Manually editing data references for a chart

Question

Manually editing data references for a chart

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering about a whole range of basic chart functions that seem to be absent in Numbers, and hoping I've missed something. For instance:

- Can I choose which selected data I want plotted on the X axis, and which on the Y axis? Numbers seems to just choose for you...

- Can I choose whether I want my data treated as category labels vs. as continuous values?

- Can I enter data series more nuanced than just "this entire row or column"?

- Can I set error bar values by selecting data entered in a table, with one value for each data point?

For example: let's say I want to make a line graph with multiple data series, but each of those series is just a small section of a single existing table. (E.g. I want rows 1-20 to be series 1, rows 31-50 to be series 2, etc.) Is there any way to do this without making a whole new separate table for each data series?

What I'm really looking for is something like the "Select data" tool in Excel, where I have a list of my data series, I can add or remove them manually, and I can specify which cells have their X values and which ones have their Y values. In Numbers, it feels like I have to build all of my tables specifically so that I can mass-select all of the data at once, and data series have to be defined by putting them into separate rows/columns in separate tables. Which is a massive pain in the ***...

Is that true? Or does Numbers have some manual tool to edit data series after all?

Thanks so much for your help either way!

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014), OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Jul 17, 2017 1:09 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Yellowbox

Level 7

21,945 points

Jul 17, 2017 4:38 AM in response to infinitelyimprobable

Hi infinitelyimprobable,

A partial answer.

When I escaped from Excel and took up Numbers for Mac, I thought that Numbers would be an Excel clone. Then I learned through this forum that Numbers follows a different approach. Whereas Excel uses an "ocean" of a sheet with small "islands" of data dotted here and there, Numbers uses several discrete tables, each with a purpose.

Have a look at the Charting Basics template in Numbers > Template Chooser for ideas.

Another example of the charm of Numbers:

Cell A2 in the small 'Data for Graph' table is a Pop-Up Menu. 'Data for Graph' pulls data from the Very large Data table with this formula in B2 (and Fill Right):

=INDEX(Very large Data table::B, MATCH($A2, Very large Data table::$A,0))

My cheat sheet for INDEX and MATCH:

=INDEX(Column I want a return value from,

MATCH(My Lookup Value,

Column I want to Lookup against,

Enter “0″ ))

- See more at: http://www.randomwok.com/excel/how-to-use-index-match/#sthash.L2WFkFjw.dpuf

Written for Excel, but it works in Numbers.

Choose Cherries from the Pop-Up Menu to change the graph

Question 2:

Can I choose whether I want my data treated as category labels vs. as continuous values?

A category graph requires the categories to be in a Header Column or a Header Row, and the data to be in non-Headers. If you want continuous values, place the data in a table in the "Body" cells (non-headers) and insert a 2 D Scatter Chart.