Posted by Karen Hughes on May 18, 2008 at 11:07pm
Hi Jan,
For creating something like a 2D Line Chart - what format should the data take?
I've got a list of stock prices and I'm not sure whether the "value" would take a comma separated list of values or an array.
Thanks very much,
Karen
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Reply by Jan Schenkel on May 20, 2008 at 6:57am
Hi Karen,
Thanks for upgrading to the Pro edition by the way - I'm sure you'll enjoy the extra features!
The 2D charts can be filled in two ways:
- either let the printing library track the data as it iterates over a set of cards or records, evaluating a label and a value expression as it moves along (as in the Printing queries example)
- or you provide a return-delimited list of labels and a return-delimited list of values as he result of your label and value expressions (as in the 2D charts example)
Hope this helped,
Jan Schenkel.
--
Quartam Reports & PDF Library for Revolution
http://www.quartam.com
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Reply by Karen Hughes on May 24, 2008 at 2:59pm
Hi Jan,
Following your example with a simple stack, I'm still unable to get a graph to print. I'm sure that I'm doing something silly - but I'm not sure what it is! I also find that I can't set a chart title or units in the QRBuilder - the text I enter into the fields vanishes straight away...
I've attached a stack and report in case you could possibly take a look (you might need to play with the paths).
Thanks,
Karen
Attachments:
Quartam-Graph-Test.rev, 6 KB Delete
Quartam-Graph-Test.qrl, 1 KB Delete
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Reply by Jan Schenkel on May 25, 2008 at 11:08pm
Hi Karen,
The chart title and units problem will be fixed in version 1.1.1 - sometime this week I will make that new build, fixing the issues that have been reported so far. So thanks for spotting that now
I also had a look at the files you uploaded. There are a few things to note:
1. For the evaluation process to work correctly, the local variables sChartLabels, sChartValues and sCurrentRecord have to be declared as script locals, outside any handler.
2. Originally I had planned to only allow Charts in group footers and the summary section, and that's how I always used and tested them. But it seems I forgot to actually build in that limitation.
So when you move the local variables out of the mouseUp handler, and then go to your layout to turn on the summary section so that you can move the chart to this section, it works as advertised.
My initial instinct is to close off the hole where I let you create charts inside the detail band. However, I can also see the value of having a chart per detail band. Which means I'll have to tweak that bit of code.
Of course, I'll keep you all posted when version 1.1.1 is finished.
Cheers,
Jan Schenkel.
--
Quartam Reports & PDF Library for Revolution
http://www.quartam.com
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Reply by Karen Hughes on May 26, 2008 at 12:24am
Hi Jan,
Thanks very much - that got me going with the right approach and I've now produced a graph. I'm really impressed with the quality of the output that is possible with Quartam Reports - it totally transforms Revolution's standard output capabilities.
Thanks,
Karen
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Reply by Karen Hughes on May 26, 2008 at 1:21am
Hi Jan,
Thanks very much for your patience!
I've a couple of (I'm sure you are hoping final) questions:
* There seems to be a limit to the number of points at around 120?
* On the line graph, each point is marked by a little black circle - is it possible to switch this off?
* Is there any way to hide the labels while still graphing the data? I left the labels empty, but then the data isn't graphed. I also thought that I could change the label ink to white, but I can't see a way to do that?
Thanks very much,
Karen
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Reply by Jan Schenkel on May 26, 2008 at 6:51am
Hi Karen,
The data needs labels to match up the values internally - but that doesn't mean the labels should be printed under all circumstances. I'll add a checkbox to turn them on or off.
Likewise, I'll add an option for turning the point markers on or off.
Theoretically, there should be no limit to the number of points, but I must admit I didn't push the envelope on this myself.
I'll see what I can do in the 1.1.1 timeframe - bug squishing comes first, and then functionality tweaks.
Cheers,
Jan Schenkel
--
Quartam Reports & PDF Library for Revolution
http://www.quartam.com
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Reply by Karen Hughes on May 26, 2008 at 9:29am
Hi Jan,
It would be great to see that extra functionality - although I completely agree, bug fixing come first.
Another nice feature would be the ability to specify a starting point other than 0 for the vertical axis.
By the way, I noticed that the "Reset" drop down menus for the Labels and Data in a graph will not retain any changes.
Thanks,
Karen
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Reply by Jan Schenkel on June 2, 2008 at 11:28pm
Hi Karen,
The problems with the inspector have been solved, and some options were added to show/hide labels and markers.
Charts now also support colors and ink/blend settings.
The only item left on my to do-list right now, is the limitation on the number of points in a line graph. This is, however, a tricky issue: I can easily solve it on-screen, but I would also have to offer a solution for printing them at a higher resolution, with more points in the graph.
Too bad Revolution doesn't yet support fractional points... But I'll figure it out in one of the next updates - probably hide the line graph, and then plot a blow-up of the graph into the rectangle - so once my head has cleared up a bit, I'll give it a go.
Cheers,
Jan Schenkel
--
Quartam Reports & PDF Library for Revolution
http://www.quartam.com
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Reply by Karen Hughes on June 3, 2008 at 12:47am
Thanks very much Jan - your changes (and bug fixes) are great.
Probably more useful than the extra number of points would be the ability to start the vertical axis from something other than 0. I'm graphing a variety of values (stock prices) and some are up in the thousands. The graph looks quite flat when scaled from 0, and I'd love to be able to start them from (say) 2000.
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Reply by Jan Schenkel on June 3, 2008 at 6:58am
Ah, that would certainly be an interesting addition.
The question then is, of course, if this needs to be a fixed number or even an expression, or if a simple one-size-fits-all checkbox can control this behaviour by automatically adapting the vertical origin to coincide with the min() of the values.
Any suggestions on how to label such a checkbox?
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Reply by Karen Hughes on June 3, 2008 at 7:22pm
Hi Jan,
I'd suggest something such as "Limit vertical scale" or perhaps "Scale vertical origin minimum". The best option would be a simple checkbox that allowed the vertical origin to coincide with the minimum value - that way it would adapt even if separate graphs had a large variation in values.
Karen