Ploticus extension trouble on Windows

[The Inscrutable]

Using wikidPad 2.3rc01

Ploticus 2.41

From a dos command line I can create image files using a data file, so I know that the Ploticus executable is working.

From inside the wiki though I cannot get it working ( I'm using the sample provided on http://wikidpad.sourceforge.net/help/ExternalGraphicalApplications.html#.h4451 )

The error message returned instead of the image looks like the data is not passed in to the pl.exe program correctly.

Additionally, the Options page for Ploticus offers me the choice between GIF and PNG.  The newer versions of Ploticus do not do PNG, they do PS, EPS, SVG, or GIF (and appear to default to PS if nothing else is specified)

[Christian Ziemski]

On 01.05.2018 at 10:55 The Inscrutable wrote:

> Using wikidPad 2.3rc01 Ploticus 2.41

I'm on Linux with Ploticus 2.42.

> From inside the wiki though I cannot get it working
>

> The error message returned instead of the image looks like the data
> is not passed in to the pl.exe program correctly.

It's working fine here (and I don't have a Windows box available.)

Please let us know the error message you get.

> Additionally, the Options page for Ploticus offers me the choice
> between GIF and PNG.

> The newer versions of Ploticus do not do PNG, they do PS, EPS, SVG,
> or GIF (and appear to default to PS if nothing else is specified)

That seems to depend on ploticus' compile options.
Where do you have the pl.exe from? Compiled by yourself?

[The Inscrutable]

I downloaded it from
https://sourceforge.net/projects/ploticus/files/ploticus/2.41/

The error message is (in place of the graphic).  When I use it from a command line I get the file created and can view it OK, just not in wikidPad

[Ploticus error: usage: pl scriptfile [options] ...or...  pl -prefab prefabname [options]
ploticus 2.41-Mar2009 (win32).  This build can produce: PS EPS SVG GIF
Copyright 1998-2008 Steve Grubb, http://ploticus.sourceforge.net

'DIdeas' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
]

[Christian Ziemski]

On 02.05.2018 at 01:12 schrieb The Inscrutable:

> I downloaded it from
> https://sourceforge.net/projects/ploticus/files/ploticus/2.41/

Ah, 2.41 has a Windows executable (rather old: it's from 2009...)
2.42 (from 2013) does not have one.

> The error message is (in place of the graphic).  When I use it from a
> command line I get the file created and can view it OK, just not in wikidPad
>
> [Ploticus error: usage: pl scriptfile [options] ...or...  pl -prefab
> prefabname [options]
> ploticus 2.41-Mar2009 (win32).  This build can produce: PS EPS SVG GIF
> Copyright 1998-2008 Steve Grubb, http://ploticus.sourceforge.net
>
> 'DIdeas' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
> operable program or batch file.
> ]

I have no idea where this "DIdeas" is coming from exactly.

You might want to edit the plugin to get a better error message
(by printing the used commandline):


In file "extensions/PloticusClBridge.py"

change line 151 so that it reads (one line):

return u'<pre>' + _(u'[Ploticus error: %s]\ncmdline: %s') %
(errResponse, cmdline) + \



Then restart WikidPad and try again.

Hopefully the commandline added to the error message will help to find
out more.


BTW: Ploticus seems to be a more or less stopped project.
From the website:

> Dec 2016: A new compact python API called SVGdatashapes supercedes
> ploticus; For details please see http://svgdatashapes.com

Perhaps it's worth to check that new one too.

[The Inscrutable]

IDeas....  I should have recognized that myself.  The wiki I'm using to test ploticus in has an ampersand in the name and the IDeas is the part of the name following the ampersand.

cmdline: C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\WikidPad\extensions\ploticus\bin\pl.exe -dir C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\WikidPad\D&DIdeas c:\users\USERNAME\appdata\local\temp\tmpj0furi.plt -png -o c:\users\USERNAME\appdata\local\temp\tmp57n3mp.png

I'll try renaming things to avoid the ampersand.

I'll look into that other charting package you mentioned too.