Data table disappeared

[srkochParticipant]

How do I get it back????  At the bottom of the data table is a small icon that says “Swap places with the command list.”  I did this, the data table disappeared, and I cannot figure out how to get it to reappear.  I have over 40 columns and it took a long time to assemble.  The definitions are still there.  I can’t get a graph window to appear, either.  What is going on here?

[dgteamModerator]

 

The sliding bars may have gone too far to the right, so you don’t see the graph or the data table.

If you hover on the right side of the interface you should see a small arrow that you can click and drag the bar back out.  I found this is much easier to do when you are in full screen mode, otherwise it sometimes just make the entire DataGraph interface smaller instead of moving the bar.

If the views are swapped, it can also happen that the data is behind the graph.  Here the down arrow on the curser is circled.

When you drag down, the data is shown again.  To swap the commands and data again, click the swap icon.

Does that fix your problem?

 

[srkochParticipant]

Ok, I found the sliding bar.  The data table is back.  There is, however, no arrow that’s permanently visible, and I think it should be.  I had to slide the cursor down the edge of the window until the left pointing arrow appeared.  However, I have 49 columns and they got compressed on the right.  When trying to expand them I ended up deleting a column or two.  It seems to me the scroll bar on the bottom should scroll all the way to the right side of the table without changing the column width.  I have cataracts and presbyopia, so aiming the cursor so precisely is rather difficult, and requires too much precision.

[dgteamModerator]

We played around with what happens when you have a lot of columns and have a couple of suggestions that may help.

First, nothing should be deleted (unless you hit the delete key) but we wonder if any columns got so narrow they are hard to see.

If the columns are still in the list view, you can click the Show button to highlight the column.

Note that on this screen shot we made the width large enough to see one digit, but in actuality they can be even smaller.

If you wanted to increase the width you have to click and drag to the right of the column header.  When you have columns all the way to the right this is hard to do.

A tip for now would be to add a blank column to the right (circled in orange in the list) and then you have room to grow the narrow columns.

To the extent is makes sense, adding Columns Groups to your table can make it much easier to organize and navigate data.  You also might consider a flattened data format (less columns more rows):  How to Flatten Data

I am unsure about the arrow you suggested be permanently visible.  You mean the arrow to expand back out the data table? On my screen, I see this any time I move my cursor to the right side.

You noted that the scroll bar on the bottom should scroll all the way to the right side of the table without changing the column width. Do you mean the scroll bar at the bottom of the table.  I am not sure what is happening here since it should not do that.

Out of curiosity, are you using a mouse or a key pad?  I am using a key pad and maybe that is the difference.

A couple of things we are thinking about — one is to have a swap icon in the toolbar, so you can easily swap back and forth.  That may have prevented the problem with loosing the data table view in the first place.

The other is increasing the minimum width on the columns and adding a buffer to the right for when you have a lot of columns in view.

 

[srkochParticipant]

I did try having a blank column, and I was better able to work on the right end of the column.  However, some columns in the middle became compressed.  I am using a trackpad to move the cursor.

I did try flattening the data, two unexpected things happened.  On the plot are straight lines connecting the y values of the 1st and last x.  In addition, as I look from the top to the bottom of the integration of the flattened table, I get increasing numbers of negative values in each group for the results of the integration.  I can’t imagine how that would happen.  That is why I am doing each member of each group separately, and will generate a separate bar graph with the results of the integration, probably in a new file.  That is why the table has so many columns.

[jordanParticipant]

A couple of suggestions that may help you. Remember that Datagraph is not MS Excel, while it may look like a spreadsheet program, it really is better to consider more like a database/plotting software. As such there are better ways to manipulate your data that directly in the table. I think it works better if you mostly work with the definitions list. You can do many of your manipulations there as well as hide and show what columns are in the table. You should very rarely, if ever,  have all 50 of your columns visible at once, because you are almost certainly never working on all of them at once. I would take the time to organize your definitions with groups so it is easy to show/hide those groups at the same time.

To the dgteam: I think that having a option to make all the columns the same width or a “fit” option to make the columns as wide as the definition title may help with this sort of UI issue.

[srkochParticipant]

I have never worked with database software, so I have no such background that might help.  I have only been successful if I can flatten the data, but for reasons I can’t determine, the command from the menu is sometimes colored grey, so the command can’t always be used.  Looking at the area under the curve example, getting that integral looks complicated.  DataGraph has cost an enormous amount of time with not enough payoff, and I can’t spend any more.  I probably won’t purchase it and it would be difficult to recommend it.  Despite this, I still recognize and acknowledge your helpfulness.

[dgteamModerator]

FYI — You have to hide any columns from the data table are not part of the flattened data you want out.  For example, if you have any expression column shown, the menu option will not be available.   It’s most helpful if you post a screenshot, then I’m sure we could help.

If you don’t want to share data or screen shots on-line, you are welcome to email us (help@visualdatatools.com).  Then you can share a file or an example that you are working with.  We are very responsive to offering help.

If you check out the YouTube channel – that is often a good way to learn the program.

https://www.youtube.com/datagraph

 

 

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