Model Analysis > Model Analysis > Graphing Tools > Customizing Charts Using Chart-Tool
Customizing Charts Using Chart-Tool
In Creo Parametric 6.0 and later, Chart-Tool replaces Graphtool in all Creo applications.
Use Chart-Tool to view and customize different types of graphs. After you display your graph, you can change border colors, fonts, background colors and so on, using various options in the left pane of Chart-Tool. You can also select and clear check boxes to show or hide various items on the chart such as the title or the x gridlines.
Click in the chart and the customization options applicable to your selection are automatically open. If you place the pointer on a trace in the chart, the x and y values for the data point appear and remain visible until you move the pointer.
Chart-Tool Commands
Chart-Tool includes the following commands:
—Show or hide the panel that contains commands for viewing and managing graphs.
—Show or hide the gridlines.
—Show or hide the x and y coordinates of a data point when you place the pointer on a data point.
—Export the data to an Excel file.
—Export the data to a .GRT text file.
—Send the chart to a printer.
Working with Chart-Tool
Click one of the tabs below to narrow the focus of your changes to an area of the chart or the plot. You can change the formatting for one or multiple areas. Additional tabs appear, depending on which of the tabs listed below, you select.
—Formats the chart and plot areas. The Styles, Legend, and Title tabs appear.
—Formats the X-axis. The Styles, Gridlines, Title, and Setup tabs appear.
—Formats the Y-axis. The Styles, Gridlines, Title, and Setup tabs appear.
—Formats Trace #1. The Styles and Setup tabs appear.
For example, if you click to make changes to general chart options, the tabs, Styles, Legend, and Title are available. If you click Styles, for example, you can perform the following actions:
Under Chart Background, change the type of fill and the color of the fill. The Chart Background check box is always selected, and you cannot clear it.
Select the Chart Border check box and then make changes to the color, style, and thickness of the chart border.
Select the Plot Area check box and change the type, color, and opacity of the plot area.
Select the Plot Border check box and change the color and the style of the border around the plot.
Clear the Chart Border, Plot Area, and Plot Border check boxes to hide the changes you made to the chart border, plot area, and plot border.
Click to clear formatting changes and restore the defaults.
The options that appear in the Styles, Legend, Title, Gridlines, and Setup tabs vary, but the types of actions that you can perform are similar to those described in the bullets above. For example, if you click Styles different options appear, such as a check box to turn tick marks on and off, which applies only to the Y axis.
Clicking in the Chart or Plot Area
Clicking in the chart or plot area automatically opens the tabs that apply to that area:
Clicking Area
Tabs that Open
x-axis
and Styles
x-axis title
and Title
y-axis
and Styles
y-axis title
and Title
Legend
and Legend
Title
and Title
Customizing a Plot Trace
When you have a single trace in your graph, appears to the right of .
When you have more than one trace in your plot, additional icons appear so that you can select the trace you want to customize.
For example, to format the first trace follow the steps below:
1. Click . The Styles and Setup tabs appear.
2. Click Setup to define the type of trace you want to customize. The default trace type is Scatter/ Line/ Area. If you change Trace type to Columns, different options appear when you click Styles.
Displaying the Trace Name
You can display the name of a trace in the legend.
1. Click Styles > Legend
2. Select the Chart Legend check box. The trace name is added to the plot as the legend.
3. Use Font, Color, Styles, and Size to customize the name of the trace.
Saving your Customized Chart Settings
To customize your chart and use the same settings for future charts, follow these steps:
1. Set the configuration option bmgr_pref_file and close Creo Parametric.
2. Restart Creo Parametric, open Chart-Tool, and click . The Set as Default button appears.
3. Customize your chart.
4. Click Set as Default to save your customized settings.
5. Click Reset to restore the default chart settings.
6. Close Chart-Tool, and then reopen the chart. The chart appears with your customized settings.