Winplot for Windows 95/98/ME/2K/XP/Vista

Some of the things that are not in the Windows 3.1 version: long filenames, background colors, and enhanced metafile support. There are only two types of windows — one for 2-dim displays and the other for 3-dim displays. Curve families are now easier to manage and keep on the screen. There are separate sliders for each parameter. Level curves are treated in a new way, which allows you to see them in a separate 2-dim window. Differential equations can be defined in either type of window, and equations dy/dx = f(x,y) can now be defined in 2-dim windows. The library of functions includes floor(x) and ceil(x), and int(x) has been redefined. The “mapping” module from Winlab has been incorporated into 3-dim Winplot, as a miscellaneous activity that can be done with two functions of the type z = f(x,y). The “roulette” module from Winlab is another construction to be found in the 2-dim “One” menu. The “polynomial” demo from Winstats is now one of the 2-dim equation types. The “guess” module from Winlab has also been added to the main menu of Winplot.

Details of other changes can be found in the updated Help files.

You can now add password protection to your files.

If you use Windows XP and want Winplot controls (buttons, scroll bars, etc) to have the Windows XP “look”, download this file (right-click and Save Target As). From this zipfile, extract the file whose name matches the program version you are using (there is one for each language), sending it to the same folder where the program itself is found.

There will of course be occasional bugs. If you find things that I have missed, please tell me about them. Also send along any suggestions.

It occasionally happens that initialization files (*.ini) become defective (in the event of a crash, for example). Opening a bad ini file can cause the program to act strangely, or not work at all (this is the source of many problems). For example, if the Btns menu does not display a check mark that indicates the current mouse function, this is a sure sign that the ini file has been corrupted. To tell the program not to use a suspicious ini file when it opens a window, check the menu item called “Use defaults”. (This is easier than finding and deleting the files wp.ini, wp2.ini, wp3.ini, guess.ini, lev.ini, rds.ini, dom2.ini, ran2.ini, time0.ini, time1.ini, time2.ini, and time3.ini) When windows close normally, their ini files are restored to health.

Winplot normally places its initialization files in the “Windows” directory, and looks for them there. If this is not desirable, there are two other “network” versions of the program: The first one places its initialization files in the directory where the program is found, and the second one places its initialization files in the current directory (where the program happens to be operating at the time). If you would like one of these special versions in one of the available foreign languages, just let me know — my e-mail address can be found in the Help|About dialog box.