Data Overview
Data files contain the information used to create a graph. Each record in a data file occupies a single row and is comprised of at least two values (X, Y) for most plot types and at least three values for XYZ plots, contour maps, and surface maps (X, Y, Z). At least three values are also required for class plots, floating bar, hi-low-close, bubble, ternary, vector. The X, Y, and Z values are each placed in separate columns. X and Y coordinates define the position of the point on the graph.
Creating Data
Data files can be created in the Grapher worksheet, an ASCII editor, or any program that can produce files in one of the file formats listed in the Open dialog.
Graphing and Viewing Data
When graphing a data file, the data are loaded into an internal worksheet. It is not necessary to open the data in a worksheet window before creating a graph. If you want to view or alter the data in a data file, you can use the File | Open, Graph Tools | Worksheet | Display, or View | Display | Worksheet Manager commands to gain access to the data.
The order of the data in the file is the order the data are plotted. Descriptive headers in row 1 of each column are helpful but not required. When text appears in row 1 of a column, this text appears in list boxes as column titles. If a number resides in row 1, it is not incorporated into the list boxes, and instead, the column heading (such as column B) is displayed.
Rows with non-numeric entries (empty cells or text) are excluded when graphing. These records are not considered during the graphing operation.
Data File Content
Data files can contain up to one billion columns. Since you can specify the columns to be graphed, your data can occupy any columns. This allows you to have columns containing additional information particular to each point. The data file can contain several columns, so you can produce several graphs using the same data file.
Data files may contain data in addition to the X, Y coordinates. For example, when creating a scatter graph with the Home | New Graph |Basic | Scatter Plot command, additional columns can be used to specify the plot labels and axis labels.