controls are placed. In MakerPlot speak, controls are
things like meters, buttons, switches, labels, sliders, text
boxes, etc. At the very top are the drop-down menus,
toolbar icons, and the connection and user status areas. At
the bottom are the real time data and queue progress bars
that monitor the incoming data from your micro and from
other sources like mouse clicks on the interface. So, that’s
the general composition of the MakerPlot interface.
However, for customization purposes, only the plot and
object areas can be manipulated.
Creating a
New Interface
Rather than start from scratch
to develop a custom interface, let’s
start with our standard interface
(Figure 2) as it has a complete set
of menu buttons and text boxes on
the bottom, and a wide plot area.
What it doesn’t have are meters,
sliders, and other controls that are
usually on the right side. To make
room for these other controls, we’ll
need to adjust the plot area to
expose more object area. Here’s
how it’s done.
Referring to Figure 3, we need
to save the standard interface
under a different file name to keep
it separate from our customization
efforts. To do this, click on the
Macro Builder icon (it’s the one
that looks like a wrench) and the
Macro Builder drop-down menu
will appear. Click on the Save As
down arrow and save it under the new file name
My_Interface.spm. Now, we can begin to experiment
without affecting the standard interface.
In order to make room for other controls, we’ll need
to reduce the size of the plot area. To do this, click on the
Object Editor icon (it’s the one that looks like a hammer)
and its drop-down menu will appear. In the Config tab, set
May 2014 55
Figure 3. The Macro Builder.
Figure 4. Setting plot area dimensions.
Figure 5. Changing the background color.
