At 19:18 18/01/2021 -0500, Marianne Keating wrote:
I am using 4.4.7.2, under Windows 7, because it
seems more than adequate for my purposes, and I
am somewhat dismayed by the number of
regressions noted for later versions in the comments here.
It's probably unwise to use any out-of-date
software, which will not have been patched for
security flaws and so on. Try a later version, notwithstanding regressions.
Calc chart legends. What could be simpler, yet
more impossible? I have cracked this at sometime
in the past, as I have just one spreadsheet with
my own chart legend text in my choice of fonts,
but can see no way of regaining that control for
other charts in my armamentarium. If I
right-click a chart, I am presented with 15 options.
First, what you see in the context menu depends
on the current state of selection of the chart.
What you are describing is the context menu seen
when the chart is simply selected - so that it
shows the eight coloured handles.
One is marked Text, which seems promising, but
apparently deals with *positioning*, not content.
That's right: this deals with positioning of items generally.
The thing which it definitely lacks is any
ability to control the legend text contents, or font.
To do that, you need to select the chart first.
If I double left-click ...
And that's how you select the chart - so that it shows a grey border.
... and then right-click, I now have 9 options,
including one which will delete a legend,
(leaving me unsure of what happens if the chart has more than one legend).
No problem: the legend is what labels the various
data ranges, so charts have only one legend.
But, in any case, no control, beyond excision,
over the legend text or its font.
To format the legend, first select the legend -
so that *it* shows the eight coloured handles -
and then use Format Legend... from the context menu.
When I double left-click, I get an interesting
collection of mostly-graphic symbols at the bottom of my screen, ...
That's the Drawing toolbar.
One of these is a capital T in a dotted-line
box, which, when hovered-over, reads: Text
Box. Sounds promising, but what does it do, ...
It creates a (by default invisible) rectangular box to contain text.
... and how does one invoke whatever its action may be?
Click the "T" ("A" in the more recent version you
should be using!). Note that the cursor (when in
the chart) changes appearance. Drag the cursor to define the desired box.
None of these symbols can be dragged onto the
chart, and clicking them single or double,
left or right produces no obvious result of any kind.
First click; then drag in (not into) the chart.
They have interesting titles, and, if they did
anything, might be quite useful.
You give the distinct impression that you have
not read any of the documentation. Everything is
in "Adding drawing objects to charts" in Chapter
3, "Creating Charts and Graphs" of the Calc Guide.
My first question, then, is: /how do I gain
control over chart legend text & font?/
See above. (Though I think you may be asking not
about the chart legend but instead axis titles, or even a chart title.)
And a subsidiary wonderment: /why is it so hard to find this answer?/
It's not. Again it's all in "Legends" and
"Titles, subtitles, and axis names" in Chapter 3,
"Creating Charts and Graphs", of the Calc Guide.
From the on-line manual:
Two points here:
o I find it easier not to use on-line facilities
but instead to download the guides. If you choose
the PDF versions, you can display them locally
and easily search for what you require.
o I'm not at all sure why you choose to copy lots
of material from documentation in your message.
Surely this is what *you* should be reading, not anyone offering to help you?
To edit a chart legend:
1. Double-click on the chart. A gray border
appears around the chart and the menu bar now
contains commands for editing the objects in the chart.
2. Choose Format - Legend or double-click on the
legend. This opens the Legend dialog.
3. Choose from the available tabs to make modifications, then click OK.
This is no help, as the available tabs do
*not* allow editing the text or font.
You can change the font on the Font tab. You can
change the text by changing the contents of the
spreadsheet cells that you originally included
for this purpose. Alternatively you can use Data
Ranges... from the context menu to allow you to
change which cells are referenced.
From the on-line edition of the 4.1 Calc Guide we have, at ppg 88-89:
To add a legend to your chart:
[...]
To remove a legend from your chart:
[...]
Again, the user can add or remove, but not edit.
Well, just as advertised, then?!
Another dead-end source illuminates another Calc problem:
https://ask.libreoffice.org/en/question/...
There is no guarantee that answers on any forum -
or indeed here on the Users mailing list - will be valuable or correct!
How *exactly* can I add a 2nd Y axis and assign
different scale to it? Following the given
instruction to Double click on the chart, and
then Menu/Insert/Axis, or right-click
insert/delete axes leads to a menu which allows
up to 2 each Y, and 2 each X, axes, ...
Good: so tick Secondary axes | y-Axis.
... but shows no way to associate a set of
figures with the added axes. It must also be
possible to associate colours with the various
traces, but how to do that remains equally a mystery.
Not a mystery if you read the documentation!
Click on the relevant line or whatever in the
chart (not on a point) and select Format Data
Series... | Options | "Align Data Series to" from
the context menu. Colour is set on the Line tab of the same dialogue.
It is worth saying that charts can be quite
complicated, so you should expect first to obtain
and consult the documentation and then to spend
some time familiarising yourself with all the options.
I trust this helps.
Brian Barker
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