Graphs

Gnumeric includes a powerful mechanism to create graphical charts which present visually the data contained in a worksheet.

The first section of this chapter starts with an overview of graph creation, discusses terminology, and presents graph components and their organization. The next section explains the "Chart Guru" which is the tool used to configure graphs. The subsequent section presents the different types of plots which can be included in a graph and the final section explains how data can be pre-selected to speed up the process of graph creation.

Charts are exceedingly effective communication devices. Unfortunately, this means that one cannot determine, simply based on the data to be plotted, what type of plot will be the most effective. Instead users must familiarize themselves with the various types of plots which are available and decide for themselves which plot type is the most effective to communicate an idea. Section 10.1 ― Overview of Graphs contains a detailed explanation of the plot types available in Gnumeric.

This chapter explains how to add graphs to plot worksheet data.