Interacting with Plots

Keyboard Shortcuts in Plots

All plots support the standard Microsoft Windows control sequences listed in Table 8.1.

Table 8.1: Standard Control Sequences in Plots

Key	Action
CTRL+A	Selects all observations that are included in the plots.
CTRL+C	Copies the plot to Windows clipboard.
CTRL+P	Prints the plot.

All plots support the keyboard shortcuts listed in Table 8.2.

Table 8.2: Keys and Actions in All Plots

Key	Action
0, 1–9	Sets the color of selected observations to the color specified in Table 8.3. If no observations are selected, sets the marker color of all observations.
A	Selects all observations that are included in the plots.
B	Applies a color blend according to values of the X variable. (Plots with multiple X variables ignore this key.) Bar charts and histograms also color each bin according to the color blend.
C	Selects the complement of the selected observations.
E	Excludes selected observations from plots and analyses.
G	Toggles a reference line grid.
I	Includes selected observations in plots and analyses.
L	Toggles labels on bars or observations.
X, Y, Z	Displays axis property dialog box for the corresponding axis.

Ten predefined colors are associated with number keys. Table 8.3 lists the color that is associated with each digit 0–9.

Table 8.3: Keys and Colors in Plots

Area plots (histograms, bar charts, and mosaic plots) support the keyboard shortcuts listed in Table 8.4.

Table 8.4: Keys and Actions in Area Plots

Key	Action
H	Toggles filling the bars.
P	Cycles through displaying frequency, percentages, and (for histograms) density on the Y axis.
CTRL+digit	Sets the percentage threshold for the "Others" category. For example, CTRL+4 sets the threshold to 4%, whereas CTRL+0 sets the threshold to 0% and therefore turns off the "Others" category. (The histogram ignores this key.)

Point plots (any plot that displays individual observations) support the keyboard shortcuts listed in Table 8.5.

Table 8.5: Keys and Actions in Point Plots

Key	Action
F2	Displays the observation inspector for any observations beneath the mouse pointer.
SHIFT+F2	Toggles observation inspector mode, as described in the section Observation Inspector.
H	Toggles the "show only selected observations" option.
[ or ] (square bracket)	Toggles fixed aspect ratio. (The box plot ignores this key.)
CTRL+UP ARROW	Increases the size of markers.
CTRL+DOWN ARROW	Decreases the size of markers.
ALT+UP ARROW	Increases the size difference between selected and unselected markers.
ALT+DOWN ARROW	Decreases the size difference between selected and unselected markers.

Box plots support the keyboard shortcuts listed in Table 8.6.

Table 8.6: Keys and Actions in Box Plots

Key	Action
M	Toggles displaying the mean and standard deviation.
N	Toggles displaying the notches that measure the significance of the difference between two medians.
HYPHEN	Toggles displaying serifs.

Line plots support the keyboard shortcuts listed in Table 8.7.

Table 8.7: Keys and Actions in Line Plots

Key	Action
0–9	Sets the color of the selected lines. The colors are listed in Table 8.3.
ESC	Deselects all lines.
CTRL+PAGE UP, CTRL+PAGE DOWN	Selects the previous or next line. (Selects the first line if no line is selected.)
CTRL+UP ARROW	Increases the width of selected lines.
CTRL+DOWN ARROW	Decreases the width of selected lines.
CTRL+LEFT ARROW, CTRL+RIGHT ARROW	Cycles through line styles for the selected lines.

Rotating plots support the keyboard shortcuts listed in Table 8.8.

Table 8.8: Keys and Actions in Rotating Plots

Key	Action
UP ARROW	Rotates up.
DOWN ARROW	Rotates down.
LEFT ARROW	Rotates left.
RIGHT ARROW	Rotates right.
PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN	Rotates about an axis that is perpendicular to the computer monitor.
CTRL+B	Toggles displaying the frame box.
CTRL+D	Toggles depth perception.
CTRL+G	Toggles displaying the surface graph.
CTRL+R	Toggles displaying rays from the origin.

Polygon plots support the keyboard shortcut listed in Table 8.9.

Table 8.9: Keys and Actions in Polygon Plots

Key	Action
CTRL+ALT+F	Toggles filling the polygons.

Last updated: July 31, 2017