FIXPSLINESTYLE

Fixes line styles in postscript files created from MATLAB (PRINT command)

Description

FIXPSLINESTYLE: Fix line styles in exported post script files
 
FIXPSLINESTYLE(FILENAME) fixes the line styles in the postscript file FILENAME. The file will be over-written. This takes a .PS or .EPS file and fixes the dotted and dashed line styles to be a little bit more esthetically pleasing. It fixes the four default line styles (line, dotted, dashed, dashdot).
 
FIXPSLINESTYLE(FILENAME, NEWFILENAME) creates a new file NEWFILENAME.
 
This is meant to be used with postscript files created by MATLAB (print, export).

Example:
  x = 1:.1:10;
  y1 = sin(x);
  y2 = cos(x);
  h = plot(x, y1, '--', x, y2, '-.');
  set(h, 'LineWidth', 2);
  grid on;
  legend('line 1', 'line2');

  print -depsc test.eps
  fixPSlinestyle('test.eps','fixed_test.eps');

• Acknowledgements: This submission has inspired the following:; fix_lines, export_fig
• MATLAB release: MATLAB 7.4 (R2007a)

[Eric Magee]

This is very nice - I have always wished there was more control over the details of the line styles - guess we just have to mess with the PS file. Would there be any way of not "fixing" the line style of the grid?

[K Hamed]

A trick I learned a long time ago from a friend is to replace the line: "0 cap" in the postscript file with "1 cap". This makes the edges of the lines rounder, which gives thick lines a nicer look, and also make dots round. Is this recommended or are there any side effects?

[Jiro Doke]

Eric,
Thanks for your comments. I looked at the PS file and found out a way to not alter the grid. But I haven't figured out how to automate it. You can define another line style, and find out where the grid lines are defined. The issue is that the grid lines are simply defined like any other lines, so it's not straightforward to identify them.

K Hamed,
I'm not sure if it's the "recommended" way (I'm not an expert on Postscript), but "1 cap" or "1 setlinecap" creates a rounded end.

[Oliver Woodford]

This is a great idea, and one that inspired me to improve my own pdf rendering function, print_pdf. I've managed to get dash lengths to vary with line widths too, and make grid lines dotted rather than dashed. Thanks for the inspiration, Jiro!

[Jiro Doke]

Thanks for the feedback, Oliver. I'm glad to hear this inspired you to improve your own function. BTW, your print_pdf function is nice. It seems like you figured out a ways to make the grid lines separate from dashed lines.

[Jirka Dostal]