.. index:: ! gmt.conf

********
gmt.conf
********

Configuration for GMT

Description
-----------

The following is a list of the parameters that are user-definable in
GMT. The parameter names are always given in **UPPER CASE**. The
parameter values are case-insensitive unless otherwise noted. Theme-independent
system defaults are given in brackets [default is **value**], with units
specified for dimensional quantities, while theme-dependent defaults are
outlined in the **GMT_THEME** :doc:`settings table <theme-settings>`. Most parameters
can be changed by using :doc:`gmtset`, editing a **gmt.conf** file that can be
acquired using :doc:`gmtdefaults`, or setting parameters on-the-fly via the
**--PARAMETER**\ =\ *VALUE* option to any GMT program. However, a few are static
and are only read via the **gmt.conf** file; these are labeled (*static*).
Several parameters take only **true** or **false**. It is recommended that users
specify the units for distances and lengths by appending **c** (cm),
**i** (inch), or **p** (points) when changing parameters using any of these
methods. By default, when no unit is specified the value will be assumed to be
cm for parameters not related to fonts or pen thicknesses and will be assumed to
be points for parameters related to fonts or pen thicknesses. The interpretation
of unitless dimensional quantities can be changed using the parameter
:term:`PROJ_LENGTH_UNIT` or specifying US units when building GMT.

Common Specifications
---------------------

The full explanation for how to specify pens, pattern fills, colors, and
fonts can be found in the :doc:`gmt` man page.

================================= ================
THEMATIC SUB-SECTIONS             *prefix*
================================= ================
`COLOR Parameters`_               **COLOR_**
`DIR Parameters`_                 **DIR_**
`FONT Parameters`_                **FONT_**
`FORMAT Parameters`_              **FORMAT_**
`GMT Miscellaneous Parameters`_   **GMT_**
`I/O Parameters`_                 **IO_**
`MAP Parameters`_                 **MAP_**
`Projection Parameters`_          **PROJ_**
`PostScript Parameters`_          **PS_**
`Calendar/Time Parameters`_       **TIME_**
================================= ================


.. _COLOR Parameters:

COLOR Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. glossary::

    **COLOR_BACKGROUND**
        Color used for the background of images (i.e., when z < lowest color
        table entry) [default is **black**].  **Note**: If the current CPT
        has a specification for background color then that takes precedence.

    **COLOR_FOREGROUND**
        Color used for the foreground of images (i.e., when z > highest
        color table entry) [default is **white**].  **Note**: If the current CPT
        has a specification for foreground color then that takes precedence.

    **COLOR_CPT**
        Default CPT table when none is selected [default is **turbo**].  **Note**:
        Grids with a default CPT in the header will ignore this setting.

    **COLOR_HSV_MAX_S**
        Maximum saturation (0-1) assigned for most positive intensity value
        [default is **0.1**]. **Note**: The default is most suitable for paper
        printing.  Use 0 for all digital imagery.

    **COLOR_HSV_MIN_S**
        Minimum saturation (0-1) assigned for most negative intensity value
        [default is **1.0**].

    **COLOR_HSV_MAX_V**
        Maximum value (0-1) assigned for most positive intensity value
        [default is **1.0**].

    **COLOR_HSV_MIN_V**
        Minimum value (0-1) assigned for most negative intensity value
        [default is **0.3**]. **Note**: The default is most suitable for paper
        printing.  Use 0 for all digital imagery.

    **COLOR_MODEL**
        Selects in which color space a CPT should be interpolated.
        By default, color interpolation takes place directly on the RGB
        values which can produce some unexpected hues, whereas interpolation
        directly on the HSV values better preserves those hues. The choices
        are: **none** (use whatever the **COLOR_MODEL** setting in the
        CPT demands), **rgb** (force interpolation in RGB),
        **hsv** (force interpolation in HSV), or **cmyk** (assumes colors are
        in CMYK but interpolates in RGB) [default is **none**].

    **COLOR_NAN**
        Color used for the non-defined areas of images (i.e., where z = NaN)
        [default is **128**].  **Note**: If the current CPT has a color
        specification for NaN values then that takes precedence.

    **COLOR_SET**
        Default comma-separated list of colors (or a *categorical* CPT name) for
        automatic, sequential color assignments
        [default is **#0072BD,#D95319,#EDB120,#7E2F8E,#77AC30,#4DBEEE,#A2142F**].

.. _DIR Parameters:

DIR Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. glossary::

    **DIR_CACHE**
        Cache directory where we save remote cache filenames starting in **@**
        (e.g., @hotspots.txt) [default is **~/.gmt/cache**].

    **DIR_DATA**
        Session data directory. Overrides the value of the environment variable
        **$GMT_DATADIR** (see :ref:`Directory parameters` in the Technical Reference).

    **DIR_DCW**
        Path to optional Digital Chart of the World polygon files.

    **DIR_GSHHG**
        Path to GSHHG files. Defaults to **$GMT_SHAREDIR**/coast if empty.

.. _FONT Parameters:

FONT Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. glossary::

    **FONT**
        Sets the default for all fonts, except :term:`FONT_LOGO`. This setting
        is not included in the **gmt.conf** file.

    **FONT_ANNOT**
        Sets both :term:`FONT_ANNOT_PRIMARY` and :term:`FONT_ANNOT_SECONDARY` to
        the value specified. This setting is not included in the **gmt.conf** file.

    **FONT_ANNOT_PRIMARY**
        Font used for primary annotations, etc [default is :doc:`theme dependent
        <theme-settings>`]. When **+** is prepended, scale fonts, offsets and
        tick-lengths relative to :term:`FONT_ANNOT_PRIMARY`. Choose **auto** for
        :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **FONT_ANNOT_SECONDARY**
        Font to use for time axis secondary annotations [default is
        :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`] Choose **auto** for
        :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **FONT_HEADING**
        Font to use when plotting headings above subplots [default is
        :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`]. Choose **auto** for
        :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **FONT_LABEL**
        Font to use when plotting labels below axes [default is :doc:`theme dependent
        <theme-settings>`]. Choose **auto** for :ref:`automatic scaling with plot
        size <auto-scaling>`.

    **FONT_LOGO**
        Font to use for text plotted as part of the GMT time logo. **Note**: Since the
        time logo has a fixed height the font size for the time stamp is 8p and for the
        optional label it is 7p. Hence, changing this font only affects the font style
        and color but not its size.

    **FONT_SUBTITLE**
        Font to use when plotting titles over graphs that involve a subtitle
        [default is :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`]. Choose **auto** for
        :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **FONT_TAG**
        Font to use for subplot panel tags such as a), ii)
        [default is :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`]. Choose **auto**
        for :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **FONT_TITLE**
        Font to use when plotting titles over graphs [default is :doc:`theme dependent
        <theme-settings>`]. Choose **auto** for :ref:`automatic scaling with plot
        size <auto-scaling>`.

.. _FORMAT Parameters:

FORMAT Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. glossary::

    **FORMAT_CLOCK_IN**
        Formatting template that indicates how a clock string is formatted.
        This template is then used to guide the reading of clock strings in data fields.
        For 12-hour clocks, append **am**, **AM**, **a.m.**, or **A.M.** (GMT will replace a\|A with p\|P for pm).
        As examples, try hh:mm, hh:mm:ssAM, hh:mm:ss.xxxx etc. [default is **hh:mm:ss**].

    **FORMAT_CLOCK_MAP**
        Formatting template that indicates how an output clock string is to
        be plotted. This template is then used to guide the formatting of
        clock strings in plot annotations. See :term:`FORMAT_CLOCK_OUT` for
        details [default is **hh:mm:ss**].

    **FORMAT_CLOCK_OUT**
        See :term:`FORMAT_CLOCK_IN`.
        In addition, for output we can also start the template with a leading hyphen (**-**).
        Then each integer item (y,m,d) will be printed without leading zeros (default uses fixed width formats).
        If the format is simply **-** then no clock is output and the ISO T divider between date and clock is omitted.
        To use a floating point format for the smallest unit (e.g., seconds), append **.xxx**, where the number of x indicates the desired precision.
        If no floating point is indicated then the smallest specified unit will be rounded off to nearest integer.
        **Note**: When high-precision time-series are written to ASCII output the default format may not be adequate.
        Many modules automatically handle this by extending the format, but you should be alert of unusual situations where data may appear truncated to nearest second.

    **FORMAT_DATE_IN**
        Formatting template that indicates how an input date string is
        formatted. This template is then used to guide the reading of date
        strings in data fields. You may specify either Gregorian calendar
        format or ISO week calendar format. Gregorian calendar: Use any
        combination of **yyyy** (or **yy** for 2-digit years; if so see
        :term:`TIME_Y2K_OFFSET_YEAR`), **mm** (or **o** for abbreviated month
        name in the current time language), and **dd**, with or without delimiters.
        For day-of-year data, use **jjj** instead of **mm** and/or **dd**. Examples
        can be ddmmyyyy, yy-mm-dd, dd-o-yyyy, yyyy/dd/mm, yyyy-jjj, etc. ISO
        Calendar: Expected template is **yyyy[-]W[-]ww[-]d**, where ww is ISO
        week and d is ISO week day. Either template must be consistent,
        e.g., you cannot specify months if you do not specify years.
        Examples are yyyyWwwd, yyyy-Www, etc. [default is **yyyy-mm-dd**].

    **FORMAT_DATE_MAP**
        Formatting template that indicates how an output date string is to
        be plotted. This template is then used to guide the plotting of date
        strings in data fields. See :term:`FORMAT_DATE_OUT` for details. In
        addition, you may use a single **o** instead of **mm** (to plot month name)
        and **u** instead of W[-]ww to plot "Week ##". Both of these text
        strings will be affected by the :term:`GMT_LANGUAGE`,
        :term:`FORMAT_TIME_PRIMARY_MAP` and :term:`FORMAT_TIME_SECONDARY_MAP`
        setting [default is **yyyy-mm-dd**].

    **FORMAT_DATE_OUT**
        Formatting template that indicates how an output date string is to
        be formatted. This template is then used to guide the writing of
        date strings in data fields. You may specify either Gregorian
        calendar format or ISO week calendar format. Gregorian calendar: Use
        any combination of **yyyy** (or **yy** for 2-digit years; if so see
        :term:`TIME_Y2K_OFFSET_YEAR`), **mm** (or **o** for abbreviated month name
        in the current time language), and **dd**, with or without delimiters. For
        day-of-year data, use **jjj** instead of mm and/or dd. As examples, try
        yy/mm/dd, yyyy=jjj, dd-o-yyyy, dd-mm-yy, yy-mm, etc. ISO Calendar:
        Expected template is **yyyy[-]W[-]ww[-]d**, where ww is ISO week and d
        is ISO week day. Either template must be consistent, e.g., you
        cannot specify months if you do not specify years. As examples, try
        yyyyWww, yy-W-ww-d, etc. If your template starts with a leading
        hyphen (**-**) then each integer item (y,m,d) will be printed without
        leading zeros (default uses fixed width formats) [default is **yyyy-mm-dd**].
        If the format is simply **-** then no date is output and the ISO T divider
        between date and clock is omitted.

    **FORMAT_GEO_MAP**
        Formatting template that indicates how an output geographical
        coordinate is to be plotted. This template is then used to guide the
        plotting of geographical coordinates in data fields. See
        :term:`FORMAT_GEO_OUT` for details. In addition, you can append **A**
        which plots the absolute value of the coordinate. Not all items may be
        plotted as this depends on the annotation interval [default is
        :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`].

    **FORMAT_GEO_OUT**
        Formatting template that indicates how an output geographical
        coordinate is to be formatted. This template is then used to guide
        the writing of geographical coordinates in data fields. The template
        is in general of the form **[±]D[DD]** or **[±]ddd[:mm[:ss]][.xxx]** [default is **D**].
        By default, longitudes will be reported in the range [-180,180]. The
        various terms have the following purpose:

        ========   =================================================================
        Term       Purpose
        ========   =================================================================
        **D**      Use :term:`FORMAT_FLOAT_OUT` for floating point degrees [default]
        **+D**     Output longitude in the range [0,360]
        **-D**     Output longitude in the range [-360,0]
        **DDD**    Fixed format integer degrees (3 digits for longitude, 2 digits for latitude)
        **ddd**    Integer degrees
        **:**      Delimiter used (this will translate to degree, minute, seconds symbols on maps)
        **mm**     Fixed format integer arc minutes (2 digits)
        **ss**     Fixed format integer arc seconds (2 digits)
        **.xxx**   Floating fraction of previous integer field, fixed width
        **F**      Encode sign using WESN suffix
        **G**      Same as **F** but with a leading space before suffix
        ========   =================================================================

        **Note**: With :term:`FORMAT_GEO_MAP`, **F** and **G** may also be used as a prefix.

    **FORMAT_FLOAT_MAP**
        Format (C language printf syntax, see :term:`FORMAT_FLOAT_OUT`) to be used when plotting double
        precision floating point numbers along plot frames and contours [default is **%.12g**].
        For geographic coordinates, see :term:`FORMAT_GEO_MAP`.

    **FORMAT_FLOAT_OUT**
        Format (C language `printf <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printf_format_string>`_ syntax)
        to be used when printing double precision floating point numbers to output files [default is **%.12g**].
        For geographic coordinates, see :term:`FORMAT_GEO_OUT`.
        To give some columns a separate format,
        supply one or more comma-separated *cols*:*format* specifications,
        where *cols* can be specific columns (e.g., 5 for 6th since 0 is the first)
        or a range of columns (e.g., 3-7).
        The last specification without column information will override the format for all other columns.
        Alternatively, you can list N space-separated formats and these apply to the first N columns.

        The printf syntax is ``%[minimum width].[precision]type``,
        where **type** may be **f**, **e**, **E**, **g** or **G**.
        The default is ``%.12g``, i.e. no minimum width and 12 digit precision.

        See table below for examples. Input is π (3.14159265359).

        ======   =============
        Format   Output
        ======   =============
        %.12g    3.14159265359
        %.2f     3.14
        %8.4f    __3.1416
        %08.2f   00003.14
        %.5f     3.14159
        ======   =============

    **FORMAT_TIME_MAP**
        Sets both :term:`FORMAT_TIME_PRIMARY_MAP` and :term:`FORMAT_TIME_SECONDARY_MAP`
        to the value specified. This setting is not included in the **gmt.conf** file.

    **FORMAT_TIME_PRIMARY_MAP**
        Controls how primary month-, week-, and weekday-names are formatted.
        Choose among **full**, **abbreviated**, and **character**. If the
        leading **f**, **a**, or **c** are replaced with **F**, **A**, and
        **C** the entire annotation will be in upper case [default is **full**].

    **FORMAT_TIME_SECONDARY_MAP**
        Controls how secondary month-, week-, and weekday-names are
        formatted. Choose among **full**, **abbreviated**, and
        **character**. If the leading **f**, **a**, or **c** are replaced
        with **F**, **A**, and **C** the entire annotation will be in upper case
        [default is **full**].

    **FORMAT_TIME_STAMP**
        Defines the format of the time information in the UNIX time stamp.
        This format is parsed by the C function **strftime**, so that
        virtually any text can be used (even not containing any time
        information) [default is **%Y %b %d %H:%M:%S**].

.. _GMT Miscellaneous Parameters:

GMT Miscellaneous Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. glossary::

    **GMT_COMPATIBILITY**
        Determines if the current GMT version should be able to parse command-line
        options for a prior major release.  Specify the major release version number,
        e.g., 4-6. If 4 is set we will parse obsolete GMT 4 options and issue warnings;
        if 5 is set then parsing GMT 4 only syntax will result in errors [default is 4];
        likewise for 6: obsolete syntax from early GMT 5 will be considered errors.

    **GMT_DATA_SERVER**
        Name (or URL) of a GMT data server [default is **oceania**]. Please set
        to the data server closest to your location for faster data download. See
        `Data Server Mirrors <https://www.generic-mapping-tools.org/mirrors/>`_
        for a list of the currently available mirrors.

    **GMT_DATA_SERVER_LIMIT**
        Upper limit on the size of remote file to download [default is **unlimited**].
        Give the maximum file size in bytes, or append **k**, **m**, or **g** for
        kilo-, mega-, or giga-bytes.

    **GMT_DATA_UPDATE_INTERVAL**
        Specifies how often we update the local catalog of data available on
        the remote server and pruning expired data sets [default is **1d**].
        Allowable time units are **d** (days), **w** (week), **o** (month,
        here 30 days). To turn off periodic updates entirely, specify interval
        as **off**, **never**, **infinity**, or just **0**.

    **GMT_EXPORT_TYPE**
        This setting is only used by external interfaces and controls the data
        type used for table entries.  Choose from **double**, **single**,
        **[u]long**, **[u]int**, **[u]short**, and **[u]char** [default is **double**].

    **GMT_EXTRAPOLATE_VAL**
        Determines what to do if extrapolating beyond the data domain. Choose
        among **NaN**, **extrap** or **extrapval**,\ *value*. In the first case
        return NaN for any element of x that is outside range. Second case lets
        the selected algorithm compute the extrapolation values. Third case sets
        the extrapolation values to the constant value passed in *value* (this
        value must of course be numeric) [default is **NaN**].

    **GMT_CUSTOM_LIBS**
        Comma-separated list of GMT-compliant shared libraries that extend
        the capability of GMT with additional custom modules [default is **none**].
        Alternatively, provide a directory name, that MUST end with a slash (or
        back slash), to use all shared libraries in that directory. On Windows,
        if the dir name is made up only of a single slash ('/') search inside a
        subdirectory called **gmt_plugins** of the directory that contains the
        **gmt** executable. See the API documentation for how to build your own
        shared modules.

    **GMT_FFT**
        Determines which Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) library should be used among
        those that have been configured during installation. Choose from
        **auto** (pick the most suitable for the task among available
        algorithms), **fftw**\ [,\ *planner_flag*] (The Fastest Fourier
        Transform in the West), **accelerate** (Use the Accelerate Framework
        under macOS; Note, that the number of samples to be processed must be
        a base 2 exponent), **kiss**, (Kiss FFT), **brenner** Brenner Legacy
        FFT [default is **auto**].
        FFTW can "learn" how to optimally compute Fourier transforms on the
        current hardware and OS by computing several FFTs and measuring
        their execution time. This so gained "Wisdom" will be stored in and
        reloaded from the file fftw_wisdom_<hostname> in **$GMT_USERDIR** or, if
        **$GMT_USERDIR** is not writable, in the current directory. To use this
        feature append *planner_flag*, which can be one of *measure*,
        *patient*, *exhaustive* and *estimate* which pick a (probably
        sub-optimal) plan quickly [default is *estimate*]. See FFTW reference for
        details. **Note**: If you need a single transform of a
        given size only, the one-time cost of the smart planner becomes
        significant. In that case, stick to the default planner, *estimate*,
        based on heuristics.

    **GMT_GRAPHICS_DPU**
        Default target dots-per-unit for images when a remote gridded data
        set is requested without specifying a resolution (e.g., @earth_relief).
        Append "i" to indicate the DPU is dots-per-inches and "c" for dots-per-cm.
        [default is 300i].

    **GMT_GRAPHICS_FORMAT**
        Default graphics format in modern mode [default is **pdf**].

    **GMT_HISTORY**
        Passes the history of past common command options via the
        gmt.history file. The different values for this setting are:
        **true**, **readonly**, **false**, to either read and write to the
        gmt.history file, only read, or not use the file at all [default is **true**].

    **GMT_INTERPOLANT**
        Determines if linear (**linear**), `Akima's <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akima_spline>`_
        spline (**akima**), natural cubic spline (**cubic**) or no interpolation (**none**)
        should be used for 1-D interpolations in various programs [default is **akima**].

    **GMT_LANGUAGE**
        Language to use when plotting calendar and map items such as months and
        days, map annotations and cardinal points. Select from:

        .. hlist::
           :columns: 3

           - *CN1*: Simplified Chinese
           - *CN2*: Traditional Chinese
           - *DE*: German
           - *DK*: Danish
           - *EH*: Basque
           - *ES*: Spanish
           - *FI*: Finnish
           - *FR*: French
           - *GR*: Greek
           - *HI*: Hawaiian
           - *HU*: Hungarian
           - *IE*: Irish
           - *IL*: Hebrew
           - *IS*: Icelandic
           - *IT*: Italian
           - *JP*: Japanese
           - *KR*: Korean
           - *NL*: Dutch
           - *NO*: Norwegian
           - *PL*: Polish
           - *PT*: Portuguese
           - *RU*: Russian
           - *SE*: Swedish
           - *SG*: Scottish Gaelic
           - *TO*: Tongan
           - *TR*: Turkish
           - *UK*: British English
           - *US*: US English

        If your language is not supported, please examine the
        **$GMT_SHAREDIR**/localization/gmt_us.locale file and make a similar file. Please
        submit it to the GMT Developers for official inclusion. Custom
        language files can be placed in directories **$GMT_SHAREDIR**/localization
        or ~/.gmt. **Note**: Some of these languages may require you to also
        change the :term:`PS_CHAR_ENCODING` setting.

    **GMT_MAX_CORES**
        Sets the upper limit on the number of cores any multi-threaded module might
        use (whether **-x** is selected or not) [default is **0** (i.e., unlimited)].

    **GMT_THEME**
        Override GMT default settings with those of the selected theme.  Choose from
        *classic* [Default for classic mode], *modern* [Default for modern mode],
        and *minimal*. You can also create and use your own themes by compiling
        files of desired settings and place them in your GMT user themes directory
        (usually ~/.gmt/themes) and name them *theme*.conf. See the
        :doc:`theme settings table<theme-settings>` for parameters associated with
        each theme.

    **GMT_TRIANGULATE**
        Determines if we use the **Watson** or **Shewchuk**
        algorithm (if configured during installation) for triangulation.
        Note that Shewchuk is required for operations involving Voronoi
        constructions [default is **Shewchuk**].

    **GMT_VERBOSE**
        (**-V**) Determines the level of verbosity used by GMT
        programs. Choose among 7 levels; each level adds to the verbosity of
        the lower levels: **q**\ uiet, **e**\ rrors, **w**\ arnings,
        **t**\ imings (for slow algorithms only), **i**\ nformation,
        **c**\ ompatibility warnings, and **d**\ ebugging messages [default is **w**].

.. _I/O Parameters:

I/O Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. glossary::

    **IO_COL_SEPARATOR**
        This setting determines what character will separate ASCII *output*
        data columns written by GMT. Choose from **tab**, **space**, **comma**,
        **semicolon** and **none** [default is **tab**]. You may also just give
        any character or string (e.g., "--|--"). **Note**: When reading input
        data GMT automatically skips white-space, commas, and semi-colons; you
        cannot select an individual input column separator.

    **IO_FIRST_HEADER**
        This setting determines if the first segment header is written when
        there is only a single segment (for multiple segment it must be written).
        By default, such single-segment headers are only written if the header
        has contents. Choose from **always**, **never**, or **maybe** [default is **maybe**].

    **IO_GRIDFILE_FORMAT**
        Default file format for grids, with optional scale, offset and
        invalid value, written as *ff*\ [**+s**\ *scale*][**+o**\ *offset*][**+n**\ *invalid*].
        The 2-letter format indicator can be one of [**abcegnrs**][**bsifd**]. See
        :doc:`grdconvert` and Section :ref:`grid-file-format` of the GMT Technical
        Reference for more information. You may the scale as **a**
        for auto-adjusting the scale and/or offset of packed integer grids
        (=\ *ID*\ **+s**\ *a* is a shorthand for =\ *ID*\ **+s**\ *a*\ **+o**\ *a*).
        When *invalid* is omitted the appropriate value for the given format is used
        (NaN or largest negative) [default is **nf**].

    **IO_GRIDFILE_SHORTHAND**
        If **true**, all grid file names are examined to see if they use the
        file extension shorthand discussed in Section :ref:`grid-file-format` of
        the GMT Technical Reference. If **false**, no filename
        expansion is done [default is **false**].

    **IO_HEADER**
        (**-h**) Specifies whether input/output ASCII files have header record(s)
        or not [default is **false**].

    **IO_HEADER_MARKER**
        Give a string from which any character will indicate a header record in
        an incoming ASCII data table if found in the first position [default is **#%!;"'**].
        If another marker should be used for output than the first character in
        the list, then append a single character for the output header record
        marker. The two sets must be separated by a comma. **Note**: A maximum
        of 7 input markers can be specified.

    **IO_LONLAT_TOGGLE**
        (**-:**) Set if the first two columns of input and output files
        contain (*latitude,longitude*) or (**y, x**) rather than the expected
        (longitude,latitude) or (*x, y*). false means we have (*x, y*) both on
        input and output. **true** means both input and output should be (**y, x**).
        **IN** means only input has (**y, x**), while **OUT** means only output should
        be (**y, x**) [default is **false**].

    **IO_N_HEADER_RECS**
        Specifies how many header records to expect if **-h** is used [default is **0**].
        **Note**: This will skip the specified number of records regardless of
        what they are.  Since any records starting with **#** is automatically
        considered a header you will only specify a non-zero number in order
        to skip headers that do not conform to that convention.

    **IO_NAN_RECORDS**
        Determines what happens when input records containing NaNs for *x*
        or *y* (and in some cases *z*) are read. This may happen, for instance,
        when there is text or other junk present instead of data coordinates, and
        the conversion to a data value fails and yields a NaN.  Choose between
        **skip**, which will report how many bad records were skipped, and **pass**,
        which will quietly pass these records on to the calling programs [default
        is **pass**]. For most programs this will result in output records with
        NaNs as well, but some will interpret these NaN records to indicate
        gaps in a series; programs may then use that information to detect
        segmentation (if applicable).

    **IO_NC4_CHUNK_SIZE**
        Sets the default chunk size for the vertical (**lat**, **y**) and
        horizontal (**lon**, **x**) dimensions of
        the **z** variable. Very large chunk sizes and sizes smaller than
        128 should be avoided because they can lead to unexpectedly bad
        performance. Note that a chunk of a single precision floating point
        variable of size 2896 x 2896 completely fills the chunk cache of
        32 Mb. Specify the chunk size for each dimension separated by a
        comma, or **a**\ uto for optimally chosen chunk sizes in the range
        [128,256). Setting :term:`IO_NC4_CHUNK_SIZE` will produce netCDF version 4
        files, which can only be read with the netCDF 4 library, unless all
        dimensions are less than 128 or **c**\ lassic is specified for
        classic netCDF [default is **auto**]

    **IO_NC4_DEFLATION_LEVEL**
        Sets the compression level for netCDF4 files upon output. Values
        allowed are integers from **0** (no compression) to **9** (maximum
        compression). Enabling a low compression level can dramatically
        improve performance and reduce the size of certain data. While
        higher compression levels further reduce the data size, they do so
        at the cost of extra processing time. This parameter does not
        apply to classic netCDF files [default is **3**].

    **IO_SEGMENT_BINARY**
        Determines how binary data records with all values set to NaN are
        interpreted.  Such records are considered to be encoded segment
        headers in binary files provided the number of columns equals or
        exceeds the current setting of IO_SEGMENT_BINARY [default is **2**].
        Specify **0** or **off** to deactivate the segment header determination.

    **IO_SEGMENT_MARKER**
        This holds the character we expect to indicate a segment header in
        an incoming ASCII data or text table [default is **>**]. If this marker
        should be different for output then append another character for the output
        segment marker. The two characters must be separated by a **comma**. Two
        marker characters have special meaning: **B** means "blank line" and
        will treat blank lines as initiating a new segment, whereas **N** means
        "NaN record" and will treat records with all NaNs as initiating a
        new segment. If you choose **B** or **N** for the output marker then the
        normal GMT segment header is replaced by a blank or NaN record,
        respectively, and no segment header information is written. To use **B**
        or **N** as regular segment markers you must escape them with a leading
        backslash.

.. _MAP Parameters:

MAP Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. glossary::

    **MAP_ANNOT_MIN_ANGLE**
        If the angle between the map boundary and the annotation baseline is
        less than this minimum value (in degrees), the annotation is not
        plotted (this may occur for certain oblique projections). Give a
        value in the range [0,90] [default is **20**].

    **MAP_ANNOT_MIN_SPACING**
        If an annotation would be plotted less than this minimum distance
        from its closest neighbor, the annotation is not plotted (this may
        occur for certain oblique or polar projections) [default is
        :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`]. Choose **auto** for
        :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_ANNOT_OBLIQUE**
        This setting applies to "oblique" projections, which in this context
        means maps whose boundary is a rectangle not specified by meridians
        and parallels.  We expect a comma-separated list of up to seven
        keywords [default is **anywhere**]:

        ============== ============================================================================================================
        Keyword        Meaning
        ============== ============================================================================================================
        separate       Annotate longitudes on lower and upper boundaries only, and latitudes on the left and right boundaries only
        anywhere       Annotations will occur wherever an imaginary gridline crosses the map boundaries
        lon_horizontal Longitude annotations will be plotted horizontally
        lat_horizontal Latitude annotations will be plotted horizontally
        tick_extend    Extend tick-marks so distance from tip of the oblique tick to map frame equals specified tick length
        tick_normal    Draw tick-marks normal to the border regardless of gridline angle
        lat_parallel   Latitude annotations will be plotted parallel to the border
        ============== ============================================================================================================

    **MAP_ANNOT_OFFSET**
        Sets both :term:`MAP_ANNOT_OFFSET_PRIMARY` and
        :term:`MAP_ANNOT_OFFSET_SECONDARY` to the value specified.
        This setting is not included in the **gmt.conf** file.

    **MAP_ANNOT_OFFSET_PRIMARY**
        Distance from end of tick-mark to start of annotation [default is
        :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`]. Choose **auto** for
        :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_ANNOT_OFFSET_SECONDARY**
        Distance from base of primary annotation to the top of the secondary
        annotation (Only applies to time axes with both primary and secondary
        annotations) [default is :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`]. Choose
        **auto** for :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_ANNOT_ORTHO**
        Determines which axes will get their annotations (for Cartesian
        projections) plotted orthogonally to the axes. Combine any **w**, **e**,
        **s**, **n**, **z** (uppercase allowed as well) [default is **we**] (if
        nothing specified). Note that this setting can be overridden via the
        **+a** modifier in **-B**.

    **MAP_DEFAULT_PEN**
        Sets the default of all pens related to **-W** options. Prepend
        **+** to overrule the color of the parameters
        :term:`MAP_GRID_PEN_PRIMARY`, :term:`MAP_GRID_PEN_SECONDARY`,
        :term:`MAP_FRAME_PEN`, :term:`MAP_TICK_PEN_PRIMARY`, and
        :term:`MAP_TICK_PEN_SECONDARY` by the color of :term:`MAP_DEFAULT_PEN`
        [default is **0.25p,black**].

    **MAP_DEGREE_SYMBOL**
        Determines what symbol is used to plot the degree symbol on geographic
        map annotations. Choose between **ring**, **degree**, **colon**, or
        **none** [default is **degree**].

    **MAP_EMBELLISHMENT_MODE**
        Determines if map embellishments like directional or magnetic compasses,
        map scales or vertical data scales should have attributes that scale with
        the size of the feature (**auto**) or use the settings as is (**manual**).

    **MAP_FRAME_AXES**
        Sets which axes to draw and annotate. Combine any uppercase **W**,
        **E**, **S**, **N**, **Z** to draw and annotate west, east, south,
        north and/or vertical (perspective view only) axis. Use lower case
        to draw the axis only, but not annotate.   To *just* draw an axis
        without annotation and ticks you can use the **l**\ (eft), **r**\ (ight),
        **b**\ (ottom), **t**\ (op) and (for 3-D) **u**\ (p) codes. Add an
        optional **+b** to draw a cube of axes in perspective view. Choose
        **auto** for :ref:`automatic selection <auto-scaling>` [default is
        :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`].

    **MAP_FRAME_PEN**
        Pen attributes used to draw plain map frame [default is :doc:`theme dependent
        <theme-settings>`]. Choose **auto** for :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size
        <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_FRAME_PERCENT**
        Percentage of the fancy frame width to use for the internal checkerboard
        frame lines [default is **100**].

    **MAP_FRAME_TYPE**
        Choose between **inside**, **plain** and **fancy** (thick boundary,
        alternating black/white frame; append **-rounded** for rounded corners)
        [default is :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`]. For some map
        projections (e.g., Oblique Mercator), plain is the only option even if
        fancy is set as default. In general, fancy only applies to situations
        where the projected x and y directions parallel the longitude and
        latitude directions (e.g., rectangular projections, polar projections).
        For situations where all boundary ticks and annotations must be inside
        the maps (e.g., for preparing GeoTIFF output), chose **inside**.  Finally,
        for Cartesian plots you can also choose **graph**\ , which adds a vector
        to the end of each axis. This works best when you reduce the number of
        axes plotted to one per dimension.  By default, the vector tip extends
        the length of each axis by 7.5%. Alternatively, append ,\ *length*,
        where the optional *unit* may be **%** (then *length* is the alternate
        extension in percent) or one of **c**, **i**, or **p** (then *length*
        is the absolute extension of the axis to the start of the vector base
        instead).  The vector stem is set to match :term:`MAP_FRAME_WIDTH`, while
        the vector head length and width are 10 and 5 times this width,
        respectively.  You may control its shape via :term:`MAP_VECTOR_SHAPE`.
        The graph vectors are plotted as normal boundary axes.  Use **graph-origin**
        to shift the **W** and **S** axes so they intersect at the user data
        (0, 0) origin instead.  In this mode, only the **W** and **S** axes can be 
        selected (or **w**, **s**, **l**, and **b** too); the **E** and **N** (and
        **e**, **n**, **r** and **t**) will be ignored.  **Note**: Annotations
        at any axes intersections will be suppressed.  To select another intersection point
        than the data origin you may append **+o**\ *xorig*/*yorig* or the short-cut
        **+oc** to center the axes on the current data domain [0/0].

        .. toggle::

            Here is an example showing the appearance of different **MAP_FRAME_TYPE** settings.

            .. literalinclude:: /_verbatim/GMT_map_frame_type.txt

            .. figure:: /_images/GMT_map_frame_type.*
               :width: 100%
               :align: center

               Appearance of different **MAP_FRAME_TYPE** settings

    **MAP_FRAME_WIDTH**
        Width (> 0) of map borders for fancy map frame [default is :doc:`theme dependent
        <theme-settings>`]. **Note**: For fancy frames, :term:`MAP_FRAME_PEN`
        is automatically set to 0.1 times the :term:`MAP_FRAME_WIDTH` setting.
        Choose **auto** for :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_GRID_CROSS_SIZE**
        Sets both :term:`MAP_GRID_CROSS_SIZE_PRIMARY` and :term:`MAP_GRID_CROSS_SIZE_SECONDARY`
        to the value specified. This setting is not included in the **gmt.conf** file.

    **MAP_GRID_CROSS_SIZE_PRIMARY**
        Size of grid cross at primary lon-lat intersections. **0** means draw
        continuous gridlines instead.  A nonzero size will draw a symmetric grid
        cross. Signed sizes have special meaning and imply grid line ticks that
        embellish an already drawn set of gridlines: A negative size will only
        draw ticks away from Equator and Greenwich, while a positive size will
        draw symmetric ticks [default is **0p**].

    **MAP_GRID_CROSS_SIZE_SECONDARY**
        Size of grid cross at secondary lon-lat intersections.
        See :term:`MAP_GRID_CROSS_SIZE_PRIMARY` for details.
        [default is **0p**].

    **MAP_GRID_PEN**
        Sets both :term:`MAP_GRID_PEN_PRIMARY` and :term:`MAP_GRID_PEN_SECONDARY` to
        the value specified. This setting is not included in the **gmt.conf** file.

    **MAP_GRID_PEN_PRIMARY**
        Pen attributes used to draw primary grid lines in dpi units or
        points (append **p**) [default is :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`].
        Choose **auto** for :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_GRID_PEN_SECONDARY**
        Pen attributes used to draw secondary grid lines in dpi units or
        points (append **p**) [default is :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`].
        Choose **auto** for :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_HEADING_OFFSET**
        Distance from top of subplot panel titles to the base of the heading
        [default is :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`]. Choose **auto** for
        :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_LABEL_MODE**
        Determines from where the label offset is measured: Choose **annot**
        to mean the distance from the end of the annotation or **axis**
        to mean the distance from the axis.  To set separate modes for the
        *x* and *y* axes, separate modes by a slash [default is **annot/annot**]. Choose
        **axis** if you need to align multiple axes labels across many rows or columns.

    **MAP_LABEL_OFFSET**
        Distance from base of axis annotations to the top of the axis label
        [default is :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`]. Choose **auto**
        for :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`. To
        set different offsets for the *x* and *y* axes, separate distances
        by a slash (e.g., **8p/12p** for 8p offset for the x-axis and 12p
        offset for the y-axis)

    **MAP_LINE_STEP**
        Determines the maximum length (> 0) of individual straight
        line-segments when drawing arcuate lines [default is **0.75p**]

    **MAP_LOGO**
        (**-U**) Specifies if a GMT logo with system timestamp should be
        plotted at the lower left corner of the plot [default is **false**].

    **MAP_LOGO_POS**
        (**-U**) Sets the justification and the position of the
        logo/timestamp box relative to the current plot's lower left corner
        (i.e., map origin) [default is **BL/-54p/-54p**].

    **MAP_ORIGIN_X**
        (**-X**) Sets the x-coordinate of the origin on the paper for a
        new plot [default is **72p**]. For an overlay, the default offset is **0**.

    **MAP_ORIGIN_Y**
        (**-Y**) Sets the y-coordinate of the origin on the paper for a
        new plot [default is **72p**]. For an overlay, the default offset is **0**.

    **MAP_POLAR_CAP**
        Controls the appearance of gridlines near the poles for all
        azimuthal projections and a few others in which the geographic poles
        are plotted as points (Lambert Conic, Oblique and Transverse Mercator, UTM, Hammer, Mollweide,
        Sinusoidal and van der Grinten). Specify either **none** (in which case
        there is no special handling) or *pc_lat*/*pc_dlon*. In that case, normal
        gridlines are only drawn between the latitudes -*pc_lat*/+\ *pc_lat*, and
        above those latitudes the gridlines are spaced at the (presumably coarser)
        *pc_dlon* interval; the two domains are separated by a small circle drawn
        at the *pc_lat* latitude. Alternatively, give **auto** to determine a
        *pc_lat* suitable for your region [default is
        :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`]. Note for r-theta (polar)
        projection where r = 0 is at the center of the plot the meaning of the
        cap is reversed, i.e., *85/90* will draw a r = 5 radius circle at the
        center of the map with less frequent radial lines there.

    **MAP_SCALE_HEIGHT**
        Sets the height (> 0) on the map of the map scale bars drawn by
        various programs [default is **5p**].

    **MAP_SYMBOL_PEN_SCALE**
        Used to convert non-fillable (**x**, **y**, **+** and **-**) symbol sizes
        to the width of the pen used to stroke these symbols. Give a factor in the
        0-1 range (e.g., 0.18) or specify a percentage (e.g., 10%) [15%]. **Note**:
        If set to 0 then no such conversion takes place and pen settings must rely on
        **-W** or module defaults.

    **MAP_TICK_LENGTH**
        Sets both :term:`MAP_TICK_LENGTH_PRIMARY` and :term:`MAP_TICK_LENGTH_SECONDARY`
        to the value specified. This setting is not included in the **gmt.conf** file.

    **MAP_TICK_LENGTH_PRIMARY**
        The length of a primary major/minor tick-marks [default is :doc:`theme dependent
        <theme-settings>`]. If only the first value is set, the second
        is assumed to be 50% of the first. Choose **auto** for :ref:`automatic
        scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_TICK_LENGTH_SECONDARY**
        The length of a secondary major/minor tick-marks [default is :doc:`theme dependent
        <theme-settings>`]. If only the first value is set, the second is assumed
        to be 25% of the first. Choose **auto** for :ref:`automatic scaling with
        plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_TICK_PEN**
        Sets both :term:`MAP_TICK_PEN_PRIMARY` and :term:`MAP_TICK_PEN_SECONDARY`
        to the value specified. This setting is not included in the **gmt.conf** file.

    **MAP_TICK_PEN_PRIMARY**
        Pen attributes to be used for primary tick-marks in dpi units or
        points (append **p**) [default is :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`].
        Choose **auto** for :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_TICK_PEN_SECONDARY**
        Pen attributes to be used for secondary tick-marks in dpi units or
        points (append **p**) [default is :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`].
        Choose **auto** for :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_TITLE_OFFSET**
        Distance from top of axis annotations (or axis label, if present) to
        base of plot title [default is :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`].
        Choose **auto** for :ref:`automatic scaling with plot size <auto-scaling>`.

    **MAP_VECTOR_SHAPE**
        Determines the shape of the head of a vector. Normally (i.e., for
        vector_shape = **0**), the head will be triangular, but can be changed
        to an arrow (**1**) or an open V (**2**). Intermediate settings give
        something in between. Negative values (up to **-2**) are allowed as well
        [default is :doc:`theme dependent <theme-settings>`].

.. _Projection Parameters:

Projection Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. glossary::

    **PROJ_AUX_LATITUDE**
        Only applies when geodesics are approximated by great circle distances on
        an equivalent sphere. Select from **authalic**, **geocentric**,
        **conformal**, **meridional**, **parametric**, or **none** (i.e., geodetic)
        [default is **authalic**]. When not none we convert any latitude used in
        the great circle calculation to the chosen auxiliary latitude before
        doing the distance calculation. See also :term:`PROJ_MEAN_RADIUS`.

    **PROJ_ELLIPSOID**
        The name of the ellipsoid used for the map projections [WGS-84]. Choose among:

        - *Airy*: Applies to Great Britain (1830)
        - *Airy-Ireland*: Applies to Ireland in 1965 (1830)
        - *Andrae*: Applies to Denmark and Iceland (1876)
        - *APL4.9*: Appl. Physics (1965)
        - *ATS77*: Average Terrestrial System, Canada Maritime provinces (1977)
        - *Australian*: Applies to Australia (1965)
        - *Bessel*: Applies to Central Europe, Chile, Indonesia (1841)
        - *Bessel-Namibia*: Same as Bessel-Schwazeck (1841)
        - *Bessel-NGO1948*: Modified Bessel for NGO 1948 (1841)
        - *Bessel-Schwazeck*: Applies to Namibia (1841)
        - *Clarke-1858*: Clarke's early ellipsoid (1858)
        - *Clarke-1866*: Applies to North America, the Philippines (1866)
        - *Clarke-1866-Michigan*: Modified Clarke-1866 for Michigan (1866)
        - *Clarke-1880*: Applies to most of Africa, France (1880)
        - *Clarke-1880-Arc1950*: Modified Clarke-1880 for Arc 1950 (1880)
        - *Clarke-1880-IGN*: Modified Clarke-1880 for IGN (1880)
        - *Clarke-1880-Jamaica*: Modified Clarke-1880 for Jamaica (1880)
        - *Clarke-1880-Merchich*: Modified Clarke-1880 for Merchich (1880)
        - *Clarke-1880-Palestine*: Modified Clarke-1880 for Palestine (1880)
        - *CPM*: Comm. des Poids et Mesures, France (1799)
        - *Delambre*: Applies to Belgium (1810)
        - *Engelis*: Goddard Earth Models (1985)
        - *Everest-1830*: India, Burma, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand (1830)
        - *Everest-1830-Kalianpur*: Modified Everest for Kalianpur (1956) (1830)
        - *Everest-1830-Kertau*: Modified Everest for Kertau, Malaysia & Singapore (1830)
        - *Everest-1830-Pakistan*: Modified Everest for Pakistan (1830)
        - *Everest-1830-Timbalai*: Modified Everest for Timbalai, Sabah Sarawak (1830)
        - *Fischer-1960*: Used by NASA for Mercury program (1960)
        - *Fischer-1960-SouthAsia*: Same as Modified-Fischer-1960 (1960)
        - *Fischer-1968*: Used by NASA for Mercury program (1968)
        - *FlatEarth*: As Sphere, but implies fast "Flat Earth" distance calculations (1984)
        - *GRS-67*: International Geodetic Reference System (1967)
        - *GRS-80*: International Geodetic Reference System (1980)
        - *Hayford-1909*: Same as the International 1924 (1909)
        - *Helmert-1906*: Applies to Egypt (1906)
        - *Hough*: Applies to the Marshall Islands (1960)
        - *Hughes-1980*: Hughes Aircraft Company for DMSP SSM/I grid products (1980)
        - *IAG-75*: International Association of Geodesy (1975)
        - *Indonesian*: Applies to Indonesia (1974)
        - *International-1924*: Worldwide use (1924)
        - *International-1967*: Worldwide use (1967)
        - *Kaula*: From satellite tracking (1961)
        - *Krassovsky*: Used in the (now former) Soviet Union (1940)
        - *Lerch*: For geoid modeling (1979)
        - *Maupertius*: Really old ellipsoid used in France (1738)
        - *Mercury-1960*: Same as Fischer-1960 (1960)
        - *MERIT-83*: United States Naval Observatory (1983)
        - *Modified-Airy*: Same as Airy-Ireland (1830)
        - *Modified-Fischer-1960*: Applies to Singapore (1960)
        - *Modified-Mercury-1968*: Same as Fischer-1968 (1968)
        - *NWL-10D*: Naval Weapons Lab (Same as WGS-72) (1972)
        - *NWL-9D*: Naval Weapons Lab (Same as WGS-66) (1966)
        - *OSU86F*: Ohio State University (1986)
        - *OSU91A*: Ohio State University (1991)
        - *Plessis*: Old ellipsoid used in France (1817)
        - *SGS-85*: Soviet Geodetic System (1985)
        - *South-American*: Applies to South America (1969)
        - *Sphere*: The mean radius in WGS-84 (for spherical/plate tectonics applications) (1984)
        - *Struve*: Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve (1860)
        - *TOPEX*: Used commonly for altimetry (1990)
        - *Walbeck*: First least squares solution by Finnish astronomer (1819)
        - *War-Office*: Developed by G. T. McCaw (1926)
        - *WGS-60*: World Geodetic System (1960)
        - *WGS-66*: World Geodetic System (1966)
        - *WGS-72*: World Geodetic System (1972)
        - *WGS-84*: World Geodetic System [Default] (1984)
        - *Web-Mercator*: Spherical Mercator with WGS-84 radius (1984)
        - *Moon*: Moon (IAU2000) (2000)
        - *Mercury*: Mercury (IAU2000) (2000)
        - *Venus*: Venus (IAU2000) (2000)
        - *Mars*: Mars (IAU2000) (2000)
        - *Jupiter*: Jupiter (IAU2000) (2000)
        - *Saturn*: Saturn (IAU2000) (2000)
        - *Uranus*: Uranus (IAU2000) (2000)
        - *Neptune*: Neptune (IAU2000) (2000)
        - *Pluto*: Pluto (IAU2000) (2000)

        Note that for some global projections, GMT may use a spherical
        approximation of the ellipsoid chosen, setting the flattening to
        zero, and using a mean radius. A warning will be given when this
        happens. If a different ellipsoid name than those mentioned here is
        given, GMT will attempt to parse the name to extract the
        semi-major axis (**a** in m) and the flattening. Formats allowed are:

        **a** implies a zero flattening

        **a**,\ *inv_f* where *inv_f* is the inverse flattening

        **a**,\ **b=**\ *b* where *b* is the semi-minor axis (in m)

        **a**,\ **f=**\ *f* where *f* is the flattening

        This way a custom ellipsoid (e.g., those used for other planets) may
        be used. Further note that coordinate transformations in
        **mapproject** can also specify specific datums; see the
        :doc:`mapproject` man page for further details and how to view
        ellipsoid and datum parameters.

    **PROJ_GEODESIC**
        Selects the algorithm to use for geodesic calculations. Choose between
        **Vincenty**, **Rudoe**, or **Andoyer**. The **Andoyer**
        algorithm is only approximate (to within a few tens of meters) but is
        up to 5 times faster.  The **Rudoe** is given for legacy purposes.
        [default is **Vincenty** *(accurate to about 0.5 mm)*].

    **PROJ_LENGTH_UNIT**
        Sets the default unit length. Choose between **c**\ m, **i**\ nch, or
        **p**\ oint [default is **c** *(or i)*]. **Note**: In GMT, one point is
        defined as 1/72 inch (the PostScript definition), while it is often
        defined as 1/72.27 inch in the typesetting industry. There is no universal
        definition.)

    **PROJ_MEAN_RADIUS**
        Applies when geodesics are approximated by great circle distances on
        an equivalent sphere or when surface areas are computed. Select from
        **mean** (R_1), **authalic** (R_2), **volumetric** (R_3), **meridional**,
        or **quadratic** [default is **authalic**].

    **PROJ_SCALE_FACTOR**
        Changes the default map scale factor used for the Polar
        Stereographic [default is **0.9996**], UTM [default is **0.9996**],
        and Transverse Mercator [default is **1**]
        projections in order to minimize areal distortion. Provide a new
        scale-factor or leave as default.

.. _PostScript Parameters:

PostScript Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. glossary::

    **PS_CHAR_ENCODING**
        (*static*) Names the eight bit character set being used for text in
        files and in command line parameters. This allows GMT to ensure that the
        PostScript output generates the correct characters on the plot. Choose from
        **Standard**, **Standard+**, **ISOLatin1**, **ISOLatin1+**, and
        **ISO-8859-x** (where *x* is in the ranges 1-11 or 13-16). See Appendix F
        for details [default is **ISOLatin1+** *(or Standard+)*]. **Note**:
        Normally the character set is written as part of the PostScript header.
        If you need to switch to another character set for a later overlay then
        you must use **--PS_CHAR_ENCODING**\ =\ *encoding* on the command line
        and not via gmt :doc:`/gmtset`.  Finally, note 6, 8, and 11 do not work
        with standard fonts.

    **PS_COLOR_MODEL**
        Determines whether PostScript output should use **RGB**, **HSV**, **CMYK**,
        or **GRAY** when specifying color [default is **rgb**]. Note if **HSV**
        is selected it does not apply to images which in that case uses **RGB**.
        When selecting **GRAY**, all colors will be converted to gray scale using
        YIQ (television) conversion.

    **PS_COMMENTS**
        (*static*) If **true** we will issue comments in the PostScript file
        that explain the logic of operations. These are useful if you need
        to edit the file and make changes; otherwise you can set it to **false**
        which yields a somewhat slimmer PostScript file [default is **false**].

    **PS_CONVERT**
        Comma-separated list of optional module arguments that we should supply
        when :doc:`psconvert` is called implicitly under modern mode [**A**].
        Ignored when psconvert is called on the command line explicitly.
        The option arguments must be listed without their leading option hyphen.

    **PS_IMAGE_COMPRESS**
        Determines if PostScript images are compressed using the Run-Length
        Encoding scheme (**rle**), Lempel-Ziv-Welch compression (**lzw**), DEFLATE
        compression (**deflate**\ [,\ *level*]), or not at all (**none**) [default
        is **deflate,5**]. When specifying **deflate**, the compression level
        (1–9) may optionally be appended.

    **PS_LINE_CAP**
        Determines how the ends of a line segment will be drawn. Choose
        among a **butt** cap where there is no projection beyond the
        end of the path, a **round** cap where a semicircular arc with
        diameter equal to the line-width is drawn around the end points, and
        **square** cap where a half square of size equal to the line-width
        extends beyond the end of the path [default is **butt**].

    **PS_LINE_JOIN**
        Determines what happens at kinks in line segments. Choose among a
        **miter** join where the outer edges of the strokes for the two
        segments are extended until they meet at an angle (as in a picture
        frame; if the angle is too acute, a bevel join is used instead, with
        threshold set by :term:`PS_MITER_LIMIT`), **round** join where a
        circular arc is used to fill in the cracks at the kinks, and **bevel**
        join which is a miter join that is cut off so kinks are triangular in
        shape [default is **miter**].

    **PS_MEDIA**
        *Classic mode:* Sets the physical size of the current plotting paper
        [default is **a4** *(or letter)*]. *Modern mode:* If user selects
        PostScript output then the above applies as well. For other graphics
        formats (PDF and rasters), the media size is determined automatically
        by cropping to fit the plot exactly (but see :term:`PS_CONVERT`). However,
        if a specific media size is desired then the :term:`PS_MEDIA` may be
        specified as well. The following formats (and their widths and heights
        in points) are recognized:

        ======== ======== ======== ========== ======== ========
        Media    width    height   Media      width    height
        ======== ======== ======== ========== ======== ========
        A0       2380     3368     archA        648     864
        A1       1684     2380     archB        864     1296
        A2       1190     1684     archC        1296    1728
        A3       842      1190     archD        1728    2592
        A4       595      842      archE        2592    3456
        A5       421      595      flsa         612     936
        A6       297      421      halfletter   396     612
        A7       210      297      statement    396     612
        A8       148      210      note         540     720
        A9       105      148      letter       612     792
        A10      74       105      legal        612     1008
        B0       2836     4008     11x17        792     1224
        B1       2004     2836     tabloid      792     1224
        B2       1418     2004     ledger       1224    792
        B3       1002     1418
        B4       709      1002
        B5       501      709
        ======== ======== ======== ========== ======== ========

        For a completely custom format (e.g., for large format plotters) you may
        also specify **WxH**, where **W** and **H** are in points unless you append
        a unit to each dimension (**c**, **i**, **m** or **p** [default is **p**]).
        Additional user-specific formats may be saved as separate line in a
        gmt_custom_media.conf file stored in ~/.gmt.  Each record would have a
        format name followed by width and height of your media in points.  For
        infinitely long paper rolls (e.g., plotters you can set height = 0).

    **PS_MITER_LIMIT**
        Sets the threshold angle in degrees (integer in range [0,180]) used
        for mitered joins only. When the angle between joining line segments
        is smaller than the threshold the corner will be bevelled instead of
        mitered [default is **35**]. Setting the threshold
        angle to **0** implies the PostScript default of about 11 degrees.
        Setting the threshold angle to **180** causes all joins to be beveled.

    **PS_PAGE_COLOR**
        Sets the color of the imaging background, i.e., the paper [default is **white**].

    **PS_PAGE_ORIENTATION**
        (**-P**) Sets the orientation of the page. Choose portrait or
        landscape [default is **landscape**].  Only available in GMT classic mode.

    **PS_SCALE_X**
        Global x-scale (> 0) to apply to plot-coordinates before plotting.
        Normally used to shrink the entire output down to fit a specific
        height/width [default is **1.0**].

    **PS_SCALE_Y**
        Global y-scale (> 0) to apply to plot-coordinates before plotting.
        Normally used to shrink the entire output down to fit a specific
        height/width [default is **1.0**].

    **PS_TRANSPARENCY**
        Sets the transparency mode to use when preparing PS for rendering to
        PDF. Choose from **Color**, **ColorBurn**, **ColorDodge**, **Darken**,
        **Difference**, **Exclusion**, **HardLight**, **Hue**, **Lighten**,
        **Luminosity**, **Multiply**, **Normal**, **Overlay**, **Saturation**,
        **SoftLight**, and **Screen** [default is **Normal**].  For more information,
        see `blend modes <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blend_modes>`_.

.. _Calendar/Time Parameters:

Calendar/Time Parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. glossary::

    **TIME_EPOCH**
        Specifies the value of the calendar and clock at the origin (zero
        point) of relative time units (see :term:`TIME_UNIT`). It is a string
        of the form **yyyy-mm-ddT[hh:mm:ss]** (Gregorian) or
        **yyyy-Www-ddT[hh:mm:ss]** (ISO) [default is **1970-01-01T00:00:00**
        *(the origin of the UNIX time epoch*)].

    **TIME_INTERVAL_FRACTION**
        Determines if partial intervals at the start and end of an axis
        should be annotated. If the range of the partial interval exceeds
        the specified fraction of the normal interval stride we will place
        the annotation centered on the partial interval [default is **0.5**].

    **TIME_IS_INTERVAL**
        Used when input calendar data should be truncated and adjusted to
        the middle of the relevant interval. In the following discussion,
        the unit *unit* can be one of these time units: (**y** year, **o**
        month, **u** ISO week, **d** day, **h** hour, **m** minute, and
        **s** second). **TIME_IS_INTERVAL** can have any of the following
        three values: (1) **OFF** : no adjustment, time is decoded as
        given. (2) **+n**\ *unit* : activate interval adjustment for input by
        truncate to previous whole number of *n* units and then center time
        on the following interval. (3) **-n**\ *unit*. Same, but center time on
        the previous interval [default is **off**]. For example, with
        **TIME_IS_INTERVAL** =+1o, an input data string like 1999-12 will be
        interpreted to mean 1999-12-15T12:00:00.0 (exactly middle of December),
        while if **TIME_IS_INTERVAL** = **off** then that date is interpreted
        to mean 1999-12-01T00:00:00.0 (start of December).

    **TIME_REPORT**
        Controls if a time-stamp should be issued at start of all progress
        reports.  Choose among **clock** (absolute time stamp),
        **elapsed** (time since start of session), or **none**
        [default is **none**].  The format of the timer is controlled by
        :term:`FORMAT_TIME_STAMP`.

    **TIME_SYSTEM**
        Shorthand for a combination of :term:`TIME_EPOCH` and :term:`TIME_UNIT`,
        specifying which time epoch the relative time refers to and what the
        units are. Choose from one of the preset systems below (epoch and
        units are indicated):

        ============ ====================== =========== =====================
        TIME_SYSTEM  TIME_EPOCH             TIME_UNIT   Notes
        ============ ====================== =========== =====================
        JD           -4713-11-25T12:00:00   d           Julian Date
        MJD          1858-11-17T00:00:00    d           Modified Julian Date
        J2000        2000-01-01T12:00:00    d           Astronomical time
        S1985        1985-01-01T00:00:00    s           Altimetric time
        UNIX         1970-01-01T00:00:00    s           UNIX time
        RD0001       0001-01-01T00:00:00    s
        RATA         0000-12-31T00:00:00    d
        ============ ====================== =========== =====================

        This parameter is not stored in the **gmt.conf** file but is
        translated to the respective values of :term:`TIME_EPOCH` and
        :term:`TIME_UNIT`.

    **TIME_UNIT**
        Specifies the units of relative time data since epoch (see
        :term:`TIME_EPOCH`). Choose **y** (year - assumes all years are 365.2425
        days), **o** (month - assumes all months are of equal length y/12), **w**
        (week), **d** (day), **h** (hour), **m** (minute), or **s** (second) [default is **s**].

    **TIME_WEEK_START**
        When weeks are indicated on time axes, this parameter determines the
        first day of the week for Gregorian calendars. (The ISO weekly
        calendar always begins weeks with Monday.) [default is **Monday** *(or Sunday)*].

    **TIME_Y2K_OFFSET_YEAR**
        When 2-digit years are used to represent 4-digit years (see various
        **FORMAT_DATE**\ s), :term:`TIME_Y2K_OFFSET_YEAR` gives the first
        year in a 100-year sequence. For example, if
        :term:`TIME_Y2K_OFFSET_YEAR` is 1729, then numbers 29 through 99
        correspond to 1729 through 1799, while numbers 00 through 28
        correspond to 1800 through 1828 [default is **1950**].

See Also
--------

:doc:`gmt`, :doc:`gmtdefaults`,
:doc:`gmtcolors`, :doc:`gmtget`,
:doc:`gmtset`
