Customize Each Plotted Data Set
To customize any plotted data set or shape, double click along that data or shape. The inspector window will open with that plot object selected for customization. To customize plotting features, click on the "Object" tab. If the inspector window is already open (which can be done using the Plot Inspector menu command or tool bar icon), you can either click on the desired plot element to inspect or select a data set from the pop-up menu in the "Name" section of the "Object" tab. The customization options for each data set or shape are as follows:
- Name - enter any name for the data set. The menu below the name lets you select any other data set in the current plot for customization as an alternative to clicking on that data. The name for shapes cannot be changed. Entered names will appear in plot keys by their order in the plot and can make use of subscripts and superscripts.
- Plot Line - select the type of line connecting the data points or select "No Line" to not connect the points with a line. The "Filled Curve" option connects last point to the first and fills that region with the line color.
The numeric stoke value sets the line width as a percentage of the plot diagonal (0.14% is about 1 pixel on a full-page, landscape-mode plot). The color well sets the color for the line. - Shape Line - when you click on a shape, the "Plot Line" section changes to "Shape Line," but line settings only apply to arrows, double arrows, and lines. The settings work as for "Plot Line" and affect the line connecting the two points for the shape.
- Plot Symbols
- Select a symbol to plot at each point or select "No Symbol" to not draw symbols at each point. The "Vertical Bar" and "Horizontal Bar" are drawn from the data value to zero (or to plot limit if zero is not in the plot range).
- The size field is the size of symbol as a percentage of the plot diagonal (good symbols are usually larger than 1%). The stroke field and color well determine the line properties for the line drawn around the symbol (they function the same as setting line width and color in the "Plot Line" section).
- The fill color is the color used to fill the symbols. The opacity field sets opacity for the symbol fill color from 100% for opaque to 0% for transparent (or no color fill). The "Pattern" pop up menu provides an option for filling symbols with a pattern instead of a solid color. Note that "plus" and "star" symbols are not filled and cannot use a pattern.
- Shape Settings - when you click on a shape, the "Plot Symbols" section changes to "Shape Settings:"
- Use the menu to select the type of shape that is drawn.
- The size field, which is only available for arrows, is the size of the arrowhead as a percentage of the plot diagonal (good arrowheads are usually larger than 1%).
- The stroke field and color well determine the line properties for the line drawn around an arrowhead, rectangle, or oval (they function the same as setting line width and color in the "Plot Line" section).
- The fill color and opacity sets the color used to fill arrowheads, rectangles, or ovals (they function the same as setting fill color and opacity in the "Plot Symbols" section). Shapes cannot use a pattern and the "Pattern" menu is disabled.
- Plot Key Settings - when you click on a plot key, the "Plot Symbols" section changes to "Shape Settings:"
- Use the menu to select the type of shape that is drawn (but a change will no longer be a plot key).
- Use font and color buttons under the menu to change the font and color for the text in the plot key using font or color panels. The font size automatically adjusts to the size the plot key's rectangle, which means changing font size in the font panel has no effect on the plot key.
- The stroke field and color well determine the line properties for the line drawn around an plot key's rectangle (they function the same as setting line width and color in the "Plot Line" section).
- The fill color and opacity sets the color used to fill the plot key's rectangle (they function the same as setting fill color and opacity in the "Plot Symbols" section). Plot key's cannot use a pattern and the "Pattern" menu is disabled.
- Error Bars / Statistics - This section can add errors bars or do simple statistical calculations on the plotted data. The options are:
- Error Columns - draw error bars using lengths provided in error bar columns.
- Standard Deviation - calculate standard deviations as explained in statistics features and draw error bars ±1 standard deviation from calculated means.
- Box & Whisker - redraw data using box & whisker method as explained in statistics features.
- Box & Whisker/Outliers - redraw data using box & whisker method with outliers as explained in statistics features.
- Violin - redraw data using violin plot method as explained in statistics features.
- Violin/Outliers - redraw data violin plot method with outliers as explained in statistics features.
- The tolerance field sets width of blocks in direction used for statistics calculations.
- The size field is the width of the end caps on the error bars or whiskers as a percentage of the plot diagonal. Boxes in "Box & Whisker" plots and probability density in "Violin" plots are twice the width of the end caps.
- The "Stroke" field and color well determine the line properties for the lines drawn for the error bars, boxes, whiskers, and probability density (they function the same as setting line width and color in the "Plot Line" section).
- Outlier points are drawn as star symbols using the array's plot symbol size and line width, but drawn using the error bar color.
- The "Fill" and "Opacity" settings are for the color that fills boxes in "Box & Whisker" plots or the probability density region in "Violin" plots (they function the same as setting fill color and opacity in the "Plot Symbols" section).
- The "Hide" check box lets you hide the error bar columns or graphics found through statistics analysis. When hidden, data in error bar columns remain in the file and when using statistics features, lines and symbols will plot through calculated mean values.
- Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear - when a data set is selected, you can use the Edit menu to cut, copy, paste, or clear. Copied data sets or shapes can be pasted into other PublishPlot documents and data sets can be pasted into any text editing application. When pasted as text, they will appear as tab-delimited text data in the PublishPlot table format including commands to set the plot style.
Pattern Filling: Normally, publishable plots use colors to fill symbols for different curves, but sometimes patterns are needed. Two examples are when publishing does not allow color or when patterns seem better to differentiate symbols (such as for people who are color blind). To fill symbols with a pattern, select an option from the "Pattern" pop up menu. The lines of the pattern will be drawn using the symbol fill color and thickness of pattern lines will use the symbol stroke setting (note that pattern lines will not be visible unless the fill color differs from the background color).
Patterns usually look best in larger symbols. They also are good when creating bar charts. For any specific plot, you can customize the spacing between lines in the pattern by editing the "Pattern Spacing" in the frame pane of the inspector window.
Note: You can set the line color by dragging a color from any color well on top of a data set. To set symbol or shape line or fill colors, however, you have to use the corresponding color wells in the inspector. Fill colors have a field to set opacity, but you can set opacity of any color in the color panel.
Note: If you have trouble selecting a data set, it may be behind some other data sets. If that happens you have two options:
- Open the inspector (by double clicking any plot element or using the Plot Inspector menu command or tool bar icon) and choose the "Object" tab. You can select a data set to inspect from the pop-up menu in the "Name" section.
- Click a data set in front of the one you want to select and use menu command Arrange→Send to Back. Repeat with other data sets as needed until the one you want is in the front.