.100X0X0X0.080*%

Define aperture macro name DONUT as D code 32.
$1 = 0.100
$2 = 0
$3 = 0
$4 = 0.080
Diameter ($1) of the first circle is 0.100.
Centers ($2, $3) of both circles are 0 and 0.
Diameter ($4) of the 2nd circle is 0.080.


example 2:

%AMDONUT*1,1,$1,$2,$3*$1=$2+0.030*1,0,$1-$4,$2,$3*%
Define aperture macro name DONUT which consists of two concentric circles.
Circle of the 1st diameter and circle of the 2nd diameter defined as a function of the center point are concentric circles.

1,1,$1,$2,$3
Circle (1), Exposure on (1), Diameter ($1) and Value of central point X and Y ($2, $3) are described within AD parameter.

$1=$2+0.030
Define variable used in order to calculate the 2nd diameter.

1,0,$1-$4,$2,$3
Circle (1), Exposure off (0), Diameter =$1-$4 and Central point X and Y ($2, $3, the same as the first circle).

%ADD33DONUT,0.020X0X0X0.014*%

Define aperture macro name DONUT as D code 33.
The 1st circle $1=0.020
$2=0
$3=0
The 2nd circle $1=$2+0.030
$4=0.014
Diameter ($1) of the first circle is 0.020.
Centers ($2, $3) of both of circles are 0 and 0.
Diameter of the 2nd circle is ($1-$4=$2+0.03-$4=0+0.030-0.014) =0.16.


example 3:

%AMDONUT*1,1,0.100X0X0*1,0,0.080X0X0*%

Define aperture macro name DONUT which consists of two concentric circles.

1,1,0.100X0X0
Circle (1), Exposure on (1), Diameter (0.100), Central point X and Y (0, 0)

1,0,0.080X0X0
Circle (1), Exposure off (0), Diameter (0.080), Central point X and Y (0, 0)

%ADD32DONUT*%

Define aperture macro name DONUT as D code 33.
Since AM parameter defines all values of modifier, there is no definition of value with AD parameter.

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NC-Drill file to which PloView series supports
In printed wiring board designed by CAD, NC-drill file is used in order to make hole by NC drilling machine of Excellon.
When NC-drill file is read, it is converting to HP-GL/2 and displaying.
To format of Excellon, when there is little header section information, it can correspond by describing to configuration file.
Command with which PloView supports is as follows.
In addition, commands other than following are ignored.

;         Comment

<<header section >>
M48       Header begins.
ICI, ON   Relative coordinate mode
ICI, OFF  Absolute coordinate mode
INCH, LZ  Coordinates unit is inch. Omit leading zeroes of coordinate value.
INCH, TZ  Coordinates unit is inch. Omit trailing zeroes of coordinate value.
METRIC[,{TZ|LZ}][,{000.000|000.00|0000.00}]
          Coordinates unit is mm,
          TZ: Omit trailing zeroes of coordinate value
          LZ: Omit leading zeroes of coordinate value
          000.000: More than decimal point is triple digits +
                    Within decimal point is triple digits
          000.00 : More than decimal point is triple digits +
                    Within decimal point is double digits
          0000.00: More than decimal point is four digits +
                    Within decimal point is double digits
          [{ }] shows option selection.
          | One of selections are shown.
T#C#      It is setup of tool diameter to tool number.
M95       End of header
%         End of header

<<body section >>
G05       Drill mode
G81       Drill mode
G90       Absolute coordinate mode
G91       Relative coordinate mode
G93X#Y#   Zero set
M71       Coordinates unit is mm.
M72       Coordinates unit is inch.
T#        Tool selection
R#X#Y#    Hole is repeated and drilled by pitch X#Y# and number of repetitions
          R#.

- When input file is not NC-drill file of Excellon designation format
When it is file with little header information to Excellon designation format, it is necessary to describe to configuration file described below.

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  NC-Drill configuration file of PloView series products
  The description method of DRILL parameter file is shown below.

- When letter of beginning of line is";", the line is comment line and nothing processes it.

- Please be sure to put line of "M48" which shows the beginning of program header into beginning of effective line except for comment line.

- Specify coordinates unit as inch and specify "Omit trailing zeroes of coordinate value" / "Omit leading zeroes of coordinate value".
 As for the coordinate value, more than decimal point is two digit, and under decimal point is four digits.
  Example: 10.5 inches -- > 105000
  General notation  INCH[, {TZ or LZ}]
    TZ : Omit trailing zeroes of coordinate value
         Example: 15.0mm 001500 -- > 0015
    LZ : Omit leading zeroes of coordinate value
         Example: 15.0mm 001500 -- > 1500
    [{ }] is option, or is either-selected.
  Example: INCH, LZ
           Omit leading zeroes of coordinate value in inch specification
  An omission uses INCH,LZ.

- Specify coordinates unit as mm, specify "Omit leading zeroes of coordinate value" / "Omit trailing zeroes of coordinate value" and "Upper decimal point number of digits" / "Under decimal point number of digits".
  General notation
  METRIC[{TZ or LZ}] [and {000. 000 or 000.00 or 0000.00}]
    TZ : Omit trailing zeroes of coordinate value
    LZ : Omit leading zeroes of coordinate value
    000.000: Upper decimal point is triple digits, under decimal point is
             triple digits.
             Example: 15.0mm -- > 015000
    000.00 : Upper decimal point is triple digits, under decimal point is
             double digits.
             Example: 15.0mm -- > 01500
    0000.00: Upper decimal point is four digits, under decimal point is
             double digits.
             Example: 15.0mm -- > 001500
    [{}] is option. or is either-selected.
  Example: METRIC, LZ, 000.00
           It is mm specification, omit leading zeroes of coordinate value,
           upper decimal point is triple digits, Under decimal point is double
           digits.
  An omission uses METRIC,LZ,000.000.

- Absolute coordinate specification
  General notation G90

- Relative coordinate specification
  General notation G91

- Specification of diameter of tool to Tool number
  General notation Tn [Cd]
    n: Tool number (1-99)
    d: Diameter of tool
    [ ] is option.
  Example: T12C1.1
           Tool of diameter 1.1 of tool is set to Tool number of No. 12.

- Be sure to put in the line of "M95" indicating the end of the program header at the end.

Please refer to following Excellon company H.P. for details.
 Excellon Format

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  IGES file to which PloView series supports
  IGES file is format upon which ANSI decided, and is middle format at time of carrying out data exchange between different CADs.
1.Reading
When the file is read, it is converted to HP-GL/2 and displayed.
Figure which can read PloView, and figure which cannot be read are shown below.
  Type, figure 
Type, figure
which can be read		 100:Circular arc
102:Composite Curve
104:Conic arc
106:Point array
110:Lin
112:Parametric spline curve
114:Parametric spline surface
116:Point
118:Ruled Surface
120:Surface of Revolution
122:Tabulated Cylinder
124:Transformation matrix
126:Rational B-spline Curve
128:Rational B-spline surface
142:Curve on a parametric surface
144:Trimmed surface
202:Angular dimension
206:Diameter demension
208:Flag note
210:General lavel
212:Text, General Note
214:Leader (arrow)
216:Linear dimension
218:Ordinate dimension
220:Point dimension
222:Radious dimension
228:General Symbol
230:Section area
308:Subfigure definition
402:Associative instance
404:Drawing
408:Singular subfigure instance
Type, figure
which can not be read                       		 108:Plane
125:Flash
130:Offset curve
132:Connect point
140:Offset Surface
141:Boundary
143:Boundary Surface
312:Text template
314:Color Definition
320:Network subfigure definition
406:Property
410:View
412:Rectangular Array Subfigure Instance
414:Circular Array subfigure instance
416:External Reference
418:Nodal Load/Constraint
420:Network subfigure instance
422:Attribute Table Instance
430:Solid Instance
502:Vertex
504:Edge
508:Loop
510:Face
514:Shell

2.Output
Relation HPGL-Pen:IGES-Pen:
There are only IGES 's pens from 1 to 8 pens, and the color for the pen number is decided as follows.
IGES Pen No.  Color
 1  Black
 2  Red
 3  Green
 4  Blue
 5  Yellow
 6  Magenta
 7  Cyanogen
 8  White

Therefore, PloView performs color control by assigning IGES pen number from HPGL pen number. If the pen number of HPGL is 9 or more is used, IGES's pen number is 1 to 8 by doing the following processing.
IGES pen number = ((HPGL pen number -1) MOD 8) +1

Text font:
Depending on the contents set with "Set" "Text" and character string.
If Vector Font is selected and the character string is an ASCII single byte character, or in Japanese, the Vector Font of PloView series products is used, and in IGES file it is converted to line segment data.
If Windows Font is selected and the character string is ASCII single-byte character, or in Japanese, it is converted to IGES notation.

Figure which can be outputted:
Inside of table "-" means "not outputting".
  Type  Figure 
 Line  110  Line
 Polyline  106  Point array
 Circle  100  Circular arc
 Arc  100  Circular arc
 Text of Vector Font  110  Line
 Text of Windows Font  212  Text, General Note
 Hatcting  110  Line
 Painting out  110  Line
 Image  -  -
 PC,PW  -  -

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  SXF file to which PloView series supports
  CAD data exchange standard consortium (SCADEC) which is initiative of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Japan, and was established in March, 1999 developed SXF. SXF is intermediate-file format used when exchanging data between different CAD.
It is the abbreviation for Scadec data eXchange Format. In Japan, it is handled as a standard file in electronic delivery of drawing.
SXF format are two kinds, SFC (feature comment file) and P21 (STEP file).
P21 is format based on STEP/AP202 accepted internationally and extension of file name is ".p21".
SFC is easy handling for conversion time to be short etc. because file size is small compared with P21, but it is format unique to Japan, it is format accepted only in Japan.
Extension of SFC file name is ".sfc".

When file is read, PloView is converted into HP-GL/2+HP-RTL and displayed.
Layer of SXF is converted into page in Ploview series.

[About copyright]
PloView series uses "SXF common library Ver.3.xx" for SXF file input-and-output function.
Copyright of "SXF common library Ver.3.xx" belongs to Information-technology Promotion Agency, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, JACIC, and OCF.

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  Drawing area when reading files of PloView series products
  The area displayed when the Diaplay all command is issued is the drawing area.
There is usually no problem if you select "Figure maximum area".
However, when multiple drawings are stacked to form a single product, such as a printed wiring board, the alignment between the drawings is important, so the drawing areas of each drawing must match.

1. HPGL file
HPGL files do not contain information about drawing area.
The machine origin of the HPGL plotter may be lower left or center of the graphic limit (area determined by the area where mechanical drawing is possible, size of paper, soft clip area, etc.) depending on the plotter model. Draw according to the HPGL data as the origin (0, 0) of the dimensional coordinate system.
When the machine origin of the HPGL plotter is at the lower left, the lower left of the drawing area is the origin (0.0) of the HPGL data.
However, when the machine origin of the HPGL plotter is at the center, the graphic limit of the plotter fluctuates on a case-by-case basis and can not be determined uniquely.
The upper right corner of the drawing area can not be obtained from the HPGL data.

Select the "Set" "Input File" menu, and use the "Drawing Area" radio button to select how to find the drawing area.
- Figure maximum area ... default
Make the largest area of ​​the figure contained in the HPGL file the drawing area.
In the case of HPGL file that contains drawing frame figures that correspond to drawing areas, selecting this item can reflect the drawing area.
The HPGL file, in which PloView and PloComp output the entire drawing, contains data to be moved with pen-up at the lower left and upper right points of the drawing area. Therefore, if this item is selected when importing this HPGL file, the original drawing area can be reflected.

- PS (PlotSize) instruction area
If there is a PS (PlotSize) instruction in the HPGL file, set the lower left of the drawing area as the origin (0, 0) and the upper right as the length and width of the PS instruction.
If there is no PS instruction in the HPGL file, the drawing area will be the figure maximum area.

- IW (Input Window) instruction area
If there is IW (Input Window) instruction in the HPGL file, the drawing area will be the area of ​​the IW instruction.
If there are multiple IW instructions, the area of ​​the last IW instruction is used.
If there is no IW instruction in the HPGL file, the drawing area will be the figure maximum area.

- IP (ScalePoint) instruction area
If there is IP (ScalePoint) instruction in the HPGL file, make the drawing area the area of ​​the IP instruction.
If there are multiple IP instructions, the area of ​​the last IP instruction is used.
If there is no IP instruction in the HPGL file, the drawing area will be the figure maximum area.

- Automatic (PS-> IW-> IP-> Figure maximum area)
If there is PS (PlotSize) instruction in the HPGL file, set the lower left of the drawing area as the origin (0, 0) and the upper right as the length and width of the PS instruction.
If there is no PS instruction,
If there is IW (Input Window) instruction in the HPGL file, the drawing area is made the area of ​​the last IW instruction.
If there is no IW instruction,
If there is IP (ScalePoint) instruction in the HPGL file, make the drawing area the area of ​​the last IP instruction.
If there is no IP instruction,
Makes the drawing area the largest figure area.

Note: When setting other than default, if the HPGL file contains information different from drawing area information in the parameters of PS (PlotSize), IW (InputWindow), and IP (ScalePoint), it becomes an abnormal drawing area.

"Include origin in drawing area":
If this is checked, the HPGL file origin will be included in the drawing area.
Valid for setting the lower left of the drawing area when the machine origin of the HPGL plotter is lower left of the graphics limit.
If this check is removed, the contents will be ignored.

2. How to obtain drawing area other than HPGL file
- PDF, EMF, DXF, DWG, Image file such as TIFF, SXF: File drawing area information
- IGES, Gerber, NC-Drill: Maximum area of figure

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