[GRASS-dev] ps.map and map background

Hello,
before emitting a ticket for this suggestion, I would like to know if
ps.map allows to switch from white to any color the background of a map
composition. Particularly I tried with the rectangle subcommand but it
fails : the rectangle lays over all geographic features, whatever the
precedence given to the command...
Of course I can manually edit the ps file, then add a colored box as
first ps instruction; but I would like to have this automated. And
perhaps other folks could profit of this new property.

What do you think of this point ?

Thanks,
Vincent.

Vincent Bain wrote:

before emitting a ticket for this suggestion, I would like
to know if ps.map allows to switch from white to any color the
background of a map composition. Particularly I tried with
the rectangle subcommand but it fails : the rectangle lays
over all geographic features, whatever the precedence given
to the command...
Of course I can manually edit the ps file, then add a
colored box as first ps instruction; but I would like
to have this automated.

are you displaying a raster map at all? if so what happens if
you set the null value (nv) to some color with r.colors?
maybe the "setcolor" instruction helps with that? (I keep
on meaning to check if that still works)

another idea along the lines of the rectangle decoration is to
use v.in.region to make a big box, then display that as the
last/bottom vareas layer.

if it was to be added to a ps.map instruction I'd guess it
should belong to the "border" one as "fill_color" or so.

Hamish

ps- in case anyone finds it useful, I just added a page to the
wiki showing how to make graph paper with ps.map:
  http://grass.osgeo.org/wiki/Ps.map_graph_paper

if it was to be added to a ps.map instruction I'd guess it
should belong to the "border" one as "fill_color" or so.

Hamish, it would be a nice option to add "fcolor" to "border", that
would only write a background box
"0 0 width height box
stroke "
at the beginning of the ps file. IMO it is the lightest solution...

Vincent