Customizing Data Display in Plots

Sort the plot data, that is, ensure that the ordering of data in the x-direction is observed (XY and monitor plots only)

Activate the Sort Plot Data property of the plot data set.

The following image shows the effect of sorting on raw data.

After sorting, the data appears correctly ordered in the x-direction.

Display a cumulative distribution of data in the x-direction (XY and monitor plots only)

Activate the Accumulate Y-Values property of the plot data set.

This option only operates on values stored in the data series itself, not all the values from the input of that data set, such as a monitor. (A data series stores only those values that were sampled for the plot.)

Scale data in one or both directions (XY and monitor plots only)

Enter a new value in either or both of the properties X Scale Factor and Y Scale Factor of the plot data set, with the following possible effects:

• An entry between 0 and 1 reduces the scale by that factor.
• An entry greater than 1 enlarges the scale accordingly.
• Negative entries create a "mirror image" in the negative direction.

Apply an offset in one or both directions, that is, shift the position of the x- and/or y-values by a given quantity (XY and monitor plots only)

Enter a value change in either or both of the properties X Offset and Y Offset of the plot data set. Your numeric entry is of the same type of quantity as the quantity plotted along the axis.

Display selected part values in a single monitor plot

Selecting individual parts is helpful for simulations that have many parts, such as turbomachines with dozens of blade rows, or batteries with hundreds of cells. Use one of the following techniques:

• Specify the desired report parts directly in the monitor plot:
  1. Select the [monitor] node and set Value Type to Part Values.
  2. In the monitor plot, select the Data Series > [data set] > Parts Data node, and use the Parts property to specify which parts to display in the monitor plot.
• Specify the desired report parts in the monitor to be plotted. (See Extracting Report Results on a Per-Part Basis.)

Control the appearance of selected part values in a monitor plot

1. Specify the desired report parts in the monitor plot. (See instructions for displaying selected part values in a single monitor plot.)
2. Create a plot for the monitor (if you did not already create one from the report along with the monitor). This plot shows all the part report values along with the overall value of the report.
3. To modify the line style and symbol style of the individual part value curves, use the controls in the Data Series > [data set] > Parts Data sub-node of the monitor plot. For details about these types of controls, see "Data Display Properties Lookup" in Plot Data Sets Property Reference.
4. To change the colors for individual part value curves, right-click the Parts Data Style sub-node and select Edit Child Colors.

   In the Data Provider Colors dialog, double-click a color for a desired part curve to open the color control dialog. For details about the color control dialog, see Defining Colors.

Change the order of multiple data series in a plot

1. Activate the Data Series Order dialog using one of these techniques:
   • Right-click any of the following objects and select Reorder Data Series:
     • The node or display of any plot
     • The Data Series sub-node of a plot, or the corresponding data series in the display
     • The Axis Type sub-node of a histogram plot
     • The [XY plot] > Y Types > [YType] node
   • Click the right half of the Data Series Order expert property of the plot node, or click (Custom Editor).

2. Set the order in the dialog, taking the following into consideration:

   • The names of the data series in the list match their names in the legend.
   • The data series at the top of the list is plotted on screen first, and the rest are successively plotted in front.
   
   
   

   Select one or more items in the Data Series Order list, and use any of the buttons (top to bottom) as follows:

   • Move to top: move series to the top of the list and render first
   • Move up: move series up one position
   • Move down: move series down one position
   • Move to bottom: move series to the bottom of the list and render last
   • Alphabetize entire list: reorders the items alphabetically.
3. Click OK.

Alternatively, move a data series by accessing its node:

1. Right-click the data series node.

2. Select one of the four options that appear in the sub-menu of the Reorder menu item:

   • Move to top
   • Move up
   • Move down
   • Move to bottom

The order of data series appears in three places in the workspace: the plot display, the legend, and the node tree (where applicable).

Display the latest appended data within a specified range (monitor plots only)

To specify a range:

1. Select the desired Cartesian axis sub-node of the Axes node.
2. Set Range Mode to Sliding Window.

   The Sliding Window Options sub-node appears within the axis node.

3. Select the Sliding Window Options sub-node and enter a value for Sliding Window Width. This value has no units.

   The plot display is set to show a range of values that is automatically updated as more data points are appended to the plot during the simulation run. For example, if you enter a range of 50, the monitor plot displays values from (Max - 50) to Max.

4. To deactivate the range specification, set Range Mode to Data Bounds.

The sliding window Range Mode yields to manual plot changes and interactions that change data bounds of the axis. This includes manually entering a Minimum or Maximum, as well as activating Lock Minimum or Lock Maximum properties. For example, if you activate the Lock Maximum property, the automatic range calculations stop. When you deactivate such a property, or refresh the plot display, the range calculations resume.

Change the position or orientation of the legend

See Legend Properties Reference.

To reposition the legend, you can use the properties of its node or move it interactively within the plot. The legend is a dockable panel and may be redocked by dragging it elsewhere in the plot display.

Change how the data is displayed