Plot: General

In the Graph Options dialog box, select the General tab (located under Plot) to access these options in the right pane of the dialog box. The options are used for customizing general plot features including marker and line displays and the assignment of axes.

Plot. Although all of the options are the same for each plot, you can make changes to each plot independently of the other. Select here the plot to which you want to make changes. If you have several plots in one graph, you can assign names to each plot using the Name box.

Plots. Click this button to display the Plots dialog box, where you can select more than one plot to which you want to make changes.

Add new plot/Delete. You can add a new plot by clicking the Add new plot button and specifying the plot to create in the New plot(s) dialog box. To delete a plot, select the plot you want to delete in the Plot box and click the Delete button. Note if there is only one plot in the graph, you cannot delete it (the Delete button will be unavailable). However, you can choose not to display the plot by clearing the Display plot check box. To add or delete custom functions, in the Graph Options dialog box, select the Custom Function tab to display these options.

Display plot. If this check box is selected, the selected plot will be shown in the graph. If this check box is cleared, the selected plot will not be shown in the graph.

Markers. Select the Markers check box if you want to use point markers in the plot. You can customize the appearance of the marker in the Marker Properties dialog box, which is displayed when you click the Markers button. The current specifications for the marker are shown in the view box on the Markers button.

Picture markers. Click the Picture markers button to display the Picture Markers - Graphics Files Images dialog box, where you can attach to individual points or groups of points one or more graphic files. These facilities make it possible for you to, for example, create scatterplots where every point is represented by a bitmap (image), and a different bitmap (different image) is used for different groups of points.

Line. Select the Line check box to connect the data points in the plot with a line. If you select this check box, you will need to specify a Line type. You can customize the appearance of the line in the Line Properties dialog box, which is available by clicking the Line button. The current specifications for the line will be shown in the view box on the Line button.

Line type. Choose to use either a Regular line or a Step line. In a regular line, the points will be connected (in sequential order) with a single line. In a step line, the points are connected with a step type line.

Area. Select the Area check box to show the area under the points in the plot. You can customize the appearance of the area in the Area Properties dialog box, which is available by clicking the Area button. The current specifications for the area will be shown in the view box on the Area button.

Line plots. The options in this group are applicable only to line plots.

Line Type. From this drop-down list, select either Regular or Step to change the appearance of the lines in the plot.

Ignore out of frame points. This check box is selected by default. This option controls whether line segments are drawn to points that fall outside the visible range when the scaling has been adjusted via the Axis - Scaling tab of the Graph Options dialog box so that some points are not in the current graph.

Ignore missing data points. Select this check box to ignore the missing data in the graph. This option, applicable only to line plots, is used to create line plots when gaps in the data sequence will not break the line (the line will bridge all gaps).

Ignore out of frame boxes.

Voronoi line. Select the Voronoi line check box to draw a Voronoi line in the plot. You can customize the appearance of the line in the Line Properties dialog box, which is available by clicking the Voronoi line button. The current specifications for the line will be shown in the view box on the Voronoi line button. This option is applicable only to scatterplots.

Assignment of axis. This option is not available if the graph contains only one plot. For both the X and Y axis, you can specify the assignment of the currently selected plot to a specific axis. The plot will then be made against that axis. If you select Y axis, you can either assign the plot to the Left, Right, or Custom axis. If you select X axis, you can either assign the plot to the Top, Bottom, or Custom axis. Note that if a custom axis is not being used in the graph, the Custom option will be grayed. Additionally, assigning the plot to the Top or Right axis when neither axis is being used in the graph, will not automatically cause the axis to appear.

Name. If you have several plots on one graph, you can assign names (in addition to the plot numbers) to each plot. Enter the name for the currently selected plot in the Name field. STATISTICA will then add the name to the number given in the Plot field.

.... Click this button to display the Plot Name dialog box, where you can further format the Name of this plot, e.g., apply special fonts, font colors, etc.

Legend. Use the Legend drop-down box to assign a legend to the respective Plot. By default, this option will be set to Auto, and a legend may or may not be displayed, depending on the type of graph (e.g., by default, for default simple 2D scatterplots the legend will not be displayed, but for box-whisker plots the legend(s) will be displayed). Other available settings are On and Off.

Style. Instead of using the options in this pane (e.g., Marker, Area, Line, etc.), you can select the style you want to use for this plot from the Style drop-down list box. To view a menu of options related to styles (Save, Save As, Revert to unmodified, etc.), click the button to the right of this box. See Graphics Styles for additional details.