Introductory Tutorials

  • NOTE: these files have be scanned with anti-virus software but it is always good practice to check with your own local anti-virus software. The files contain only data files, largely PDF and XML based data and plot files. All the plot, data and stat files are in XML format internally and can be checked with a good text editor if needed.

  • This is a brief tutorial by Dr David Nicholls on how to fit curves (polynomials, rational polynomials) and surfaces (biquadratic) to data. It should give you enough familiarity with the process to explore further: graf_tutorial.zip (2.1MB)
    MD5: 9894339641ed867448ab67b5306dd50e

  • The data and plot file for the hydrogen line figure in the example screens is included here with brief notes on how to set it up and to experiment: fig02-hydrogen.zip (796kB)
    MD5: 76f5ecccae934d6b2bb08f3100c5aa18

New Home for Graf

This is the new more permanent home for the Graf application. Please update any bookmarks, although all older links should be redirected here automatically. There will be new Apple AppStore links as well.

Graf as it is now will become Graf on the Mac App Store as a fully current system compatible, but legacy application that continues works back to OSX 10.9 Mavericks for older computers. When the new v6.x is ready it will be called Graf X.

So when fully replacing Graf there will be no need to retain v5.x on any but very old mac computers using old systems. No new features will be added to v5.2.x, although bug fixes will be continued indefinitely.

Currently a new version 6 of Graf, Graf X, that uses more modern system facilities is being developed and will carry the Graf name and a modernised icon. It will continue to support all older files and file formats into the future.

Non App Store Installation

Download and double click the zip file to get the app, and simply drag it to the Applications folder.

You may check the MD5 checksum using openSSL if you wish ( commandline > openssl md5 Graf519-199.zip ). The software has been virus checked and Notarised by Apple to be clean and safe, but you may prefer to check it with your own tools. Similarly for the tutorial zip file above.

Graf is a sandboxed app with limited access to only its required resources, it cannot access microphone, camera, contacts,etc. It may use the network to check this site only for new versions, but that is optional and under the users control.

NOTE: you will need to open Graf, giving permission to open the new version, then quit and logout and back in, before icon and file quicklook previews will work. This is a side-effect of Apple's gatekeeper security system, and not in Graf's control.

Use get info on a .data file and tell the system to use Graf to open .data files and use the change all.. button to get back Graf icons if you prefer. Otherwise drag onto Graf or open with Graf etc, then save as... if you want new file type/extensions.

Privacy Policy

Graf respects user privacy as far as is possible. Graf collects no usage or personal or any other information whatsoever, and any crash reports are anonymous. I do not retain any logs or reports beyond the time taken to fix any problems. Being free software there is no financial information involved at any point. Downloads and version check server logs are cleared regularly, no stats on user counts or similar are kept.

Change log

v5.1.x Changes

  • v5.2.6 - 216: Fixed data and wide range of text file as data reading
  • v5.2.6 - 216: Fixed QuickLook for wide range of Text like filed without std .txt endings
  • v5.2.4 - 214: NEW: Universal build ready for new archtectures.
  • v5.2.4 - 214: Bug Fix: TUVW variable now included in 3D data stream expressions.
  • v5.2.2 - 212: Tutorial by Dr Nichols and example figure. Added link to support page in help menu.
  • v5.2.1 - 210: Bug fixes and better quicklook plus file compatibility with future Graf X.
  • v5.2.2 - 200: Same as 212 but Notarized developer ID non Mac App Store version with original version system.
  • v5.1.19 - 199: Provisional fix for labels losing colour on reloading plots.
  • v5.1.19 - 198: Fixed TEXT with CRLF Excel data in data and Stat windows.
  • v5.1.15 - 193: Fixed pasting columns from Excel into data and Stat windows.
  • v5.1.15 - 192: Properly Fixed black text in data and stat windows in macOS 10.14 dark mode
  • v5.1.14 - 191: Fixed black text in data and stat windows in macOS 10.14 dark mode
  • v5.1.13 - 190: Development testing
  • v5.1.12 - 189: Hardened Runtime and Notarizing by Apple for macOS 10.14+
  • v5.1.12 - 188: Minor fix to export panel under maxOS 10.13, can export to hires pngs again.
  • v5.1.11 - 187: Can define a complete template of mutiple default data setups in a single overall default.
  • v5.1.9 - 183: Compatible with OSX 10.9.5 once more!
  • v5.1.9 - 180: Bugfix: Saved plots restore rotations and minor numbering settings when reloaded.
  • v5.1.9 - 179: UI bug fixes for minor tick numbers.
  • v5.1.9 - 178: Enabled -negative tick lengths, for outside ticks. Was there all along, just turned off by accident long ago!
  • v5.1.9 - 177: Numbering option for minor ticks, for special cases of wide minors and few if any major ticks - as in a log axis over only a dex or so.
  • v5.1.9 - 177: Independent colours for major and minor ticks, useful for grid overlay tick styles.
  • v5.1.9 - 177: Independent colours minor tick numbers if used.
  • v5.1.7 - 175: Minor Addition: Improved version update alert - easier to go straight to new version page.
  • v5.1.7 - 174: Minor Addition: Improved multiline patch generation in cursor panel.
  • v5.1.7 - 173: Minor Addition: 3D LSQ fitting of z=f(x,y), Bi-Cubic (z = A + Bx + Cy + Dxy + Ex^2 + Fy^2 + Gxy^2 + Hyx^2 + Ix^3 + jy^3)
  • v5.1.7 - 173: Minor Addition: Fitting parameters increased to 10 values max for Bi-Cubics, UI now puts parameters in a scroll area in Stat windows
  • v5.1.6 - 172: New feature: 3D LSQ fitting of z=f(x,y), Planes (z = A + Bx + Cy), Bi-Linear (z = A + Bx + Cy + Dxy), and Bi-Quaratics (z = A + Bx + Cy + Dxy + Ex^2 + Fy^2). Coefficients can be constrained.
  • v5.1.5 - 171: Minor feature, checkbox to put ticks in front of data or behind when plotting, useful for extending ticks in colour as either a background or forground overlay grid.
  • v5.1.5 - 170: Minor bugfix, missing information in plot files made by b169 fixed.
  • v5.1.5 - 169: New Feature: Plot minor tick styles can be linear or log style. Log progression minor ticks work in both directions.
  • v5.1.5 - 169: New Feature: Secondary axis scales and tick styles, can be set independently of the primary scale. The primary scales are used for plotting, secondary scales can be used to show different units without affecting the plot contents.
  • v5.1.5 - 169: New Feature: Secondary axes, x-axis on top, and y-azis on the right can have separate colours for numbers and ticks, as welll as indpendent formatting. Tick lengths remain the same as the primary axis.
  • v5.1.5 - 169: Plot range styles for z axes are hidden for now, until a full 3D box style plot is more fully implemented.
  • v5.1.4 - 167: New Feature: Stat fitting now allows fitting to data sub-ranges in x, y, and/or z axes, to allow fitting to portions of data without having to create a new subset data window. For example, a data set includes data from 10 - 1000 km/s, a fit can be made to just the set of data points between 100 and 200 km/s.
  • v5.1.3 - 166: Additional rational polynomal fitting orders.
  • v5.1.3 - 165: Autoscaling ticks bug fixed.
  • v5.1.3 - 164: More UI bug fixes.
  • v5.1.3 - 162: Fix for the continual minor 'crashes' when editing fields. These are not actually crashes at all, just Apple changing the internal OS behaviour in macOS 10.12. Now the fields ignore nil values as intended, like before, but without scary alerts!
  • v5.1.3 - 160: Minor changes for xcode 8 and macOS 10.12 compatibility.
  • v5.1.3 - 159: Changes to the print dialog and removed page setup (it is included in the single print option) Report any issue with multi-page printouts, Auto-fit is turned off so long plots can be printed accross multiple pages, but sometimes a single plot can be clipped by accident. Changing the scale factor manually can fix this.
  • v5.1.2 - 157: subplots/images and labels can be duplicated, toolbar button improvments.
  • v5.1.2 - 157: subplots/images dimensions and rotation can be manually set.
  • v5.1.2 - 155: Stat fitting upgrade; improved regressions, rational polynomial fitting, output bug fixes.
  • v5.1.1 - 154: Bugfix, dashed lines with thick lines were washing out the dash pattern. Now the pattern persists even for very thick lines.
  • v5.1.1 - 154: Bugfix, dashed lines on multiple break line sets with curves was only dashing the first line. Fixed now.
  • v5.1.1 - 153: Internal changes, new memory management (ARC) and new window closing code.
  • v5.1.1 - 151: Minor fixes - data window side panel scolling bug, internal build files and title bindings.
  • v5.1.1 - 149: Toolbar inline with titlebar in OSX 10.10 and newer. Toolbar tweaks for 10.9
  • v5.1.1 - 148: New window title and path display, click on path to reveal file in the Finder. Doubles up title in OSX 10.9, but is still functional.
  • v5.1.1 - 148: Plot panel drag and drop scaling improved. Minor UI changes.
  • v5.1.1 - 147: Toolbar elements have new buttons with bit of colour.
  • v5.1.1 - 147: Plot menu replaces Labels menu.
  • MAJOR NEW FEATURE: A selected plot can be copied to the clipboard and pasted into other apps, such as Graphic or Pixelmator etc.
  • MAJOR NEW FEATURE: Plot can contain sub-plots (or any other graphic file). Copy/Paste and/or dropping files into plots adds the files or plots as sub-plots.
  • MAJOR NEW FEATURE: A Plot list panel to look through current plots, and allows drag and drop of the plot graphics into other plots, or other applications! In this way multi-panel plots can be built up quicikly and easily. Subplots don't change once dropped or pasted, even if later the source plot changes. Sub-plots retain their original dimensions, and cannot be resized once included, to preserve accurate rendering. Prepare input plots and graphics at the size needed first. Subplots and can be dragged, reordered and rotated etc. Subplots can also be simple graphic files dropped from the Finder or pasted from other apps.
  • Labels and sub-plots can be re-ordered front to back within a plot.
  • Toolbar elements have new icons - work in progress. Classic buttons may give way to bare icons in the future.
  • TODO; old help documentation needs an overhaul
  • All closing crashes seem to be well and truely fixed, touch wood.
  • Minimum OSX remains v10.9, will change to 10.10 in a future version.
ABN: 60516071852 Ralph Sutherland Sole Trader, Web page template based on HTML5 UP. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License:   Creative Commons License