- 8.1
- Scales and axes
- 8.2
- Arrows and values
- 8.3
- Legend
8.1 Scales and axes
8.1.1 Value axis
| In menu: | Chart |
| Menu item: |
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Use this feature to show a numerical scale for the values in your chart, represented either by an axis line with tick marks or by grid lines. Usually the Y-axis in a chart is a value axis.
Note: The X-axis of a Mekko chart is also a value axis. Similarly, scatter and bubble charts have two value axes that are always displayed. In addition, the X-axis of a line chart may be a value axis, rather than a category axis (see Line chart). The X-axes of all other charts are standard category axes.
Adjusting the scale of a value axis
When selected, a value axis has three handles, shown below both for the axis line and the grid lines representation. When using grid lines, select one of the grid lines to show the axis handles.
- Value axes are usually scaled by think-cell. You can, however, manually scale a value axis by dragging the handles at the end of the value axis. The values on the axis must always include the range between the lowest and largest value in the datasheet. If you do not want to show a specific value, either remove it from the datasheet or hide the respective datasheet row or column. Automatic value axis scaling can be restored by dragging the handles until the tooltip indicates Automatic. Holding down Alt while dragging ensures that the value axis scale will not revert to automatic mode.
- The tick mark spacing for value axes is usually calculated by think-cell. You can, however, manually adjust the tick mark spacing by dragging the middle handle. As you drag, the handle will jump to supported tick mark spacings, with a tooltip indicating the selected spacing. Releasing the handle will apply the indicated tick mark spacing to the axis. Automatic tick mark spacing can be restored by reducing the tick mark spacing until the tooltip indicates Automatic.
-
The
Set Same Scale button can be used to apply the same scale to
multiple charts. See Same scale for further details.
The position of segments, lines and areas along an axis can be determined either based on their absolute values or, alternatively, based on their relative (percentage) portion of the whole category. Respectively, you can choose between Absolute and % from the axis type dropdown in the axis’ contextual toolbar.
In a stacked chart, switching to a percentage axis will convert the chart to a 100% chart. A clustered chart will be converted to a stacked chart, because only then the relative portions are added up to a stack representing 100% of a category. Similarly, choosing a percentage axis in a line chart will convert to an area chart.
Scatter, bubble and line charts support reversing the axis direction by choosing Values in descending order from the axis direction dropdown in the axis’ contextual toolbar. In a line chart with two axes, you can set one to a reversed order to highlight negative correlations. Column, clustered and area charts flip the chart when reversing the axis.
A value y-axis can be moved by selecting and dragging the axis with the mouse. While dragging, available alternative locations for the axis will be highlighted. Dragging to the desired location and releasing will move the axis.
You will notice, when selecting and dragging the value y-axis of a line chart, that two locations on either side of the chart are highlighted. Dragging to either of the locations will position the y-axis on the appropriate side of the chart.
The location selected, however, also sets the crossing behavior for the chart. Two distinct styles of crossing behavior are supported for line charts:
- Crosses At Categories The y-axis crosses the x-axis at the center of a category. In this case the data points of the first category are placed directly on the y-axis.
- Crosses Between Categories The y-axis crosses the x-axis between two categories. Consequently, the data points are offset from the border of the chart.
Regardless of the crossing behavior of the axis, the x-position of data points always corresponds to the center of the category.
Selecting either of the innermost highlighted locations will set the behavior to Crosses At Categories, while selecting either of the outermost highlighted locations will set the behavior to Crosses Between Categories.
The 
and 
buttons in the value axis context menu can also be used to
alter the crossing behavior.
Positioning the tick labels
Tick labels are usually shown to left of the axis line or grid lines. To move them to the right, select one of the tick labels and drag it to the alternative position:
Value axes have their own context menu. It shows the following buttons:
-
Add Tick Marks
- Add tick marks.
-
Add Tick Labels
- Add tick labels.
-
Add Grid Lines
- Add grid lines.
-
Add Axis Line
- Add axis line.
-
Add Title
- Add an axis title. You can drag the title to choose its placement. A title can also be added to the baseline of a chart, even though it may not be a value axis.
-
Set Logarithmic/Linear Scale
- Set the axis to a logarithmic or linear scale (see Logarithmic Scale).
-
Add Secondary Y Axis
- Add a secondary axis (see Secondary Axis).
-
Fit Scale To Data
- Revert the scale and tick mark spacing to automatic sizing if they have been modified either by the user or by a same scale operation (see Same scale).
-
Add Break
- Add a break at the current mouse pointer position (see Value axis break).
-
Set Crosses At/Between Categories
- Alter the crossing behavior for a line chart.
When appropriate, the buttons function as toggles for their respective function, i.e., if tick marks are already present, the same button position is used to remove them, as they cannot be added a second time.
8.1.2 Value axis break
| In menu: | Segment, axis, line, area |
| Menu item: |
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Any break you insert applies to the value axis (if shown) and to all segments sharing the same range of the axis. For this reason, you can not add a break to the axis at any position where there is a segment border in any of the chart’s columns. A break can only be added if at the mouse pointer location there is some part of the value axis big enough to display at least the two lines that visualize the break.
This is illustrated by the following example. No break can be added to the very top part of the second column, because the top of the third column is too close. However, within the range of the third column’s segment, there is enough space for the break. Since both columns share this range of the value axis, both segments are broken:
You can adjust the size of a broken segment by dragging the lines that appear when you select the break. These lines mark the range of the scale that is compressed to save space. Drag the lines to determine the size of the compressed part of the scale. If you drag a line far enough for the compressed range of the scale to take as much space as was originally required, the break disappears. The default is to compress the selected part of the scale as much as possible while leaving enough room for the break lines to be rendered.
There are two types of break shapes supported by think-cell. The straight break
as illustrated above is commonly used for standard column charts. The wiggle
break as illustrated below is convenient to save space in charts with wide or
adjacent columns. If enough space is available, you can toggle between the
two shapes with 
Set Wiggle/Straight Shape in the break’s context
menu.
Note: In line, area and Mekko charts only the wiggle style is supported.
8.1.3 Date axis
If the datasheet contains strictly increasing year numbers, the number format of the axis labels can be changed to one of the date formats, e.g., yy for two-digit years, yyyy for four-digit years and additional formats containing days and months (see Number format and Date format codes).
When the labels are formatted as dates, or when Excel’s cell format is set to Date for all category cells, you are using a date axis. When adjusting the scale of a date axis, years, months and weeks can be used for tick mark spacing.
You can mix two- and four-digit year numbers on a date axis. For example, you might display the first and last category with four-digit years and all categories in between with two-digit years.
To choose the number of digits, you click the label you want to change and adjust the format. think-cell will automatically adjust other labels to ensure a consistent display. For example, if you only select the first label and use the two-digit date format yy, all labels switch to two digits as it is unusual to use two digits for the first label only. However, if you select one of the labels in the middle and use two digits, the first label will remain with four digits, but all other labels between the first and the last label will be switched to two digits:
8.1.4 Same scale
When there are multiple similar charts on the same slide, it is often desirable that all of them share the same scale. Only when two charts share the same scale, are the physical sizes of their bars or columns comparable.
The following example shows two charts which have the same size, but not the same scale. Note that the column that represents 7 units in the waterfall chart is the same height as the column that represents 47 units in the column chart.
To make columns from different charts visually comparable, select all
those charts together. Then, open the think-cell context menu of one of
them and click the Set Same Scale button to resize smaller scales to
match the largest one. In the above example the resulting charts look like
this:
When the data represented by a chart changes, it is possible that this chart rescales. The scales of all other charts set to the same scale are then adjusted as well, including when axis breaks are added or resized.
To revert the same scale, select one or multiple charts and click the
Fit
Scale to Data
button. If you are not sure which charts share the same scales, the
easiest way is to revert the same scale for all charts, then to select the requested
charts and to activate same scale.
In charts with two value axes, e.g., line or scatter charts, a second 
Set Same
Scale
button is available for the X axis. Each axis can be set to the same scale
independently of the other. For example, you can set two line charts to the same
scale on the X axis to make sure they cover the same date range, while their Y axis
fits the data of each chart.
8.1.5 Logarithmic Scale
You can switch to a logarithmic scale by using the Set Logarithmic Scale
button from the value axis context menu. To revert to a linear scale choose
Set
Linear Scale
.
Note: Due to a limitation in Microsoft Graph an axis with a logarithmic scale can only have tick marks at powers of 10, e.g. at 0.1, 1, 10. The axis must also begin and end at a power of 10.
Logarithmic scaling is not supported when it is mathematically not appropriate.
Negative values are placed on the baseline and an exclamation mark 
is shown
next to the label explaining that the value cannot be represented on a logarithmic
scale. Also, an axis always uses a linear scale if multiple series that are added up to a
total are associated with the axis.
8.1.6 Secondary Axis
Charts containing lines may have an additional, secondary y-axis. You can add a
secondary y-axis, and associate a line with this axis, by highlighting a line and
selecting the Set to Right/Left Axis button from the line context menu. If a
chart has two y-axes, then you can use the same
Set to Right/Left
Axis
button to alter the y-axis association of individual lines in the chart. A
secondary axis is a fully-fledged value axis (Value axis) and may be scaled
independently.
8.1.7 Category gap
The basic spacing between columns in a chart is determined by the column width and the chart size. Extra spacing between individual pairs of columns may be added by inserting a category gap.
Category gaps can be introduced by clicking on the baseline and dragging the handle to the right. A category gap is as wide as one column width plus one gap width and the handle snaps to multiples of this category gap width.
Introducing category gaps preserves the width of the columns, resulting in an increase or decrease of the overall chart width.
You can ensure that the overall chart width is preserved by holding down the Ctrl key while dragging: the column widths will be increased or decreased to accommodate the category gap.
Note: In some cases, a break in the baseline (see Category axis break) may be a space-saving alternative to a category gap.
8.1.8 Category axis break
| In menu: | Category axis column gap |
| Menu item: |
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8.2 Arrows and values
8.2.1 Difference arrows
| In menu: | Chart, segment 1 , point 2 |
| Menu items: |
   
|
Two distinct styles of difference arrows are supported by think-cell: level difference arrows and total difference arrows. Level difference arrows are designed to show differences between pairs of segments or points in a chart; total difference arrows are designed to show differences between column totals.
Level difference arrows can be added by selecting the or button in
the context menu. You can use the handles that appear when the difference arrow is
selected to set the two values that are to be compared. The ends of the difference
arrow can be attached to column segments, data points or to a value line, if there is
one (Value line).
By default, a newly inserted difference arrow stretches from the selected segment
or category to the top segment of the next category. You can also determine the
desired start and end segment/category for the difference arrow immediately by
selecting the start segment and the end segment at the same time. Then right-click
on one of them and select Add Level Difference Arrow. To select multiple
segments at a time, hold down Ctrl key while selecting (see Multi-selection). In
case of a line or area chart, select the corresponding data points instead of
segments.
If the arrow is so small that the bubble would cover it up, the bubble is automatically placed next to the arrow. To manually optimize the layout, you can drag the arrow itself as well as its label to other locations ( Automatic label placement ). If you want to place the arrow between two columns, you might want to create an additional gap between the columns ( Category gap ).
Total difference arrows can be added by selecting the or button in
the context menu and connecting the ends of the difference arrow to the categories or
columns that are to be compared.
You can cycle through three arrow modes. The button in the context menu changes accordingly and the number in the label is recalculated:
|
Show an arrow pointing in one direction and calculate the relative difference. |
|
Show a double-ended arrow and calculate the absolute difference. |
|
Show an arrow pointing in the other direction and calculate the relative difference. |
8.2.2 CAGR arrow
| In menus: | Chart, segment |
| Menu item: |
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The CAGR from category A to B is calculated as
with n being the number of years in the date range. The 30/360 day count convention is followed to determine n when it is not a whole number.
The automatic display of the CAGR is based on a text label (chapter Text labels) and supports font and number format properties (Font, Number format). The arrow itself supports the color property (Color and fill).
By default, only one CAGR is inserted that stretches from the selected category to the last category in the chart. You can use the handles that show up when the CAGR arrow is selected to specify its start and end categories.
You can also determine the desired start and end categories for the CAGR
immediately: Select a segment in the start category and a segment in the end
category. Then right-click on one of them and click
Add Compound Growth
Arrow
. If you select segments in more than two categories, you will get a
CAGR for each pair of successive selected categories. To select multiple
segments at a time, hold down Ctrl key while selecting (see Multi-selection). In
case of a line or area chart, select the corresponding data points instead of
segments.
8.2.3 Series CAGR
The CAGR arrow is always calculated based on the column totals. However, you might also like to visualize the compound annual growth rate of one of the series.
This can be shown in series labels. Simply select the label and choose the CAGR option from the label content control on the floating toolbar.
Now the CAGR is calculated series-wise.
To select all series labels in one action, click the first label, then Shift-click the last one (see Multi-selection).
8.2.4 Value line
| In menu: | Chart |
| Menu item: |
|
Where appropriate, the value line is initialized with and snaps to the arithmetic mean (stacked chart, clustered chart) or the weighted mean (Mekko chart) of the column totals. If the line is snapped to such a value, this value is calculated and automatically updated when data changes.
You can drag the line as desired. If you need to increase the precision of the dragging operation, use PowerPoint controls to zoom in on the slide. You can also use the cursor keys ← → ↑ ↓ to nudge the line to a specific value. When using the cursor keys, the line moves in increments corresponding to the label’s number format.
As always, you can add custom text to the label or replace the predefined label with your own content. You can learn more about labels and text fields in the chapter Text labels. You can also change the label’s font (see Font) and number format (see Number format).
8.2.5 100% indicator
| In menu: | Chart |
| Menu item: |
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8.2.6 Series connectors
| In menus: | Chart, segment |
| Menu item: |
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8.2.7 Universal connectors
| Icon in Elements menu: |
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Instead, you can insert universal connectors from the think-cell toolbar. Double-click the toolbar button to insert multiple connectors. To leave insertion mode, click the button again or press the Esc key.
Each chart element can offer connectable points. The universal connector can connect any two connectable points that may or may not belong to the same element. Use the universal connector if you need an unusual connector that is not supported by the chart itself.
You can also use the universal connector to connect two different charts. The handles at the ends of the connector snap to connectable points while you move them. The handle in the middle of the connector can be dragged to change the straight connector to one with a right angle.
Note: The universal connector visually connects two objects, but it has no effect on the calculation of the waterfall chart. If you want a connector as part of a waterfall calculation, you must use the specific waterfall connector (see Waterfall chart ). Standard connectors (see Series connectors) are also available for a number of chart types and should be used in preference to universal connectors when possible.
8.3 Legend
| In menu: | Chart |
| Menu item: |
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A floating toolbar containing a line style and a font control ( Text label property controls ) appears when the legend is selected, letting you specify a line style for the legend box and the size of the legend text. A control for the visual order of the placeholders can be used to specify a different order than in the datasheet or the chart itself.
In addition, chart-specific property controls for the series and groups are available when selecting one of the placeholders.
If you change the size of the legend’s frame the legend text will be automatically reformatted to fit the new frame size. To create a horizontal legend, for example, pull the left or right border of the frame outwards.