Custom Plots

The Custom Plots page is used to create custom graphs from saved datasets. These custom plots can overlay multiple datasets on one graph frame, and also include multi-panel graphs. Data sets can be saved from time series plots by clicking the 'Save Dataset' button for one or more sampling locations. Then click on the 'Custom Plots' button to begin with custom graphing. Click on the 'View Saved Datasets' button to view a list of your saved datasets.

Custom plots of saved datasets are currently available only for time series data. This option allows the user to create graphs with a specified X-axis, Y-axis, and data sets in one to six frames.

1. Edit Datasets and their plot attributes

The first section shows a list of the saved datasets. Options in this section are to remove a dataset from the list, and to modify the plot attributes of a dataset, such as marker symbol and color.

Figure 1. List of datasets with options to change their plot attributes.

Click on the 'Attributes' link to view the plot attributes and legend label for a data set. You can modify the marker type, size, and color; the line connecting the data points, and the label for the dataset that appears in the legend of the plot. You can click on the 'Attributes' link of another dataset at any time.

Click on the 'x' symbol

to remove a dataset from the list.

2. Select datasets, Y axis scaling and title for each plot frame

The Y Axis section is used to select which data sets will be shown in a plot frame. Up to 6 plot frames can be shown on the plot, and any number of datasets can be shown in each frame.

Figure 2. Select datasets to use for each plot frame, and the Y axis limits.

Check the boxes next to the dataset that you want to plot in the frame. For additional frames, click on the 'Add Plot Frame' link. You will then see another frame tab identical to the first one. Check the boxes of the datasets to plot in the new frame. Continue this process for up to 6 frames.

For each frame tab, you can also specify the scaling of the Y axis. You can choose either Auto scaling, or specify the range manually. Specify the minimum and maximum values for the axis, the step size where axis labels will go, and the number of minor ticks that will be drawn between each step.

3. Select X Axis Scaling and Title

The X Axis section is used to set the time range of the frames in the plot.

Figure 3. Select the X axis limits. The same limits are applied to every plot frame.

All frames in the plot will have the same X axis scale. You can choose either Auto scaling, or specify the range manually. Specify the minimum and maximum values for the axis, the step size where axis labels will go, and the number of minor ticks that will be drawn between each step.

4. Select Options

The Options section is used to set additional options for the plot, such as showing grids and legends, and adjusting the size and color of the plot page.

Figure 4. Additional options for the custom plot.

Enter values into the text boxes for the options. For the width and height of the plot, enter an integer value in pixels (approximately 100 pixels per inch). For colors, enter a valid hexadecimal rgb code, (e.g. "#ff0000", is red) or select a color by clicking on the color icon

. You can also add text to be displayed at the top of the plot for the title.

5. Press 'Submit' button to create your plot.

The last section just has a button for creation of the plot. Once the 'Submit' button is pressed, the desired plot will be created and shown. This may take several moments to create. A PDF copy of the custom plot is also made, and can be seen by clicking on the 'PDF Version' link.

Figure 5. Click on the 'Submit' button to create the custom plot.

Here is an example of a custom plot, two frames, each with one dataset. The top frame show CO₂ data from Mauna Loa, Hawaii, and the bottom frame shows CH₄ data from Barrow, Alaska.