Comments on: Pie Chart Plotting Deficiency http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/pie-chart-plotting-deficiency/ Peltier Tech Excel Charts and Programming Blog Wed, 23 May 2012 03:01:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: Jon Peltier http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/pie-chart-plotting-deficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-17061 Jon Peltier Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:30:17 +0000 http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/?p=1311#comment-17061 Dale - I don't understand your point. A pie chart leads to the assumption that all relevant data comprising the "whole" is included. A bar chart does not. It's not a feature or bug in the chart, it's how the chart maker populated the chart. In a pie chart, this usage is negligence by the chart maker. Dale -

I don’t understand your point. A pie chart leads to the assumption that all relevant data comprising the “whole” is included. A bar chart does not. It’s not a feature or bug in the chart, it’s how the chart maker populated the chart. In a pie chart, this usage is negligence by the chart maker.

]]> By: DaleW http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/pie-chart-plotting-deficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-17059 DaleW Sun, 02 Aug 2009 20:49:09 +0000 http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/?p=1311#comment-17059 Jon, to paraphrase your original post, you are pointing out that the Windows Team did not live up to the higher standards of a pie chart (all slices must sum to 100%), but their data would have made a perfectly legitimate bar chart, and anyone who went to the trouble of adding up percentages to find the discrepancy could have been told it was just a feature of their bar chart, not a bug? Jon, to paraphrase your original post, you are pointing out that the Windows Team did not live up to the higher standards of a pie chart (all slices must sum to 100%), but their data would have made a perfectly legitimate bar chart, and anyone who went to the trouble of adding up percentages to find the discrepancy could have been told it was just a feature of their bar chart, not a bug?

]]> By: Alex J http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/pie-chart-plotting-deficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-8300 Alex J Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:27:00 +0000 http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/?p=1311#comment-8300 To support your approach for "other" - this is how I managed the data set given to me: <p align="center"><img src="http://peltiertech.com/images/2009-01/AlexJchart.jpg" /></p> There is an item called "torDWG" which, in the legend, is listed as "OTHER DRAWINGS". This is a category. There is another item called "OthType", which covers the ~150 items in 29 categories not listed on the chart. To support your approach for “other” – this is how I managed the data set given to me:

There is an item called “torDWG” which, in the legend, is listed as “OTHER DRAWINGS”. This is a category.

There is another item called “OthType”, which covers the ~150 items in 29 categories not listed on the chart.

]]> By: Jon Peltier http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/pie-chart-plotting-deficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-8281 Jon Peltier Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:15:12 +0000 http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/?p=1311#comment-8281 Alex - It bothers me when Other is listed between N and P, or in numerical sequence in a sorted list, because Other is not a regular category like the rest. I even debated using a different shade of green for the Other bar in my charts, but you can see that laziness won out. Alex -

It bothers me when Other is listed between N and P, or in numerical sequence in a sorted list, because Other is not a regular category like the rest. I even debated using a different shade of green for the Other bar in my charts, but you can see that laziness won out.

]]> By: Alex J http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/pie-chart-plotting-deficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-8279 Alex J Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:55:38 +0000 http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/?p=1311#comment-8279 Jon, thanks for the reply - I'll use that. BTW, I really like the idea of displaying "Other", regardless of its amplitude, as the last bar on the graph. I make use of that when "Other" is not a category per se, but a collection of the values from all other items in all other categories not already displayed on the chart. (oops - kind of like the difference between an "array of variants" and a "variant array". oh well...) Jon, thanks for the reply – I’ll use that.

BTW, I really like the idea of displaying “Other”, regardless of its amplitude, as the last bar on the graph. I make use of that when “Other” is not a category per se, but a collection of the values from all other items in all other categories not already displayed on the chart.

(oops – kind of like the difference between an “array of variants” and a “variant array”. oh well…)

]]> By: Jon Peltier http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/pie-chart-plotting-deficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-8264 Jon Peltier Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:45:57 +0000 http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/?p=1311#comment-8264 You could also make a floating bar chart to show this. Here's the data: <p align="center"><img src="http://peltiertech.com/images/2009-01/LaptopFloatingData.png" alt="Floating Chart Data"></p> Make a stacked bar chart, then hide the Blank series by removing borders and fill. <p align="center"><img src="http://peltiertech.com/images/2009-01/LaptopFloatingBar.png" alt="Floating Bar Chart"></p> You could also make a floating bar chart to show this. Here’s the data:

Floating Chart Data

Make a stacked bar chart, then hide the Blank series by removing borders and fill.

Floating Bar Chart

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