Lively Logic

Creating & customizing charts

Creating a chart

You can add a chart to your document by dragging it from the Library window.

The Library window includes several commonly-used table and graph types, as well as text blocks and basic geometric shapes.

Tables can have more columns or different column types than just the options you see in the Library window — and graphs can have multiple series or other series types. If you don’t see anything in the library that’s exactly like what you want, just start from something that’s close and then customize the table columns, graph axes, or data series from there.

After you’ve added something to your document, you can configure it using the inspector bar at the top of the document window. Click the chart to select it, and the inspector bar will change to include buttons and other controls to customize its content and appearance.

Configuring a table

When a table is selected, the inspector bar lets you set its title, dataset, colors, fonts, and sizes, and configure each of its columns.

• In the Title field, you can enter a title for the table.

• From the Dataset pop-up menu, you can choose the dataset whose values the table will display. (For more about creating & editing datasets, see the Datasets guide.)

• The Filter & Sort button opens a panel where you can enter criterion formulas for filtering or sorting the rows in the table.

• The Colors button opens a panel where you can change the table’s color scheme. You can choose from one of the built-in color schemes or customize each color individually.

• The Fonts button opens a panel where you can choose the fonts used in the table’s title, column titles, and rows.

• The Sizes button opens a panel where you can set the table’s row height and the amount of padding between rows and columns.

• Finally, at the right of the inspector bar is a group of buttons for the table’s columns. Each of these buttons opens a panel containing the options for the corresponding column. You can add a new column by clicking the + button at the right side of this group, rearrange a column by dragging the textured part of the column’s button, or remove a column by dragging its button to the −.

Setting column titles and displayed values

To configure a table’s column, open the column’s options panel by clicking the column’s corresponding button in the group at the right of the inspector bar.

In the options panel, you can set the column’s title, choose which dataset field’s values will be displayed, and configure other properties of the column. (The exact properties available will differ based on what type of column it is.)

Changing a column’s type

You can change the column’s type using the Type pop-up menu in the column’s options panel. Currently-supported column types are Text, which displays values as text strings; Size Bubble, which displays numeric values as circles whose areas are proportionate to the values; Checkmark, which displays a checkmark for any non-empty, non-false value; Fraction Bar, which displays numeric values as rectangular bars whose lengths are proportionate to the values; and Balance Bar, which displays numeric values from a pair of dataset fields as a pair of different-colored bars.

X-Y graphs & category graphs

There are two major types of graphs: X-Y graphs and category graphs.

X-Y graphs have two numeric axes. Each axis can be either linear or logarithmic. Since both of an X-Y graph’s axes are numeric, each series can use a different dataset, and for each series you will have to specify both the horizontal (X) and the vertical (Y) values to be displayed.

Category graphs have only one numeric axis; the other axis is divided into evenly-spaced regions for the entries in a specified dataset. Each series in a category graph uses the same dataset.

(For more about datasets, see the Datasets guide.)

The line graph, scatter plot, and bubble graph options in the Library window are X-Y graphs; the bar graph options are category graphs. However, it is possible to use any types of series in either graph type.

Configuring a graph

When a graph is selected, the inspector bar lets you set its title, colors, and fonts, and configure its axes and each of its series.

Options for X-Y graphs

• In the Title field, you can enter a title for the graph.

• The Colors button opens a panel where you can change the graph’s color scheme. You can choose from one of the built-in color schemes or customize each color individually.

• The Fonts button opens a panel where you can choose the fonts used in the table’s title, column titles, and rows.

• The Axes button opens a panel where you can customize the horizontal and vertical axes. In this panel you can set the axis titles, ranges, and step sizes, and format the labels drawn along the axes.

• At the right of the inspector bar is a group of buttons for the graph’s series. Each of these buttons opens a panel containing the options for the corresponding series. You can add a new series by clicking the + button at the right side of this group, reorder a series by dragging the textured part of the series’s button, or remove a series by dragging its button to the −.

Options for category graphs

In addition to the options that are shown in the inspector bar for X-Y graphs, a category graph has controls for choosing its dataset and for sorting or filtering the dataset’s values.

• From the Dataset pop-up menu, you can choose the dataset whose values the graph will display.

• The Filter & Sort button opens a panel where you can enter criterion formulas for filtering or sorting the categories in the graph.

Configuring a series

To configure a graph series, open the series’s options panel by clicking the series’s corresponding button in the group at the right of the inspector bar.

You can change the series’s type using the Type pop-up menu in the options panel. Currently-supported column types are Scatter, which plots values using dots or other markers; Bubble which plots values using circles whose areas are proportionate to one of the values; Line, which plots values using connected line segments; Bar, which plots values using the lengths of rectangles; Text, which displays text strings on the graph; Range, which highlights numeric ranges along an axis; and Candlestick, which displays ranges of values using rectangles with extended stems.

The exact properties available in the options panel for a series will differ based on what type of series it is and what type of graph it’s in.

For series in an X-Y graph, then you can choose the dataset whose values the series will display and enter criterion formulas for filtering or sorting the values. You will also have to specify both the horizontal (X) and the vertical (Y) values to be displayed.

For series in a category graph, recall that each series uses the same dataset as the graph itself, and the category axis is divided into evenly-spaced regions for the dataset’s entries. Therefore, you will only need to specify values for the graph’s numeric axis.