Specifying axis properties

Graphs have two or three axes. You specify the axes’ properties
in the Axis page in the graph’s Properties view.

To specify properties for an axis of a graph:

Select Properties from the graph’s
pop-up menu and then select the Axis page in the Properties view.
Select the Category, the Value, or the Series
axis from the Axis drop-down list.

If you are not working with a 3D graph, the Series Axis options
are disabled.
Specify the properties as described next.

Specifying text properties

You can specify the characteristics of the text that displays
for each axis. Table 26-9 shows
the two kinds of text associated with an axis.

Table 26-9: Text types associated with each
axis of a graph
Type of text	Meaning
Text	Text that identifies the values for an axis.
Label	Text that describes the axis. You specify the label text in a painter. You can use ~n to embed a new line within a label.

For information on specifying properties for
the text, see “Specifying text properties
for titles, labels, axes, and legends”.

Specifying datatypes

The data graphed along the Value, Category, and Series axes
has an assigned datatype. The Series axis always has the datatype
String. The Value and Category axes can have the datatypes listed
in Table 26-10.

Table 26-10: Datatypes for Value and Category axes
Axis	Possible datatypes
Both axes (for scatter graph)	Number, Date, Time
Value (other graph types)	Number, Date, DateTime, Time
Category (other graph types)	String, Number, Date, DateTime, Time

For graphs in DataWindow objects, PowerBuilder automatically assigns
the datatypes based on the datatype of the corresponding column;
you do not specify them.

For graphs in windows, you specify the datatypes yourself.
Be sure you specify the appropriate datatypes so that when you populate
the graph (using the AddData method), the data matches the datatype.

Scaling axes

You can specify the properties listed in Table 26-11 to define the scaling
used along numeric axes.

Table 26-11: Properties for scaling on numeric
axes
Property	Meaning
Autoscale	If selected (the default), PowerBuilder automatically assigns a scaling for the numbers along the axis.
RoundTo, RoundToUnit	Specifies how to round the end points of the axis (note that this just rounds the range displayed along the axis; it does not round the data itself). You can specify a number and a unit. The unit is based on the datatype; you can specify Default as the unit to have PowerBuilder decide for you. For example, if the Value axis is a Date column, you can specify that you want to round the end points of the axis to the nearest five years. In this case, if the largest data value is the year 1993, the axis extends up to 1995, which is 1993 rounded to the next highest five-year interval.
MinimumValue, MaximumValue	The smallest and largest numbers to appear on the axis (disabled if you have selected Autoscale).
ScaleType	Specifies linear or logarithmic scaling (common or natural).
ScaleValue	Specifies whether values are displayed as actual values or as a cumulative value, a percentage, or a cumulative percentage.

Using major and minor divisions

You can divide axes into divisions. Each division is identified
by a tick mark, which is a short line that intersects an axis. In
the Sales by Printer graphs shown in “Examples”, the
graph’s Value axis is divided into major divisions of 50
units each. PowerBuilder divides the axes automatically into major
divisions.

To define divisions for an axis of a graph:

To divide an axis into a specific number
of major divisions, type the number of divisions you want in the
MajorDivisions box.

Leave the number 0 to have PowerBuilder automatically create
divisions. PowerBuilder labels each tick mark in major divisions.
If you do not want each tick mark labeled, enter a value in the
DisplayEveryNLabels box. For example, if you enter 2, PowerBuilder labels
every second tick mark for the major divisions.
To use minor divisions, which are divisions within
each major division, type the appropriate number in the MinorDivisions
box. To use no minor divisions, leave the number 0.

When using logarithmic axes

If you want minor divisions, specify 1; otherwise, specify
0.

Representing divisions with grid and drop lines

You can specify lines to represent the divisions as described
in Table 26-12 and illustrated
in Figure 26-1.

Table 26-12: Representing graph divisions
with grid and drop lines
Line	Meaning
Grid line	A line that extends from a tick mark across the graph. Grid lines make graphs easier to read.
Drop line	A line that extends vertically from a data point to its axis (not available for all graph types).

Figure 26-1: Grid and drop lines in a
graph

Using line styles

You can define line styles for the components of a graph listed
in Table 26-13.

Table 26-13: Components of a graph that can
have line styles
Component	Meaning
PrimaryLine	The axis itself
SecondaryLine	The axis parallel to and opposite the primary axis
OriginLine	A grid line that represents the value zero
Frame	The frame for the axis in 3D graphs (disabled for 2D graphs)

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Powerbuilder Documentation 12.5

August 9, 2023

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