Last Verified: 2023-12-19
Overview
Grace is a WYSIWYG 2D plotting tool for the X Window System and M*tif. Grace is the successor to ACE/gr, also known as Xmgr.
Grace features at a glance:
General
- WYSIWYG design
- Convenient point-and-click graphical user interface
- Precise control of graph features
- True publication quality
- Instant plot refresh
Export Options
- Exports vector graphics to (E)PS, PDF, MIF, and SVG formats
- Supports cross-platform PNG, PNM, and JPEG formats
- Device-independent Type1 font rastering, including anti-aliasing, ligatures, and kerning
Graphing Flexibility
- Unlimited number of graphs
- Unlimited number of curves on a graph
- Up to 256 customizable colors
- 9 dashed line styles
- 32 fill patterns
- 10 built-in marker symbols; plus, any character glyph from any font can be used as a marker
- Color/fill markers
- Text annotations with subscripts, superscripts, mixed fonts, styles and colors and more complex typesetting
Curve Fitting
- Linear and nonlinear least-squares
- Calculation and display of residuals
- Arbitrarily complex user-defined fitting functions, including dynamically loadable C/Fortran/... modules
- Fitting with constraints
- Region restrictions
- Fitting with arbitrary weight functions
Analysis Capability
- FFT
- Integration and differentiation
- Histograms
- Splines, including Akima splines
- Interpolation and smoothing
- Convolution, correlation, and covariation
- Sorting
Data Formats
- Unlimited data size; up to six dimensions plus an optional array of strings
- Reads text data input files
- Reads 1D netCDF files
Programmability
- Built-in programming language
- Math functions manipulate entire array
- Variables, including arrays (1D)
- User-definable functions via loadable modules
- All aspects of plot outlook can be programmed
- Controllable by external programs
Customization/Extensibility
- Dynamic module loading - write your own C/Fortran/...
- User-defined colors
- User-supplied fonts and encodings
Please refer to the Grace User's Guide for more detailed descriptions.
Environment
Machines and Versions
See LC visualization software page.
Location
Links to the latest version exist in /usr/tce/bin
Multiple versions may be accessible via modules. Type module avail grace to see the available options. You can specify a particular version in the module command, e.g., module load grace/5.1.25
The actual installation directories are in /usr/tce/packages/grace
Settings
The module load grace command will setup your PATH and any other needed environment variables.
Usage
As a convenience, you can just type xmgrace to start the latest version of Grace from /usr/tce/bin. If this does not work, try typing module load grace before running xmgrace.
Help
There are links to the FAQ, User's Guide, a tutorial, and forums on the Grace homepage.
The developers of the software seem very receptive to feedback if one is diligent in first reading the FAQ and other docs before asking questions.
Help is available from the LC Hotline: lc-hotline@llnl.gov, (925) 422-4531.
Download
RPMs, source, and binary distributions are available via the Grace Download page.