# Using SWI-Prolog pack gvterm

**URL:** <https://swi-prolog.discourse.group/t/using-swi-prolog-pack-gvterm/3009>\
**Category:** Nice to know\
**Tags:** how-to, gvterm, packs\
**Created:** [October 5, 2020, 11:00am UTC](https://swi-prolog.discourse.group/t/using-swi-prolog-pack-gvterm/3009 "2020-10-05T11:00:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jan](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/swi-prolog.discourse.group/jan/32/4_2.png) [@jan](https://swi-prolog.discourse.group/u/jan)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 11:39am UTC](https://swi-prolog.discourse.group/t/using-swi-prolog-pack-gvterm/3009/2 "2020-10-05T11:39:33Z")

</div>

The gvterm pack is designed to use the `xdot` program to directly see the result interactively. This is a Python script in the `scripts` directory of the pack. Seems this script does no longer work on recent Linux versions. My Ubuntu 20.04 has `xdot` as a standard package though, so simply do

```
sudo apt install xdot

```

And after that from Prolog

```
?- [library(gvterm)].
?- dotty_term(a(b,c)).

```

For most platforms I guess there is some interactive dot viewer. Install it and adjust `gvterm.pl` to find it and you should be fine.

Finally, you can use gvterm from SWISH. See [https://swish.swi-prolog.org/example/render\_term.swinb](https://swish.swi-prolog.org/example/render_term.swinb)

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