Creating chart attributes

A chart attribute is attached to a field of an entity or link type and can be used to provide a value from the field in a form suitable for use in a chart. You can create a new chart attribute or edit an existing one using the Chart Attribute dialog.

About this task

A chart attribute can include, in this order, any combination of:

  • a symbol

  • prefix text

  • the value of the field

  • suffix text

You can also set other configuration options that allow you to specify how attributes behave during merge or paste operations on a chart.

Once you have created a chart attribute, you must use that attribute in the definition of one or more fields before the attribute becomes available to Analyst's Notebook.

The use of chart attributes also depends on the user's settings in iBase, including the Charting page of the Options dialog and the definition of charting schemes.

The final choice of how iBase data appears in a chart depends on user settings in Analyst's Notebook.

Procedure

  1. Select New > Chart Attribute.

  2. Enter a name for the chart attribute in the Name box. You must name each chart attribute. The maximum length of a name is 50 characters.

  3. From the Type list, select the type of chart attribute. The available types are: Flag, Numeric, Text, and Time.

  4. In the Display area of the dialog, use the controls to construct and format the attribute. The box at lower right of this area displays a preview of the attribute using example field values.

  5. Turn on the Symbol checkbox to include a symbol as part of the attribute, click Browse and select a symbol from the palette.

  6. Turn on the Prefix checkbox to place a short piece of text after any symbol and in front of the attribute value. Type a short description in the text box. End the description with a space character if you want to separate the description from following parts of the attribute.

  7. Turn on the Suffix checkbox to place a short piece of text after all other parts of the attribute. Type a short description in the text box. Start with a space character if you want to separate the description from earlier parts of the attribute.

  8. Turn on the Show On Chart checkbox to have Analyst's Notebook display the attribute by default. The user can choose to override this setting on a case by case basis within iBase or Analyst's Notebook.

  9. Turn on the Value checkbox to include the value of the associated field as part of the attribute.

The remainder of the Display area depends on the type of attribute being defined. It may be empty or contain formatting controls such as the displayed number of decimal places for Numeric attributes, or the date or time parts of Time attributes.

  1. In the Behavior area, select options from the lists to define the attribute value that is the result of pasting or merging attributes when working in Analyst's Notebook. The operations are:

    • On Paste select what happens when users paste the entity or link.

    • On Merge select what happens when users merge the entity or link.

  2. Click OK to save the chart attribute.