CHARTSMITH
Quick Start Tutorial #2
This tutorial, Tutorial #2, assumes that the user has already proceeded through Tutorial #1, or has basic familiarity with the Data View Window, the Chart Window and the Info Panel; how to add rows and series columns; how to edit data; how to add charts and save images and documents.
In this tutorial, you will be given an introduction to all of the primary functions of Chartsmith. At its conclusion, you should be able to handily create charts for your reports and presentations.
- Setup for tutorial
Launch Chartsmith, and create a new document with a single Bar chart in it.
Working in the Data View Window.............................................................................
- Importing data
There are several means by which you can get data from another application into Chartsmith. These include Copy and Paste, Mac OS Services, importing ASCII data files and importing from Excel files. We'll cover each of these here, though you may certainly skip those import types that don't interest you.
Paste Data
Data can be copied from another application - a word processor, email application, a spreadsheet application - and simply pasted into Chartsmith. To do this, the data must be tab and carriage return delimited (which is the standard format supported by spreadsheets), and must be copied to the pasteboard using Edit->Copy. Then you must select the destination cell or cells in the Data View and paste using Edit->Paste.
If your data has more rows and/or columns than are currently seen in your Data View, a panel will come forward which provides you the option of truncating the data to just the rows and columns that you have, expanding the number of rows and columns so the data will fit or canceling.
Paste Special - Pasting Data with Row/Column Labels or non-Tab delimiters
Chartsmith allows you to paste data that contains row or column labels, and/or contains delimiters other than tabs, with the Edit->Paste Special menu item.
The Data Import panel will come forward requesting that you select the data content and the delimiter type.
Create a Chart from the Services menu
If an application supports Services, data can be selected in that application, then the Services -> Chartsmith -> Bar Chart menu item in the application can be selected to create a Bar chart from the selected data. If Chartsmith is not already running, it will be launched and a document will be created. A chart will then be added to the document, and you will be prompted to indicate the content of your data, after which your data will be imported.
(Note: if you do not see Chartsmith listed in the Services menu of this application then Chartsmith has not been properly installed - see the Installation instructions in ReleaseNotes.rtfd).
Most spreadsheets adhere to a standard of tab and return delimited data. However, not all applications even support Services (Microsoft Excel is one that does not); if the Chartsmith submenu items are not highlighted when text is selected in an application, then the application does not support Services that can be used with Chartsmith.
Import Data From ASCII Files
Data can be imported from ASCII files by dragging the file from the Finder directly to the Data View, or by selecting the Data View->Import ASCII Data menu item. The data stored in the file must adhere to the same format restrictions of data that is pasted using Paste Special. Specify the format of the data using the Data Import panel that is brought forward.
Import Data From Microsoft Excel¨
Data can be imported from Microsoft Excel files by using the Excel Import wizard. Your Excel file does not have to be opened, nor does Excel even need to be launched to initiate the import. Select the Data View -> Import From Excel menu item. Once you do so, a wizard will appear on the Data View Window which will walk you through the selections necessary to import your data. First you specify your workbook (i.e. file), regardless if it is opened or not, then you specify the worksheet within it, then you specify what data in the sheet you want. Finally, the wizard requests the contents of the data that is being imported from Excel. At the conclusion, your data is imported into the current Data View.
- The Data View Window's Series Palette
The Data View Window has a little view on the right side labeled, "Series Palette". Via icons, this view lists all of the series types that can be added to the current chart. (What series types can be added is determined by the required chart layout for the selected chart type. All series types that share the same layout can be mixed in the same chart, and, thus, are available on the Series Palette). Note that the topmost series icon in the Series Palette will always be the series type of the chart added. I.e., if you add a Line Chart to your document (using the Chart menu), the first icon will always be a Line series icon. The Series Palette has two functions:
(1) By double-clicking an icon in the Series Palette, a series of that type will be added to the chart. Double-click the Bar icon, and notice that a new series column (displaying the same Bar icon) is added to the Data View, and the legend in the chart now lists the new series that was added.
(2) By dragging an icon from the Series Palette and dropping it onto the top of a series column in the Data View, you can change the type of the series. So click and drag a Line series icon from the Series Palette onto a series column with a Bar icon. When you do this, you will have changed the series type of that series from Bar to Line.
- Changing the drawing order of series
The series in a chart are drawn to the chart in the same order as they are shown in the Data View. That is, the series represented by the leftmost series column is drawn to the chart first. The second series is drawn to the chart second, and so on. This order can be changed by simply pressing the Control key while you click and drag the header of the series column in the Data View. To do this here, be sure you have more than one series column in your Data View, then control-drag the series column to reorder the drawing. This is important when two series overlap - like a Bar series and a Line series might.
Working in the Chart Window....................................................................................
- Moving and resizing chart elements
Any chart item that displays selection knobs when selected can be resized by dragging a selection knob, or moved by dragging the object from any point on the object. Selected chart objects can also be moved one pixel at a time using the arrow keys on your keyboard. Try resizing and moving the grid, legend and titles. Notice that as the legend resizes the series entries in the legend shift about accordingly - this will only be noticeable if there is more than one series in the chart.
- Resizing the chart
The chart itself can be resized in a few different ways. When the chart is made smaller, if any chart graphics are pushed off the chart, a panel is displayed providing the option to Normalize the chart. If this option is chosen, the elements of the chart are resized and repositioned according to the new size of the chart.
(1) The bottom-right corner of the chart displays the resize icon, , which can be clicked and dragged to resize the chart's height and width. Try clicking and dragging it. If you wish to resize the chart larger than the window will allow, either enlarge the window first, or use the Set Chart Size menu item, described next.
(2) The Chart -> Set Chart Size menu item allows you to set the size of the chart in several different units. Select this option, and a panel will display. Select the units you wish to use in specifying the size, and select the Constrain Proportions option if you want to maintain the aspect ratio of the chart.
(3) The Chart -> Size To Fit Window menu item will set the size of the chart to exactly fit in the Chart Window.
- Coloring the chart
Every graphical component of a chart can be colored by simply dragging colors onto the object. Bring forward the standard Mac OS Color panel via the Tools -> Show Colors menu item and drag-and-drop colors onto any element of the chart to set its color. Try dragging colors to the chart background, the grid background, a bar in a bar series, the legend title, the grid labels, etc. (Note dragging to the chart title and subtitle will typically be uneventful because this sets the title background color which, unless changed, is not shown).
- Fonts
All of the graphical objects in the chart that display text - which includes the legend, grid, titles, series and annotations - have their text controlled via the standard Mac OS X Font Panel. Select, say, the legend by clicking on it, then bring up the Font Panel via the Format -> Font -> Show Fonts menu item. Then change the font via the font panel.
The chart titles and grid axis titles are rich-text graphics. This means that the text within them can be made up of different font styles, sizes and colors. Double-click the title of your chart and select a subset of the text within, then bring forward the font panel and set the font of the selected text. Then drag a color from the color panel to the text.
Working with the Inspector Panel..................................................................................
We will now work with Chartsmith's Inspector Panel. So bring it forward using the Tools -> Show Inspector menu item.
Chartsmith's Inspector Panel is a panel which is used to control the attributes of every element of the chart. By clicking on a chart element to select it, like the legend or a title, the Inspector changes to display the controls that are relevant to the selected item.
We will not go through all of the Inspector Panels in the application, but instead will highlight a few of the key Inspectors: Background, Bar series, and Grid.
- Background Inspector Panel
When the Inspector Panel comes forward, it displays the controls for whatever is currently selected. And if nothing is selected, the Background is, by default, what is selected. If something else is selected, then the Background can be selected by clicking in the chart where no other object exists, or by simply clicking the chart thumbnail in the Navigator. Select the background now by clicking the chart thumbnail.
The Background Inspector Panel permits the setting of the Fill Type. If the Fill Type is a color gradient, then the second Fill Color color well is enabled so that the two colors of the gradient fill can be specified. Set the Background Fill Type to be the Linear Gradient, i.e. the second type from the left. Then specify the second color in its color well. Finally, try toggling the gradient colors by clicking on the swap button that sits between the two color wells.
The background will display an image if specified. This image can be set using the Set button displayed in the Background Inspector Panel, or by simply dragging an image from the Finder and dropping onto the background.
- Bar Series Inspector Panel
The Inspector Panel for any series contains a tab view with as many as five different tabs. Each tab stores controls for different attributes for the series. We'll look at each of these tabs for a Bar series, though this information applies to other series as well, so select a Bar series in a chart.
Style Tab
This tab stores the controls related to fundamental graphical attributes of the series. For the Bar series, most of the controls are easily understood by playing with them. The attribute at the base of this tab, which reads "Display Series on the..." sets which Y axis the series is measured by when the grid has two Y axes.
In addition to setting the Bar series' image by using the Set button in the Inspector Panel, an image can also be dragged and dropped onto any bar in the series. Try doing this now.
In the Inspector Panel, the Bar series image can be set to be stacked. Set this now. By doing this, one instance of the image is displayed per step in the Grid. If you want to change how many units a single image in the Bar series represents, you must change the Step size for the axis in the Grid.
Labels Tab
This tab is displayed for every series type, and its contents are always the same. All attributes related to series labels can be set here, most notably the label visibility set with the Labels switch at the top of the tab. Turn labels on for your currently selected series. Once displayed, the series labels' position, relative to the series itself, can be set in the Inspector Panel. Note, however, that the position of series labels can be custom set by double clicking on a series label in the chart to select it, then dragging the label to a custom position. Try it now.
Shared Tab
This tab is displayed for a small set of series types, Bar series included. It stores the controls for attributes that are common to all series in the chart that are the same type as the selected series. In this case, that means all Bar series in the chart. So, if an attribute of a series is set here, the attribute is changed for all other series of this type in the chart. Most of the attributes set in the Bar Series Inspector Panel are only interesting if there is more than one Bar series in the chart, except the shading attributes, which are only relevant for 3D Bar series.
Trends Tab
This tab is displayed for a subset of the series types, Bar series included. Within the tab you can add mathematically-derived trend lines to your series. Once one or more trends is added to the series, the attributes for those trends can be altered. Try clicking the Add Trend button. More information is available on trend lines in Chartsmith's on-line help.
Error Bars Tab
This tab is displayed for a subset of the series types, Bar series included. Within the tab you can add error bars to your series. More information is available on error bars in Chartsmith's on-line help.
- Grid Inspector Panel
The Grid Inspector Panel has three or four tabs that hold all the controls. These tabs include the Main tab where the primary attributes of the grid are controlled, X Axis tab where all of the attributes that are specific to the X Axis are controlled; and the Y1 Axis tab where the controls for the left Y Axis are held.
If, from within the Main tab, you set the Y Axes attribute to Both, a right Y Axis is added, i.e. the Y2 Axis. This will add another tab to the Grid Inspector which reads Y2 Axis.
The contents of the X Axis, Y1 Axis and Y2 Axis tabs are identical since each addresses an axis. The contents are divided between five different sub-panels which are accessed via buttons labeled Axis, Range, Major, Minor, and Labels.
Take a careful look at this structure to see how the higher level structure is established by the tabs, and how, for the Axis tabs, another structure is established for the axes.
Let's work a bit with the controls. To do so, if you don't already have one, create a Bar chart and fill it with data. Now, from within the Main tab:
3D Grid Effect - turn on the 3D Effect and see that your Bar series gains a 3D effect as well. This is the case for other series types as well - that is that they have both a 2D and 3D representation based on the grid's 3D effect. These series include Bar, Line, Area and Histogram.
Orientation - change the orientation of the grid to horizontal. This will convert your Bar series from a vertical series to a horizontal series. This is applicable for all series that can be displayed on the same grid as a Bar series.
Auto-Adjust - This switch is used to enable/disable the grid feature whereby the axis ranges, and some related attributes, are automatically adjusted based on the ranges of the data in the series. We'll come back to this feature in a minute.
Now, let's look at the Y Axis tab. First make sure that your grid is set to have a vertical orientation in the Main tab, so your bars should be oriented vertically.
Range - In the Range sub-panel for the Y Axis (i.e. click on the Y Axis tab, then on the Range button), you'll see three fields for the Min, Max and Step. Change the Max to a number larger than the one that is there. The grid in the chart immediately updates to adjust for its new range, and the Bar series is drawn accordingly. Now change the Step to a larger number and note the change in the chart.
By changing the range settings, you have effectively turned OFF the Auto-Adjust feature. That means that if you were to edit the data in the Data View, the axis ranges would not adjust automatically to accommodate the new data. To have the grid once again auto-adjust its range, go back to the Main tab and click ON the Auto-Adjust feature.
Labels - Take a look at the Labels sub-panel for the Y Axis. There are lots of controls here for changing the label content, color, position, rotation, and exactly which labels should be displayed.
Continue to work your way around the Grid Inspector. There is a surprising amount of control that is provided there and should be leveraged in your chart making.
Annotations................................................................................................................
To add annotations to your chart, click the Annotation Panel shortcut button or choose Tools-> Show Annotations, then drag any of the annotations found there to the chart. Chartsmith provides Text, Box and Image, Line, Circle and Balloon annotations. Annotating a chart with images is accomplished by dragging and dropping an image into a Box annotation, or setting the image from the Box Inspector.
Templates...................................................................................................................
Chartsmith templates store attributes for any component of a chart. Templates are created from an existing chart and can later be used to format other charts.
Create a Template from a chart
Select any chart and select the Chart -> Save As Template menu item. In the save panel that displays you can choose which components' attributes should be stored to the template. Choose which chart attributes to be included in the template. By default, templates will be saved to your ~/Library/Chartsmith folder, but this destination can be changed in the save panel.
Apply a Template to an Existing Chart
Select a chart and select Chart -> Apply Template.
Drag a Template From the Finder
Select a chart, then find a template file in the Library/Chartsmith folder stored in your Home folder. Drag this file from the Finder directly onto the chart to apply the template. Alternatively, you may drag the template onto the selected chart in the Navigator.
Apply a Template to More than one Chart
If you wish to apply a template to more than one chart, select all of the charts you want the template applied to in the Navigator, then drag and drop the template file from the Finder onto the Navigator, which will apply the template to all the selected charts in the Navigator.
Create a New Document or Chart From a Template
Instead of setting up the chart, then applying a template to it, you can instead create a new chart that has all the attributes that are stored in a template. The Chart->Add From Template will add a new chart, based on the selected template, to an existing document. And the Document->New From Template menu option will create a new document whose first chart is based on the selected template.
That concludes Tutorial #2. By proceeding through this tutorial, you have an introduction to the primary features and functions within Chartsmith. If you want to get an introduction to some of the advanced features within Chartsmith, proceed to Tutorial #3.
Copyright 2002-2003 by Blacksmith. All Rights Reserved.
Blacksmith is a division of Foundry, Inc.