history

Figure Studio derives its publication preset from the nine-panel reference

id: LK-20260721-figure-studio-nine-panel-calibration
date: 2026-07-21
sequence: 155
type: fix
compatibility: compatible
component: `labkit_FigureStudio_app` | `0.6.1 -> 0.6.4`
scope: LabKit Core

Context

The previous Figure Studio publication profile was described as a visual calibration even though its dimensions had been taken from a separate manual FIG example. It also allowed native figure chrome to reduce the exported drawable height.

Decision and rationale

Use only the maintained 3-by-3 scientific reference. Normalize every panel by its detected axes frame, measure typography and strokes in pixels, and select one robust profile from all nine panels. Keep those measurements app-local and size the chromeless export client area directly so the configured inner frame survives raster and vector export.

Changes

• Recalibrated the reference plot frame, typography, semantic strokes, frame, grid, legend border, and legend token length from panels A through I.
• Set the data stroke to 6.5 pt after registered raster checks matched panel A exactly and reduced the remaining one-pixel deficits in panels E and H.
• Removed menu and toolbar chrome from temporary export figures and preserved the complete figure bounds through exportgraphics.
• Ignored zero-area text extents when computing outer margins so native log rulers cannot inflate an export canvas to tens of thousands of pixels.
• Added the calibrated 900 px plot width to the selectable sizes and made it the new-project default.
• Retained source token geometry for FIG default while applying the measured long token only to the LabKit preset.
• Replaced dynamic-array analyzer suppressions with bounded collection and documented the 72-to-96-PPI range used by cross-platform visual metrics.

User and data impact

New LabKit-style projects open at the nine-panel reference scale. Existing scientific values, limits, source graphics, FIG files, and saved projects are not recalculated. Exports retain the requested inner-frame aspect instead of losing native-window height.

Compatibility and migration

The style record remains extensible and existing projects stay readable. Switching an existing document to LabKit figure opts into the new profile; FIG default continues to use source presentation values.

Validation

• Pixel-frame, OCR glyph-height, colored-stroke, and registered-overlay checks against all nine reference panels.
• Focused Figure Studio result-file and project tests.
• Hidden-GUI Figure Studio workflow tests.
• Native logarithmic-axis margin regression.
• Linux-compatible visual-ratio and analyzer-policy regressions.
• Repository changedFast validation.

Evidence

After width registration, the nine detected inner-frame height errors range from -1.71 to +2.16 pixels; panel A is exact. Shared OCR glyph heights have a median scale error below one percent. Reference and generated comparison rasters remain untracked validation artifacts.

Known limitations and follow-up

Raster antialiasing varies slightly by renderer and platform. Exact scientific curve coordinates are source data and are not part of the style preset.