Link the position of an axis to the length of another axis

If you're early on in your graph creation and you have multiple linked axes, it helps to be able to link them together dynamically. This way, if you later change the length of one axis, the position of the linked axes stays the same relative to that original axis.

Grapher's previous versions added powerful axis linking options, but up until now, the position linking was done with a static offset in page units. With this latest release though, Grapher enables you to dynamically link the position of one axis to the top, bottom, left, or right of the linked axis, in addition to the custom option to set a specific distance in page units.

1. Select the secondary axis that will be linked to another axis.
2. Click on the Link Axis page in the Property Manager.
3. Set the Link axis to the axis that this one will be linked to.
4. Check any boxes that you want enabled in the Limits/Spacing section.
5. Check the Link X position and/or Link Y position checkboxes in the Length/Position section.
6. When those position checkboxes are checked, the X position and/or Y position fields will become editable. Choose the desired option from the list. Depending on what type of axis is selected and what type of axis it is linked to, the options will change. Generally, the options are:
   • X position
     • Left of the link axis- Fully to the left of the link axis. If this is an X axis linked to another X axis, this ends at the start of the linked X axis.
     • Right of the link axis - Fully to the right of the link axis. If this is an X axis linked to another X axis, this starts at the end of the linked X axis.
     • Custom - The default position is whatever the previous predefined position was. You can define the X offset in page units to get a specific X position.
     • None - This is only available for an X axis linked to another X axis. Both axes start at the same place, so they overlap.
   • Y position
     • Top of link axis - Fully above the link axis. If this is a Y axis linked to another Y axis, this starts at the end of the linked Y axis.
     • Bottom of link axis - Fully below the link axis. If this is a Y axis linked to another Y axis, this ends at the start of the linked Y axis.
     • Custom - The default position is whatever the previous predefined position was. You can define the Y offset in page units to get a specific Y position.
     • None - This is only available for a Y axis linked to another Y axis. Both axes start at the same place, so they overlap.
7. Now you can change the length of the original axis and the axis that is linked to it will change position accordingly.

A Y axis's position can be linked to another Y axis so it always appears on top of that Y axis, regardless of that axis's length.

Updated March 2023