Creating Charts and Graphs

Creating Charts and Graphs
Title:
Version:
First edition:
First English
edition:
Creating Charts and Graphs
1.0
December 2004
December 2004
Contents
Overview.........................................................................................................................................ii
Copyright and trademark information........................................................................................ii
Feedback.....................................................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................ii
Modifications and updates..........................................................................................................ii
Inserting charts.................................................................................................................................1
Using the Chart AutoPilot...........................................................................................................2
Choosing the chart type...............................................................................................................5
Editing the chart.............................................................................................................................10
Moving and resizing a chart......................................................................................................11
Graphics and color.........................................................................................................................12
Applying a background to a spreadsheet..................................................................................12
Graphics in the background of cells..........................................................................................12
Creating Charts and Graphs
i
Overview
Overview
OpenOffice.org Calc lets you present data graphically in a chart, so that you can visually
compare data series and view trends in the data.
Copyright and trademark information
The contents of this Documentation are subject to the Public Documentation License,
Version 1.0 (the "License"); you may only use this Documentation if you comply with the
terms of this License. A copy of the License is available at:
http://www.openoffice.org/licenses/PDL.rtf.
The Original Documentation is Creating Charts and Graphs. The Initial Writer(s) of the
Original Documentation is/are Linda Worthington © 2004. All Rights Reserved. (Initial
Writer contact(s): lindaw65@earthlink.net. The Initial Writer contact(s) is to report errors in
the documentation. For questions regarding how to use the software, subscribe to the Users
Mail List and post your question there: http://support.openoffice.org/index.html.)
All trademarks within this guide belong to legitimate owners.
Feedback
Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to:
authors@user-faq.openoffice.org.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Peter Kupfer for his review of this chapter.
Modifications and updates
Version
Date
1.0
24 December 2004
Creating Charts and Graphs
Description of Change
First published version.
ii
Inserting charts
Inserting charts
OpenOffice.org Calc offers a variety of different ways to chart or graph your Calc data. Any
time a chart is created, the chart AutoPilot is invoked.
Open the spreadsheet and highlight (select) the data to be included in the chart. There are
two ways to proceed after you have selected your data. The first method (see Figure 1) is
Insert > Chart:
Figure 1. Selecting Insert Chart
The second method (see Figure 2) is to long-click (that is, hold down the left mouse button
for 1 second) on Insert Object to display the floating toolbar, then click on the Insert Chart
button:
Creating Charts and Graphs
1
Inserting charts
Figure 2. Using the Insert Chart button
Using the Chart AutoPilot
Once Insert Chart is selected, the chart AutoPilot menu appears. (See Figure 3.) The first
dialog is used to define the data range, the labels, and the target sheet for the chart.
Figure 3. Create a Chart AutoPilot
Data Range
The data range selected should contain both the labels and the data. (See Figure 4.) If the
data range is selected when the AutoPilot is started, it will automatically be inserted in the
Range input field. If the AutoPilot is started without a selected data range, a range can be
selected by clicking on the range selection icon next to the Range input field.
Creating Charts and Graphs
2
Inserting charts
Figure 4. Highlighted Data Range
First Row/Column as Label
First Row as Label: Uses the entries in the top row of the selection as labels for the data
range. This setting is useful if there are several columns of data that need to be displayed in
the same chart. (See Figure 5.)
1st Row as Label
10
9
8
7
6
Time (s)
Speed (m/s)
5
4
3
2
1
0
Row 2
Row 3
Row 4
Row 5
Row 6
Figure 5. Example using first row as label
Creating Charts and Graphs
3
Inserting charts
First Column as Label: Uses the entries in the leftmost column of the selection as labels for
the data range. (See Figure 6.)
1st Column as Label
10
9
8
7
6
Column B
5
4
3
2
1
0
Time (s)
1
2
3
4
5
Figure 6. Example using first column as label
First Column & First Row as Label: Both checkboxes can be selected as well. This
provides a combination of both options. This sets the first row as the labels and the first
column as the x-axis values. (See Figure 7.)
1st Column & 1st Row as Label
10
9
8
7
6
Speed (m/s)
5
4
3
2
1
0
1
2
3
4
5
Figure 7. Example using first column and first row as labels
Chart Results Output
This dropdown box specifies which sheet the chart will output to. By default the current
sheet is selected, but any sheet, or a new sheet, can also be selected. However, a chart can not
be set to be its own sheet; it must be an object in a normal sheet.
Once the correct options have been input, either click Create to create the chart, or click
Next to proceed to the next dialog to choose the chart type.
Creating Charts and Graphs
4
Inserting charts
Choosing the chart type
On the next page of the AutoPilot (see Figure 8), the chart type can be chosen and a preview
of the chart output can be seen. Click Create from here, or click Next for more options.
Figure 8. Choosing a chart type (format)
OpenOffice.org Calc offers several different chart types. Most chart types come in both a 2dimensional and a 3-dimensional style. Below is the list of available styles with examples.
Lines (2D & 3D) – Provides a standard line graph that is useful for displaying changing data
over a period of time.
Running Distances
Running Distances
600
500
600
450
550
400
Jenny's Distance
(m)
Marc's Distance
(m)
Sarah's Distance
(m)
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
10
20
30
40
50
Time (s)
60
500
Jenny's Distance (m)
450
Y axis title
Distance (M)
550
400
350
300
250
200
150
Sarah's Distance (m)
100
50
Marc's Distance (m)
0
10 20
Jenny's
Distance (m)
30 40
50 60
Z axis title
Marc's Distance
(m)
Sarah's Distance (m)
X axis title
Figure 9. 2D Line Graph: Normal
Creating Charts and Graphs
Figure 10. 3D Line Graph: Deep
5
Inserting charts
Areas (2D & 3D) – Creates graphs that are similar to line graphs but with the area under the
line shaded in.
Running Distances
Sarah's Distance (m)
Marc's Distance
(m)
Jenny's Distance (m)
10
20
30
40
50
Distance (m)
Distance (m)
Running Distances
1400
1300
1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
60
600
550
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
10 20
30 40
50 60
Time (s)
Jenny's Distance (m)
Marc's Distance
(m)
Sarah's Distance (m)
Marc's Distance (m)
Jenny's Distance (m)
Time (s)
Figure 11. 2D Area: Stacked
Figure 12. 3D Area: Deep
Columns (2D & 3D) – Creates vertical columns to represent data. The columns can be
normal, stacked, or by percent. In 3D mode the data can also be represented by cylinders and
cones.
# of Calls
# of Calls by Week
200
180
190
170
140
120
100
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
80
60
40
# of Calls
# of Calls
160
150
130
110
90
70
50
30
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
0
Sunday
20
0
Sun
day
Mon Tues Wed Thur
day day nes sday
day
Day of the Week
Figure 13. 2D Column: Normal
Creating Charts and Graphs
Fri
day
Sat
urday
Week 3
Tuesday
Week 2
Day of
Thursday
Week Friday
Saturday
Week 1
Figure 14. 3D Columns: Cones, deep
6
Inserting charts
Bars (2D & 3D) – Provides the same features as columns, but they are horizontal.
# of Calls
# of Calls by Week
Saturday
Mon
day
Friday
Tues
day
Wed
nes
day
Thur
sday
Week 3
Week 2
Week 1
Fri
day
Sat
urday
Day of Week
Day of the Week
Sun
day
Thursday
Tuesday
Monday
Sunday
0
0
100
200
300
400
500
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Wednesday
50
100
150
600
# of Calls
200
# of Calls
Figure 15. 2D Bar: Stacked
Figure 16. 3D Bars: Normal
Pies (2D & 3D) – Graphs that are useful for showing the parts of a whole. The pie chart can
be separated or keep as a solid circle.
Gases in the Atmosphere
Gases in the Atmosphere
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Carbon Dioxide
Argon
Water Vapor
Other Gases
Figure 17. 2D Pie: Offset 2
Creating Charts and Graphs
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Carbon Dioxide
Argon
Water Vapor
Other Gases
Figure 18. 3D Pie: Normal
7
Inserting charts
XY Chart – This graph is similar to a scatter plot. It can be used to show several trials of
experiments with two variables.
Acceleration of Different Masses
with a Given Force
0.400
Acceleration (m/s^2)
0.350
0.300
Acceleration o
f10kg mass(m/s2)
Acceleration of
20kg mass(m/s2)
Acceleration of
35kg mass(m/s2)
0.250
0.200
0.150
0.100
0.050
0.000
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Force (N)
Figure 19. XY Chart: Lines with Symbols
Net – Provides a circular graph with a separate Y axis for each item on the X axis. Points
within a data series are connected with a polygon.
Main Title
Sunday
200
Monday
Saturday
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
0
Tuesday
Friday
Wednesday
Thursday
Figure 20. Net Chart: Normal
Creating Charts and Graphs
8
Inserting charts
Stock Chart – Shows change from one data series to the next for each X value.
Value (USD)
My Stocks
$70.00
$67.50
$65.00
$62.50
$60.00
$57.50
$55.00
$52.50
$50.00
$47.50
$45.00
$42.50
$40.00
$37.50
WMT
MSFT
OOo
2222222233345671111111122
0123478901
0123478901
Date
Figure 21. Stock: Stock Chart 2
The next page of the AutoPilot (see Figure 22) provides options for fine-tuning the chart
selection. There are several variants that can be chosen for each graph type. In the example
charts above, the variants come after the colon. Again, the chart can be created from this
screen, or titles and labels can be added by clicking Next.
Figure 22. Choosing a variant
Creating Charts and Graphs
9
Inserting charts
On the last page of the AutoPilot (see Figure 23), a title and labels for the axes can be added.
Figure 23. Adding text
Editing the chart
Once the chart is created, further edits can be made. To edit a chart:
1) Select the chart (left-click).
2) Right-click and select Edit.
Alternatively, the chart can be double-clicked.
This will activate a new toolbar on the left side of the screen (see Figure 24) used for editing
different aspects of the chart.
Creating Charts and Graphs
10
Editing the chart
Figure 24. Edit Chart toolbar
Moving and resizing a chart
Once the chart has been created, it can be moved or scaled. To move the chart:
1) Click on the chart to select it.
2) Click and hold down the left mouse button to drag the chart across the window.
To resize the chart:
1) Click on the chart to select it.
2) Click on one of the green handle bars (see Figure 25) and move the mouse.
Creating Charts and Graphs
11
Editing the chart
Figure 25. Resizing chart handles
Graphics and color
Applying a background to a spreadsheet
1) Select the cells.
2) Choose Format > Cells (or right-click on the chart and choose Format Cells from the
context menu).
3) On the Background tab page, select the background color.
Graphics in the background of cells
1) Choose Insert > Graphics > From File.
2) Select the graphic and click Open.
3) The graphic is inserted and anchored to the current cell.
To make the inserted graphic part of the background:
1) Select it.
2) Right click and select Arrange > To Background.
Creating Charts and Graphs
12
Graphics and color
Note: To remove a graphic from the background, use the Navigator. Press F5, select the graphic
from the navigator. Double-click on the appropriate graphic, and then right-click on it and
change the arrangement.
Creating Charts and Graphs
13