Several items here...

- In Excel, when one plots a chart containing a LOT of data with anything
other than a solid line, it is impossible to use any other format because the
line formatting restarts with EACH DATA POINT. Let's say I have 5 plots I
want on one graph. I have a black and white printer. I need to use symbols
to differentiate which one is which. But, because each plot has 1000 data
points, everything looks the same! It would be better if you could make the
line format be scaled according to, say, a percentage of the plot window
width.

* Dashed lines: the width of the dash is specified as a percentage of the
plot width--say 2%...that way you'd always see it, with 10 or 10,000 data
points.

* Symbols--allow symbols to be plotted as part of the line, rather than only
as data points.

- Also, the "Tools...Options...Chart Options" route required to change how
blank cells are interpreted on the chart ("interpolate", "gaps", or "zero")
should be part of the chart options or series options. The feature also
doesn't work with multiple data series in one chart. I had two plots on one
chart, and both possessed areas where data was missing. Individually, I was
able to make them interpolate between gaps. When combined, neither would. I
had to wade through 20,000 data points and delete the empty zones for it to
work.

- Add the ability to put the area under a curve in a scatterplot in as a
shaded region.

- Add the ability to do a "zoom plot"--this is where I make a chart, and
wish to examine one area of it in a breakout window in much higher detail.
This could be done through selecting a region to zoom in on, and then having
Excel insert a mini-chart into the existing chart.

- Add the ability to have items plotted that do not appear in the legend.

Thanks,
Christian

Christian -

See my comments inline. These are valid gripes, but for most there are techniques or
workarounds.

Several items here...

- In Excel, when one plots a chart containing a LOT of data with anything
other than a solid line, it is impossible to use any other format because the
line formatting restarts with EACH DATA POINT. Let's say I have 5 plots I
want on one graph. I have a black and white printer. I need to use symbols
to differentiate which one is which. But, because each plot has 1000 data
points, everything looks the same! It would be better if you could make the
line format be scaled according to, say, a percentage of the plot window
width.

* Dashed lines: the width of the dash is specified as a percentage of the
plot width--say 2%...that way you'd always see it, with 10 or 10,000 data
points.

Someone has posted code that uses a polygon shape to connect the points, hides the
points and connecting lines (no line, no marker), and allows somewhat better
formatting of the series, in that the formatting is not interrupted by the
intervening points. I can't find the post (the new Google news archive is a bear).
I'll try to look again later. It isn't a perfect solution, because once the polygon
is drawn, it does not update to reflect changing values or axis scales.

* Symbols--allow symbols to be plotted as part of the line, rather than only
as data points.

Not sure what you mean. Do you want to plot only every N points?

http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/P...?ID=209#jon024

- Also, the "Tools...Options...Chart Options" route required to change how
blank cells are interpreted on the chart ("interpolate", "gaps", or "zero")
should be part of the chart options or series options. The feature also
doesn't work with multiple data series in one chart. I had two plots on one
chart, and both possessed areas where data was missing. Individually, I was
able to make them interpolate between gaps. When combined, neither would. I
had to wade through 20,000 data points and delete the empty zones for it to
work.

Do the cells contain formulas that return ""? Well, "" is not a blank, so those
Tools-Options settings do not apply. Change the "" in the formulas to NA(), which
returns the #N/A error. It looks nasty, but is treated by the chart as a gap to be
interpolated over. Use conditional formatting to hide the errors:

http://contextures.com/xlCondFormat03.html#Errors

- Add the ability to put the area under a curve in a scatterplot in as a
shaded region.

http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/XYAreaChart.html

- Add the ability to do a "zoom plot"--this is where I make a chart, and
wish to examine one area of it in a breakout window in much higher detail.
This could be done through selecting a region to zoom in on, and then having
Excel insert a mini-chart into the existing chart.

Not a trivial task. I've done this kind of thing, but it goes well beyond the scope
of a newsgroup post.

- Add the ability to have items plotted that do not appear in the legend.

To remove an unwanted legend entry: select the legend, then select the text label
you want to hide (not the symbol!), then press Delete.

Thanks,
Christian