Zooming in on a Portion of the Axis Scale

You can zoom in on a portion of the graph axis scale using the Scale In tool on the Tools toolbar. You can also use the Axis Zoom In or Center context menu of a selected axis or tick label. In all cases, the graph axis' minimum and maximum scale values are altered (i.e. the Axis dialog box, Scale tab From and To values).

Origin also has methods for zooming in on a portion of the graph and displaying the enlarged area in a separate graph layer or graph window. In both cases, you interactively pan or zoom in on a selected portion of the parent graph using a moveable, sizeable selection frame.

Zoom in on a portion of the graph axis scale using the Zoom In tool

To zoom in on a portion of a data plot:

1. Click the Scale In button on the Tools toolbar.
2. Drag out a rectangle around that portion of the graph that you wish to enlarge.

To re-display the entire data plot:

1. Click the Scale Out button . The original axis scale values are restored.

Origin stores multiple levels of Zoom In and restores one level for each Zoom Out.

Zoom in on a portion of the graph axis scale using the Axis Zoom In context menu of a selected axis or Tick Label

You can zoom in on a portion of the graph axis scale using the Axis Zoom In context menu:

1. Right-click on an axis or axis tick label.
2. Choose Axis Zoom In from the context menu.

Origin rescales the axis so that the X, Y, or Z location that you chose displays near the center of the graph axis and reduces the axis range to 60% of the original range. Note that this is similar to changing the axis scale using the Center shortcut menu command (see below).

To return the axis scale to its full range:

1. Right-click on the axis tick labels.
2. Select Rescale to Show All from the shortcut menu or click the Rescale button on the Graph toolbar.

Zoom in on a portion of the graph axis scale using the Center shortcut menu command

To center your data plot on a particular X, Y or Z axis scale value:

1. Right-click on an axis or axis tick label.
2. Choose Center In from the shortcut menu.

To return the axis scale to its full range, select Rescale to Show All from the shortcut menu or click the Rescale button .

Zoom in on a portion of the graph axis scale and display the plot in a separate graph window

1. Click the Scale In button on the Tools toolbar.
2. Hold down the CTRL key while dragging out the area of interest in the graph window.
3. Release the mouse button, then release the CTRL key.

Origin opens a new graph window named Enlarged. A rectangle object appears in the original graph window.

1. To change the data segment that displays in the Enlarged window, resize the rectangular object or drag the object in the original graph window. Note that when the object is selected (the sizing handles are visible) you can nudge the object using the arrow keys.

When you've finished exploring your graph, you can click on the rectangle object and delete it.

Zoom in on a portion of the graph axis scale on ternary/ternary contour graph

1. Activate a ternary or ternary contour graph, then click the Scale In button on the Tools toolbar.
2. Drag out a triangle around that portion of the graph that you wish to enlarge.

   Ternary Graph:

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   Ternary Contour Graph:

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To Zoom Out:

1. Click the Scale Out button once for each level of Scale In used.

Using the Zoom Graph toolbar button to create a graph with an enlarged region

Use the Zoomgraph button on the 2D Graphs toolbar to view a moveable/sizable zoomed region of your graph in the same graph window (a vertical two-panel graph).

1. Highlight the desired worksheet column(s).
2. Click the Zoom button on the 2D Graphs toolbar.

A graph window with two layers opens.

The top layer displays the entire data range and the bottom layer provides a zoomed-in view of your data plot.

To change that portion of your data displayed in the bottom layer, you drag or resize the blue rectangular object in the top layer. After you finish analyzing the data, you can click on the rectangle object and delete it.