Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 46522
Important improvements to chart usefulness/usability
Last modified: 2013-02-24 21:19:13 UTC
I know that this is violating the one issue/one report policy. However, this is meant to become a place to collect important ideas that need to be considered, and/or implemented. Ideas that will go into implementation should obviously get their own issue. I'm looking at OOo 2.0 Beta, and there are still major issues with chart creation (which Excel has no problems with). Here are a few: 1) Take a list of 200 numbers, select it, click the chart wizard, and request, say, a plot of these numbers connected by a line. This will take a large number of seconds, and at the end you get a totally illegible X axis with two hundred labels saying "Row ***". Obviously, it's better to drop most labels if the can't all be fit in the picture. This should speed up drawing lots, too. 2) In order to put two distinct series of X-Y plots on the same chart, one has to perform a very unnatural contortion. More specifically, I've got two lists of data: 0.64 0.25 0.94 0.93 0.84 0.57 0.17 0.63 and 0.57 0.37 0.95 0.94 0.96 0.75 and I want them as separate series (perhaps in slightly different styles) on one plot. I can kind of accomplish by running X-Y plot on data like so: 0.64 0.25 0.94 0.93 0.84 0.57 0.17 0.63 0.57 0.37 0.95 0.94 0.96 0.75 But, even so, I can't have a line connecting the first set of data, but not the other. In Excel, on the other hand, there is the data series editor, which is a much more natural way to put several things on one plot (although I think the UI there isn't _great_, it's better than what OOo has got). OOo seems to lack the data series abstraction altogether, at least in the interface. We deal with one block of data, and this needs to change. For instance, because Excel fundamentally deals with data series, you can drag a data series from one plot to another. This is quite a useful, easy way to combine plots. 3) This ties in with 2), but is a bit separate. Once I create a chart, there is no way to change what's plotted on it. The most I can do is change values on the sheet. But, say I create a bar chart with 5 bars, and then I get a 6ths. Now I've got to create a new chart and format it again, from the very start. That's a huge waste of time if you deal with frequently changing data. 4) There is no way to create a plot with two Y axes, with different scales. When this is done, it should be easier and clearer than in Excel. (I can flesh this one out a bit more if there is interest) 5) 3D surface plots from grid data would be a good addition. I mean something like this: x\y 1 2 3 0.5 0.8 0.56 0.24 0.6 0.31 0.34 -0.03 0.7 0.16 0.09 0.06 0.8 0.89 0.6 0.28 With current modes, one can sort of fake this with several adjacent 3D strips. However, it doesn't look too good. Moreover, a 3D surface mode could (and should) support contour plots under the surface, in the style of gnuplot. I realize that this is more of a scientific-computing feature request, and so don't have too much hope of it being taken seriously. Please comment on the above. I will then create bugs for those deemed worthy of implementation.
wrong component changed it to chart
Dear lesha Let me answer to some of your points: >I know that this is violating the one issue/one report policy Indeed. In case you don't know yet: The charts team already has a very long wish list of things as you describe them here, so there is no need to reopen "just another" issue for collecting improvement requests. To issue 1: This is a duplicate. (Have you checked for duplicates?) I myself already requested something similar. See issue 16280. To issue 2: >0.64 0.25 >0.94 0.93 >0.84 0.57 >0.17 0.63 >0.57 0.37 >0.95 0.94 >0.96 0.75 I know this is a bit circumstantial and the chart team already knows that as well. > But, even so, I can't have a line connecting the first set of data, but > not the other. In Excel, on the other hand, there is the data series editor OpenOffice has that too. Just create a XY line disgram first. Then doubleclick on one of the lines and a dialog will come up that allows to set the formatting of exactly this data series. So you can have one with a line and w#one without (Line style = "Invisible") To issue 3: > But, say I create a bar chart with 5 bars, and then I get a 6ths. Now > I've got to create a new chart and format it again, from the very start. Sorry, that's not true either. Try following: When the diagram is not selected. right-click on it. In the popup menu there is the point "modify data range" There you can change what data is shown. You could f.e. modify the data range to include the 6th value as well. The formatting remains unaltered, except that you will have to select the color for the 6th data series afterwards, of course. To issue 4: > There is no way to create a plot with two Y axes, with different scales. It is possible. But since you didn't find out how to solve issue e, you could not find the solution for this as well. Here is how to do it. 1. Create a new simple line diagram with two or more data series. 2. Double click on the diagram to activate the edit mode 3. Double click one a data series (either on the line) or on the legend symbol. 4. In the data series dialog that comes up, choose the rightmost tab "options" and select "show on 2nd Y axis". This axis will appear and you can now scale it as you wish. (There is however, AFAIK, no possibility to set a description label for the second y axis.) To issue 5: This again is already known to the Chart people. See f.e. issue 29012 or issue 29444. > I realize that this is more of a scientific-computing feature request, and so > don't have too much hope of it being taken seriously. I hope they take science seriously, because that is one driving force behind OOo. I'm geographer, f.e. ;-) Conclusion: Maybe you know by now, why the "one issue/one report" policy is important - simply because for the five issues I have found different "solutions": 2 are duplicates and three "work for me". I will have to close this as "invalid". Sorry. In the future please check more precise if a similar issue are already filed or if the help tells you how to do a certain task. Thanks anyway for caring about OpenOffice and trying to give feedback. We appreciate that.
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