Global Plot Settings: Themes

Plot Theme settings are accessed in the Theme for plot settings section:

• Locally on the Plot Properties window (right-click any plot in the Visualizations window).
• Globally on the Options window for both Graphical Mode and Console Mode.

There are these predefined plot themes available: Default, Large, Small, or Publication. For these themes, you can use them as a template to create your own custom theme or export the json file for use elsewhere.

The predefined plot themes have many of the same settings where key differences include font sizes, plot area size and type, scaling, data point marker radius, tick mark length, and line width. For all predefined themes, the default font is SansSerif with the style Plain (normal).

See Predefined Theme Settings for details and differences.

You can create, edit, delete, rename, import, and export custom themes.

When any change is made to a predefined or custom theme, either locally or globally, a blue text message under the Theme for plot settings section reminds you that at least one plotting input has changed.

When you see this blue text you can:

• Ignore it and apply the local changes to a specific plot. In this case when you click Perform or Perform Tree to update the plot in the Visualizations window the change only applies to this one plot. The blue text continues to be visible.
• Create a new custom theme (click Save as). If this is done locally on the Plot Properties window, the new theme is added to the global list but only applied locally to the plot. The blue text is gone.
• Update an existing custom theme (click Save). If this is done on the Plot Properties window, the changes are applied globally and applied locally to the plot. The blue text is gone.
• Discard the changes and click Reset to original settings (for global Options windows you may need to scroll, it is in the bottom right of the window) or Reset (for local settings on the Plot Properties window). The blue text is gone.

1. In the Theme for plot settings section, choose an option from the Theme list.
2. Click OK to apply the theme. Click close (X) or Cancel to exit without saving, or Reset to revert any changes to the original saved settings.

• On the Options window this is applied globally.
• On the Plot Properties window this is applied locally to the specific plot in the Visualizations window.

There is some interaction between these checkboxes as detailed in the table below.

If you have a project file with calculated results and local settings applied to plots i.e. applied from the Visualizations window to a specific plot via the Plot Properties settings window, then click to clear the local setting as you open the file using Apply plot theme from Tools/Options checkbox. Otherwise the default global settings are applied to all plots and you would need to individually change these settings back to your original design. Alternatively, experiment with applying a predefined theme, e.g. Publication, as this could be sufficient for your final output.

To create a custom theme, you start by making changes to the selected theme type and then save it with a new name using the Save as option.

You can work with themes from both the global or local settings windows. Global settings are accessed on the Options window (Windows: Tools → Options; Mac: Thermo-Calc <version> → Preferences) and local plot settings accessed from the Visualizations window when you right-click an individual plot and choose Properties.

For example, the Background color is changed to RGB #FF4EE2 for the Default theme. Next to the Theme for plot settings section, a message in blue alerts you that at least one plotting input has changed.

To save the new settings including the change to the background color (you cannot replace the predefined themes), you also must make sure to click OK at the end.

How to Create a Custom Plot Theme

1. In the Theme for plot settings section, click Save as. The New theme plot setting window opens.
2. In the Theme name field enter the new custom theme name. The new theme is now available from the list.
3. On the Plot Properties or Options window, click OK to finish. Click close (X) or Cancel to exit without saving, or Reset to revert any changes to the original saved settings.

Use the Import option to add your own theme with the file type of *.json. Once the file is imported, you can make further changes and save the new theme settings as needed. If you import a theme that uses the same name one already in the list (e.g. Publication), the imported theme name is changed automatically by adding a number at the end of its name (e.g. Publication_1). You can then Rename the theme to give it a unique name.

How to Import a Custom Plot Theme

1. In the Theme for plot settings section, click Import.
2. Navigate to where you saved the .json file, select it, then click Open.
3. During the import, and if there are incorrect input values, you are prompted with an error message describing the issue with the file.

   This could be for various reasons, such as entering a value that is not available (i.e. it is out of bounds), or the file contains information about an unavailable setting. In particular these settings must be correctly entered in the import file: font sizes, tie line, number of decimals, border width, data points marker radius, x and y axis tick marks length, and jpeg compression level.

4. If it is a successful import, click Rename to give the theme a unique name.
5. On the Plot Properties or Options window, click OK to finish. Click close (X) or Cancel to exit without saving, or Reset to revert any changes to the original saved settings.

Use the Export option to export an existing theme or after creating a custom theme.

You can also export an existing theme, edit it in a text editor (making sure to save the file with file extension .json), and then Import this new .json file. However, it is better to use the Graphical User Interface to prepare your custom theme in order to minimize errors during import.

How to Export a Plot Theme

1. In the Theme for plot settings section, select the Theme to export.
2. Click Export.
3. Navigate to where you want to save the .json file. Enter a File name as required then click Save.

After you have created a custom theme, it can be deleted from the list. Predefined themes cannot be deleted.

If the selected theme is deleted from the global Options section, and you open a project or plot that uses the now deleted theme, the default theme is selected but it includes the message in blue next to the section to remind you that at least one plotting input has changed. In the example the custom theme, BackgroundPink, was deleted at the global level but at the local level for the specific plot open in the Visualizations window the settings are retained and the message displays.

How to Delete a Custom Plot Theme

1. In the Theme for plot settings section, select the Theme to delete.
2. Click Delete.
3. Click OK on the window that opens.
4. On the Plot Properties or Options window, click OK to finish. Click close (X) or Cancel to exit without saving, or Reset to revert any changes to the original saved settings.

After you have created or imported a custom theme, it can be renamed. Predefined themes cannot be renamed.

How to Rename a Custom Plot Theme

1. In the Theme for plot settings section, select the custom Theme to rename.
2. Click Rename.
3. Enter the new name in the field. Click OK.
4. On the Plot Properties or Options window, click OK to finish. Click close (X) or Cancel to exit without saving, or Reset to revert any changes to the original saved settings.