Grid on a 2D Plot

[prebstock]

Prime 6 does not appear to have a way to produce a grid on a 2D plot.  Without a grid, plot values are difficult to read.  Hopefully this glaring omission will be corrected in Prime 7.  It would be good to have major and minor grid lines, of different colors and weights, but as a minimum the plotting features of MathCAD15 should be included.  A related helpful feature would be to be able to control the orientation of polar plots.  A current need is for a polar plot with zero degrees pointing to the left rather than to the right, with positive angles opening counterclockwise.  One could imagine zero degrees straight up, with positive angles opening clockwise, or other orientations and directions.

I posted this before and got a response to the effect that showing a grid is possible in Prime6 by way of some kind of plot editor.  But I can't find any such thing anywhere in Prime6.  If some tool is to be used, it would be helpful to know where to find it.

[terryhendicott · Accepted solution]

Hi,

On the ribbon under Math | Regions | Chart Component is a drop down list, select Insert chart component.

Set the x and y values you get a plot.

Double click the plot opens up a whole plot editor where you can set X and Y gridlines.

Cheers 

Terry

[LucMeekes]

But... can you set a Polar plot?

[terryhendicott]

Hi,

You can set a polar plots orientation see fie below.

Cheers 

Terry

[LucMeekes]

Yes, I know, in mathcad 15 or less..

But in Prime, and WITH a grid?

[prebstock]

Thank you!  Strange that this is "hidden" and not under the "plots" tab where one would look to find things about plotting.  But the capability is exactly what I was looking for.

[LucMeekes]

Not so 'strange':

The 'chart component', which does feature grid lines, is a badly integrated third party add-on.

Luc

[Old-MCAD-User]

Thanks for the reply, I have seen a few similar threads, but at MathCAD Prime 7.0, I am appalled that the basic plot command has no ability to add/modify any gridlines. At this point I might as go back to Excel, which is embarrassing to have to resort to or consider for a MathCAD user of 26-27 years.

I get that this is a workaround but it is very 'klugy' looking and cumbersome to use compared to the simple few clicks it has always been since the mid '90s. PTC needs to stop adding complex partial differential equations and actually listen to the customers that are simply asking for basic, simple features like 'gridlines'. 

Can anyone confirm if this has been resolved in Prime 8.0 or will it be in 9.0? I just watched the disappointing 9.0 video from the MathCAD event and saw not a SINGLE plot with gridlines on it. It makes MathCAD look like an etch-a-sketch compared to the graphing options in Excel. Again, I hate to say Excel is superior, but in this basic functionality, it is far superior.

[dara]

I hundred percent agree with you. Prime is worse than Mathcad 15 in plotting and data input. 

1. p[ots cannot be inserted directly into MSWord as an EMF image. Only the Bitmap version is acceptable. The EMF resolution is much better than Bitmap. Mathcad 15 allows copy pasting the plot image as an emf. 

2. plotting is a bit too cumbersome and convoluted. I dont understand the purpose of introducing two types of plots,

3. The text data input is a nightmare. If the older wizard from Mathcad 15 can be adopted, it will be much better. 

[Werner_E]

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@dara wrote:

...Prime is worse than Mathcad 15 in plotting and data input. 

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Thats a fact for sure and I wouldn't limit it to plots and input.

The question is what alternatives you have ....

[ValeryOchkov]

We need grid for papier plots, not for a live plots with markers. I think so! 

[StuartBruff]

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@ValeryOchkov wrote:

We need grid for papier plots, not for a live plots with markers. I think so! 

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a) Not just (physical) paper plots, but any non-live Mathcad plot, such as an image in an on-line article.

b) Adding markers is a mandraulic(*)/ трудоемкие(?) task.  IME, it's cognitively less challenging to glance across a grid.

I like Prime's extra horizontal and vertical markers, but I'm not at all sure that they are the better choice for skimming through an article and picking up information at a glance.

Stuart

(*) Please substitue suitably gender-neutral term of your choice.   'humandraulic', 'persondraulic', 'needlessly operose and mildly vexatious'

[Fred_Kohlhepp]

To show what could be done with a little ingenuity, attached is a file (courtesy of Luc and Werner, IIR) that draws grids and works in Express

[StuartBruff]

Neat.

[ttokoro]

[ttokoro]

[LucMeekes]

For a grid, I was thinking more like this:

With possible variations (Start and end of both radius and angle can be set) such as:

Luc

[Fred_Kohlhepp]

To quote a good friend, "Please post the worksheet!"  😊