2.3.2.2 Substitution Notation

The substitution of LabTalk variables and expressions occurs routinely in Origin. Since the value of the substituted string is unknown until the statement is actually executed, it's called run-time string substitution. It is also the cornerstone of any repetitive batch operation (import, analysis, graphing and graph export).

The substitution notations are preceded with % or $ and are not limited to LabTalk Script only. It also happens in labels in various windows, including axis title, legend, tick labels or regular text, column & cell display format, column & cell formula, etc. When it is found, Origin will replace it with the interpreted string.

Types of Substitution

There are four types of run-time substitutions:

String Register Substitution %A - %Z, etc.
%( ) String Substitution, a powerful notation to resolve %(str$), %(range), worksheet info and column dataset names, worksheet cells, legends, etc.
$( ) Substitution, - convert the numeric variable or expression and formats the result as a string.
%n Macro and Script substitution of the form %n, where arguments are passed to a macro or a script.

Examples

Various substitution notations are used in the following script to demonstrate its usage. such as

%H is a reserved string register for current window name
%1, %2 are arguments of macro
$(ii,##) is used to convert ii into 2 digit string with zero padding, e.g. 1 will turn into 01
$(ii) is used in wks.col$(ii) to create worksheet column object wks.coln
%(1, @WS) is used to create string with 1st's plot's worksheet name

Please start a new project to try this.

//define a macro with two argument %1 and %2
define import_plot 
{
	for(ii = %1; ii <=%2 ; ii++) 
	{
		if (!isEmpty(col(A))) newsheet; 
		//create fn$ string variable with concatenated strings
		string fn$=system.path.program$ + "Samples\curve fitting\step$(ii, ##).dat";
		impasc fname:=fn$; 
		delete col(A); 
		if (exist(%H)==2) //if current window type is worksheet
		{
			//set every odd other column as X
			for( jj = 1 ; jj <= wks.ncols ; jj+=2)
			{
				wks.col$(jj).type = 4; //wks.col1 refers to 1st column
			}
		}
	}
	page.active$=1; //activate 1st sheet
	doc -e LB //loop through all sheets
	{
		//plot all columms as scatter with XY column designation
		plotxy iy:=(?,1:end) plot:=202;
		xb.text$="X"; //set X axis title as X
		yl.text$=%(1, @WS); //Set Y axis title as worksheet name
	}
};

//execute the macro with two arguments 1 and 5, 1 and 5 will be passed to %1 and %2
import_plot 1 5; //import step01.dat to step05.dat and plot all data

As mentioned at the beginning, such substitution notations are used not only in LabTalk Script but also in various places in Origin. E.g.

customize legend. See Legend Substitution Notation
build RangeString of range variable. See Range Notation