Using Scatter Charts
Scatter charts display data differently from the other kinds of charts. They require
at least two columns or rows of data to plot values for a single data series. To show
multiple data series, you use additional two-column (or two-row) pairs.
Each pair of values determines the position of one data point. The first data value in
the pair is the x-axis of the point. The second data value is the y-axis of the point. If
you’ve already created a chart with data points that don’t occur in pairs, and then
you change your chart to a scatter chart, Pages may not plot the data as you expect.
Depending on how the data is arranged in the table, it may not be possible to create
any plot at all. Make sure you have entered x and y point values for each data series
you want to plot before choosing to create a scatter chart.
Before you can change the look of data point symbols or lines, you must select a
symbol or line of interest, and then open the Chart inspector. (See “The Inspector
Window” on page 23 to learn about opening the Inspector.)
To change the look of selected data point symbols and lines, do any of the following:
Choose an item from the Data Symbol pop-up menu, and then adjust the symbol’s size
m
by entering a value or using the stepper in the adjacent field.
To connect the points of the selected series with a straight or curved line, choose an
m
item from the Connect Points pop-up menu.
To change the color of the data points or lines in your chart, select a data point or
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line that you want to change, and then click the Graphic inspector. (Note that you can
change the colors separately for the data points, line, and trend line, even though they
represent the same data series.) In the Graphic inspector, click the Stroke color well,
and then select a color from the Colors window.
To change the style and thickness of any line in your chart, select it and then choose a
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line style in the Stroke pop-up menu. Enter a value or use the stepper in the adjacent
field to adjust the line thickness.
To learn about showing a trend line for the selected series, see “Showing Trendlines in
Charts” on page 236. In scatter charts, you can display error bars for both x and y axis
measurements. To understand more about showing error bars, see “Showing Error Bars
in Charts” on page 235.
To learn about other formatting options, see “Formatting Charts” on page 228.