Guide to legends in Grapher

Legends are a crucial element in scientific graphs, providing a visual key to understanding the data presented. A well-crafted legend clarifies which data series corresponds to which lines, symbols, or colors, ensuring that your graph is clear and easy to read. This guide will explain how to effectively use and customize legends in Grapher, enabling you to create professional and informative visualizations of your scientific data.

Understanding legends in Grapher

Graph Legends

A graph legend displays information about each plot in a single graph (including the slices in pie or doughnut charts).  This legend type is recommended for any project where a single graph includes several elements that needs to be defined and does not include a specialized class, bubble, or wind chart.

A graph legend details the data each plot represents in this Grapher graph

To add a legend to your graph:

1. Click on the Graph or any plot in the graph to select it.
2. Click the Graph Tools | Add to Graph | Graph Legend command.
3. A default legend displaying all plots is added to the graph.

Multi-graph Legend

A multi-graph legend displays information about all plots in all graphs on one page.  This graph type is recommended for projects where multiple simple graphs are used to illustrate a single story.  Similar to a graph legend, this legend does not provide enough detail for specialized class, bubble, and wind charts.

A multi-graph legend links each line style to a variable in this collection of Grapher line plots

To add a multi-graph legend to your project click Graph Tools | Add to Graph | Multi-Graph Legend.

Plot Legend

A plot legend is a specialized legend used to display information about lines, fills, and symbols used in classes, bins, and slices for a single plot.  The data used to create these classes, bins, and slices is often an additional variable that is not linked to the axes and therefore must be explained with a legend.

Plot legends are available for bubble, class, pie, doughnut, and wind charts or plots using a color or symbol table.  

A bubble plot legend illustrates the relationship between bubble size and spot price value in this Grapher bubble plot

To create a bubble, class, chart slice, or wind chart plot legend:

1. Select a single bubble, class scatter, pie/doughnut, or wind chart plot.
2. Click Graph Tools | Add to Graph | Plot Legend command.

Color table and symbol table legends

Plot legends are also needed when you use a color table or symbol table to add custom details to your plot.  The color table and symbol table are not linked to specific data so each legend entry must be defined manually.

A color table legend defines the value associated with each color in a Grapher box plot

To add a color table legend to your graph:

1. Select a bar chart that is using a color table for fill colors.
2. On the Fill page in the Property Manager, select the Show color table legend option. A Fill Table Legend is added.
3. Click the Fill Table Legend in the Object Manager to select it.
4. Click the Entries tab in the Property Manager.
5. Under Individual Entries, click in the Entry field to select the entry you want to name
6. Enter the desired name in the Text field.
7. Repeat steps 5 & 6 until all entries are named as desired.

To create a symbol table legend,

1. Select a plot that is using a symbol table for setting symbol style and colors.
2. On the Symbol page in the Property Manager, select the Show symbol table legend option. A Symbol Table Legend is added.
3. Click the Symbol Table Legend in the Object Manager to select it.
4. Click the Entries tab in the Property Manager.
5. Under Individual Entries, click in the Entry field to select the entry you want to name.
6. Enter the desired name in the Text field.
7. Repeat steps 5 & 6 until all entries are named as desired.

Color Scale

A color scale is a specialized type of legend that displays the values associated with colors applied to a contour or surface map.