How to Use the 3D Scatter Plot


To apply coloring:

  1. On the authoring bar, click to open the Data in analysis flyout.

  2. In the flyout, drag the column you want to color by to the center of the visualization.

    Response: Drop targets are shown in the middle of the visualization.

  3. Drop the column on the Color target.

    Response: The markers are colored with one color for each category in the selected column.

    Comment: To learn more about coloring in Spotfire, see Coloring Overview.

To shape markers by a column:

  1. On the authoring bar, click to open the Data in analysis flyout.

  2. In the flyout, drag the column that you want to shape by to the center of the visualization.

    Response: Drop targets are shown in the middle of the visualization.

  3. Drop the column on the Shape by target.

    Response: The markers are shaped with one shape for each category in the selected column.

    Comment: Shape is also available in the Properties dialog. There you can change the shape you want to use for each category.

To aggregate markers:

  1. Right-click the 3D scatter plot to display the pop-up menu.

  2. Select Properties.

  3. Click to display the Marker By page.

  4. Select a column to group the markers by under Show one marker for each.
    Response: The markers are grouped so that a single marker is shown for each category in the selected column.
    Comment: If the Legend is visible, the Marker By property may also be changed there.

To create a new 3D scatter plot:

  1. On the authoring bar, click    to open the Visualization types flyout.

  2. Drag the 3D scatter plot visualization to the wanted position on the analysis page.

    Response: A first attempt to set up a suitable 3D scatter plot is made.

  3. Adjust the 3D scatter plot to display the measures of your choice.

    Comment: For more information about how to change what to show on the two axes, see Column Selectors.

Zooming and navigating in the 3D scatter plot:

Located at the top right of the visualization are a number of buttons that you can use to zoom and navigate in the visualization.

Button

Shortcut

Description

Press and hold the Shift key and the right mouse button simultaneously while moving the mouse up.

Zoom in.

Press and hold the Shift key and the right mouse button simultaneously while moving the mouse down.

Zoom out.

Press and hold the Ctrl key and the right mouse button simultaneously while moving the mouse to the right.

Rotate right.

Press and hold the Ctrl key and the right mouse button simultaneously while moving the mouse to the left.

Rotate left.

Press and hold the Ctrl key and the right mouse button simultaneously while moving the mouse up.

Rotate up.

Press and hold the Ctrl key and the right mouse button simultaneously while moving the mouse down.

Rotate down.

 

Reset navigation.

You can also use the mouse wheel to zoom in or out. To reset zoom and navigation to the default values, click the Reset Navigation button, or right-click the visualization and select Reset Navigation.

Resizing markers in the 3D scatter plot:

You can use keyboard shortcuts to resize markers in the 3D scatter plot:

Shortcut

Description

Press and hold down the Ctrl key and the plus (+) key simultaneously until the markers have the desired size.

Increase size of markers.

Press and release the plus key repeatedly while pressing the Ctrl key.

Increase size of markers.

Press and hold the Ctrl key and the minus (-) key simultaneously.

Decrease size of markers.

Press and release the minus key repeatedly while pressing the Ctrl key.

Decrease size of markers.

Press and hold down the Ctrl key while rotating the mouse wheel.

Resize markers.

Yet another way to resize the markers is to open the Size page of the Properties dialog and use the slider control.

See also:

What is a 3D Scatter Plot?

3D Scatter Plot Properties