Multiscapes

In this section:

Multiscapes provide a visual representation of the interaction or relationship between two or more associated data fields by plotting one variable on the X-axis and one or more variables on the Y-axis. Multiscapes are a very effective means for understanding large bar charts with multiple categories, and are typically used to compare objects based on several attributes at the same time.

With WebFOCUS Visual Discovery, you can generate two-dimensional or three-dimensional multiscapes to rapidly find patterns between sets of statistics characterizing an object. These multiscapes can accommodate scenarios with hundreds of bars along each axis, and you can touch any individual bar to highlight its categories, sweep across a range of bars to see detail, or interactively isolate groups of bars by choosing other attributes.

Other features include:


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Creating a Multiscape

How to:

Reference:

Multiscapes are available in:

A multiscape is useful when you want to examine the relationship between two or more variables of any type. Using the default Weight By value to size the glyphs, you can easily discover the variables that are most frequently associated with each other in the data records (that is, are most strongly related) by finding the largest glyphs. By changing the Weight By variable, you can change the size of the multiscape glyphs to represent the value of a third variable from the data set. This enables you to compare three variables at once in a 2D display.



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Procedure: How to Reorder a Multiscape
  1. In the Properties dialog box, click the Multiscape tab.
  2. In the Row Order or Column Order field, select the desired row order and/or column order:
    • Original lists row or column labels based on the order in which the appear in the data source.
    • Name lists row or column labels on the associated axis alphabetically by name.
    • Count lists row or column labels on the associated axis by the count of the number of glyphs in each row or column (from highest to lowest).
    • Cluster lists row or column labels on the associated axis with categories of the same magnitude clustered together.
  3. Click Apply or OK.

Tip: From the pop-up menu, select Column Order or Row Order.



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Procedure: How to Change the Display Method and Select the Field to Weight By
  1. In the Properties dialog box, click the Multiscape tab.
  2. In the Display Method field, select the desired glyph shape:
    • Bubble. Items are shown as a circle, the size of which is determined by Weight By. In two dimensions, items are shown as circles or dots. Items in three dimensions appear as cylinders.
    • Block. Items are shown as a rectangle (depending on the shape of the window containing the graph). The size of the rectangle is determined by Weight By. Differences in the size of block glyphs (due to its weight) are shown by increased or decreased heights of the glyph. In two dimensions, items are shown as a small bar, rectangle, or square. Items in three dimensions appear as a box.
    • Side block. Is a set of two rectangles, side by side. The rectangle on the left (always colored gray) represents the total population of records represented by the glyph. The rectangle on the right represents the portion of the records represented by the glyphs that are selected. The size of the side block glyph (including both rectangles) is determined by Weight By. If the Show Unselected option is checked and a side block glyph is unselected, the glyph will be represented on the display by only the left, gray rectangle. The side block glyph is useful for comparing the population of total records compared to the selected records.
    • Spine plot. Spine plot is a bar whose width represents the number of cases and the comparative percentages of items in each case. Glyphs are rectangles, the size of which is determined by the Weight By variable. Differences in the size of glyphs (due to its weight) are shown by the increased or decreased width of the glyph. In 3D, glyphs are boxes.
    • 3D Surface. Displays the glyph as a pyramid, the height of which is determined by Weight By. This option is available only after 3D Display is selected.
  3. From the Weight By drop-down list, select the field you want to weight the shapes by.

    By default, the Weight By value is set to <none>. The default size of the multiscape glyphs is proportional to the number of data records represented by the glyph.

  4. Click Apply or OK.

Tip: From the pop-up menu select Display As.



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Procedure: How to Color a Multiscape By Size
  1. In the Properties dialog box, click the Multiscape tab.
  2. Click Color By Size:

    The glyphs in the multiscape are immediately recolored so that each glyph with the same height is the same color. The color scale used for the coloring is the default scale unless another scale is set on the Colors tab. The size of the glyphs is determined by the Weight By value.

  3. Click Apply.

    Note:

    • To change the color of the multiscape glyphs to encode any other value besides the size of the glyph, use the field in the Color Using Field section of the Colors tab.
    • If two y-variables are selected, you are not able to color by the size.
    • If you apply a different color scale to the graph, you need to press the Color By Size button again to use the new scale for this coloring.
    • To restore the original coloring, go to the Colors tab. In the Color Using Field section, select none and press Apply or OK.


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Reference: Multiscape Tab

Row Order

Reorders the rows in a multiscape. See How to Reorder a Multiscape.

Display Method

Changes the display method. See How to Change the Display Method and Select the Field to Weight By.

Color By Size

Recolors the graph so that each glyph with the same height is the same color. This lets you easily identify glyphs that have common values.

The Color Scale used for the coloring is the default scale unless another scale is set on the Colors tab. See How to Color a Multiscape By Size.

Column Order

Reorders the columns in a multiscape. See How to Reorder a Multiscape.

Weight By

Is the variable (data field) for the option selected in the Display Method field. See How to Change the Display Method and Select the Field to Weight By.

Sum positive & negative weights

Adds negative and positive weights together (creates two values, the sum of all negative weights and the some of all positive weights, shown in one glyph). When this is not selected, the negative and positive values are added together in one value. For example, if the negative and positive weights are added separately and the values are –8, –7, 5, and 10, the glyph shows a value of –15, + 15, and the glyph spans from –15 to + 15. When negative and positive weights are added together, the value is 0 and the glyph rests on 0.

Show grid for rows/columns

Displays a grid.

Show Unselected

Shows unselected data in gray. If Show Unselected is not checked, unselected data is omitted from the display.

To add unselected data, either turn on Show Unselected in the Properties dialog box, or use the right mouse button menu in the view and choose Select All.

In 3D graphs, Show Unselected must be turned on in the initial visualization component if you want to make unselected items transparent.

3D Display

Displays glyphs in three dimensions. This must be selected for the 3D Surface option to become available.



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Reference: Multiscape Pop-up Menu

The pop-up menu appears when you right-click a Visual Discovery component in the analytical dashboard. These options do not appear when you are developing a component in the HTML Composer.

Show grid

Displays a grid.

Display as

Changes the appearance of the glyphs. Options are Bubble, Block, Side Block, SpinePlot, and 3D Surface.

Column order

Specifies the order in which items are presented. Options are Original, Name, Count, and Cluster.

Row order

Specifies the order in which items are presented in rows. Options are Original, Name, Count, and Cluster.

Show unselected

Shows unselected data in gray. If Show Unselected is not checked, unselected data is omitted from the display.

To add unselected data, either turn on Show Unselected in the Properties dialog box, or use the right mouse button menu in the view and choose Select All.

Shift + CTRL + RMB

Enables you to use the mouse (RMB, which is the Right Mouse Button) with the Shift and Ctrl key to Zoom, Rotate XY (rotate the X and Y axes), or Rotate Z (rotate the Z axis).

This option is only available for 3D multiscapes.

Undo

Reverses the previous action. You may repeatedly undo actions retained in the history file for your current session by selecting Undo over and over again. A description of the previous action appears on the pop-up menu. If you have performed no action, there is nothing to undo and so Undo is not available for selection and no action appears to the right of the word Undo.

Redo

Restores the previous undo action. If you have performed no action, there is nothing to Redo and so Redo is not available for selection and no action appears to the right of the word Redo.

Select All

Selects all of the items in the graph. When you choose Select All, any previous selections are ignored. Selection state returns to the original setting.

Unselect All

When selected, all of the items become unselected. All items appear in the unselected color (gray, by default) or are hidden in the graph (if hide unselected is active).

Toggle All

Reverses the selection state of items. Selected items become unselected and unselected items become selected.

Exclude Unselected

Excludes (temporarily removes) items from the graph.

Restore Excluded

Restores the items you excluded. If you accidentally excluded the unselected, this menu option restores those excluded items.

Save Image

Enables you to save the graph to a GIF or JPEG file.

Copy Image

Enables you to copy the selected component and paste it to another file.

Properties

Takes you to the collection of tabs available for the respective visualization component. Common tabs include Data, Selecting, and Colors.


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Creating a 3D Multiscape

How to:

Reference:

In a 3D graph, some trends or other information might appear that you might not have considered on a 2D graph. 3D graphs are helpful when you want to look at different aspects, attributes, or characteristics of one data item at the same time.

One thing to be aware of when using a 3D multiscape is perspective. At times an object in the foreground may appear larger than objects in the background. If you are comparing the relative size of objects, perspective could lead you to believe objects in the back of a graph are smaller than objects in the front of a graph, when, in fact, they are equal. You can avoid this by choosing the Parallel option in the 3D tab, which presents glyphs more accurately.

From the 3D tab you can also control the color or transparency of unselected glyphs (to gray or color), the background walls for the graph, and the size of the X, Y, or Z axis.



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Procedure: How to Create a 3D Multiscape
  1. Click the Multiscape tab in the Properties dialog box.
  2. Select the 3D Display option.
  3. Change the Display Method, if necessary.
  4. Click the 3D tab to customize your 3D multiscape. For details on the available options, see 3D Tab.
  5. Click Apply after you have made your changes.


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Reference: 3D Tab

Projection
Perspective

Displays glyphs in the foreground slightly larger than the glyphs in the background, which produces the expected illusion of perspective. This is the default.

Parallel

Glyphs are not changed to give the illusion of perspective. For this reason, the glyphs may give a more accurate representation of the data.

Unselected Drawing
Gray

Displays unselected items in gray, so it appears as if they fade from view. The Gray color scale uses shades of black and white to show differences or similarities between/among items.

Colored

Displays unselected items in a color.

Transparency

Displays unselected items as transparent compared to the selected items. You can adjust the degree of transparency by moving the slider to the right or left.

Drawing Precision

Indicates how accurately the graph is rendered. Because the basic unit of drawing (pixel) is square, the accuracy of the drawing depends on how many pixels are used to draw a graph. Select High, Medium, or Low drawing precision.

Note that the High option, while more accurate, takes longer to render.

Mouse + Keys do...

Enables you to use the mouse and various keystrokes to add functionality to a 3D graph. You can use keystrokes and the mouse to pan, zoom, rotate, select, show field level help, and turn continuous indicate on.

Back walls

Displays background walls on the graph.

Axis Range (immediate effect)

Adjusts the length of the X, Y, or Z-axis. Move the slider to the right to make the axis longer, more the slider to the left to make the axis shorter. By default, the axes are medium length.


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