Chart Type XY (Scatter)

On the first page of the Chart Wizard you can choose a chart type.

XY (Scatter)

An XY chart in its basic form is based on one data series consisting of a name, a list of x‑values, and a list of y‑values. Each value pair (x|y) is shown as a point in a coordinate system. The name of the data series is associated with the y‑values and shown in the legend.

Choose an XY chart for the following example tasks:

1. scale the x‑axis

2. generate a parameter curve, for example a spiral

3. draw the graph of a function

4. explore the statistical association of quantitative variables

Your XY chart may have more than one data series.

XY Chart Variants

You can choose an XY chart variant on the first page of the Chart Wizard, or by choosing Format - Chart Type for a chart in edit mode.

The chart is created with default settings. After the chart is finished, you can edit its properties to change the appearance. Line styles and icons can be changed on the Line tab page of the data series properties dialog.

Double-click any data point to open the Data Series dialog. In this dialog, you can change many properties of the data series.

For 2D charts, you can choose Insert - Y Error Bars to enable the display of error bars.

You can enable the display of mean value lines and trend lines using commands on the Insert menu.

Points only

Each data point is shown by an icon. LibreOffice uses default icons with different forms and colors for each data series. The default colors are set in - Charts - Default Colors.

Lines Only

This variant draws straight lines from one data point to the next. The data points are not shown by icons.

The drawing order is the same as the order in the data series. Mark Sort by X Values to draw the lines in the order of the x values. This sorting applies only to the chart, not to the data in the table.

Points and Lines

This variant shows points and lines at the same time.

3D Lines

The lines are shown like tapes. The data points are not shown by icons. In the finished chart choose 3D View to set properties like illumination and angle of view.

Smooth Lines

Choose Smooth from the Line type dropdown to draw curves instead of straight line segments.

Click Properties to set details for the curves.

Cubic Spline interpolates your data points with polynomials of degree 3. The transitions between the polynomial pieces are smooth, having the same slope and curvature.

The Resolution determines how many line segments are calculated to draw a piece of polynomial between two data points. You can see the intermediate points if you click any data point.

B-Spline uses a parametric, interpolating B-spline curve. Those curves are built piecewise from polynomials. The Degree of polynomials sets the degree of these polynomials.

Stepped Lines

Choose Stepped from the Line type dropdown to draw lines which step from point to point instead of straight line segments.

Click Properties to set details for the curves.

There are 4 different step types:

• 

  Start with horizontal line and step up vertically at the end.

• 

  Start to step up vertically and end with horizontal line.

• 

  Start with horizontal line, step up vertically in the middle of the X values and end with horizontal line.

• 

  Start to step up vertically to the middle of the Y values, draw a horizontal line and finish by stepping vertically to the end.