Category: Chart elements

Language on chart

General setting

By default your charts is set to use your Windows’ language settings. You can change this under Presentation properties > Format > Language:

Language for automatic titles

This feature is available in Macrobond 1.29 and later.

We have introduced language settings which allows to use prepared in advance translations for our automatic titles. This feature is available only for English and Chinese.

Time, Scatter & Category charts

For Time charts, Scatter charts and Category charts you will find this feature under Presentation properties > Format > Language:

Please note this doesn’t work for charts after Scalar analysis.

Bar & Pie charts

For bar charts and Pie charts you will find this feature under Presentation properties > Under Chart elements:

Please note this doesn’t work for charts after Scalar analysis.

Workaround – Covering labels on x-axis

Sometimes you want custom label on x-axis. You can this with a little workaround described below.

Add Vertical line

Go to Chart annotations > Annotations and add vertical line anywhere on the chart.

Modify the line

Click on this line and:

  1. Set Position (for Time chart - date, for Category chart - #0, #1, #2 etc.).
  2.  Check Line > Between observations.
  3. Select Content > Axis value label: 'Show'.
  4. Check Custom style, go to Appearance > Color > […] and change 'Opacity %' to 0.

Modify label

Click on new label on chart and:

  1. Check Custom style, under Appearance > Orientation please select 'Horizontal'.
  2. Under Border > Border width please select 'None'.
  3. Apply other graphical changes if needed.

Paste in text

Double-click on label and type in new number, date or use Dynamic text.

Tooltip

This feature is available in Macrobond 1.28 and later.

Overview

This feature is available in Macrobond 1.28 and later.

Tooltip appears when you hover over any point. They contain information about point-in-time, description, value and (optional) title.

Color and style settings

All the colors and style settings can be controlled through Style sheet functionality. Go to Style sheet tab, assign new settings to tooltip, save style sheet and use it on your chart.

Note, currently Tooltips are available only for Time charts and Scatter charts.

Tooltip

on charts

Tooltips are available only for Time charts and Scatter charts. You can have different setting for each of chart type. 'Title' is the common title i.e., for a group of series like on Scatter chart.

on SVG

When using File > Export image > SVG for Time chart you have an option to enable 'Show data points values on hover'. This will allow to show Tooltip in exported SVG image.

For more information see Animated charts.

Recession bands (Fill range)

Overview

Fill range is a function that fills a segment of a chart with color, based on a defined range or sequence of dates. A fill range can be used to draw attention to a segment of the charted data. Alternatively, you can use the fill range function to create an additional layer of information like recession periods.

Available bands

Economy turning points - 1 in the series for all negative quarters and 0 for all positive quarters. It simply tracks when the economy switches from growth to decline and back again

Recession (shortening) - recession bands based on a business cycle data from other providers.

Recession (simplified) - recession (1 in the series) starts after two negative quarters in a row, with the first recession quarter being the first negative quarter. That means that once a recession has been confirmed by having two negative quarters in a row the 0 in the first negative quarter is overwritten with a 1. Growth (0 in the series) starts on the first positive quarter.

Recession - recession (1 in the series) starts after two negative quarters in a row, with the first recession quarter being the second negative quarter. Growth (0 in the series) starts after two positive quarters in a row, with the first growth quarter being the second positive quarter.

Systemic banking crisis (IMF) - 1 is used to mark when a crisis starts, and it is repeated through years until the end date, which we mark with 0. If a crisis starts and ends the same year, that year is marked with 1". Underlying data set was discontinued by the source.

Adding recession bands

To add recession bands (shading), right-click in a chart and choose Fill range. In the Fill range window, click on the Import button and choose the desired country or region. When clicking 'OK', the selected recession band (shade) will be imported and can be further customized. The recession bands will be displayed as vertical shades over the specified period

Creating and saving custom bands

To create your own recession bands, or any other type of range, right-click in a chart and choose Fill range. To define a recession band, click on the add-button and set the start and end date. You can add several ranges to your chart in the same way.

To save created bands click on the 'Export' button, choose an account, assign the recession bands a name and click the 'OK' button.

Dynamic recession bands

The Fill Range feature works as a charting tool, meaning that the recessions bands won't be updated with new recessions. If you want to keep them updated you can directly use the recession series in the document and display them as a 'fill' in Graph Layout, which will add shaded area to the chart. For more information about Fill graph type see Stripe, Range & Fill chart.

The series which can be used have aliases i.e., usrecession, derecession, jprecession or you can search for business cycle in Search activity.

Exporting and importing bands

Construct two columns in Excel, the left column indicating the start date and right column indicating the end date of the range. Simply copy the dates from excel (using CTRL+C), right click in the Fill range window and paste the dates (using CTRL+V).

Edit/customize recession bands

To edit a recession band or any other type of range, right-click in a chart and choose Fill range. You can now edit the dates. Check the box named 'Custom' to change the color and the opacity of the range.

Removing recession bands

To remove a recession period, right-click in the chart and choose Fill range. Right-click on the recession you wish to exclude and choose delete. You can select several ranges to be deleted by holding down CTRL and clicking on them. Using CTRL+A will select all periods at once.

Dynamic text

Introduction

By using Dynamic text in charts, you can present data from time series as part of any text that you enter. For instance, you can have a textbox with a text like The last value is 12.72, where the number 12.72 comes from a time series and is automatically updated.

The part of the text that is dynamic is written within curly brackets. The example above might have been written like The last value is {s .Value}. The text within the brackets will be processed and replaced with the result in the output.
You can have any number of dynamic texts in a text. For example: The value at {s .Date} is {s .Value}, which could result in something like The value at 2014 Q1 is 12.72.

The Dynamic text editor helps you to type the dynamic text expressions. You get feedback suggestions as you type. Tooltips helps you examine the expressions.

The general format is {x parameters}. The first letter after the opening bracket, called x determines the type of dynamic text. There are two types of dynamic texts: s for series data and c for chart and document data.

You can, and sometimes need to, put quotes around the parameters. In particular, you need to do this if a parameter contains space characters.

There is detailed documentation below, but here are some examples:

{s .Value} Present the current value from the current time series with automatic formatting.
{s .Value F2} Present the current value with two decimals.
{s .Value  #,,} Divide the value by 1 million and show without decimals.
{s .Value  #,0,,} Millions with thousand separator and no decimals.
{s .Value[2012] A3} Format the value of 2012 using three significant digits.
{s .Value[-1Y]} The value one year back.
{s .Date} Present the current date from the current time series with automatic formatting.
{s .Date D} Present the date with the long date format.
{s .Region} Present the region of the current time series.
{s s1.Currency -m} Present the currency of the specified time series. -m means that there will be no error if the series has no currency.
{c DocumentSources –d “\n”} The sources of the document separated with a new line.
{c DocumentLastDataRevision f -p "Data last updated " -m} Shows when data was last updated. Example: Data last updated 28 February 2024 01:30 (Feature is available in Macrobond 1.28 and later.)

If you want to include a bracket as part of your text, you need to write double brackets: {{ will result in { in the output and }} will be }.

Default series and observations

When a dynamic text is processed there is a set of default series and a default observation that depends on the context where the expression is used.

Element Series Observation
Main/subtitle All series used in the chart The last observation
Copyright text All series used in the chart The last observation
Legend item The series used for the graph The last observation
Y-axis title The series plotted against the axis The last observation
X-axis title The series used in the pane The last observation
Text box The series used in the pane The last observation
Observation label The series used for the graph The observation it points to
Axis value label The series it references The last observation

This means that a dynamic text like {s .Value} can sometimes refer to several series and this several values. By default, such a list will be presented as a list separated by comma. For instance, when used in the main title and the chart uses two series the text might be 12.34, 56.78. If you just want one of these, you should consider referencing a specific time series or using the index operator.

The .Date property works in the same way and produces a list of dates.

All other properties, like .Region, will remove any duplicates from the list.

Series data

The dynamic text is written on the format

{s series.Data[index] format options}

The options, format, data, and index parts are always optional. The series part is optional if there is a default series in the context where the text is used.

There are several options available:

-f format The format depends on the data type as covered below.
-d delimiter The delimiter is used to when there is a list of items. The default delimiter is ' , '. For new lines you can use '\n'.
-p text A text that will be prepended to the formatted text.
-s text A text that will be appended to the formatted text.
-m text A text that will be displayed of the specified data property or data point is missing. By specifying –m without a text, there will be no text at all in the case where the property is missing.
-ct text Instead of formatting the value of the data, the specified text will be written if the data is 'true'. The value is 'true' if it is a Boolean value that is True or a number >= 0.5. If the value is “false”, the text specified by –cf will be used if available and otherwise empty.
-cf text Instead of formatting the value of the data, the specified text will be written if the data is 'false'. The value is 'false' if it is a Boolean value that is False or a number < 0.5. If the value is 'true', the text specified by –ct will be used if available and otherwise empty.

You can thus specify the format either as the second part of the dynamic text or as an option.

series

The part series is a reference to the series on the format s1, s2, s3 etc.

This will reference the current value of the series s1:

{s s1}

The reference can be omitted if there is a default series in the context where the text is used. In this case the dynamic text can be as short as

{s}

.Data

The part .data specifies what data property to retrieve for the specified series. The default value is .Value, which is the vector of values.

Examples of data:

.Value The values of the series. You can specify an index as point in time. If no index is specified, the index of the context will be used, which is often the last value.
.Date The dates of the series. You can specify an index as point in time. If no index is specified, the index of the context will be used, which is often the last value. This property does not exist for category series.
.ValueLabel The value labels of the series. You can specify an index as point in time. If no index is specified, the index of the context will be used, which is often the last value.
.Ordinal The ordinal of the series. You can specify an index as point in time. If no index is specified, the index of the context will be used, which is often the last value. This property only exists for category series.
.GraphText The text of the associated graph.
.DisplayUnit The unit. (in Dynamic text roll search for 'Axis label')
.Currency The currency.
.OriginalCurrency The currency of the original series before any currency conversion.
.ObservationDate When 'Last common' or 'Value at' methods are used in analysis it shows date of the observation.
.OriginalEndDate The 'Original end date', 'Original start date', 'Original frequency' and 'Original currency' refers to the original values before any transformations or calculations.
.Frequency The frequency.
.FullDescription The full description of the series.
.Region The country or region. There can be several regions. All regions will be included if no index is specified.
.Release The title of the release associated with this series. This is an entity with additional data.
.Release.LastReleaseEventTime The time of the previous release of new data.
.Release.NextReleaseEventTime The time of next scheduled release of new data.
.Database The database where the series is stored. For example: 'Macrobond', 'Account in-house' or the name of SQL database. 

Some examples of usage:

{s .Value[2012]} The last value of 2012 of the default series.
{s .Value[-1]} Second row of values in a category series.
{s s2.Value[-1y]} The value one year before the end of the series s2.
{s s2.Date} The last date of the series s2.
{s s2.Date[-1q]} The date one quarter before the end of the series s2.
{s .Region} The regions for the default series.
{s s2.Region[0]} The first region of the series s2.

Format

The format is optional, and the default format depends on the context and data type.

Formatting numbers

The following predefined number formats are defined:

Fn Fixed-point notation where n specifies the number of decimal digits. Example: 1234.5678 formatted using 'F2' is '1234.56.'
En Exponential notation where n specifies the number of decimal digits. Example: 12345678 formatted using 'E2' is '1.23E+007.'
Gn Picks the shortest of the F and E formats with the specified number of significant digits. Example: 12345678 formatted using 'G3' is '1.23E+07.'
Pn Percent notation where n specifies the number of decimal digits. The value is multiplied with 100 and displayed with a % symbol. Example: 0.1234 formatted using 'P1' is '12.3 %.'
An Automatic scaling by using n significant digits and an exponent divisible by 3, excluding -3 and 3. Example 1234567 formatted with 'A3' is '1.23 million.'
Nn Same as Fn, but formats numbers using a thousand separator.
0,, Shows value in millions or billions.
#,0,, Shows value in millions or billions with thousand separator.

The decimal separator is always localized.

The formatting string can also be composed of the following specifiers:

0 The '0' format specifier serves as a zero-placeholder symbol. If the value that is being formatted has a digit in the position where the zero appears in the format string, that digit is copied to the result string; otherwise, a zero appears in the result string. The position of the leftmost zero before the decimal point and the rightmost zero after the decimal point determines the range of digits that are always present in the result string. Example: The number 1.2 formatted using '00.00' is '01.20'.
# The '#' format specifier serves as a digit-placeholder symbol. If the value that is being formatted has a digit in the position where the pound sign appears in the format string, that digit is copied to the result string. Otherwise, nothing is stored in that position in the result string. Note that this specifier never displays a zero that is not a significant digit, even if zero is the only digit in the string. It will display zero only if it is a significant digit in the number that is being displayed. The number 1.234 formatted using '#.##' is '1.23'.
. The ' . ' format specifier inserts a localized decimal separator into the result string. The first period in the format string determines the location of the decimal separator in the formatted value; any additional periods are ignored. Example: The number 1.234 formatted using '0.00' is '1.23'.
% A percent sign (%) in a format string causes a number to be multiplied by 100 before it is formatted. The localized percent symbol is inserted in the number at the location where the % appears in the format string. Example: The number 1.234 formatted using '#%' is '123%'.
, The “,” format has two functions:

  1. Thousand separator: If a comma is specified between two digit placeholders (0 or #) that format the integral digits of a number then a group separator character is inserted between each number group in the integral part of the output. Example: using the format '#,#' and US number format settings, the number 1000000 is formatted as '1,000,000'.
  2. Scaling: If one or more commas are specified immediately to the left of the explicit or implicit decimal point, the number to be formatted is divided by 1000 for each comma. Example: using the format '#,,' , the number 1000000 is formatted as '1'.

The two usages of ' , ' can be combined. Example '#,0,,' scales the number by 1000000 and uses a thousand separator.

Rounding is always made away from zero.

Instead of the formatting specifiers, you can also specify a formatting group:

@groupName:digits

All numbers that belong to the same group will be formatted with the same number of decimals so that at least the specified number of significant digits are included. If no :digits part is included, a default value of 3 will be used.

There are three special groups: YAxisMain, YAxisAlternate, and XAxis. These will be used as the default group when the default series is used, and the context can be associated with an axis.

Some examples of usage:

{s .Value F2} Formats '123.456' with two decimals like '123.46'.
{s .Value A4} Formats '123.456' with four significant digits like '123.5'.
{s .Value P1} Formats '0.123456' with one decimal digits like '12.3 %'.
{s .Value #,,} Formats '123456789' scaled by 1 million and no decimals '123'.
{s .Value #,,,.00} Formats '123456789' scaled by 1 billion and two decimals '0.12'.
{s .Value -f F2} This is a different way to write the same thing as the first sample.

Formatting dates and time stamps

Predefined date patterns that format according to the current language settings:

Q Year and quarter. For example, 2008 Q2.
W Year and week. For example, 2008 W21.
G A short date with time. Example for US: 4/23/2008 1:45 PM.
d A short date. Example for US: 4/23/2008. This is the default.
D A long date. Example for US: Thursday, April 23, 2008.
f A long date with time. Example for US: Thursday, April 23, 2008 1:45 PM.
M Display day and month. Example for US: April 23.
Y Display month and year. Example for US: April, 2008.
t The time. Example for US: 1:45 PM.

A format string can also be composed of two or more of the following specifiers:

d The day from 1 to 31. When used as the only specifier, it must be written as %d.
dd The day from 01 to 31.
ddd The abbreviated name of the day of the week. Example for US: Mon
dddd The full name of the day of the week. Example for US: Monday
M The month from 1 to 12. When used as the only specifier, it must be written as %M.
MM The month from 01 to 12.
MMM The abbreviated name of the month. Example for US: Jun
MMMM The full name of the month. Example for US: June
yy The year without century. Example: 95
yyyy The year including the century. Example: 1995
: Time separator. Example for Italy: .
/ Date separator. Example for Sweden: -

If you use spaces in the formatting specification, you need to quote the parameter.

Chart data

The dynamic text is written on the format:

{c data format options}

There are two options available:

-f format The format depends on the data type as covered below.
-d delimiter The delimiter is used to when there is a list of items. The default delimiter is ' , '. For new lines you can use '\n'.

You can thus specify the format either as the second part of the dynamic text or as an option.

The following data items are available:

DocumentName The name of the document.
AutomaticTitle The automatic title of the chart.
AutomaticUnitYAxisMain The automatic of the main y-axis.
AutomaticUnitYAxisAlternate The automatic of the alternate y-axis.
AutomaticUnitXAxis The automatic of the x-axis.
DocumentDatabases List of databases from which time series used in given document originate. Values might include Macrobond, names of In-House sources, names of 3rd party connectors like Bloomberg.
DocumentSources A list of the sources of the time series used in this document.
DocumentSourceAbbreviations List of abbreviations for the data sources of the time series used in this document
DocumentLastDataRevision Shows when data was last updated. (Feature is available in Macrobond 1.28 and later.)
Now The today’s date.

Some examples of usage:

{c DocumentSources –d “\n”} The sources of the document separated with a new line.
{c DocumentLastDataRevision f -p "Data last updated " -m} Example: Data last updated 28 February 2024 01:30 (Feature is available in Macrobond 1.28 and later.)
{c Now} The current date.

Example

Axis value labels

Axis & Scale

How to:

Additional questions can be found on FAQ - Chart’s graphics & elements.

How to add an alternate axis (scale) to the chart?

There are two ways to add an alternate axis to a chart:

  • Click on a graph in your chart, in the tab presentation properties tick the checkbox 'Use alternate scale'

  • Right click in the graph area, choose Graph layout, and tick the checkbox for 'Alt. scale'

How to add thousand separator to y-axis?

It is possible to use optional Thousand separator setting for the axes in the charts. It adds a separator after every third digit for numbers larger than 1,000.

There are two ways to use thousand separator:
  • from Presentation properties

There is a Thousand separator setting for the axes in the charts. It adds a separator after every third digit for numbers larger than 1,000. You can tick Thousand separator option under Format > Language.


See here pre-1.29 version view

  • from Dynamic text

It is also possible to use it in Dynamic text window

How to change axis title?

To rename units of the y-axis, click on the area right above the top of the axis. This will result in 'Properties for Axis title' to be shown in the Presentation properties group box. Then, click on the Edit button next to 'Axis title' and input your desired unit name. You can also use Dynamic text. It will only change name of y-axis, the units will remain the same.

How to change chart scale?

You can adjust the chart scale by accessing 'Properties for Value axis' in the Presentation properties tab by clicking on the y-axis. Here, the Scale section is where you can modify the scaling. You can define the Display range and Step length. Reverse the scale and Logarithmic scaling are also available options.

Click on the More button to access further options: Scaling where you can choose in which scale the y-axis will be presented and Decimals which modifies decimal places.

How to change step length?

You can define the step length for scale of y-axis (or both if it's a Scatter chart).

How to change x-axis' labels?

On Time chart

By default the 'Automatic' option is enabled which shows full information for given frequency. You can modify this by clicking on x-axis and going to Presentation properties > Labels.

On Category chart

By default it will show dates/weeks/months (depends on the frequency). You can go change them to numbers. To do this click x-axis and under Presentation properties > Labels uncheck 'Show value labels'.

Workaround - Covering labels

See this page for workaround with which you can replace/cover labels on x-axis.

How to change the scale of y-axis when working with large numbers?

When dealing with series expressed in large values, for instance billions or trillions, you can use a scientific notation for decimal precision instead of manually typing the whole number.

Let’s say you have a series that is expressed in trillions and would like to change the range of the Y-axis scale, so that it reaches 10 trillion. Instead of typing '1000000000000' in the Display range box, you can type '1e12.' The Scientific E-notation is written as: 'xey' (x times ten raised to the power of y). 70 000 000 can therefore be written as 7e7. It also works with decimals (e.g. 1.5e9, meaning 1,5 billions).

How to set a logarithmic scale?

Click on the y-axis and open the Presentation properties tab at the top of the window. In the Scale group, check the “Logarithmic” option.

You cannot set logarithmic scale from 0 as the logarithm of zero is not defined.

How to show last year label on x-axis?

This feature is available in Macrobond 1.27 and later.

Displaying years on x-axis is automated and it might happen that when not every year is visible the last shown year is actually a few years in the future/past. To prioritize label for the last year available in a series mark 'Prefer last year' box.

How to show year above month on x-axis?

By default, on x-axis month is shown above year. You can use setting - Spacing - with Distance, to change the order. Set Spacing to negative value to move years above months.

How to synchronize axes when adding alternate scale?

Using the Synchronize settings will affect the way in which the alternate scale is displayed. Below we go over the outcomes of combing these settings

  • Alternate Scale + Synchronize: None
    Each axis has an independent scale and independent grid.
  • Alternate Scale + Synchronize: Grid
    Each axis has an independent scale, but both axes will share the same grid. You can’t adjust the step length of the axes, only the scale range.
  • Alternate Scale + Synchronize: Values
    Each axis will share the exact same scale and grid, which will void the outcome of applying an alternate scale.

How to use grading on y-axis?

For certain time series, you can match the values of the y-axis to grading labels (i.e., AAA, AB+). Data from source's which use grading will automatically use this setting, but you can set it by yourself too. It can be accessed after marking y-axis.

How to use 'Reverse' with 'Auto'?

Some series contain metadata that they are best presented using a reversed value axis. By default series are set to 'Reverse: Auto' to take that metadata into consideration.

Colors & Patterns

How to:

How to change the color of a series’ graph in a chart?

Click on the series’ graph and open the Presentation properties tab at the top of the window.  In the Appearance group, you can select a graph color from the graph style drop-down list or enable more color options by selecting custom graph style.

If you want to re-use the selected graph’s color, you can save it as part of a Style sheet, which you can easily apply to your charts.

How to change the background color of a chart?

You can adjust the background color of what we call the graph area, the area within the axes where your series are represented.

Click on the graph area background (avoid the graph itself and the grid lines), and open the Presentation properties tab. In the Appearance group, you can select the color from the drop-down list or create a custom color.

If you want to re-use the selected background color often, you can pin it to the drop-down list or save it in as part of a Style sheet that you can easily apply to your charts.

How to set the pattern?

Select graph type where you can use pattern, for example Area charts. Click on area, open color's editor, and select pattern.

Border, Grid & Margin

How to:

How to remove the borders from a chart?

Click the background of the graph area. In the Border group under the Presentation properties tab, you can adjust settings for the chart border. To remove the border, set the width to “None”.

How to remove the grid lines from a chart?

You can add and remove grid lines from your chart under Presentation properties for the graph area. Click the background of the graph area to access the grid lines group under Presentation properties at the top of the window. Here you can uncheck horizontal/vertical lines.

How to remove the margin around a chart?

Click on a chart and under Presentation properties > Appearance check Graph margin outside. This will remove margin (additional chart area) that ensures graph is not clipped by the upper and lower edge of graph area. Instead, margin will be added to the outside to attempt to avoid clipped or overlapping axis labels.