Chart Builder layout and terms

Canvas

The canvas is the area of the Chart Builder dialog box where you build the chart.

Axis set

An axis set defines one or more axes in a particular coordinate space (like 2-D rectangular or 1-D polar). Adding a gallery item to the canvas automatically creates an axis set. You can also choose one from the Basic Elements tab. Each axis includes an axis drop zone for dragging and dropping variables. Blue text indicates that the zone still requires a variable. Every chart requires that you add a variable to the x-axis drop zone.

Graphic elements

The graphic elements are the items in the chart that represent data. These are the bars, points, lines, and so on. In the illustration, the graphic element is a bar.

Variables list

The variables list displays the available variables. If a variable selected in this list is categorical, the Categories list shows the defined categories for the variable. (If you don't see the Categories list, drag the bar that separates the categories and variables lists.) Similarly, you can use the Categories list to view the variables that make up a multiple response set. You can also temporarily change a variable's measurement level by right-clicking its name in the Variables list and choosing one of the measurement levels. For more information about defined categories and measurement levels, see Variable types .

Drop zones

Drop zones are the areas on the canvas to which you drag and drop a variable from the Variables list. As noted previously, the basic drop zone is the axis drop zone. Certain gallery charts (like clustered or stacked bar charts) include grouping drop zones. You can also add these drop zones, paneling drop zones, and point-labeling drop zones from the Groups/Point ID tab. The illustration shows a grouping zone that contains Gender as the grouping variable. The categories in this variable control the color of the stack segments, as indicated by the text above the grouping zone.