Array Profile Colours

In the database window, use the right-click menu option Array Profile Colours (VACOLOR GX) to specify a colour zone file used to colour individual profiles in an array channel profile display.

Set Profile Colours for an Array Channel dialog options

Array channel

The array channel to update.

Script Parameter: VACOLOR.CHAN

Colour table

Select the colour scheme for rendering the colour zone file. If you mouse over the colour scheme entry, a tooltip will display the name of the colour table in its folder. To modify the selection, click on the colour entry and then navigate through the scheme categories.

Script Parameter: VACOLOR.FILE

Application Notes

Mapping of Colours to the Array Channel Windows

When the user displays the profile (or symbols) of an array channel using the normal method, the colours from the colour zone file are automatically mapped onto individual elements of the array channel in the following manner.

When the colour zone file is imported, it is converted internally into an ITR object, which relates the individual colours to ranges of values. The values are equally spaced from 0 to 1. For instance, for a file with 8 colours the ranges are as follows:

Colour Range

Colour 1 0 > value >= 0.125
Colour 2 0.125 > value >= 0.25
Colour 3 0.25 > value >= 0.375
Colour 4 0.375 > value >= 0.5
Colour 5 0.5 > value >= 0.625
Colour 6 0.625 > value >= 0.75
Colour 7 0.75 > value >= 0.875
Colour 8 0.875 > value >= 1.0

When an array channel is displayed, the index of each element (window or window) is mapped into the corresponding range above using the following formula:

value = (window index) / (# of windows - 1)

For an array with 8 windows, you get the following values:

Window Value Colour

0   0 0     1
1   0.14   2
2   0.28   3
3   0.43   4
4   0.57   5
5   0.71   6
6   0.86   7
7 1.0 0   8

If you have fewer windows than colours, the mapping will take the first and last colours and one or more of the intervening colours. For instance with four windows:

Window Value Colour

0   0       1
1   0.33 3
2   0.67 6
3   1.0     8

In the case where there are more windows than colours, the windows are grouped. For instance, if you were using "8.tbl", and an array channel with 32 windows, then the windows would be grouped 4 to a colour.

If you wish to group specific windows to individual colours in a non-linear fashion, it is necessary to create a colour zone file with the same number of entries as the array channel itself, and group the colours there. This allows a one-to-one mapping for colours. Of course, if you wish to group the windows equally, then a common divisor can be used, such as using 8.tbl for 256 windows, with 32 windows per colour.

The colouring functionality has been extended to the symbols as well, which take on the same colours as the profile lines. The Profile Options dialog screen and functionality have not been changed; any colours set using this dialogue for array channels get overridden (except for the colour with which the channel name and labels are plotted).

Profile Colours

You can specify a colour zone file to colour individual profiles in an array channel profile display. The following file types can be used for assigning colours to array profiles in the profile window:

*.tbl

*.zon

*.itr

*.lut