Reference Lines

 Previous  Terms  Next

TinkerPlots_logoV2-rgb

Reference Lines

You can add one or more reference lines to any kind of plot. You can use these to help you sight to an axis, mark a critical cutoff point, or call attention to a particular part of the graph or case. Here we describe how to add, move, split, and get rid of reference lines. For some purposes, you may find that dividers are more useful.

Add/Remove a Reference Line

To add a single reference line to a plot,

1.

In the upper plot toolbar, click one of the Ref. line buttons.
Reference line button

Using the buttons, you can add one vertical reference line and one horizontal reference line.

To add more than one reference line in the same direction,

1.

Click the small triangle to the right of the Ref. line buttons. This opens the Reference Line Options menu.

2.

Choose Add Vertical Line or Add Horizontal Line.

To remove a reference line,

1.

Click the Ref. line button to turn it off.

If you have several vertical reference lines, clicking the Ref. Vertical button will remove all of them. There isn't a way to remove them one at a time.

Reposition a Reference Line

You can reposition a reference line either by dragging its little square knob or by double clicking the square nob and entering a value in the dialog box.

Read Axis Values with a Reference Line

If you have a continuous numeric axis, a reference line will display its position along that axis above (or to the right of) the square knob. With categorical axes or binned numeric axes, no values are displayed above (or to the right of) a reference line.

TinkerPlotsHelp-1-043-051

Split and Unsplit Reference Lines

When you have a reference line that goes across two or more bin lines, you can split the reference line so that you can move reference lines independently in each bin.

TinkerPlotsHelp-1-043-052

To split a reference line,

1.

Click the small triangle to the right of the Ref. line buttons to open the Reference Line Options menu.

2.

Choose Split Reference Lines.

A check mark will now appear in the menu next to the Split Reference Lines option. To re-join the reference lines, choose Split Reference Lines again. The check mark (and split in the line) will go away.

Diagonal Reference Lines

To add a single diagonal reference line to a plot,

1.

In the upper plot toolbar, click on the small triangle to the right of the Ref. Line buttons. This opens the Reference Line Options menu.

2.

Choose Add Reference Line Diagonal.

 

To add additional diagonal reference lines, repeat steps one and two.

 

To remove a diagonal reference line to a plot,

1.

Select the diagonal line by clicking on it. The selected line will appear wider.

2.

With the line selected, choose Remove Reference Line Diagonal from the Reference Line Options menu.

 

Reposition a Diagonal Reference Line

There are three ways to reposition a diagonal line. Dragging the diagonal line by its middle keeps the slope the same but moves it up or down. Dragging by either end of the line changes the slope (rotates the line). The cursor you get when you are over the line changes to tell you which kind of drag you’re about to perform.

Equation of a Diagonal Reference Line

When you have a graph with fully-separated, numerical attributes on both axes, the equation of the diagonal line appears in the lower left of the plot. If you have a scatterplot with fairly linear data, you can use this line to hand fit a line of best fit.

You can change the form of the equation by choosing Preferences from the TinkerPlots menu and selecting among the two alternative forms in the dialog box.

TinkerPlots Help

© 2012 Clifford Konold and Craig D. Miller