10.1.5 Drawing or Moving, or Deleting Data Points

This collection of tools and menu-driven operations provides functions which may be helpful in exploring certain "what if" scenarios.

Draw Data Points

Use the Draw Data tool to hand draw a 2D scatter plot. A hidden worksheet of corresponding XY coordinate values is simultaneously created.

With a graph window activated, clicking the Draw Data toolbar button Button Draw Data.png will pop up a mini dialog:
Draw Data Points Tool.png

Note:By default, the Add Data Mode and Symbol Size options have been floded, you can click on the Setttigns button to expand them.

Add Data Mode

You can use this option to specify how to store the data points you drawn.

  • Start New Sheet has been selected by default, which means the data points will be saved into a new sheet.
  • You can also select Append or Append with Gap which means the data points will be appended to the same sheet if you start this tool again. Note: Clicking Finish button will stop current routine of drawing.

Symbol Size

Symbol Size can be used to specify the size of the drawn data points; by default, the size is 9.

Switch between Graph and Worksheet

Once the worksheet has been created, a button Graph or Worksheet will appear on the tool panel to let you switch the windows.

For more information, see Creating a Data Plot Using the Draw Data Tool.This procedure works only with 2D scatter plots.

Move Data Points

You are allowed to move data points of 2D scatter one by one to arbitrary places within the layer to reconstitute the data plot, using the Data: Move Data Points command. For more information, see Moving a Data Point.

Note:
  1. Once you select the Data: Move Data Points menu with the 2D line graph activated, the plot type of active curve will be changed to scatter;
  2. For some other plot types, such as column or bar, select this menu, you will get an attention message to ask you if you want to enable moving these data points. Same for the multi-panel graph sharing same X data.
  3. Before Origin 2023, when you move a data points using Move Data Points tool, the data point will be turned into default symbol(small black square); Since Origin 2023, when you move a data point, the styles of the point can be kept and same as the source plot by pressing Tab key once. Clicking Tab key again will turn back to the previous mode which just show the point as a default symbol .
    When the number of data points more than 500, we recommend that you move the data point in previous mode to make the calculation works smoothly.

Delete Data Points

You can delete individual data points from your 2D scatter plot using the Remove Bad Data Points menu command. Workbook data are adjusted accordingly. This procedure works only with 2D scatter plots. For more information, see Deleting a Data Point.