I succeeded in finding a way out by defining several animate commands and finally combining them in a display command. I am however still puzzled why this animation needs to take up such a large space. Using 100 frames it takes my Intel i7 computer 19 seconds to save the file and the file is about 10 MB. As mathematically defined objects I would assume it to be much faster and the file to me much smaller ...

Regards,

Erik

I am aware it is not an Epicycle. Therefore I used the addition 'simplified'. There is the Mathematical Epicycloid you refer to and the Epicycle constructed by Ptolemy to describe planetary motions and the latter is quite complex including Equants etc. Anyway the name is really not the question here. I just want to have the big circle as a background image (fixed), the small circle rotating on the big one (without trace) and the ball's motion traced. I don't really see how this is done.

Erik

I am aware it is not an Epicycle. Therefore I used the addition 'simplified'. There is the Mathematical Epicycloid you refer to and the Epicycle constructed by Ptolemy to describe planetary motions and the latter is quite complex including Equants etc. Anyway the name is really not the question here. I just want to have the big circle as a background image (fixed), the small circle rotating on the big one (without trace) and the ball's motion traced. I don't really see how this is done.

Erik

Thanks Georgios. It seems like it is not possible to access a Table from a programming environment. I guess that has not been changed in version 16 ...

Erik

Thanks Georgios. It seems like it is not possible to access a Table from a programming environment. I guess that has not been changed in version 16 ...

Erik

Thanks. Your link gives me some other useful information. But what I really asked for: Is it possible to write a program that generate a table with borders of the same kind as when you manually use the menu Insert > Table...? If so, I also want to generate content in the cells. Maybe it is not possible?

Erik

Thanks. Your link gives me some other useful information. But what I really asked for: Is it possible to write a program that generate a table with borders of the same kind as when you manually use the menu Insert > Table...? If so, I also want to generate content in the cells. Maybe it is not possible?

Erik

Thanks pagan. Good explanation. Just what I was looking for!

Regards,

Erik

Thanks pagan. Good explanation. Just what I was looking for!

Regards,

Erik

Thanks for taking these issues seriously and passing them on to Maplesoft's developers. I appreciate your reply. I will consider submitting issues directly to Technical Support next time. At least this post reveal that it is not just a problem I have myself, other users recognize them as well - according to the up votes!

Thanks,

Erik 

Christopher, my graphics is png format, which is bitmap, not vector graphics! The problem is that Maple 16 doesn't handle inserted graphics in the same way as the built-in graphics like drawing, canvas, etc. This means that Maple 16 can't handle those two ingredients in one completed piece, as you mention yourself. I am not looking for any workaround here: Either it works easily, or it is not worth using. I need to look at this from my students viewpoint!

I am not sure if I understand what you mean regarding your Canon Printer. Anyway, everybody will experience this bad behavior. It is not something connected to a specific printer. Besides export to pdf is really a "print to file" operation. It will reveal any bad printing behavior.

Certainly I hope for a 16.02 update to solve those very important issues ...

Regards,

Erik

I have detected another image problem. It happens that I take a screenshot of some figures associated with an exercise as documentation and sometimes I draw on the image to add information. In the example below I have added dimensions 2.15 m to an image, by selecting the image, in which case a draw menu appears ... As you can see on my image below print/pdf work in Maple 15, but not in Maple16. Så this kind of documentation is not possible in Maple 16 anymore. A pity. To sum it up:

1. Problem with "empty holes" in print/pdf.

2. Dragging an image in the Maple worksheet has no effect in print/pdf.

3. Drawing on images in the Maple worksheet result in misleading print/pdf. 

I find the first two problems completely uacceptable as I have mentioned above. The third one is inconvenient.

Regards,

Erik

Good point, Jakubi! Your examples show that when plotting the graphs of two functions, the present algorithm might already leave an "empty hole" to the left and/or to the right of one of the two graphs, so why remove the holes by decreasing the x-range, when there is only one graph? This makes me even more sure this is the right way to handle it, exactly as Jacubi mention:

Never overiding user input, only let the heuristic algorithm work on the rest of the data.

Pros: The user will never be confused by having his decisions changed. The heuristic algorithm will be applicable in exactly the same amount of situations as is the case already now. It will mean more convenient plots than was the case in Maple 15.

Cons: I don't really see any. OK, maybe a small aesthetical issue, but it is completely overshadowed by the confusion the overriding of user input will imply.

NB! Another thing as mentioned by Jakubi: The heuristic algorithm can probably be improved a bit (Jakubi's 2. image).

I think smartview is a great new addition, but only if Maplesoft doesn't confuse students by having their input changed!

Regards,

Erik

Hi dskoog

Thanks for listening to these complaints. I am pretty sure this behavior with empty holes in print and pdf will result in an outcry from users on not just the academic school where I am employeed, but many other places too. I had say it need to be resolved rather fast in a service update. Else, people like myself, who have recommended the use of Maple on our school, will have a hard time defending this behavior. Some people might even ask for another system. It is crucial that prints and pdf look reasonable well!

I know it is probably impossible to make things look exactly like they do on screen - since people use different screen formats, etc. It is however very important to address the following:  

1. Removing the empty holes on print/pdf.

2. Scaling images and plots by dragging in the worksheet should result in a scaling in print/pdf.

Regarding 2: As it is now, dragging an image in the worksheet does not affect the print at all! I have produced several instruction documents in Maple about Maple and converted them to pdf for my students. They contain screenshot images. If I take a print in Maple 16, some images are so small that it is impossible to read. That is OK, if I just have the choice to drag those images in the worksheet and have them bigger when printed. But it simply doesn't work!! So as it is now, I can basicly fold my Maple instructions and put them in the garbage can!    

If you can't solve those two issues, I had prefer if you go back to how it was in Maple 15! I hope though that Maplesoft can find out how to keep the more resonable looking images and plots as introduced in Maple 16 and at the same time have those two issues solved.   

I really hope this problem is resolved when I start up school again in mid-august. Thanks for listening to the users.

Regards,

Erik

I have read all your remarks on this new smartview thing with interest. I think I understand your different views on this matter. Anyway I often evaluate the different features to if they will work good for my students, not myself. Therefore I was delighted when I watched the new smartview feature on video. It really makes a difference to have plots of say 1/x plotted in a way students can use or understand without having to manipulate the ranges too much. Weak students might think something is wrong when they see the plot of 1/x in Maple 15. In Maple 16 it is much better. However I guess one have to realize that we cannot have the best of all Worlds. In a few circumstances it is better without smartview. Then the question: When should smartview be overridden? One of you suggest that just adding the x-range to the plot command should disable smartview. In that case the smartview feature cannot be applied for a lot of functions with vertical asymptotes, since you need to use an x-range different from the default one from -10 to 10. Therefore I don't like it.

I suggest the following: When the user specify the x-range, say plot(exp(x),x=-3..3), the smartview should be inwoked on the y-axis, as Dave H tell us it already does. But then the "empty holes" on the x-axis should not be removed. Only if the user also specifies the y-range, say plot(exp(x),x=-3..3,y=-1..10), then smartview should be completely disabled.

Explanation: I simply don't like Maple to override the students request of having the x-range from -3 to 3. It will confuse them I am sure, and make them uncertain. It doesn't really matter if there are some holes to the right and left. The student will know how to increase the y-range to watch more of the graph.   

I don't know if I have overlooked some cases, in which my suggestion won't work for?  

NB! Great that employeed at Maplesoft take part in these discussions!


Regards,

Erik