Plot Page - Floating Bar Charts
To view and edit floating bar chart properties, select the floating bar chart and then click the Plot tab in the Property Manager. You can then change the data file, set data used in the vertical and horizontal floating bar chart, 3D floating bar chart, and 3D XYZ floating bar chart, and define other plot options, such as bar widths. The properties available will be specific to the type of plot.
Click one of the Plot page section names in the list below to read more information about the properties in those sections or follow this help topic sequentially to read about each property.
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Example floating bar chart and 3D/XYZ floating bar charts Plot properties |
Plot Type
The Plot type property displays the type of plot.
Data
Worksheet
Click the existing data file path and file name next to Worksheet to select a different data file for the plot. Click on a currently open worksheet or click the Browse option to navigate to a worksheet that is not yet open. Select a different data file in the Open Worksheet dialog, and click the Open button to change the data. The plot automatically updates.
NOTE: The worksheet columns are retained after changing the worksheet. If any of the column options are blank after changing the Worksheet, click on the blank option and select the desired column. A blank next to column means that the column does not exist in the new worksheet.
Select the Data in rows option if your data file is formatted where each row includes one variable. When the Data in rows option is selected, all plot properties that require data values are specified by selecting a data row. This includes variables such as X and Y, data labels, worksheet ranges, etc. Properties that list column letters will update to list row numbers. When switching from plotting data in columns to plotting data in rows, Grapher may not be able to select the correct rows automatically. Verify the correct rows are selected.
The property descriptions below refer to data columns, but when Data in rows is selected the property lists will include rows.
Variables
Click on the column name next to the X variable, X1 variable, X2 variable, Y variable, Y1 variable, Y2 variable, and Z variable fields to change the columns used to create the plot. In the list that appears, select the new column. If the first worksheet row contains header information, the header information appears next to the column letter.
For Vertical floating bar charts, the data columns are X variable, Y1 variable, Y2 variable, and Z variable. The Y1 variable and Y2 variable indicate the lower and upper edges of the floating bars. For example, let's say you would like to show the change in population in cities from 1990 to 2000. The city would be the X axis value (the row number or sequence number would likely be used), Y1 variable would show the 1990 population, and Y2 variable would show the 2000 population. The bars are drawn between the two Y values. Cities with greater population changes would show as longer bars.
For Horizontal floating bar charts, the data columns are Y column, X1 variable, X2 variable, and Z variable. The X1 variable and X2 variable indicate the left and right edges of the floating bars.
Aside from the columns containing data there are two other options, row number and sequence number. These options are available in the list that appears before the first column.
- Selecting the Row number option plots the axis with the row numbers used in the Worksheet rows section. For example, if the first row is number two, the axis begins at a value of two.
- The Sequence number option plots the data according to the total number of rows used. The sequence number always begins with the number one regardless of which rows are selected in the Worksheet rows group. Blank lines between rows are ignored when calculating the value. The sequence number increments by one when rows are adjacent or when rows are skipped.
When changing the X variable, Y variable, or Z variable to date/time data from numeric data, the Use date/time format option for the corresponding axis Tick Labels will automatically be checked to match the new data. When changing the X variable, Y variable, or Z variable to numeric data from date/time data, the Use date/time format option for the corresponding axis Tick Labels will automatically be unchecked to match the new data.
NOTE: The worksheet columns are retained after changing the worksheet. If any of the column options are blank after changing the Worksheet, click on the blank option and select the desired column. A blank next to column means that the column does not exist in the new worksheet.
Plot Options
Orientation
Floating bar charts can be displayed horizontally or vertically. The Orientation options let you change the orientation of the bars. The default setting is Vertical, which plots the height of the bars vertically. The Horizontal option rotates the bars by 90°, showing the height of the bars horizontally. This results in a bar graph where the bars protrude horizontally from the vertical axis. This setting affects all floating bar charts in the graph.
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This floating bar chart is displayed vertically. Vertical is the default display. |
This floating bar chart is displayed horizontally. |
Bar Style
The Bar style option allows the bars to be drawn as rectangles or as another shape. To change the Bar style, click on the existing option. In the list, select a new option. The options available are Box, Cone, Inverted cone, Diamond, Spindle, and Image. The floating bar chart automatically updates to the new style.
If the Bar style is set to Image, the Set image command is used to load an image to display for the bars. Click the Load button next to Set image to open the Set Image dialog. Select the image and click OK to display the image on floating the bar chart.
Slices
In a 3D or 3D XYZ bar chart, when the Bar style is set to an option other than Box, the Slices option becomes available. The Slices option controls the number of sides that the 3D shape has. With a Bar style set to Cylinder, the more Slices the object contains, the closer to a round cylinder the object will be displayed. The Slices option can be set to a whole number between 2 and 100. When the Slices is set to 2, the object appears as two dimensional. The line properties for the slice lines are set on the Line tab.
Stacks
In a 3D or 3D XYZ bar chart, when the Bar style is set to an option other than Box, the Stacks option becomes available. The Stacks option controls the number horizontally stacked sections that the 3D shape has. The Stacks option can be set to a whole number between 2 and 100. The line properties for the stack lines are set on the Line tab.
Width Settings
The Width settings section allows you to select the method to determine the width of the bars.
- When Type is set to Auto, the percentage in the Bar width option determines the width of the bars (from 1 to 50000 percent). A 100 percent width is determined by the range of the X values; the bars touch and cover 100 percent of the data range. When Bar width is set to 50 percent, the bars cover 50 percent of the data range and there are gaps between the bars. When the width is set to a value greater than 100 percent the bars overlap. This setting affects all bar charts when multiple bar charts are plotted on one graph.
- When Type is set to Fixed, the Fixed width option becomes available so you can change the width of all bars in the graph to a fixed width, e.g., 0.25 inches. Enter a value between 0.001 and 50.00 inches (0.003 and 127 cm).
- When Type
is set to Variable, the Variable units option becomes available so you can select data from the worksheet to determine the width of the bars.
Select from one of the following Variable units options:
- Percentage - select the Percentage variable to set the bar widths. Percentages should be whole numbers. For example, the value 1 in the worksheet column is 1%.
- Page units - select the Page units variable to set the bar widths, for example when you have data that is in inches or centimeters.
- Axis units (width) and Axis units (interval) - use axes units to set bar widths. If you select Axis units (width), select a data column from the Width variable list. If you select Axis units (interval) select a Y2 variable.
NOTE: The values in a selected width variable should be in the same units as the application page units setting. The bar widths will change if the Page units setting is changed in the Options dialog Ruler and Grid page or with the Layout | Display | Units command. The bar widths are still scaled with the Bar width percentage property when the Type is set to Variable.
Axes
Click on the axis name next to the X axis, Y axis, or Z axis fields to change the axes used for the plot. See the Axis - Add to Graph page for information about how to add a new axis to the graph. Once the new axis is added to the graph, it will be available in the X axis, Y axis, or Z axis lists.
3D Settings
The 3D Settings section of the Plot page includes the position and width settings for 3D floating bar charts.
Position
The Position option controls the location of the plot on the depth axis of the 3D plot. For example, 0 percent places the middle of the plot at the front of the graph, 100 percent places the middle of the plot at the back of the graph, and 50 percent places the plot in the middle of the graph.
Plot Width
Plot width controls how wide the plot is displayed. Plots can be 0.01 to 6 inches (0.025 and 15.24 cm) wide.