Use the Settings... menu command to open the settings or preferences windows (note that prior to MacOS Ventura, this menu is named Preferences... but Apple thought that users would not understand that "preferences" in applications are the same as "settings" in iPhone apps). Most of the settings determine default values for plot styles but they only apply to future plots (currently-opened plot are not affected).

Note: settings marked below with an "*" apply to features of plotted data sets. Because saved plot files only save data set features that differ from current default settings, changes to settings marked with a "*" will also apply to those features in re-opened plots that used prior default settings.

The possible settings by section are:

General

• Plot Frame: decide if plots should be surrounded by a box or use x-y axes through a plot-specific origin.
• Major tick mark labels on axes (when axes are drawn): when checked and the plot uses x-y axes, the major tick mark labels will be along the axes. Otherwise those labels will be outside the plot area as if the plot is surrounded by a box.
• Major ticks form grid: when checked, draw grid lines across the plot at major tick marks.
• Minor ticks form grid: when checked, draw grid lines across the plot at major tick marks.
• Ticks On Frames and On Axes: pick default tick style for plots using frames and for plots using axes.
• Dotted Line*: enter aspect ratio for dots and the space between dots when drawing a dotted line (this preference affects all dotted lines, even previously saved plots).
• Dashed Line*: enter aspect ratio for dashes and the space between dashes when drawing a dashed line (this preference affects all dashed lines, even previously saved plots).
• Dimensions: choose dimensions used to display window size (this preference affects all plots immediately).
• Link Scripts Folder: click to select a new scripts folder.
• Open Help in Browser: when checked, open help information in your default browser instead of Apple's Help viewer. The advantage of a browser is that the help window does not force itself on top. Apple's help viewer adds searching, but it can get confused about search results after updates to new versions of PublishPlot.

Sizes

All the following sizes are set as a percentage of the plot diagonal, such that all elements scale well if the plot is resized.

• Frame line width: the line for the box around the plot or the axes through an origin.
• Plot line width*: lines connect points in data sets.
• Symbol line width*: lines framing symbols when used with data sets.
• Error bar line width*: lines drawn for error bars.
• Arrow line width*: lines for arrows.
• Rect/Oval line width*: lines for rectangles and ovals.
• Symbol size*: size of symbols when used with data sets.
• Error bar size*: size of the heads on error bars.
• Arrowhead size*: size of arrowheads.
• Tick mark length: the length of tick marks at major ticks (minor tick marks are shorter and relative to this length).
• Pattern line spacing: distance between lines in patterns used to fill symbols.

Colors

Double click the color column to change any color using a standard Mac color palette (or drag and drop a color on top of any table line). The background color and the three "fill" colors can also set preferred opacity for those colors.

• Background color: the background color for plots (can set opacity).
• Frame color: the color for the frame around plots or for axes through an origin.
• Tick color: the color for tick marks and grid lines when ticks form a grid.
• Object color*: the color of lines connecting points in data sets.
• Symbol line color*: color for line around symbols when used with data sets.
• Symbol fill color*: color to fill symbols when used with data sets (can set opacity).
• Error bar line color*: color for error bar lines.
• Box fill color*: color to fill boxes or probability densities in Box & Whisker or Violin plots (can set opacity).
• Arrow color*: color for arrows.
• Rect/Oval line color*: color to stroke rectangles and ovals.
• Rect/Oval fill color*: color to fill rectangles and ovals (can set opacity).
• Selected object color: color for indicators used to select an object in a plot.
• Background selected object color: color for indicators used to select an object in a plot when the plot window is not the front window.

Fonts

Double click the font name to change to a new font using the standard Mac font panel. Double click the color to change the font color column using a standard Mac color palette (or drag and drop a color on top of any table line).

• Axis title font: text used for the titles on each axis.
• Label font: text used for labels at each major tick mark.
• Plot text font: text used for label annotations.
• Data editing font: text used in the inspector window for editing data sets. Note that this font uses the default MacOS edit color designed for default MacOS editing background color and therefore its color cannot be changed.