Macro by Mark graph exports are designed to carry two things at the same time: a clean figure that can be used in academic and professional work, and enough provenance for another reader to inspect where the figure came from.
This page documents the export contract for model graphs. It applies to the theory-based graph pages and the reference-model simulator graphs where the export menu shows Journal clean, Stamped, Teaching slide, and LaTeX figure options.
The export format is not a peer-review claim. A paper-ready figure still needs a defensible model, stated assumptions, and proper citation of the underlying economic literature or data source.
Presets
| Preset | Intended use | Visible attribution | Provenance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journal clean | Manuscripts, working papers, appendices, and replication files | None on the plot face | Embedded metadata and ZIP manifest |
| Stamped | Shared drafts, seminar handouts, and public distribution | Quiet bottom-right footer outside the plot area | Embedded metadata and ZIP manifest |
| Teaching slide | Slides and classroom material | Quiet footer outside the plot area | Embedded metadata and ZIP manifest |
Journal clean avoids a visible watermark because journal figures often need to satisfy house style, grayscale checks, cropping rules, and figure-number conventions. Attribution is preserved in the artifact metadata and in the ZIP manifest.
Stamped and Teaching slide add a small footer outside the plot area. The footer is intentionally outside the plotted axis so it does not alter the visual reading of the graph.
Files
| File | Role | Vector status | Attribution handling |
|---|---|---|---|
figure.tex | Clean figure source for manuscripts | True vector through PGFPlots/TikZ where the plotted data are exported as coordinates | Source comments and caption context |
chart.png | Portable raster image | Raster | Embedded PNG iTXt manifest plus optional visible footer by preset |
chart.svg | Browser-friendly figure wrapper | Raster-backed when the on-screen chart is canvas-backed | SVG <metadata> manifest |
data.csv | Plotted coordinate data | Not a figure | Raw plotted data for audit and reproduction |
manifest.json | Provenance record | Not a figure | Canonical attribution, preset, model, scenario, and timestamp |
README.md | Human-readable bundle guide | Not a figure | Explains the bundle contents |
The current browser export path renders the on-screen chart from canvas when the page uses canvas-based charting. For that reason, the SVG file preserves metadata but may still contain an embedded raster image. The clean vector artifact is figure.tex.
What Counts as Paper-Ready
For a research paper or technical appendix, prefer this workflow:
- Export
Journal clean ZIP. - Use
figure.texfor the manuscript figure when the journal allows LaTeX graphics. - Keep
data.csvandmanifest.jsonwith the replication package. - Cite the economic model or data provider separately from Macro by Mark.
- State parameter choices, scenario labels, and any modifications made after export.
For a slide deck, use Teaching slide PNG when the visual needs to stand alone outside a paper. For a public draft or memo, use Stamped PNG when visible attribution is useful.
Metadata Contract
Every graph export should preserve attribution in one or more artifact-level forms:
| Export path | Metadata carrier |
|---|---|
| Standalone PNG | PNG iTXt chunk named MacroByMarkManifest |
| Standalone SVG | SVG <metadata> element |
| ZIP bundle | manifest.json, plus embedded metadata inside chart.png and chart.svg |
| LaTeX figure | Source comments, caption, and the surrounding ZIP manifest |
Direct browser PDF export is not part of the current graph menu. To create a PDF, compile figure.tex with PGFPlots/TikZ. When a PDF is produced from the LaTeX file, keep the ZIP manifest with the paper or replication folder because PDF metadata depends on the compiling environment.
Quality Checks
Before using a graph externally, check:
- The axis labels match the model and variable being discussed.
- The selected scenario is the one described in the text.
- The transition semantics, discontinuities, jumps, and smooth paths match the model proof page.
- The exported data coordinates agree with the visible graph.
- The citation distinguishes Macro by Mark as the figure/export source from the original economic theory or data source.
Limits
Macro by Mark can make a graph publication-ready as an artifact. It cannot make the argument publication-ready by itself. A figure exported from the site should not be presented as empirical evidence unless the figure is tied to an empirical dataset, a documented estimation path, and the relevant data-provider citations.
For model diagrams, cite Macro by Mark only for the rendered figure and export tooling. Cite the underlying model literature separately.