# psternary¶

psternary - Plot data on ternary diagrams

## Synopsis¶

psternary [ table ] [ -JX *width*[unit] ] [ -Rwest/east/south/north[/zmin/zmax][+r] ] [ -B[p|s]parameters ] [ -Ccpt ] [ -Gfill ] [ -K ] [ -La/b/c ] [ -M ] [ -N ] [ -O ] [ -P ] [ -S[symbol][size[u] ] [ -U[stamp] ] [ -V[level] ] [ -W[pen][attr] ] [ -Xx_offset ] [ -Yy_offset ] [ -aflags ] [ -bibinary ] [ -dinodata ] [ -eregexp ] [ -fflags ] [ -ggaps ] [ -hheaders ] [ -iflags ] [ -pflags ] [ -ttransp ] [ -:[i|o] ]

Note: No space is allowed between the option flag and the associated arguments.

## Description¶

psternary reads (a,b,c[,*z*]) records from files [or standard input] and generates PostScript code that will plot symbols at those locations on a ternary diagram. If a symbol is selected and no symbol size given, then psternary will interpret the fourth column of the input data as symbol size. Symbols whose size is <= 0 are skipped. If no symbols are specified then the symbol code (see -S below) must be present as last column in the input. The PostScript code is written to standard output.

## Optional Arguments¶

table
One or more ASCII (or binary, see -bi[ncols][type]) data table file(s) holding a number of data columns. If no tables are given then we read from standard input. Use -T to ignore all input files, including standard input (see below).
-B[a|b|c]*args*
For ternary diagrams the three sides are referred to as a, b, and c. Thus, to give specific settings for one of these axis you must include the axis letter before the arguments. If all axes have the same arguments then only give one option without the axis letter. For more details, see the -B discussion in psbasemap.
-Ccpt
Give a CPT or specify -Ccolor1,color2[,color3,…] to build a linear continuous CPT from those colors automatically. In this case colorn can be a r/g/b triplet, a color name, or an HTML hexadecimal color (e.g. #aabbcc ). If -S is set, let symbol fill color be determined by the z-value in the fourth column. Additional fields are shifted over by one column (optional size would be 5th rather than 4th field, etc.).
-Gfill
Select color or pattern for filling of symbols [Default is no fill]. Note that psternary will search for -G and -W strings in all the segment headers and let any values thus found over-ride the command line settings.
-JXwidth [unit]
The only valid projection is linear plot with specified ternary width.
-K (more …)
Do not finalize the PostScript plot.
-La/b/c
Set the labels for the three diagram vertices [none]. These are placed a distance of 3 times the MAP_LABEL_OFFSET setting from their respective corners.
-M
Do no plotting. Instead, convert the input (a,b,c[,*z*]) records to Cartesian (x,y,[,*z*]) records, where x, y are normalized coordinates on the triangle (i.e., 0-1 in xand 0-sqrt(3)/2 in y).
-N
Do NOT clip symbols that fall outside map border [Default plots points whose coordinates are strictly inside the map border only].
-O (more …)
Append to existing PostScript plot.
-P (more …)
Select “Portrait” plot orientation.
-Ramin/amax/bmin/bmax/cmin/cmax
Give the min and max limits for each of the three axis a, b, and c.
-S[symbol][size[u]]

Plot symbols (including vectors, pie slices, fronts, decorated or quoted lines). If present, size is symbol size in the unit set in gmt.conf (unless c, i, or p is appended). If the symbol code (see below) is not given it will be read from the last column in the input data; this cannot be used in conjunction with binary input. Optionally, append c, i, or p to indicate that the size information in the input data is in units of cm, inch, or point, respectively [Default is PROJ_LENGTH_UNIT]. Note: if you provide both size and symbol via the input file you must use PROJ_LENGTH_UNIT to indicate the unit used for the symbol size or append the units to the sizes in the file. If symbol sizes are expected via the third data column then you may convert those values to suitable symbol sizes via the -i mechanism.

The uppercase symbols A, C, D, G, H, I, N, S, T are normalized to have the same area as a circle with diameter size, while the size of the corresponding lowercase symbols refers to the diameter of a circumscribed circle.

Choose between these symbol codes:

-S-
x-dash (-). size is the length of a short horizontal (x-dir) line segment.
-S+
plus (+). size is diameter of circumscribing circle.
-Sa
star. size is diameter of circumscribing circle.
-Sb[size[c|i|p|u]][b[base]]
Vertical bar extending from base to y. size is bar width. Append u if size is in x-units [Default is plot-distance units]. By default, base = ymin. Append b[base] to change this value. If base is not appended then we read it from the last input data column.
-SB[size[c|i|p|u]][b[base]]
Horizontal bar extending from base to x. size is bar width. Append u if size is in y-units [Default is plot-distance units]. By default, base = xmin. Append b[base] to change this value. If base is not appended then we read it from the last input data column.
-Sc
circle. size is diameter of circle.
-Sd
diamond. size is diameter of circumscribing circle.
-Se
ellipse. Direction (in degrees counter-clockwise from horizontal), major_axis, and minor_axis must be found in columns 3, 4, and 5.
-SE
Same as -Se, except azimuth (in degrees east of north) should be given instead of direction. The azimuth will be mapped into an angle based on the chosen map projection (-Se leaves the directions unchanged.) Furthermore, the axes lengths must be given in geographical instead of plot-distance units. An exception occurs for a linear projection in which we assume the ellipse axes are given in the same units as -R. For degenerate ellipses (circles) with just the diameter given, use -SE-. The diameter is excepted to be given in column 3. Alternatively, append the desired diameter to -SE- and this fixed diameter is used instead. For allowable geographical units, see UNITS.
-Sfgap[/size][+l|+r][+b+c+f+s+t][+ooffset][+p[pen]].
Draw a front. Supply distance gap between symbols and symbol size. If gap is negative, it is interpreted to mean the number of symbols along the front instead. If size is missing it is set to 30% of the gap, except when gap is negative and size is thus required. Append +l or +r to plot symbols on the left or right side of the front [Default is centered]. Append +type to specify which symbol to plot: box, circle, fault, slip, or triangle. [Default is fault]. Slip means left-lateral or right-lateral strike-slip arrows (centered is not an option). The +s modifier optionally accepts the angle used to draw the vector [20]. Alternatively, use +S which draws arcuate arrow heads. Append +ooffset to offset the first symbol from the beginning of the front by that amount [0]. The chosen symbol is drawn with the same pen as set for the line (i.e., via -W). The use an alternate pen, append +ppen. To skip the outline, just use +p. Note: By placing -Sf options in the segment header you can change the front types on a segment-by-segment basis.
-Sg
octagon. size is diameter of circumscribing circle.
-Sh
hexagon. size is diameter of circumscribing circle.
-Si
inverted triangle. size is diameter of circumscribing circle.
-Sj
Rotated rectangle. Direction (in degrees counter-clockwise from horizontal), x-dimension, and y-dimension must be found in columns 3, 4, and 5.
-SJ
Same as -Sj, except azimuth (in degrees east of north) should be given instead of direction. The azimuth will be mapped into an angle based on the chosen map projection (-Sj leaves the directions unchanged.) Furthermore, the dimensions must be given in geographical instead of plot-distance units. For a degenerate rectangle (square) with one dimension given, use -SJ-. The dimension is excepted to be given in column 3. Alternatively, append the dimension diameter to -SJ- and this fixed dimension is used instead. An exception occurs for a linear projection in which we assume the dimensions are given in the same units as -R. For allowable geographical units, see UNITS.
-Sk
kustom symbol. Append name/size, and we will look for a definition file called name.def in (1) the current directory or (2) in ~/.gmt or (3) in \$GMT_SHAREDIR/custom. The symbol as defined in that file is of size 1.0 by default; the appended size will scale symbol accordingly. Users may add their own custom *.def files; see CUSTOM SYMBOLS below.
-Sl
letter or text string (less than 256 characters). Give size, and append +tstring after the size. Note that the size is only approximate; no individual scaling is done for different characters. Remember to escape special characters like *. Optionally, you may append +ffont to select a particular font [Default is FONT_ANNOT_PRIMARY] and +jjustify to change justification [CM].
-Sm
math angle arc, optionally with one or two arrow heads [Default is no arrow heads]. The size is the length of the vector head. Arc width is set by -W. The radius of the arc and its start and stop directions (in degrees counter-clockwise from horizontal) must be given in columns 3-5. See VECTOR ATTRIBUTES for specifying other attributes.
-SM
Same as -Sm but switches to straight angle symbol if angles subtend 90 degrees exactly.
-Sn
pentagon. size is diameter of circumscribing circle.
-Sp
point. No size needs to be specified (1 pixel is used).
-Sq

quoted line, i.e., lines with annotations such as contours. Append [d|D|f|l|L|n|N|s|S|x|X]info[:labelinfo]. The required argument controls the placement of labels along the quoted lines. Choose among six controlling algorithms:

ddist[c|i|p] or Ddist[d|e|f|k|m|M|n|s]
For lower case d, give distances between labels on the plot in your preferred measurement unit c (cm), i (inch), or p (points), while for upper case D, specify distances in map units and append the unit; choose among e (m), f (foot), k (km), M (mile), n (nautical mile) or u (US survey foot), and d (arc degree), m (arc minute), or s (arc second). [Default is 10c or 4i]. As an option, you can append /fraction which is used to place the very first label for each contour when the cumulative along-contour distance equals fraction * dist [0.25].
fffile.d
Reads the ASCII file ffile.d and places labels at locations in the file that matches locations along the quoted lines. Inexact matches and points outside the region are skipped.
l|Lline1[,line2,…]
Give the coordinates of the end points for one or more comma-separated straight line segments. Labels will be placed where these lines intersect the quoted lines. The format of each line specification is start_lon/start_lat/stop_lon/stop_lat. Both start_lon/start_lat and stop_lon/stop_lat can be replaced by a 2-character key that uses the justification format employed in pstext to indicate a point on the frame or center of the map, given as [LCR][BMT]. L will interpret the point pairs as defining great circles [Default is straight line].
n|Nn_label
Specifies the number of equidistant labels for quoted lines [1]. Upper case N starts labeling exactly at the start of the line [Default centers them along the line]. N-1 places one justified label at start, while N+1 places one justified label at the end of quoted lines. Optionally, append /min_dist[c|i|p] to enforce that a minimum distance separation between successive labels is enforced.
s|Sn_label
Same as n|Nn_label but implies that the input data are first to be converted into a series of 2-point line segments before plotting.
x|Xxfile.d
Reads the multisegment file xfile.d and places labels at the intersections between the quoted lines and the lines in xfile.d. X will resample the lines first along great-circle arcs. In addition, you may optionally append +rradius[c|i|p] to set a minimum label separation in the x-y plane [no limitation].

The optional labelinfo controls the specifics of the label formatting and consists of a concatenated string made up of any of the following control arguments:

+aangle
For annotations at a fixed angle, +an for line-normal, or +ap for line-parallel [Default].
+cdx[/dy]
Sets the clearance between label and optional text box. Append c|i|p to specify the unit or % to indicate a percentage of the label font size [15%].
+d
Turns on debug which will draw helper points and lines to illustrate the workings of the quoted line setup.
+e
Delay the plotting of the text. This is used to build a clip path based on the text, then lay down other overlays while that clip path is in effect, then turning of clipping with psclip -Cs which finally plots the original text.
+ffont
Sets the desired font [Default FONT_ANNOT_PRIMARY with its size changed to 9p].
+g[color]
Selects opaque text boxes [Default is transparent]; optionally specify the color [Default is PS_PAGE_COLOR].
+jjust
Sets label justification [Default is MC]. Ignored when -SqN|n+|-1 is used.
+llabel
Sets the constant label text.
+Lflag

Sets the label text according to the specified flag:

+Lh Take the label from the current segment header (first scan for an embedded -Llabel option, if not use the first word following the segment flag). For multiple-word labels, enclose entire label in double quotes. +Ld Take the Cartesian plot distances along the line as the label; append c|i|p as the unit [Default is PROJ_LENGTH_UNIT]. +LD Calculate actual map distances; append d|e|f|k|n|M|n|s as the unit [Default is d(egrees), unless label placement was based on map distances along the lines in which case we use the same unit specified for that algorithm]. Requires a map projection to be used. +Lf Use text after the 2nd column in the fixed label location file as the label. Requires the fixed label location setting. +Lx As +Lh but use the headers in the xfile.d instead. Requires the crossing file option.

+ndx[/dy]
Nudges the placement of labels by the specified amount (append c|i|p to specify the units). Increments are considered in the coordinate system defined by the orientation of the line; use +N to force increments in the plot x/y coordinates system [no nudging]. Not allowed with +v.
+o
Selects rounded rectangular text box [Default is rectangular]. Not applicable for curved text (+v) and only makes sense for opaque text boxes.
+p[pen]
Draws the outline of text boxes [Default is no outline]; optionally specify pen for outline [Default is width = 0.25p, color = black, style = solid].
Will not place labels where the line’s radius of curvature is less than min_rad [Default is 0].
+t[file]
Saves line label x, y, and text to file [Line_labels.txt]. Use +T to save x, y, angle, text instead.
+uunit
Appends unit to all line labels. If unit starts with a leading hyphen (-) then there will be no space between label value and the unit. [Default is no unit].
+v
Specifies curved labels following the path [Default is straight labels].
+w
Specifies how many (x,y) points will be used to estimate label angles [Default is 10].
+x[first,last]
Append the suffices first and last to the corresponding labels. This modifier is only available when -SqN2 is in effect. Used to annotate the start and end of a line (e.g., a cross-section), append two text strings separated by comma [Default just adds a prime to the second label].
+=prefix
Prepends prefix to all line labels. If prefix starts with a leading hyphen (-) then there will be no space between label value and the prefix. [Default is no prefix].

Note: By placing -Sq options in the segment header you can change the quoted text attributes on a segment-by-segment basis.

-Sr
rectangle. No size needs to be specified, but the x- and y-dimensions must be found in columns 3 and 4.
-SR
Rounded rectangle. No size needs to be specified, but the x- and y-dimensions and corner radius must be found in columns 3, 4, and 5.
-Ss
square. size is diameter of circumscribing circle.
-St
triangle. size is diameter of circumscribing circle.
-Sv
vector. Direction (in degrees counter-clockwise from horizontal) and length must be found in columns 3 and 4, and size, if not specified on the command-line, should be present in column 5. The size is the length of the vector head. Vector width is set by -W. See VECTOR ATTRIBUTES for specifying other attributes.
-SV
Same as -Sv, except azimuth (in degrees east of north) should be given instead of direction. The azimuth will be mapped into an angle based on the chosen map projection (-Sv leaves the directions unchanged.) See VECTOR ATTRIBUTES for specifying other attributes.
-Sw
pie wedge. Start and stop directions (in degrees counter-clockwise from horizontal) for pie slice must be found in columns 3 and 4. Append +a to just draw the arc line or +r to just draw the radial lines.
-SW
Same as -Sw, except azimuths (in degrees east of north) should be given instead of the two directions. The azimuths will be mapped into angles based on the chosen map projection (-Sw leaves the directions unchanged.) For geo-wedges, specify size as a radial geographical distance. For allowable geographical units, see UNITS. Append +a to just draw the arc or +r to just draw the radial lines.
-Sx
cross (x). size is diameter of circumscribing circle.
-Sy
y-dash (|). size is the length of a short vertical (y-dir) line segment.
-S=
geovector. Azimuth (in degrees east from north) and geographical length must be found in columns 3 and 4. The size is the length of the vector head. Vector width is set by -W. See VECTOR ATTRIBUTES for specifying attributes. Note: Geovector stems are drawn as thin filled polygons and hence pen attributes like dashed and dotted are not available. For allowable geographical units, see UNITS.
-S~

decorated line, i.e., lines with symbols along them. Append [d|D|f|l|L|n|N|s|S|x|X]info[:symbolinfo]. The required argument controls the placement of symbols along the decorated lines. Choose among six controlling algorithms:

ddist[c|i|p] or Ddist[d|e|f|k|m|M|n|s]
For lower case d, give distances between symbols on the plot in your preferred measurement unit c (cm), i (inch), or p (points), while for upper case D, specify distances in map units and append the unit; choose among e (m), f (foot), k (km), M (mile), n (nautical mile) or u (US survey foot), and d (arc degree), m (arc minute), or s (arc second). [Default is 10c or 4i]. As an option, you can append /fraction which is used to place the very first symbol for each line when the cumulative along-line distance equals fraction * dist [0.25].
fffile.d
Reads the ASCII file ffile.d and places symbols at locations in the file that matches locations along the decorated lines. Inexact matches and points outside the region are skipped.
l|Lline1[,line2,…]
Give the coordinates of the end points for one or more comma-separated straight line segments. Symbols will be placed where these lines intersect the decorated lines. The format of each line specification is start_lon/start_lat/stop_lon/stop_lat. Both start_lon/start_lat and stop_lon/stop_lat can be replaced by a 2-character key that uses the justification format employed in pstext to indicate a point on the frame or center of the map, given as [LCR][BMT]. L will interpret the point pairs as defining great circles [Default is straight line].
n|Nn_symbol
Specifies the number of equidistant symbols for decorated lines [1]. Upper case N starts placing symbols exactly at the start of the line [Default centers them along the line]. N-1 places one symbol at start, while N+1 places one symbol at the end of decorated lines. Optionally, append /min_dist[c|i|p] to enforce that a minimum distance separation between successive symbols is enforced.
s|Sn_symbol
Same as n|Nn_symbol but implies that the input data are first to be converted into a series of 2-point line segments before plotting.
x|Xxfile.d
Reads the multisegment file xfile.d and places symbols at the intersections between the decorated lines and the lines in xfile.d. X will resample the lines first along great-circle arcs.

The optional symbolinfo controls the specifics of the symbol selection and formatting and consists of a concatenated string made up of any of the following control arguments:

+aangle
For symbols at a fixed angle, +an for line-normal, or +ap for line-parallel [Default].
+d
Turns on debug which will draw helper points and lines to illustrate the workings of the decorated line setup.
+g[fill]
Sets the symbol fill [no fill].
+ndx[/dy]
Nudges the placement of symbols by the specified amount (append c|i|p to specify the units). Increments are considered in the coordinate system defined by the orientation of the line; use +N to force increments in the plot x/y coordinates system [no nudging].
+p[pen]
Draws the outline of symbols [Default is no outline]; optionally specify pen for outline [Default is width = 0.25p, color = black, style = solid].
+s<symbol><size>
Specifies the code and size of the decorative symbol.
+w
Specifies how many (x,y) points will be used to estimate symbol angles [Default is 10].

Note: By placing -S~ options in the segment header you can change the decorated lines on a segment-by-segment basis.

-U[[just]/dx/dy/][c|label] (more …)
Draw GMT time stamp logo on plot.
-V[level] (more …)
Select verbosity level [c].
-W[pen][attr] (more …)
Set pen attributes for the outline of symbols.

-X[a|c|f|r][x-shift[u]]

-Y[a|c|f|r][y-shift[u]] (more …)
Shift plot origin.
-bi[ncols][t] (more …)
Select native binary input. [Default is the required number of columns given the chosen settings].
-acol=name[] (more …)
Set aspatial column associations col=name.
-dinodata (more …)
Replace input columns that equal nodata with NaN.
-e[~]”pattern” | -e[~]/regexp/[i] (more …)
Only accept data records that match the given pattern.
-f[i|o]colinfo (more …)
Specify data types of input and/or output columns.
-g[a]x|y|d|X|Y|D|[col]z[+|-]gap[u] (more …)
Determine data gaps and line breaks. The -g option is ignored if -S is set.
-h[i|o][n][+c][+d][+rremark][+rtitle] (more …)
-icols[+l][+sscale][+ooffset][,] (more …)
Select input columns and transformations (0 is first column).
-:[i|o] (more …)
Swap 1st and 2nd column on input and/or output.
-p[x|y|z]azim[/elev[/zlevel]][+wlon0/lat0[/z0]][+vx0/y0] (more …)
Select perspective view.
-t[transp] (more …)
Set PDF transparency level in percent.
-^ or just -
Print a short message about the syntax of the command, then exits (NOTE: on Windows just use -).
-+ or just +
Print an extensive usage (help) message, including the explanation of any module-specific option (but not the GMT common options), then exits.
-? or no arguments
Print a complete usage (help) message, including the explanation of all options, then exits.

## Units¶

For map distance unit, append unit d for arc degree, m for arc minute, and s for arc second, or e for meter [Default], f for foot, k for km, M for statute mile, n for nautical mile, and u for US survey foot. By default we compute such distances using a spherical approximation with great circles. Prepend - to a distance (or the unit is no distance is given) to perform “Flat Earth” calculations (quicker but less accurate) or prepend + to perform exact geodesic calculations (slower but more accurate).

## Vector Attributes¶

Several modifiers may be appended to the vector-producing options to specify the placement of vector heads, their shapes, and the justification of the vector. Below, left and right refers to the side of the vector line when viewed from the start point to the end point of the segment:

+aangle sets the angle of the vector head apex [30].

+b places a vector head at the beginning of the vector path [none]. Optionally, append t for a terminal line, c for a circle, a for arrow [Default], i for tail, A for plain arrow, and I for plain tail. Further append l|r to only draw the left or right side of this head [both sides].

+e places a vector head at the end of the vector path [none]. Optionally, append t for a terminal line, c for a circle, a for arrow [Default], i for tail, A for plain arrow, and I for plain tail. Further append l|r to only draw the left or right side of this head [both sides].

+g-|fill turns off vector head fill (if -) or sets the vector head fill [Default fill is used, which may be no fill].

+hshape sets the shape of the vector head (range -2/2). Default is controlled by MAP_VECTOR_SHAPE [0].

+l draws half-arrows, using only the left side of specified heads [both sides].

+m places a vector head at the mid-point the vector path [none]. Append f or r for forward or reverse direction of the vector [forward]. Optionally, append t for a terminal line, c for a circle, or a for arrow head [Default]. Further append l|r to only draw the left or right side of this head [both sides]. Cannot be combined with +b or +e.

+nnorm scales down vector attributes (pen thickness, head size) with decreasing length, where vectors shorter than norm will have their attributes scaled by length/norm [arrow attributes remains invariant to length].

+oplon/plat specifies the oblique pole for the great or small circles. Only needed for great circles if +q is given.

+p[-][pen] sets the vector pen attributes. If pen has a leading - then the head outline is not drawn. [Default pen is used, and head outline is drawn]

+q means the input angle, length data instead represent the start and stop opening angles of the arc segment relative to the given point.

+r draws half-arrows, using only the right side of specified heads [both sides].

+t[b|e]trim will shift the beginning or end point (or both) along the vector segment by the given trim; append suitable unit. If the modifiers b|e are not used then trim may be two values separated by a slash, which is used to specify different trims for the two ends. Positive trims will shorted the vector while negative trims will lengthen it [no trim].

In addition, all but circular vectors may take these modifiers:

+jjust determines how the input x,y point relates to the vector. Choose from beginning [default], end, or center.

+s means the input angle, length are instead the x, y coordinates of the vector end point.

Finally, Cartesian vectors may take these modifiers:

+zscale[unit] expects input dx,dy vector components and uses the scale to convert to polar coordinates with length in given unit.

## Examples¶

To plot circles (diameter = 0.1 cm) on a 6-inch-wide ternary diagram at the positions listed in the file ternary.txt, with default annotations and gridline spacings, using the specified labeling, tru

gmt psternary ternary.txt -R0/100/0/100/0/100 -JX6i -P -Xc -Baafg+l"Water component"+u" %" \
-Bbafg+l"Air component"+u" %" -Bcagf+l"Limestone component"+u" %" \
-B+givory+t"Example data from MATLAB Central" -Sc0.1c -Ct.cpt -Y2i -LWater/Air/Limestone > map.ps