Formatting the Plot Area

You can select the plot area to change its size or formatting. In a 2D graph the plot area is bounded by the axes.

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The plot area (gray) is selected

To select the plot area

Click anywhere inside the region bounded by the axes. When selected, the plot area has knobs on all sides and all four corners.

To change the size of the plot area

To change the size of the plot area, do one of the following:

__image\fakebullet2.gif Select the plot area and drag the corner resize knobs to the desired size.

__image\fakebullet2.gif Double-click inside the graph to display the Graph Properties dialog. Click the Position/Size tab. For Plot Display Size, specify the Height and Width and choose OK.

__image\fakebullet2.gif Select the plot area, right-click and select Position/Size. For Plot Display Size, specify the Height and Width and choose OK.

To move the plot area

To move the plot area, do one of the following:

__image\fakebullet2.gif Select the plot area and drag it to a new location.

__image\fakebullet2.gif Double-click inside the graph to display the Graph Properties dialog. Click the Position/Size tab. For Plot Origin Position, specify X and Y values and choose OK.

To format the plot area

1. Double-click inside the graph to display the Graph Properties dialog.

2. Click the Fill/Border tab. Make the desired formatting changes to the plot area border and fill.

3. Choose OK.

Plot Summary page

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This page of the Graph Properties dialog displays the name of the Data window, the selected columns, the hide option and the scale to options for the selected plot. Within this dialog, you can edit the data specification options for individual plots or for all plots on the graph at once.

Position/Size page

__image\finger.gif Click individual fields in the dialog below for more specific information.

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Fill/Border page

__image\finger.gif Click individual fields in the dialog below for more specific information.

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Multipanel page

See the chapter on Trellis graphs for details of multipanel conditioning.

__image\finger.gif Click individual fields in the dialog below for more specific information.

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Example

Suppose you have a data set based on multiple variables and you are interested in comparing data series. It is often convenient to view these data series in a series of panels keeping the x axis and/or y axis ranges constant. This is done by setting Panel Type to By Plot on the Multipanel page.

For example, suppose you have data on GNP, the unemployment rate, and the inflation rate over time. To graph these series in a single panel simply select the columns and click on the Y Series Line plot button on the Plots 2D palette. However, in the graph created it is very difficult to see variations in the unemployment and in the inflation rate because the axis scale is inappropriate. Adding one or more right y axes can solve the problem, but then the graph becomes cluttered with three possibly overlapping lines. An alternative is to use the By Plot option. Select the graph and open the Graph Tools palette. Click the Separate Panels with Varying Y Axes button. Each series is plotted in a separate panel. The x axis range is held constant across panels, but the y axis range is allowed to vary. This is done by setting the Vary Axis Range property of the y axis.

You can also use multipanel graphs to display 3D plots rotated at various angles and "sliced" along axes. Each panel shows a different view or section of the original surface.

3D Workbox Page (Graph 3D Properties dialog only)

Note that the 3D Workbox page is only available when you are editing a 3D graph.

__image\finger.gif Click individual fields in the dialog below for more specific information.

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