Customizing Graph Layer Elements
The Plot Details dialog box layer-level tabs provide controls for layer color, layer size, data clipping, hiding graph elements, scaling of elements when the layer is resized, and the skipping of data points. While the graph window contains only a single page, it can contain multiple graph layers, and each layer may be configured independently using these layer-level controls.
Displaying a layer background color and adding a border
By default, the layer does not display a background color; it is transparent. Any color that is subsequently applied to the graph page also displays in each layer on the page. The layer border is a bounding box outside of the layer frame. Controls for adding a layer (background) color and a border are found on the Background tab of the layer's Plot Details dialog box.
To add a background color to a layer:
- Select the desired color from the Color drop-down list (None = transparent).
To display the layer border:
- Select a border from the Border Style drop-down list.
Controlling the size of the graph layer
You can make approximate adjustments to the size of the graph layer by selecting the layer and dragging a control handle.
To move or resize the layer:
- Click on the border to select it. Control handles display.
- Move or resize the border in the same way as you would other objects.
To make more precise adjustments, you can edit the layer dimensions using controls on the Size/Speed tab of the layer's Plot Details dialog box.
To open the Size/Speed tab of Plot Details:
- With the graph window active, select Format: Layer.
- Select the Size/Speed tab.
To numerically position or resize the layer, type values in the Left, Top, Width, and Height text boxes. The Left text box value determines the position of the frame relative to the left side of the page. The Top text box value determines the position of the frame relative to the top of the page. The Height and Width text box values determine the size of the frame. Specify the units with the Units drop-down list.
- Specify inch, cm, mm, pixel or point.
- The % of Page option is useful for maintaining the same layer size relative to the page size. When this is selected, the Left, Top, Height, and Width text box values are expressed as percentages of the graph page height and width.
- The % of Linked Layer option is useful for creating inset graphs. This unit allows you to specify the frame dimensions and offsets for a child layer in terms of the dimensions of the parent layer frame. When this unit is selected, the Left, Top, Height, and Width text box values are in percentage of the height and width of the parent layer frame. This option is not available unless the current layer is linked to a parent layer.
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Note:
- When the unit selection is changed in the drop-down list, the Left, Top, Height, and Width text box values are automatically updated so that the layer retains the same size and position.
- When you set the size of the layer, you are also setting the size of the axes in the layer. To set the layer (and thus the axes) to a specific width and height, select the units (for example, inch, cm, or mm) from the Units drop-down list in the Layer Area group, then enter the dimensions in the Width and Height text boxes.
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Increasing screen redraw speed: Graphing image caching and selective plotting of data
- Graphic image caching lets you use vector or raster buffering to display data plots in a layer, instead of having Origin redraw the data plots each time the graph window is made active, or when a dialog box that was covering the data plots is closed.
- Speed Mode lets you specify the maximum number of data points that can display for each data plot in a layer. This not only increases redraw speed but it allows you to systematically reduce the number of data points in your plot (which may increase graph legibility). To learn more, see Speed Mode in the Origin Help file.
Speed mode and graphic image caching controls are on the Size/Speed tab of the layer's Plot Details dialog box.
Scaling elements
There are a number of graph elements that may be resized when you resize the graph layer. These include axis tick labels, label objects such as the graph legend and possibly added graph annotations (text and drawing objects). Since you may or may not want this to happen, there is a Plot Details setting that provides control over element scaling.
Use of the layer's Scale Elements controls are covered in the following topics in the Origin Help file:
Showing and hiding elements
The Plot Details Display tab contains controls for showing or hiding various graph elements. To learn more see Hiding elements in the graph layer in the Origin Help file.
Data plot drawing options
The Display tab of Plot Details also has controls for:
- Drawing data plots and symbols on top of the layer axes.
- Drawing axis grid lines on top of data plots and symbols.
To learn more, see Controlling the Display and Scaling of the Objects in a Layer in the Origin Help file.
Data clipping and layer margins
Data plots that extend beyond the layer frame, or beyond the customized clipping margins, can be hidden from view.
To clip the data plot in the active graph layer:
- Select Format: Layer. This opens the Plot Details dialog box with the layer icon selected on the left side of the dialog box.
- Select the Display tab and then select the Clip Data To Frame check box in the Data Drawing Options group. To view the clipped data, clear this check box.
To set the clipping margins inside or outside the layer frame:
- Type the margin value percentages in the Horizontal and Vertical text boxes in the Data Drawing Options group.
- Type a negative value to clip the data plot to a point outside the frame.
- Type a positive value to clip the data plot to a point inside the frame.