Grapher 5 - New and Updated Features

Introduction

Grapher 5 has added several new features and updated many existing features from older versions of the Grapher program. This article will highlight a few of these changes by creating one of the new graph types and editing portions of the graph and axes using the new Property Inspector. This article refers to a dataset that has been created specifically for this article. Although you can use your own data and do not need this exact data file, following the steps will be easier with the indicated data file due to some assumed formats in the columns. Download the data file newsletter51_Grapher_data.xls.

The Property Inspector

The Property Inspector is completely new in Grapher 5 and replaces the more cumbersome dialog boxes that previous versions of Grapher used. The Property Inspector allows immediate changes to be made, allows object properties to be accessed in a quicker manner, simplifies switching between objects, and speeds the total graph-making process. Since the Property Inspector is new to Grapher 5, this article discusses how to change some relatively simple object properties, such as axis titles, and how to change some more complex properties, such as prefixes for axis labels.

The Property Inspector speeds up your graphs.

The Property Inspector normally displays a single object's properties. So, a single axis, single plot, or the entire graph can be edited in the Property Inspector. One "trick" to using the Property Inspector is to have only the item you want to edit selected. The other "trick" is to have items that you use frequently already opened. The Property Inspector will remember the last state of the opened property, thus making repeat edits much easier. If having items pre-opened makes finding commands difficult, close each section after making an edit. To open a section, click on the + sign located next to the section name. To close a section, click on the - sign located next to the section name. As many sections as you like can be opened at any one time.

It is possible to edit some features of multiple objects at the same time. To edit multiple similar objects (line and fill style, for example), select all of the objects to edit in either the plot window or the object manager. Then, change the shared properties in the Property Inspector. All of the objects selected will update automatically.

Step 1: Creating a default graph

For this project, we are going to create a three dimensional bar chart comparing date of delivery, number of packages, and the price per package. Our client believes that company A gives better prices on larger orders than company B. So, we will break the bars out into two separate groups based on a data criterion column that contains a company designation letter, either A or B. The graph will give the client a visual reference to who has better prices or better discounts (if anyone does). To create the default graph, open a new Grapher 5 plot window.

1. Choose Graph | 3D XYZ Graphs | Bar Chart.
2. Select the downloaded XLS file and click Open. The first default bar graph is created.
3. Make sure that some part of the graph is selected and choose Graph | Add to Graph | Plot.
4. Select XYZ Bar Chart and click OK.
5. Click OK in the Choose Axes dialog. No changes are necessary.
6. Select the downloaded XLS file and click Open. The second default graph is created.

Step 2: Customizing the bar charts

At this point, the graphs are identical, using the same columns and the same data points. In addition, the bars are stacked on top of each other, revealing very little about the actual data. So, some changes are necessary. In the Object Manager, select XYZ Bar Chart 1.

Select the XYZ Bar Chart 1 in the Object Manager

 

In the Property Inspector, open the Plot Properties section. Locate the Y column item. Click in the Y column box and change it to Column C: Packages received. Click in the Z column box and change it to Column D: Price/package. To make the bars thicker, change the Bar width item to 500%. Change the Stacking option to Adjacent. This will force the bars to be side by side instead of stacked, making direct comparisons easier. Select XYZ Bar Chart 2 in the Object Manager and repeat these steps. Now both bars are using the correct data columns. The next step is to limit which data are plotted by each bar.

Select XYZ Bar Chart 1 in the Object Manager. Close the Plot Properties section and open the Clipping Properties section. Place a check mark in the Use criteria box. Click in the Criteria box where it says <Click here to set criteria>. This will open a Criteria dialog box. Check the Use column criteria box and press the Add button. For the Value, type in the letter A and click OK. Change the drop down column to Column E: Type. Your dialog box should look like this:

Criteria dialog box

Click OK in the dialog box. Your bars for XYZ Bar Chart 1 will update to only show company A. Select XYZ Bar Chart 2 in the Object Manager and repeat this process, changing the criteria to the letter B.

The only other item to change on the bars is the fill color for XYZ Bar Chart 2 and the bar names. To change the fill color, select XYZ Bar Chart 2 in the Object Manager. Open the Fill Properties section in the Property Inspector. Change the Foreground color to any color other than red, such as blue. Your graph should now appear as a comparison between the two companies.

Red and blue bars illustrate data from two companies

Step 3: Change the X axis to show date format labels

Now that the bars are displayed as we want them, we need to alter the axes slightly so that they display more informative and easier to read text. We will start with the X axis. In the Object Manager, select X Axis 1. In the Property Inspector, open the Axis Properties section. Open the Axis title section. Click in the Title box where it says <Click here to edit text>. This will open a Text Editor dialog box. Type in a descriptive title for the date axis, such as Date Received. Highlight all of the text and change the point size from 12 pts to 20 pts and click OK. The title appears, but it is overwriting the labels for the axis. In the Property Inspector, first change the angle of the text. To do this, type in -15 in the Angle box. Then, change the X offset to -0.40 inches. This will center the title a little better.

The X axis now has a title, but the tick mark labels do not seem to describe what the axis shows. This paragraph will change the tick labels to date labels and set a date/time spacing on the labels. Open the Tick Labels section. Open the Major label text section. Check the Use date/time format box. Scroll down and uncheck the Angled box. Open the Major labels section. Click in the Label format command where it says <Click here to set label format>. Change the Points to 16 and click OK. Open the Tick Marks section. Open the Major ticks section. Place a check mark in the Use date/time spacing box. Click on the Every Year in the Date/time spacing. This opens a Date/Time Spacing dialog. Change the values to 6 and Month. There are now regular date tick labels along the X axis. Your X axis should look something like this:

Display date labels for tick mark labels.

Step 4: Customize the Y axis

Using the same principles as outlined in step 3, you can add a title and change the tick labels of the Y axis. In the Object Manager, select Y Axis 1. In the Property Inspector, open the Axis Properties section. Open the Axis title section. Click in the Title box where it says <Click here to edit text>. This will open a Text Editor dialog box. Type in a descriptive title for the date axis, such as Number of Packages Received. Highlight all of the text and change the point size from 12 pts to 20 pts and click OK. The title appears and looks good without any additional changes. To have the tick labels face forward, in the Tick Labels section, uncheck the Angled box. Then, again in the Tick Labels section, open the Major labels section. Click in the Label format command where it says <Click here to set label format>. Change the Points to 16 and click OK.

Step 5: Customize the Z axis

The Z axis defaults to an axis minimum value that will allow all of the bars to show with plenty of space between individual bars. In most circumstances, this is the desired situation. However, this axis is showing the price of an object, therefore a negative value is not defined. For this reason, you may choose to adjust the axis minimum and maximum values. If you choose to change the limits, open the Axis limits section. Type in a new Minimum value, such as zero. The graph will automatically update to show the new limits.

The Z axis title can be adjusted in the same manner as the X axis title. A title such as Price/package would describe this data column well. In addition, this axis title will need to be rotated similar to the X axis title. If you do this, I would recommend an X offset of 0.4 inches, a Y offset of 0.9 inches, and an Angle of 30 degrees. You can also simply check the Angled box to have the title automatically align with the axis.

For the labels, it might be more descriptive to display monetary units, as appears in the data file. It is also necessary to give a custom starting value for the first tick so that the first tick on the Z axis does not overlap the last date on the X axis. To change the first tick mark label location, open the Tick Marks section. Open the Tick range section. Change the First tick value to 10. This removes the overlapping label from the Z axis so that you can see the date on the X axis. Now, open the Tick Labels section. Open the Major labels section. In the Label format command, click where it says <Click here to set label format>. Change the Points to 16. Click on the Format tab. Change the Numeric Format to Fixed. Change the Digits after decimal point to 2. Finally, type in the Prefix box the dollar sign ($). Click OK in the dialog. Then, uncheck the Angled command box. Your Z axis should appear something like this:

Z axis with dollar format

Step 6: Final notes

At this point, the graph is in what many would consider a complete state. However, due to personal preferences, you may choose to make additional changes. For instance, you may choose to give a title to the graph or change the fill colors for each of the walls. Your final graph may look something like this:

The final graph

After all of the customizations have been completed, you need to present the graph back to your client. If they do not have Grapher, you will need to choose an export format or paste the entire graph into another program. Grapher exports to a wide variety of formats including PDF, EMF, JPG, and TIF. These common export formats can be inserted into many other programs, such as word processing programs, photo editing programs, or slide show creation programs. Choose the format that works best for you!

Summary

Grapher 5 has added many new and updated features. New graph types and the new Property Inspector let you display your data with unsurpassed vividness and clarity.

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