Use bins or classes for different symbols in Grapher

Assign different symbols to different classes

The steps below assume that your XY coordinates are in columns A and B and your class criteria is in column C.

1. Click the Home | New Graph | Class/Bubble | Class Scatter Plot () command.
2. Select the worksheet and click Open. 
3. Click on the Class Scatter Plot in the Object Manager.
4. In the Property Manager, click on the Plot tab.
5. Click the Edit button next to the Classes command. 
6. In the Edit Classes dialog, change the Number of classes to the number of bins in the worksheet. 
7. Set the bin method:
   1. 1. For numeric bins: change the Method to "Equal number." The classes should be listed as 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, etc.
      2. For text bins: change the Method to "Name". The classes should list the text from the column.
8. To change the color, style, or size associated with any of the symbol, double-click on the class name in the Class Name column. The Properties dialog will appear.
9. To change all classes at once, click the Symbol sizes... or Classes symbol... buttons.
10. When all classes show the correct symbol, color, and size, click OK. The plot will update each class with the symbol you selected.

Assign different symbols to a single class

Filter the data for an individual class by applying different sizes, colors, and symbols to a single variable. This method works for text and numeric class variables.

The steps below assume that your XY coordinates are in columns A and B and your class criteria is in column C.

1. Click the Home | New Graph | Class/Bubble | Class Scatter Plot () command.
2. Select the worksheet and click Open.
3. Click on the Scatter Plot in the Object Manager.
4. In the Property Manager, click on the Plot tab.
5. In the Class variable field, click None and select Column C: Class from the dropdown menu. All points with a bin value in Column C are displayed.
6. Click the Edit button next to Classes.
7. In the Edit Classes dialog, double-click to select your bin.
8. Change the symbol or symbol set for the bin. Click OK. Repeat this process for each class.
9. When you are finished in the Edit Classes dialog, click OK. Your plot will update to reflect the changes.

Assign one symbol style and size for a single class

The steps below assume that your XY coordinates are in columns A and B and your class criteria is in column C. Note that the class criteria must be numeric for this method to work correctly.

1. Click the Home | New Graph | Class/Bubble | Class Scatter Plot () command.
2. Select the worksheet and click Open.
3. Click on the Scatter Plot in the Object Manager.
4. In the Property Manager, click on the Plot tab.
5. Change the Class variable to the worksheet column which contains your class values. To determine the worksheet value to enter for a particular symbol, click the Edit button next to Classes.
6. Click Symbol sizes in the Edit Classes dialog.
7. Set the default symbol size for all symbols and click OK.
8. In the Edit Classes dialog, click the Classes symbol button.
9. Set the default symbol shape/style for all class symbols and click OK.
10. Click OK in the Edit Classes dialog. Your graph symbols will update.

Updated May 2023