Customizing the Appearance of a Curve and Axes

You can customize the appearance of the curves and axes in your charts.

This task shows you how to:

Before you begin: Open an existing X-Y plot from the Feature Manager, or create a new X-Y plot.

Modify the Curve

You can modify the appearance of the curve.

From the X-Y Plots Viewer, select Plot Options .
The Options dialog box appears.
From the list of options, select Curve.
Select a curve from the Curve list to modify.

Note: If you multiselect curves, only the axes can be modified.
Optional: Enter a descriptive Name.
Select Append unit to display the unit with the curve name.
Select Show line to display the curve line, and select a line width and style (for example, dashed or dotted).
Select Show symbol to display a marker at designated frequencies along the curve, and select a symbol type for the marker.
Specify the Frequency at which to display markers along the curve, or select When Y changes to show the markers only when the ordinate value changes.
To change the curve line or symbol color, click the appropriate swatch to open the color picker.
Select from a predetermined set of colors, or create a custom color. See Customizing Colors in Plots and Charts for more information.

You can modify the appearance of the axis title and units and specify the scale.

From the X-Y Plots Viewer, select Plot Options .
The Options dialog box appears.
From the list of options, select Axis.
Select the Axis type (X or Y) to modify.
The Options dialog box displays the axis title, magnitude, and unit.
From the Units column, select the required units of measurement.
All curves associated with the modified axis immediately update to show the new units of measure.
Select Show title to display the axis title in the chart.
Select Append unit to display the unit with the axis title.
To change the axis title color, click the Show title swatch to open the color picker.
Select the axis title color from a predetermined set of colors, or create a custom color of your own. See Customizing Colors in Plots and Charts for more information.
Click Font to modify the Font Name, Font Type, and Font Size for the axis title.
Select the Scale in which to display the curve data (linear, logarithmic, 10db, or 20db).
Specify a Max and Min value for the axis data.

You can modify the appearance of the tick marks along each axis.

From the X-Y Plots Viewer, select Plot Options .
The Options dialog box appears.
From the list of options, select Tick Marks.
Select the Axis type (X or Y) to modify tick marks.
The Options dialog box displays the axis title, magnitude, and unit.
Select Show tick marks to display demarcations along the axis.
To change the tick marks color, click the Show tick marks swatch to open the color picker.
Select the tick marks color from a predetermined set of colors, or create a custom color. See Customizing Colors in Plots and Charts for more information.
Select a line width and style (for example, dashed or dotted).

To change the location of the tick marks, select the required Placement:

Option	Description
Inside	Tick mark lines lie on the axis and within the chart borders.
Outside	Tick mark lines lie on the axis and outside the chart borders.
Across	Tick mark lines lie on the axis and span the chart border.

Select the frequency of Major tick marks display:

Option	Description
Automatic	Tick marks align to major intervals automatically.
By increment	Tick marks align to major intervals according to the Tick increment you specify.
By count	Tick marks align to major intervals according to the Number of ticks you specify.

Select the frequency of Minor tick marks display by specifying the Ticks per increment.

You can modify the appearance of the axis labels.

From the X-Y Plots Viewer, select Plot Options .
The Options dialog box appears.
From the list of options, select Labels.
Select the Axis type (X or Y) to modify the axis labels.
The Options dialog box displays the axis title, magnitude, and unit.
Select Show axis to display the specified axis in the chart.
Select a line width and style (for example, dashed or dotted).
To change the location of the specified axis, select the required Placement:
Option Description
Bottom Axis line is at the bottom of the chart.
Top Axis line is at the top of the chart.
Center Axis line divides the chart in two equal halves.
Select Show labels to display the tick mark labels.
To change the location of the tick mark labels, select the required Placement:
Option Description
Inside Tick mark labels are inside the chart.
Outside Tick mark labels are outside the chart.
Specify the Frequency at which to display tick mark labels.
Specify the Format for the numerical value of the tick mark label: Automatic, Decimal, Engineering, or Scientific.
Specify the number of decimal places for the Precision.
To change the axis or tick mark label color, click the appropriate swatch to open the color picker.
Select from a predetermined set of colors, or create a custom color. See Customizing Colors in Plots and Charts for more information.