diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7dee378
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+.DS_Store
+
+.idea/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pplot b/pplot
index 8ddb154..c3f710c 100755
--- a/pplot
+++ b/pplot
@@ -6,10 +6,12 @@ import re
 import getopt
 
 marker = '.'
-opts, args = getopt.getopt(sys.argv[1:], 'l')
+opts, args = getopt.getopt(sys.argv[1:], 'lS')
 for o, a in opts:
   if o == '-l':
     marker = '.-'
+  elif o == '-S':
+    plt.gca().set_aspect(1.0)
 
 x = []
 y = []   
@@ -21,4 +23,6 @@ for line in sys.stdin:
 plt.plot(x, y, marker)
 plt.minorticks_on()
 plt.grid(which='both', color='#aaaaaa')
+# add a little bit of margin around the figure so that minimal/maximal points are easier to see
+plt.margins(0.05)
 plt.savefig(sys.stdout, format='png')