Projecting a 2D Plot onto a 3D Plane
Most of the 2D plot types can be projected onto a 3D plane. This can be useful if you want to combine multiple 2D plots in 3D space and then rotate the results. You can drag-and-drop a 2D plot button onto a 3D plane, or you can choose Insert Graph to create a projected 2D plot.
To project a 2D plot using drag-and-drop
1. Create a new Graph sheet.
2. Click the 3D Plots button on the toolbar to display the plot palette.
3. There are six 3D plane combinations near the center of the 3D plot palette. Drag one of the 3D plane buttons off the plot palette and drop it onto the Graph sheet. A 3D graph is drawn and the plane is added automatically to the graph. The plane is automatically positioned at the minimum or maximum position depending on which plane button you choose. You can drag-and-drop additional 3D planes as desired.
4. Click the 2D Plots button on the toolbar to display the plot palette.
5. Drag-and-drop a 2D plot button onto the desired 3D plane. As you drag the plot over a 3D plane, the plane becomes highlighted (because it is an active drop target).
6. The plot icon is now linked to the 3D plane. You can double-click the plot icon to specify your data columns; or you can drag-and-drop data columns directly from your data.
When you have specified the data, the 2D plot is drawn on the specified 3D plane.
To project a 2D plot using the menus
1. Choose Insert Graph.
2. Choose 3D for the Graph Type, then choose one of the Projected 2D options for the Plot Type.
3. Choose OK.
4. A new Graph sheet and a dialog for the selected plot appear.
5. Specify the columns of data to plot on the Data to Plot page.
Note |
If you selected data before choosing Insert/Graph, the graph is generated at this point. |
6. Make any desired changes to the plot specifications and choose OK.
7. A 3D graph is drawn with a 2D plot projected onto a default 3D grid plane.
8. Double-click the grid plane or select the plane and choose Format Selected 3D Plane to change the plane's position or formatting characteristics.
To project a 2D plot onto an existing 3D graph
1. Click the 2D Plots button to display the plot palette.
2. Drag-and-drop one of the 2D plot buttons onto your 3D graph. A 2D plot icon appears on the graph.
3. Double-click the plot icon to specify the data columns; or drag-and-drop data columns directly onto the plot icon. When the plot is drawn, it is placed on a default 3D plane.
For more information on adding and formatting 3D planes, see Formatting 3D Planes .