Plot Area Tab

You can use the Plot Area tab (Figure 9.20) to set attributes of the plot area.

Figure 9.20: The Plot Area Tab

The Plot Area Tab


The Plot Area tab contains the following UI controls:

Left

specifies the distance between the left edge of the plot area and the minimum value of the visible axis range for the X axis. The distance is specified as a fraction of the plot area’s width. The value must be in the range 0 to 0.8.

Right

specifies the distance between the right edge of the plot area and the maximum value of the visible axis range for the X axis. The distance is specified as a fraction of the plot area’s width. The value must be in the range 0 to 0.8.

Top

specifies the distance between the top edge of the plot area and the maximum value of the visible axis range for the Y axis. The distance is specified as a fraction of the plot area’s height. The value must be in the range 0 to 0.8.

Bottom

specifies the distance between the bottom edge of the plot area and the minimum value of the visible axis range for the Y axis. The distance is specified as a fraction of the plot area’s height. The value must be in the range 0 to 0.8.

Background

specifies the background color of the plot area.

Show plot frame

specifies whether the plot area’s frame is displayed.

Note: Because the plot area has margins, the edges of the plot area do not correspond to the minimum and maximum values of the axis. Let $x_ L$ and $x_ R$ be the minimum and maximum values of the horizontal axis. Let $m_ L$ and $m_ R$ be the left and right margin fractions.

Define $s = (x_ R-x_ L)/(1-m_ L-m_ R)$. Then the left edge of the plot area is located at $x_ L - s m_ L$, and the right edge of the plot area is located at $x_ R + s m_ R$.

For example, if $x_ L=0$, $x_ R=1$, $m_ L=1/20$, and $m_ R=1/10$, then $s = 20/17$. The left edge of the plot area is located at $-1/17 \approx -0.0588$, while the right edge is located at $19/17 \approx 1.118$.