Creating Graphs from Graph Templates

Every Origin graph window -- even an "empty" one that contains no plotted data -- is constructed using an Origin graph template. Each of Origin's 60+ graph types is assigned a default graph template. When you select worksheet/workbook data and click one of the graph type buttons on Origin's graph toolbars, you call that default template file (file extension = .OTP), invoking a suite of saved plot settings. These settings control such things as line color, symbol type, page size, number and position of layers, etc., and it is these settings which are used to construct your graph.

The basic procedure for creating a custom graph template is the same, whether creating a new template or modifying an existing template:

1. You create a graph using an existing graph template.
2. You customize the graph.
3. You save the graph as a template.