Grouping Chart Labels into Named Groups
You can agglomerate data from different chart groups (axis groups, legend groups) into larger categories called named groups. For example, you can combine X-axis labels designating individual states MA, CT, NY, NJ, etc., into larger groups such as 'New England' and 'Mid-Atlantic'.
Named groups cannot be defined for date fields.
To create named groups for chart axis labels or legend labels, follow the steps below:
1. Ctrl-click to select the individual axis labels or legend labels that you want to combine into a single group.
You can group existing named groups to make larger groups.
2. Right-click on one of the selected labels, and choose 'Group' from the context menu. This opens the 'Group Name' dialog box.

3. Enter a name for the new group in the 'Group Name' dialog box, and click 'OK'.

This agglomerates the data corresponding to the original labels and replaces the original labels with the named grouping label.

4. Repeat the above steps to add additional named groups.
To rename an existing group, right-click the group label, and select 'Rename' from the context menu. Alternatively, select 'Axis Properties' or 'Legend Properties' from the context menu, and change the label's alias on the Alias tab of the 'Properties' dialog box. (See Editing a Chart Axis or Editing a Chart Legend for more details.)
To decompose an existing named group, right-click on the group label and select 'Ungroup' from the context menu.

In the following example, you will create a chart that displays total sales by state. You will then group the states into one of six standard regions: New England, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, South, Mountain, and Pacific. Follow the steps below:
1. Create a new Viewsheet based on the 'Sales' > 'Sales Explore' Worksheet.
2. Drag a Chart element from the Component panel into the Viewsheet grid.
3. Click the 'Edit' button on the Chart to open the Chart Editor.
4. In the Data Source panel, expand the 'Sales' Data Block. From the 'Dimensions' node, drag the 'State' field to the 'X' region of the Data panel.
5. From the 'Dimensions' node, drag the 'Total' field to the 'Y' region of the Data panel.

6. Click the 'CT' label on the Chart's X-axis to select it. Ctrl-click on the 'MA' label to select it also.
7. Right-click on either of the selected labels, and choose 'Group' from the context menu.

This opens the 'Group Name' dialog box.
8. In the 'Group Name' dialog box, enter the label for the new composite group: “New England”.

This adds 'New England' as a new X-axis label, and agglomerates the data from 'MA' and 'CT' into this new composite group.

9. Repeat the above steps to create the following additional named groups:
a. “Mid-Atlantic,” including states 'NY', 'PA', 'NJ'.
b. “South,” including states 'MD', 'TX', 'FL'.
c. “Mountain,” including states 'AZ', 'CO', 'NV'.
d. “Pacific,” including states 'CA', 'WA'.

All states are now grouped into larger regions, except for 'IL', which belongs to the Midwest region. You cannot create a named group for 'Midwest' on the basis of a single label. Instead, if you need a group labeled 'Midwest', you can simply rename the 'IL' label as described in the next step.
10. (Optional) Rename the 'IL' label to “Midwest”. Follow the steps below:
a. Right-click the 'IL' label on the X-axis, and select 'Axis Properties' from the context menu. This opens the 'Axis Properties' dialog box.
b. In the 'Axis Properties' dialog box, select the Alias tab. Double-click in the 'Alias' column next to the 'IL' label, and enter the text “Midwest”.

c. Click 'OK' to close the dialog box. The Chart now displays all states grouped by region.

See Also
Grouping Crosstab Headers into Named Groups, to create groupings in a crosstab.
| << Changing Chart Element Spacing | © 1996-2013 InetSoft Technology Corporation (v11.4) | Creating a Chart Legend >> |