[Scilab-users] Suppressing figure window

[Tim Wescott]

I have some papers that I maintain on my web site, for example:
http://wescottdesign.com/articles/Sampling/sampling.pdf.

These are authored in lyx, with some figures generated with Scilab.  The
site is archived as software, and built using a makefile, including the
pdf files.  Rather than keeping the figures as generated graphics files,
I keep the Scilab files and generate the figures as needed.

To generate a figure, make runs it's generating script from a shell,
e.g.

scilab -nw -nb -e
"execstr(['errcatch(-1,''kill'')';'scf';'exec(''motor-PD-friction.sce'');';'quit'])"

When this happens Scilab silently opens, but when it actually makes the
figure it opens the window on top of whatever is running, draws it, then
closes it.  Since I have several papers on the site (and its growing),
this means that I can't leave the make running in the background and get
work done, because I'm constantly getting windows created in my face.

It's kind of like trying to read in the same room as a cat, except that
Scilab figures are not warm and fuzzy, and they do not purr.

Is there a way to tell Scilab to create a figure but to keep it
minimized?  Alternately, is there a Unix trick to tell the OS to act
like everything is going to a monitor, but suppress it?

Thanks in advance.

-- 

Tim Wescott
www.wescottdesign.com
Control & Communications systems, circuit & software design.
Phone: 503.631.7815
Cell:  503.349.8432