You can configure IML Studio graphics by using dialog boxes. Clicking the right mouse button inside the frame of a plot window brings up a context menu. This means that you will see different menus depending upon where the mouse pointer is at the time of the action. The figure below indicates the typical configuration that determines which menu appears when you click the right mouse button. The figure applies to all plots except for the rotating plot, which lacks the "axis area" regions. The rotating plot behaves differently because the position of the axes changes as the plot rotates.
As the figure indicates, there are six different context areas: the Graph Area, two axis areas, two axis label areas, and the Plot Area. By using the dialog box for the Graph Area, you can change general properties that affect the way that the plot appears on your display. The dialog box for an axis contains controls that affect the scale, font, and placement of tick marks for that axis. The dialog box for an axis label contains controls that affect the font and text used to label that axis. Finally, the dialog box for the plot contains controls that affect the appearance (for example, color and size) of plot features. The content of the dialog box varies widely depending on whether the plot is a histogram, scatter plot, box plot, etc.
For a rotating plot, the same idea applies: positioning the mouse pointer over an axis or axis label results in a menu that controls properties of that axis or label. Positioning the mouse pointer towards the middle of a plot will result in a menu that controls specific plot properties, whereas a mouse pointer positioned near the outside edge of a plot will result in a menu that controls general graph properties.
The first item in the context menu is always <context area> Properties, e.g., Plot Area Properties. Choosing this item brings up a dialog box. The dialog boxes for the Plot Area are discussed in greater detail in subsequent chapters. The dialog boxes for the axes, axis labels, and Graph Area are discussed in the next section.
The next group of menu items (known collectively as tool items) will change the shape of the mouse pointer and the way that clicking or dragging the mouse affects the plot. Various tools and their effects on the plots are summarized below:
When you choose the select tool, the mouse pointer looks like a diagonally pointing arrow. Clicking on an observation will select that observation. Clicking on a histogram bar selects all observations in the same bin. Clicking on a box plot quartile or whisker selects all observations in that quartile or whisker. By holding down the SHIFT or CTRL key, you can select multiple graphical elements..
Dragging a rectangle selects all observations within that rectangle. The rectangle is also known as a brush. After a rectangle is created, you can move the brush by placing the mouse pointer inside the rectangle and dragging it to a new location. As the brush passes over observations, those observations are automatically selected. If you hold down the CTRL key while moving the brush, observations outside the brush are not deselected.
It is also possible to throw the brush. Release the mouse button while dragging the brush and the brush will begin moving freely in the direction that you last dragged it. The brush bounces off the sides of the Graph Area. Throwing the brush can be computationally intensive when you are working with large data sets.
If you click an observation, it is labeled in the plot. Observations selected by using a brush are not labeled.
When you choose the pan tool, the mouse pointer looks like four arrows meeting at right angles. By dragging the pointer, you can translate the contents of the plot. The rotating plot does not support the pan tool.
When you choose the zoom tool, the mouse pointer looks like a magnifying glass. Clicking in a plot fixes the relative position of the pointer and expands the scale of the plot by a factor of 1.5. Clicking while holding down the SHIFT key shrinks the scale of the plot by a factor of 1.5.
If you drag out a rectangle with the zoom tool, the region inside the rectangle expands to fill the plot area. If you drag out a rectangle with the zoom tool while holding down the SHIFT key, the plot area is shrunk down into the rectangle.
The rotating plot does not support the zoom tool.
When you choose the spin tool, the mouse pointer looks like a circular arrow. Only the rotating plot supports the spin tool.
Clicking in the plot causes the plot to rotate toward the pointer by an amount proportional to the distance between the pointer and the center of the plot. Dragging the pointer rotates the plot. If you release the mouse button while the pointer is in motion, the plot freely rotates. Click anywhere in the plot to stop the rotation.
When you choose the bin tool, the mouse pointer looks like a double-headed arrow between a pair of lines. Only the histogram supports the bin tool.
Clicking or dragging the bin tool shifts the location of the histogram bins. Clicking near the horizontal axis reduces the number of bins and makes the bars wider. Clicking near the top of the plot increases the number of bins and makes the bars narrower. Dragging the mouse pointer horizontally does not change the number of bins but changes the position at which the bins start.
When the pointer is at the left edge of the histogram, the bins start at an integral multiple of the bin width. When you move the pointer toward the right, the bins are offset by an amount proportional to the distance between the pointer and the left edge of the histogram.
When you choose the level tool, the mouse pointer looks like a pencil. Only the contour plot supports the level tool.
Clicking and dragging the level tool near a contour changes the value of the Z variable associated with the contour. You can insert a new contour by clicking the level tool away from existing contours
The context menus also contain a menu item to reset the view to its original state and an item to toggle the display of the plot axes and axes labels. Reset View will reset changes to the plot that were made by the pan tool, zoom tool, or spin tool. Reset View will not reset changes made by the bin tool or editing tool.