diff --git a/docs/readme_template.md b/docs/readme_template.md
index e69de29b..ce1dd6b9 100644
--- a/docs/readme_template.md
+++ b/docs/readme_template.md
@@ -0,0 +1,273 @@
+# Plots
+
+[![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/tbreloff/Plots.jl.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.org/tbreloff/Plots.jl)
+
+#### Author: Thomas Breloff (@tbreloff)
+
+Plots is a plotting interface and wrapper for several plotting packages.  My goals with the package are:
+
+- Simple.  The interface should be intuitive enough that someone coming from Matlab, Python, etc can immediately start generating complex plots without reading volumes of documentation.
+- Automatic (if you want).  There should be smart defaults for the most common functionality, and simple, high-level ways to override complex functionality.
+- Flexible.  You should be able to produce your favorite plot in your favorite package, but quicker and simpler.
+- Consistent.  Don't commit to one graphics package.  One command will switch your backend, and the exact same plotting commands will work with a very different underlying backend.
+
+Please add wishlist items, bugs, or any other comments/questions to the issues list.
+
+## Examples for each implemented backend:
+
+- [Qwt.jl](docs/qwt_examples.md)
+- [Gadfly.jl](docs/gadfly_examples.md)
+- [UnicodePlots.jl](docs/unicodeplots_examples.md)
+- [PyPlot.jl](docs/pyplot_examples.md)
+- [Immerse.jl](docs/immerse_examples.md)
+- [Winston.jl](docs/winston_examples.md)
+
+## Installation
+
+First, add the package
+
+```julia
+Pkg.add("Plots")
+```
+
+then get any plotting packages you need (obviously, you should get at least one backend):
+
+```julia
+Pkg.add("Gadfly")
+Pkg.add("Immerse")
+Pkg.add("UnicodePlots")
+Pkg.add("PyPlot")                                    # requires python and matplotlib
+Pkg.clone("https://github.com/tbreloff/Qwt.jl.git")  # requires pyqt and pyqwt
+Pkg.add("Winston")
+```
+
+## Use
+
+Load it in.  The underlying plotting backends are not imported until `plotter()` is called (which happens
+on your first call to `plot` or `subplot`).  This means that you don't need any backends to be installed when you call `using Plots`.
+Plots will try to figure out a good default backend for you automatically based on what backends are installed.
+
+```julia
+using Plots
+```
+
+Do a plot in Gadfly, then save a png:
+
+```julia
+# switch to Gadfly as a backend
+gadfly!()
+
+# This will bring up a browser window with the plot. Add a semicolon at the end to skip display. 
+plot(rand(10,2); marker = :rect, markersize = [10,30], style = :auto)
+
+# save it as a PNG
+savepng(Plots.IMG_DIR * "gadfly1.png")
+```
+
+which saves:
+
+![gadfly_plt](img/gadfly1.png)
+
+See the examples pages for lots of examples of plots, and what those commands produce for each supported backend.
+
+## API
+
+Call `plotter!(backend::Symbol)` or the shorthands (`gadfly!()`, `qwt!()`, `unicodeplots!()`, etc) to set the current plotting backend.
+Subsequent commands are converted into the relevant plotting commands for that package:
+
+```julia
+gadfly!()
+plot(1:10)    # this effectively calls `y = 1:10; Gadfly.plot(x=1:length(y), y=y)`
+qwt!()
+plot(1:10)    # this effectively calls `Qwt.plot(1:10)`
+```
+
+Use `plot` to create a new plot object, and `plot!` to add to an existing one:
+
+```julia
+plot(args...; kw...)                  # creates a new plot window, and sets it to be the `currentPlot`
+plot!(args...; kw...)                 # adds to the `currentPlot`
+plot!(plotobj, args...; kw...)        # adds to the plot `plotobj`
+```
+
+Now that you know which plot object you're updating (new, current, or other), I'll leave it off for simplicity.
+There are many ways to pass in data to the plot functions... some examples:
+
+- Vector-like (subtypes of AbstractArray{T,1})
+- Matrix-like (subtypes of AbstractArray{T,2})
+- Vectors of Vectors
+- Functions
+- Vectors of Functions
+- (TODO) DataFrames with column symbols
+
+In general, you can pass in a `y` only, or an `x` and `y`, both of whatever type(s) you want, and Plots will slice up the data as needed.
+For matrices, data is split by columns.  For functions, data is mapped.  For DataFrames (TODO), a Symbol/Symbols in place of x/y will map to
+the relevant column(s) and also automatically set the associated legend label.
+
+Here are some example usages... remember you can always use `plot!` to update an existing plot, and that, unless specified, you will update the `currentPlot()`.
+
+```julia
+plot()                      # empty plot object
+plot(4)                     # initialize with 4 empty series
+plot(rand(10))              # plot 1 series... x = 1:10
+plot(rand(10,5))            # plot 5 series... x = 1:10
+plot(rand(10), rand(10))    # plot 1 series
+plot(rand(10,5), rand(10))  # plot 5 series... y is the same for all
+plot(sin, rand(10))         # y = sin(x)
+plot(rand(10), sin)         # same... y = sin(x)
+plot([sin,cos], 0:0.1:π)    # plot 2 series, sin(x) and cos(x)
+plot([sin,cos], 0, π)       # plot sin and cos on the range [0, π]
+plot(1:10, [rand(10), sin]) # plot 2 series, y = rand(10) for the first, y = sin(x) for the second... x = 1:10 for both
+```
+
+With `subplot`, create multiple plots at once, with flexible layout options:
+
+```julia
+y = rand(100,3)
+subplot(y; n = 3)             # create an automatic grid, and let it figure out the shape
+subplot(y; n = 3, nr = 1)     # create an automatic grid, but fix the number of rows
+subplot(y; n = 3, nc = 1)     # create an automatic grid, but fix the number of columns
+subplot(y; layout = [1, 2])   # explicit layout.  Lists the number of plots in each row
+```
+
+__Tip__: You can call `subplot!(args...; kw...)` to add to an existing subplot.
+
+__Tip__: Calling `subplot!` on a `Plot` object, or `plot!` on a `Subplot` object will throw an error.
+
+Shorthands:
+
+```julia
+scatter(args...; kw...)    = plot(args...; kw...,  linetype = :scatter)
+scatter!(args...; kw...)   = plot!(args...; kw..., linetype = :scatter)
+bar(args...; kw...)        = plot(args...; kw...,  linetype = :bar)
+bar!(args...; kw...)       = plot!(args...; kw..., linetype = :bar)
+histogram(args...; kw...)  = plot(args...; kw...,  linetype = :hist)
+histogram!(args...; kw...) = plot!(args...; kw..., linetype = :hist)
+heatmap(args...; kw...)    = plot(args...; kw...,  linetype = :heatmap)
+heatmap!(args...; kw...)   = plot!(args...; kw..., linetype = :heatmap)
+sticks(args...; kw...)     = plot(args...; kw...,  linetype = :sticks, marker = :ellipse)
+sticks!(args...; kw...)    = plot!(args...; kw..., linetype = :sticks, marker = :ellipse)
+hline(args...; kw...)      = plot(args...; kw...,  linetype = :hline)
+hline!(args...; kw...)     = plot!(args...; kw..., linetype = :hline)
+vline(args...; kw...)      = plot(args...; kw...,  linetype = :vline)
+vline!(args...; kw...)     = plot!(args...; kw..., linetype = :vline)
+ohlc(args...; kw...)       = plot(args...; kw...,  linetype = :ohlc)
+ohlc!(args...; kw...)      = plot!(args...; kw..., linetype = :ohlc)
+```
+
+Some keyword arguments you can set:
+
+[[KEYWORD_ARGS_TABLE]]
+
+[[REPLACE_START]]
+```
+axis            # :left or :right
+color           # can be a string ("red") or a symbol (:red) or a ColorsTypes.jl 
+                #   Colorant (RGB(1,0,0)) or :auto (which lets the package pick)
+label           # string or symbol, applies to that line, may go in a legend
+width           # width of a line
+linetype        # :line, :step, :stepinverted, :sticks, :scatter, :none, :heatmap, :hexbin, :hist, :bar
+linestyle       # :solid, :dash, :dot, :dashdot, :dashdotdot
+marker          # :none, :ellipse, :rect, :diamond, :utriangle, :dtriangle,
+                #   :cross, :xcross, :star1, :star2, :hexagon
+markercolor     # same choices as `color`, or :match will set the color to be the same as `color`
+markersize      # size of the marker
+nbins           # number of bins for heatmap/hexbin and histograms
+heatmap_c       # color cutoffs for Qwt heatmaps
+fillto          # fillto value for area plots
+title           # string or symbol, title of the plot
+xlabel          # string or symbol, label on the bottom (x) axis
+ylabel          # string or symbol, label on the left (y) axis
+yrightlabel     # string or symbol, label on the right (y) axis
+reg             # true or false, add a regression line for each line
+size            # (Int,Int), resize the enclosing window
+pos             # (Int,Int), move the enclosing window to this position
+windowtitle     # string or symbol, set the title of the enclosing windowtitle
+screen          # Integer, move enclosing window to this screen number (for multiscreen desktops)
+```
+
+Note that not every backend supports all options.
+
+If you don't include a keyword argument, these are the defaults:
+  
+```
+axis = :left
+color = :auto
+label = automatically generated (y1, y2, ...., or y1 (R), y2 (R) for the right axis)
+width = 1
+linetype = :line
+linestype = :solid
+marker = :none
+markercolor = :match
+markersize = 3
+nbins = 100
+heatmap_c = (0.15, 0.5)
+fillto = nothing
+title = ""
+xlabel = ""
+ylabel = ""
+yrightlabel = ""
+reg = false
+size = (600,400)
+pos = (0,0)
+windowtitle = "Plots.jl"
+screen = 1
+```
+[[REPLACE_END]]
+
+__Tip__: You can see the default value for a given argument with `plotDefault(arg::Symbol)`, and set the default value with `plotDefault!(arg::Symbol, value)`
+
+__Tip__: When plotting multiple lines, you can set all series to use the same value, or pass in an array to cycle through values.  Example:
+
+```julia
+plot(rand(100,4); color = [:red, RGB(0,0,1)],    # lines 1 and 3 are red, lines 2 and 4 are blue
+                  axis = :auto,                  # lines 1 and 3 are on the left axis, lines 2 and 4 are on the right
+                  width = 5)                     # all lines have a width of 5
+```
+
+__Tip__: Not all features are supported for each backend, but you can see what's supported by calling the functions: `supportedAxes()`, `supportedTypes()`, `supportedStyles()`, `supportedMarkers()`, `subplotSupported()`
+
+## TODO features:
+
+- [x] Plot vectors/matrices/functions
+- [ ] Plot DataFrames
+- [ ] Scales
+- [ ] Categorical Inputs (strings, etc... for hist, bar? or can split one series into multiple?)
+- [ ] Custom markers
+- [ ] Special plots (boxplot, ohlc?)
+- [x] Subplots
+- [x] Histograms
+- [ ] 3D plotting
+- [ ] Scenes/Drawing
+- [ ] Graphs
+- [ ] Interactivity (GUIs)
+
+## TODO backends:
+
+- [x] Gadfly.jl
+- [x] Immerse.jl
+- [x] PyPlot.jl
+- [x] UnicodePlots.jl
+- [x] Qwt.jl
+- [x] Winston.jl
+- [ ] GLPlot.jl
+- [ ] Bokeh.jl
+- [ ] Vega.jl
+- [ ] Gaston.jl
+- [ ] Plotly.jl
+- [ ] GoogleCharts.jl
+- [ ] PLplot.jl
+- [ ] TextPlots.jl
+- [ ] ASCIIPlots.jl
+- [ ] Sparklines.jl
+- [ ] Hinton.jl
+- [ ] ImageTerm.jl
+- [ ] GraphViz.jl
+- [ ] TikzGraphs.jl
+- [ ] GraphLayout.jl
+
+## More information on backends (both supported and unsupported)
+
+See the wiki at: https://github.com/JuliaPlot/juliaplot_docs/wiki
+
+
diff --git a/src/backends/gadfly.jl b/src/backends/gadfly.jl
index 7e59b99e..4f52ad86 100644
--- a/src/backends/gadfly.jl
+++ b/src/backends/gadfly.jl
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ gadfly!() = plotter!(:gadfly)
 
 supportedArgs(::GadflyPackage) = setdiff(_allArgs, [:heatmap_c, :pos])
 supportedAxes(::GadflyPackage) = setdiff(_allAxes, [:right])
-supportedTypes(::GadflyPackage) = [:none, :line, :step, :sticks, :scatter, :heatmap, :hexbin, :hist, :bar, :hline, :vline, :ohlc]
+supportedTypes(::GadflyPackage) = [:none, :line, :path, :step, :sticks, :scatter, :heatmap, :hexbin, :hist, :bar, :hline, :vline, :ohlc]
 supportedStyles(::GadflyPackage) = [:auto, :solid, :dash, :dot, :dashdot, :dashdotdot]
 supportedMarkers(::GadflyPackage) = [:none, :auto, :rect, :ellipse, :diamond, :utriangle, :dtriangle, :cross, :xcross, :star1, :star2, :hexagon, :octagon]
 
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ function getLineGeoms(d::Dict)
   lt in (:heatmap,:hexbin) && return [Gadfly.Geom.hexbin(xbincount = d[:nbins], ybincount = d[:nbins])]
   lt == :hist && return [Gadfly.Geom.histogram(bincount = d[:nbins])]
   # lt == :none && return [Gadfly.Geom.path]
-  lt == :line && return [Gadfly.Geom.path]
+  lt == :path && return [Gadfly.Geom.path]
   lt == :scatter && return [Gadfly.Geom.point]
   lt == :bar && return [Gadfly.Geom.bar]
   lt == :step && return [Gadfly.Geom.step]
@@ -109,12 +109,19 @@ function addGadflySeries!(gplt, d::Dict)
   gfargs = []
 
   # if my PR isn't present, don't set the line_style
-  extra_theme_args = Gadfly.isdefined(:getStrokeVector) ? [(:line_style, getGadflyStrokeVector(d[:linestyle]))] : []
+  local extra_theme_args
+  try
+    Gadfly.getStrokeVector(:solid)
+    extra_theme_args = [(:line_style, getGadflyStrokeVector(d[:linestyle]))]
+  catch
+    extra_theme_args = []
+  end
+  # extra_theme_args = Gadfly.isdefined(:getStrokeVector) ? [(:line_style, getGadflyStrokeVector(d[:linestyle]))] : []
   # line_style = getGadflyStrokeVector(d[:linestyle])
   
   # set theme: color, line width, and point size
   line_width = d[:width] * (d[:linetype] == :none ? 0 : 1) * Gadfly.px  # 0 width when we don't show a line
-  theme = Gadfly.Theme(default_color = d[:color],
+  theme = Gadfly.Theme(; default_color = d[:color],
                        line_width = line_width,
                        default_point_size = 0.5 * d[:markersize] * Gadfly.px,
                        extra_theme_args...)
diff --git a/src/backends/pyplot.jl b/src/backends/pyplot.jl
index 120ee921..6150a407 100644
--- a/src/backends/pyplot.jl
+++ b/src/backends/pyplot.jl
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ pyplot!() = plotter!(:pyplot)
 
 supportedArgs(::PyPlotPackage) = setdiff(_allArgs, [:reg, :heatmap_c, :fillto, :pos])
 supportedAxes(::PyPlotPackage) = _allAxes
-supportedTypes(::PyPlotPackage) = [:none, :line, :step, :stepinverted, :sticks, :scatter, :heatmap, :hexbin, :hist, :bar]
+supportedTypes(::PyPlotPackage) = [:none, :line, :path, :step, :stepinverted, :sticks, :scatter, :heatmap, :hexbin, :hist, :bar]
 supportedStyles(::PyPlotPackage) = [:auto, :solid, :dash, :dot, :dashdot]
 supportedMarkers(::PyPlotPackage) = [:none, :auto, :rect, :ellipse, :diamond, :utriangle, :dtriangle, :cross, :xcross, :star1, :hexagon]
 subplotSupported(::PyPlotPackage) = false
diff --git a/src/backends/qwt.jl b/src/backends/qwt.jl
index bd1f608f..3a025eb1 100644
--- a/src/backends/qwt.jl
+++ b/src/backends/qwt.jl
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ immutable QwtPackage <: PlottingPackage end
 export qwt!
 qwt!() = plotter!(:qwt)
 
-supportedTypes(::QwtPackage) = [:none, :path, :step, :stepinverted, :sticks, :scatter, :heatmap, :hexbin, :hist, :bar]
+supportedTypes(::QwtPackage) = [:none, :line, :path, :step, :stepinverted, :sticks, :scatter, :heatmap, :hexbin, :hist, :bar]
 
 # -------------------------------
 
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ end
 
 function plot(pkg::QwtPackage; kw...)
   d = Dict(kw)
+  replaceAliases!(d, _qwtAliases)
   # d = adjustQwtKeywords(true; kw...)
   o = Qwt.plot(zeros(0,0); d..., show=false)
   plt = Plot(o, pkg, 0, d, Dict[])
@@ -49,6 +50,7 @@ end
 
 function plot!(::QwtPackage, plt::Plot; kw...)
   d = adjustQwtKeywords(false; kw...)
+  @show d
   Qwt.oplot(plt.o; d...)
   push!(plt.seriesargs, d)
   plt
diff --git a/src/backends/unicodeplots.jl b/src/backends/unicodeplots.jl
index 48ce4f5f..58810897 100644
--- a/src/backends/unicodeplots.jl
+++ b/src/backends/unicodeplots.jl
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ unicodeplots!() = plotter!(:unicodeplots)
 
 supportedArgs(::UnicodePlotsPackage) = setdiff(_allArgs, [:reg, :heatmap_c, :fillto, :pos])
 supportedAxes(::UnicodePlotsPackage) = [:auto, :left]
-supportedTypes(::UnicodePlotsPackage) = [:none, :line, :step, :sticks, :scatter, :heatmap, :hexbin, :hist, :bar, :hline, :vline]
+supportedTypes(::UnicodePlotsPackage) = [:none, :line, :path, :step, :sticks, :scatter, :heatmap, :hexbin, :hist, :bar, :hline, :vline]
 supportedStyles(::UnicodePlotsPackage) = [:auto, :solid]
 supportedMarkers(::UnicodePlotsPackage) = [:none, :auto, :ellipse]
 
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ function addUnicodeSeries!(o, d::Dict, addlegend::Bool)
   # get the function, or special handling for step/bar/hist
   lt = d[:linetype]
   stepstyle = :post
-  if lt == :line
+  if lt == :path
     func = UnicodePlots.lineplot!
   elseif lt == :scatter || d[:marker] != :none
     func = UnicodePlots.scatterplot!
diff --git a/src/backends/winston.jl b/src/backends/winston.jl
index 3aab9ae9..a19ff600 100644
--- a/src/backends/winston.jl
+++ b/src/backends/winston.jl
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ const winston_marker = Dict(:none=>".",
 
 supportedArgs(::WinstonPackage) = setdiff(_allArgs, [:heatmap_c, :fillto, :pos, :markercolor, :background_color])
 supportedAxes(::WinstonPackage) = [:auto, :left]
-supportedTypes(::WinstonPackage) = [:none, :line, :sticks, :scatter, :hist, :bar]
+supportedTypes(::WinstonPackage) = [:none, :line, :path, :sticks, :scatter, :hist, :bar]
 supportedStyles(::WinstonPackage) = intersect(_allStyles, collect(keys(winston_linestyle))) # [:auto, :solid, :dash, :dot, :dashdot]
 supportedMarkers(::WinstonPackage) = intersect(_allMarkers, collect(keys(winston_marker))) # [:none, :auto, :rect, :ellipse, :diamond, :utriangle, :dtriangle, :cross, :xcross, :star1]
 subplotSupported(::WinstonPackage) = false
@@ -135,11 +135,11 @@ function plot!(::WinstonPackage, plt::Plot; kw...)
 
 
 
-  ## lintype :line, :step, :stepinverted, :sticks, :dots, :none, :heatmap, :hexbin, :hist, :bar
+  ## lintype :path, :step, :stepinverted, :sticks, :dots, :none, :heatmap, :hexbin, :hist, :bar
   if d[:linetype] == :none
     Winston.add(wplt, Winston.Points(d[:x], d[:y]; copy_remove(e, :kind)...))
 
-  elseif d[:linetype] == :line
+  elseif d[:linetype] == :path
     x, y = d[:x], d[:y]
     Winston.add(wplt, Winston.Curve(x, y; e...))
 
diff --git a/src/plot.jl b/src/plot.jl
index 47e60014..65616793 100644
--- a/src/plot.jl
+++ b/src/plot.jl
@@ -224,6 +224,15 @@ function createKWargsList(plt::PlottingObject, x, y; kw...)
     n = plt.n + i
     d = getSeriesArgs(plt.plotter, getinitargs(plt, n), kw, i, convertSeriesIndex(plt, n), n)
     d[:x], d[:y] = computeXandY(xs[mod1(i,mx)], ys[mod1(i,my)])
+
+    if d[:linetype] == :line
+      # order by x
+      indices = sortperm(d[:x])
+      d[:x] = d[:x][indices]
+      d[:y] = d[:y][indices]
+      d[:linetype] = :path
+    end
+
     push!(ret, d)
   end
   ret
@@ -254,7 +263,7 @@ mapFuncOrFuncs(f::Function, u::AVec) = map(f, u)
 mapFuncOrFuncs(fs::AVec{Function}, u::AVec) = [map(f, u) for f in fs]
 
 # special handling... xmin/xmax with parametric function(s)
-function createKWargsList(plt::PlottingObject, fx::FuncOrFuncs, fy::FuncOrFuncs, umin::Real, umax::Real, numPoints::Int = 1000000; kw...)
+function createKWargsList(plt::PlottingObject, fx::FuncOrFuncs, fy::FuncOrFuncs, umin::Real, umax::Real, numPoints::Int = 1000; kw...)
   u = collect(linspace(umin, umax, numPoints))
   createKWargsList(plt, mapFuncOrFuncs(fx, u), mapFuncOrFuncs(fy, u); kw...)
 end
diff --git a/src/utils.jl b/src/utils.jl
index e7c65250..4a5d4cc7 100644
--- a/src/utils.jl
+++ b/src/utils.jl
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ function barHack(; kw...)
 
   d[:x] = x
   d[:y] = y
-  d[:linetype] = :line
+  d[:linetype] = :path
   d[:fillto] = fillto
   d
 end
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ function sticksHack(; kw...)
   # change the line args
   dLine[:x] = x
   dLine[:y] = y
-  dLine[:linetype] = :line
+  dLine[:linetype] = :path
   dLine[:marker] = :none
   dLine[:fillto] = nothing