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

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
1.0

Date
24 December 2004

Description of Change
First published version.

Creating Charts and Graphs

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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

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

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 5 4 3 2 1 0 Row 2 Row 3 Row 4 Row 5 Row 6
Time (s) Speed (m/s)

Figure 5. Example using first row as label

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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 5 4 3 2 1 0 Time (s) 1 2 3 4 5
Column B

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 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5
Speed (m/s)

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.

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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
600 550 500 450

Running Distances
600 550
Jenny's Distance (m) Marc's Distance (m) Sarah's Distance (m)

Distance (M)

400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

500 450
Jenny's Distance (m) Marc's Distance (m) Sarah's Distance (m)

Time (s)

Y axis title

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

X axis title

Figure 9. 2D Line Graph: Normal

Figure 10. 3D Line Graph: Deep

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Inserting charts

Areas (2D & 3D) Creates graphs that are similar to line graphs but with the area under the line shaded in.

Running Distances
1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Running Distances
600 550 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Distance (m)

Distance (m)

Sarah's Distance (m) Marc's Distance (m) Jenny's Distance (m)

Jenny's Distance (m) Marc's Distance (m) Sarah's Distance (m)

Marc's Distance (m) Jenny's Distance (m)

Time (s)

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
200 180 160
190 170 150 130 110 90 70 50 30 0 Sunday

# of Calls by Week

# of Calls

140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Sun day Mon Tues Wed Thur day day nes sday day Fri day Sat urday
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

# of Calls

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

Week 3 Week 2 Thursday Week Friday Saturday

Tuesday

Day of

Day of the Week

Week 1

Figure 13. 2D Column: Normal

Figure 14. 3D Columns: Cones, deep

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Inserting charts

Bars (2D & 3D) Provides the same features as columns, but they are horizontal.

# of Calls
Sun day Mon day Saturday Friday

# of Calls by Week

Day of the Week

Day of Week

Tues day Wed nes day Thur sday Fri day Sat urday 0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Week 3 Week 2 Week 1

Thursday Wednesday Tuesday Monday Sunday 0

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

50

100

150

200

# of Calls

# 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

Nitrogen Oxygen Carbon Dioxide Argon Water Vapor Other Gases

Figure 17. 2D Pie: Offset 2

Figure 18. 3D Pie: Normal

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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 0.350

Acceleration (m/s^2)

0.300 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

Acceleration o f10kg mass(m/s2) Acceleration of 20kg mass(m/s2) Acceleration of 35kg mass(m/s2)

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

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Stock Chart Shows change from one data series to the next for each X value.

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 2222222233345671111111122 0123478901 0123478901

Value (USD)

WMT MSFT OOo

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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