set style line

Each terminal has a default set of line and point types, which can be seen by using the command test. set style line defines a set of line types and widths and point types and sizes so that you can refer to them later by an index instead of repeating all the information at each invocation.

Syntax:

      set style line <index> default
      set style line <index> {{linetype  | lt} <line_type> | <colorspec>}
                             {{linecolor | lc} <colorspec>}
                             {{linewidth | lw} <line_width>}
                             {{pointtype | pt} <point_type>}
                             {{pointsize | ps} <point_size>}
                             {{pointinterval | pi} <interval>}
                             {{pointnumber | pn} <max_symbols>}
                             {{dashtype | dt} <dashtype>}
                             {palette}
      unset style line
      show style line

default sets all line style parameters to those of the linetype with that same index.

If the linestyle <index> already exists, only the given parameters are changed while all others are preserved. If not, all undefined values are set to the default values.

Line styles created by this mechanism do not replace the default linetype styles; both may be used. Line styles are temporary. They are lost whenever you execute a reset command. To redefine the linetype itself, please see set linetype.

The line and point types default to the index value. The exact symbol that is drawn for that index value may vary from one terminal type to another.

The line width and point size are multipliers for the current terminal's default width and size (but note that <point_size> here is unaffected by the multiplier given by the commandset pointsize).

The pointinterval controls the spacing between points in a plot drawn with style linespoints. The default is 0 (every point is drawn). For example, set style line N pi 3 defines a linestyle that uses pointtype N, pointsize and linewidth equal to the current defaults for the terminal, and will draw every 3rd point in plots using with linespoints. A negative value for the interval is treated the same as a positive value, except that some terminals will try to interrupt the line where it passes through the point symbol.

The pointnumber property is similar to pointinterval except that rather than plotting every Nth point it limits the total number of points to N.

Not all terminals support the linewidth and pointsize features; if not supported, the option will be ignored.

Terminal-independent colors may be assigned using either linecolor <colorspec> or linetype <colorspec>, abbreviated lc or lt. This requires giving a RGB color triple, a known palette color name, a fractional index into the current palette, or a constant value from the current mapping of the palette onto cbrange. See colors, colorspec, set palette, colornames, cbrange.

set style line <n> linetype <lt> will set both a terminal-dependent dot/dash pattern and color. The commandsset style line <n> linecolor <colorspec> or set style line <n> linetype <colorspec> will set a new line color while leaving the existing dot-dash pattern unchanged.

In 3d mode (splot command), the special keyword palette is allowed as a shorthand for "linetype palette z". The color value corresponds to the z-value (elevation) of the splot, and varies smoothly along a line or surface.

Examples: Suppose that the default lines for indices 1, 2, and 3 are red, green, and blue, respectively, and the default point shapes for the same indices are a square, a cross, and a triangle, respectively. Then

      set style line 1 lt 2 lw 2 pt 3 ps 0.5

defines a new linestyle that is green and twice the default width and a new pointstyle that is a half-sized triangle. The commands

      set style function lines
      plot f(x) lt 3, g(x) ls 1

will create a plot of f(x) using the default blue line and a plot of g(x) using the user-defined wide green line. Similarly the commands

      set style function linespoints
      plot p(x) lt 1 pt 3, q(x) ls 1

will create a plot of p(x) using the default triangles connected by a red line and q(x) using small triangles connected by a green line.

      splot sin(sqrt(x*x+y*y))/sqrt(x*x+y*y) w l pal

creates a surface plot using smooth colors according to palette. Note, that this works only on some terminals. See also set palette, set pm3d.

      set style line 10 linetype 1 linecolor rgb "cyan"

will assign linestyle 10 to be a solid cyan line on any terminal that supports rgb colors.