NhlNewDashPattern

Adds new dash patterns to the existing table of dash patterns.

Prototype

	function NhlNewDashPattern (
		wks           [*] : graphic,  
		dash_patterns [*] : string    
	)

	return_val  :  integer

Arguments

An array of NCL Workstation identifiers. The identifiers are ones returned either from calling gsn_open_wks or calling create to create a Workstation object.

A list of strings indicating the dash patterns to create.

Return value

If nwks is the length of wks and npatterns is the length of dash_patterns, then the array returned will be dimensioned nwks x npatterns if there is more than one workstation. Otherwise, it will be an array of length npatterns.

Description

Given a list of workstation objects and a list of strings that represent dash patterns, this function adds the given dashlines to the current dash pattern table, and returns a list of unique indexes that represent the locations of the new patterns in the table.

You can use these new patterns in any resource that allows you to set a dash pattern index.

The dash patterns strings can be any length, and should be generated using a combination of "$" and "_" characters. The "$" represents a pen-down, and the "_" represents a pen-up.

The current dash pattern table is made up of the following string combinations. Note that the first pattern is a solid line:

See Also

NhlNewMarker

Examples

Example 1

This example creates three new dash patterns and uses them in an XY plot:

load "$NCARG_ROOT/lib/ncarg/nclscripts/csm/gsn_code.ncl"

begin
;
; Generate some dummy data.
;
  PI   = 3.14159
  PI2  = 2 * PI
  x = ispan(10,500,5)

  npts   = 99
  y      = new((/3,npts/),float)
  y(0,:) = sin(x*PI2/npts)
  y(1,:) = 3. + y(0,:)
  y(2,:) = 6. + y(0,:)
;
; Open an X11 window and set the foreground/background colors to
; black/white.
;
  wks = gsn_open_wks("x11","gsun01n")  ; Open an X11 workstation.
  setvalues wks
    "wkForegroundColor" : (/0.,0.,0./)
    "wkBackgroundColor" : (/1.,1.,1./)
  end setvalues

;
; Create three new dash patterns.
;
  dpats = (/"$_____$_____$$_____$$_____$$_____$$_____$$___", \
            "$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$______________________", \
            "$$$$$______________$$$$$$$_____"  /)
;
; Add these dash patterns to the current dash pattern table.
;
  new_indexes = NhlNewDashPattern(wks,dpats)
;
; Set up resources for an XY plot.
;
  xyres                   = True
  xyres@gsnMaximize       = True          ; Maximize plot in frame.
  xyres@xyLineColors      = (/2,3,4/)     ; Define line colors.
  xyres@xyLineThicknesses = (/3,3,3/)     ; Define line thicknesses.
  xyres@xyDashPatterns    = new_indexes   ; Define line patterns.
  xyres@tiMainString      = ":F21:Line plot with user-defined dashlines"
  plot = gsn_xy(wks,x,y,xyres)
end