Multiscape

A Multiscape is like a 2D or 3D Bar Chart. It shows which combinations of categories from two different fields occur in a table, as well as the distribution of rows or other weighting measures between the various combined categories. Learn about each Multiscape feature below:

Viewpoint: manage your viewpoint on the data.

Pan, zoom, and rotate the chart display in 3D to get the viewpoint that you want, using the Chart Toolbar adjustment buttons.
Mouse: Drag with Middle Mouse Button (hold down the wheel button) to pan; hold down SHIFT and drag up/down with Middle Mouse Button to zoom; hold down CTRL and drag with Right Mouse Button to rotate around X and Y axes; then release CTRL and hold down SHIFT, and drag right/left (with RMB) to rotate around Z axis.
Keyboard: "Home" returns to default orientation; "End" orients viewpoint from the top; arrow keys show side views.

Aggregation: choose what bar height represents.

Heights of the bars can represent the number of rows in each of the combined categories, or they can be computed as the sum of a numeric weight field, or as the average value of a weight field, or as the ratio or 2 fields.
In Average mode, "error bars" are drawn at one standard deviation above the bars to indicate the amount of variation in the weight values for each combined category.
From: Chart Toolbar "Configure Data".

Colors: color your chart.

If the table shown in the Multiscape is colored by a different field than the X and Y categorical fields, the bars are shown with "stacked" colors that indicate the subsets of each combined category with corresponding color field categories. This adds a dimension of potential correlation to the chart.
Color stacking is not shown for Average and Ratio aggregation modes, and the bars are shown in the default selected color.

Bar order: what order are rows/columns in?

You can choose how the columns of categories are ordered along the X axis, or the rows along the Y axis: in Original Order (the order they were encountered in the input file), By Label, or By Size. Original Order is typically only useful if the input data is in an interesting order.
Shorter bars in a Multiscape may be hidden by taller bars in front of them; order both rows and columns By Size to insure that the tallest bars are in the back corner, so all bars are visible.
Note that in the Home/initial orientation, the labeled axis extending to the right and down from the labeled vertical (Z) axis is considered the "X" axis, and the "rows" are parallel to it; and the axis extending up and to the right from the right end of the X axis is considered the "Y" axis, and the "columns" are parallel to it.
From: Chart Toolbar "Set Display Order"; Advanced Properties "Column Order", "Row Order"

Glyph styles: how are the glyphs for category combinations drawn?

Different styles for drawing each glyph in a cell are available:
Style
3D Representation
3D Surface
Surface connecting selected heights of combined categories. Unselected data is not represented, and the surface may not be selected.
3D Spine Plot
Constant height; width and depth proportional to weight. May be used to compare selected subset, as in Pie Chart or spine plot mode in Bar Chart.
Selected/Unselected Blocks
Full population as prism in unselected color; selected as separate adjacent prism in selected color.
Blocks
Rectangular prism
Cylinders
Circular cylinder (default)
From: Advanced Property "Display Mode".

Grid display: draw grid?

A reference grid is always drawn on the groundplane.
This toggles a height-reference grid on the back walls.
From: Advanced Property "Show Grid".

Show Unselected: are Unselected bars or partial bars drawn?

By default, bars are drawn for all categories that occur, even ones that are partially or entirely Unselected.
When this property is turned off, no gray bars or partial bars are drawn.
From: Chart Toolbar "Display Unselected Data"; Advanced Property "Show Unselected".

Negatives: how are negative numbers treated?

Negative weights can cause bars to be drawn below the base plane.
Negatives can be treated in 2 ways: separately aggregated or "Pooled".
By default, negative weight values are aggregated and displayed separately, so both positive and negative bars can be draw for a category.
When Pool Weights is turned on, only one bar is drawn per category, with a height that corresponds to the net weight for the category.
From: Advanced Property "Pool Weights".

Customizable Focus: what is this item?

You can focus on a bar by pointing at it for a second; a detailed description pops up. (Holding the SHIFT key causes the focus details to show immediately.) Focusing on a data point in a non-aggregated chart like a Data Sheet or Scatterplot will also cause details to be displayed in a Multiscape.
From: Advanced Property "Focus Format String".

3D rendering: control 3D rendering.

Unselected items can be drawn as transparent rather than opaque.
Contrasting back walls may be drawn or not.
The range of the X, Y, or Z axes may be extended.
3D rendering may use Parallel or Perspective Projection.
Chart Toolbar buttons enable adjusting 3D rendering with simple mouse gestures.
From: Chart Toolbar "Adjust Range", "Mouse affects Chart"; Advanced Properties "Transparent Unselected", "Display Backwalls", "Projection".

2D rendering (Also known as Segment Map.): control 2D rendering.

Contrasting back walls may be drawn or not.
The range of the X, Y, or Z axes may be extended.
2D rendering may use Parallel or Perspective Projection.
Chart Toolbar buttons enable adjusting 2D rendering with simple mouse gestures.
From: Chart Toolbar "Adjust Range", "Mouse affects Chart"; Advanced Properties "Display Backwalls", "Projection".

Title and labels: manage text.

You can select the font to use for axis text and titles, set the labels for each axis, and set a title and control whether the title is visible.
From: Chart Toolbar "Edit Chart Titles..."; Advanced Properties "Axis Font", "Display Title", Label Font", "Title", "X Axis Text", "Y Axis Text".

Last updated 4 years ago