In menu: | Chart |
Menu item: | ![]() |
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:
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.
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:
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.
Value axes have their own context menu. It shows the following buttons:
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.
In menu: | Segment, axis, line, area |
Menu item: | ![]() ![]() |
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:
Note: If you apply the same scale operation (see Same scale) to charts that have value axis breaks, the breaks are automatically removed. As long as breaks are present, it is impossible to make the selected charts visually comparable.
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.
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 tickmark 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:
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. If you still want to keep the same scale for multiple charts, you may have to reapply the same scale operation. The same applies if you manually changed the scale of one of the charts.
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.
Note: If you apply the same scale operation to charts that have value axis breaks, the breaks are automatically removed (see Value axis break). As long as breaks are present, it is impossible to make the selected charts visually comparable.
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 tickmarks 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.
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.
The basic spacing between columns in a chart is specified by the gap width. Extra spacing between individual pairs of columns may be added by inserting a category gap.
The gap width for all columns can be altered by clicking on the baseline and dragging the handle a small distance. The handle snaps to the default gap width. In order to achieve a consistent appearance for charts throughout your presentation, the default gap width should be used when possible.
Category gaps can be introduced by dragging the same handle further to the right until the category gap tooltip appears. The handle snaps to multiples of the column width.
Altering the gap width or introducing category gaps by simply dragging 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 altered gaps.
Note: In some cases, a break in the baseline (see Category axis break) may be a space-saving alternative to a category gap.
In menu: | Category axis column gap |
Menu item: | ![]() |
In menu: | Chart, segment1, point2 |
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 (Gap width and 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. |
In menus: | Chart, segment |
Menu item: | ![]() |
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.
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).
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).
In menu: | Chart |
Menu item: | ![]() |
In menus: | Chart, segment |
Menu item: | ![]() |
Icon in Elements menu: | ![]() |
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.
In menu: | Chart |
Menu item: | ![]() |
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.