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# 4.1 GMT units

GMT programs can accept dimensional quantities in cm, inch, meter, or point (1/72 of an inch)4.1. There are two ways to ensure that GMT understands which unit you intend to use.

1. Append the desired unit to the dimension you supply. This way is explicit and clearly communicates what you intend, e.g., -X4c means the length being passed to the -X switch is 4 cm.

2. Set the parameter MEASURE_UNIT to the desired unit. Then, all dimensions without explicit unit will be interpreted accordingly.

The latter method is less secure as other users may have a different unit set and your script may not work as intended. We therefore recommend you always supply the desired unit explicitly.

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