The components of the Graph Guru

The Graph Guru consists of two panels which appear sequentially. The first panel allows the user to select the type of the plot, and possibly a sub-type and a style. The second panel provides a way to configure the style formats of each component of the final graph. Figure 10-3 shows the different areas of the two panels of the Graph Guru.

Figure 10-3 The two panels of the Graph Guru

The different parts of each panel of the Graph Guru have been shaded with boxes of different colors and labeled with a letter in Figure 10-3. The purpose of each of these sections will be explained below:

The components of the two panels

A - The Plot Type Selection Area

This area lists the different types of plots which can be contained within the graph. The desired plot type can be selected simply by placing the mouse cursor over the desired type and clicking with the primary mouse button. The blue highlight indicates the currently selected type.

B - The Preview Area.

This area shows a preview of the currently selected plot type/sub type combination using the default settings for this type of plot.

C - The Plot Subtype Area.

This area presents a number of icons which change depending on the plot type that has been selected. Certain icons represent plot sub-types, for example, distinguishing plots with columns that are side by side from plots with stacked columns. Other icons represent different plot styles, for example distinguishing line plots in which each data point is labeled with a graphical symbol from line plots where data points do not have any symbol. The highlight box around one icon indicates which icon is currently chosen.

Hovering the mouse pointer over one of these icons causes a description of the plot type to be shown next to the icon.

D - The First Panel Navigation Buttons

These buttons enable the user to navigate through the Graph Guru.

The Help Button: The Help button should cause this section of the manual to open.
The Cancel Button: The Cancel button will dismiss the Graph Guru and return the user to the Gnumeric worksheet.
The Forward Button: The Forward button will dismiss the first panel of the Graph Guru and open up the second panel.
The Insert Button: The Insert button will dismiss the Graph Guru and allow users to insert the graph, as it is currently defined, into the worksheet. The resulting graph may not include any plots or data but it can be modified subsequently using the context menu's Properties menu entry.

E - The hierarchy tree of graph components

This area allows the user to navigate the hierarchy of graph components. The components are arranged in a tree with nodes indicated by arrowheads. Components can be selected by clicking on the component name with the mouse pointer and nodes can be expanded or collapsed by clicking on the arrowheads. The selection of different components in this area will cause different property options to be displayed in area J since each component in the hierarchy has its own specific properties.

Immediately below the hierarchy are buttons that allow a user to modify the hierarchy of components by adding components with the Add button or by removing components with the Delete button. The Order allows the user to change the stacking order of charts, moving them up or down, or of data series, moving them toward the front or back.

F - The preview area

This area shows a preview of the graph as it will look if the user clicks on the Insert or Apply at the bottom of the panel, in area H.

G - The component properties selection area.

This area allows the user to change the graph by modifying the properties of the component that is selected (highlighted in blue) in area E. For components which have multiple properties these may be grouped into related sets and placed on different tabs. By clicking on the tabs at the upper left, a user can access the properties in each set.

H - The second panel navigation buttons

If the guru is opened to create a new graph the buttons in this are act in the same way as the buttons in the first panel, in area D except that the Forward is now a Back and takes the user back to the first panel.

If the guru is opened to modify an existing graph the following buttons are shown (as in the screenshot Figure 10-3).

The Help Button: The Help button should cause this section of the manual to open.
The Cancel Button: The Cancel button will dismiss the Graph Guru and return the user to the Gnumeric worksheet, leaving the graph unchanged.
The Apply Button: The Apply button will dismiss the Graph Guru and apply the changes to the current graph.

K - The panel rearrangement handles

These triple dots in various places of the two panels of the graph guru indicate that the mouse can be used to change the size of the different areas. These handles can be used by placing the mouse pointer above a handle, clicking and holding with the primary mouse button, then dragging the handle to a new position, and then releasing the mouse button.