Modifying a 2D Plot’s Perspective / 127
Modifying a 2D Plot’s Perspective
Mathcad allows you to zoom in on 2D graphs and trace the coordinates of any point on a plot.
Zooming in on a Plot
To zoom in on a portion of a graph:
1.Click in the graph and choose
Graph > Zoom from the Format
menu or click |
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on the Graph |
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toolbar to open |
the |
Zoom dialog box. |
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2. Click the |
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button then select the |
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graph again. |
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3.Press and hold down the mouse button, then drag the mouse. A dashed selection outline emerges from the anchor point with coordinates listed in the “Min” and “Max” text boxes (or the “Radius” text box of the Polar Zoom dialog box).
4.When the selection outline encloses the region you want to magnify, release the mouse button. If necessary, click on the selection outline and drag it to another part of the plot.
5.Click Zoom to redraw the graph. The axis limits are temporarily set to the coordinates specified in the Zoom dialog box. To make these axis limits permanent, click “OK.”
Figure 11-10: A zoomed-in region of an X-Y plot redisplayed as an entire plot.
128 / Chapter 11 2D Plots
Getting a Readout of Plot Coordinates
To see a readout of coordinates of the specific points that make up a trace:
1.Click in the graph and choose Graph > Trace
from the Format menu or click 
on the Graph toolbar to open the X-Y Trace dialog box. Make sure “Track data points” is checked.
2.Click and drag the mouse along the trace whose coordinates you want to see. A dashed crosshair jumps from one point to the next as you move the pointer along the trace.
3.If you release the mouse button, you can use the left and right arrows to move to the previous and next data points. Use the up and down arrows to select other traces.
4.As the pointer reaches each point on the trace, Mathcad displays the values of that point in the “X-Value” and “Y-Value” boxes (or the “Radius” and “Angle” boxes in the Polar Trace dialog box).
5.The values of the last point selected are shown in the boxes. The crosshair remains until you click “Close” in the dialog box.
Tip When “Track data points” is unchecked in the Trace dialog box, you can see a readout of coordinates for any location in a plot, not just the data points that created an individual trace.
Figure 11-11 shows an example of a plot whose coordinates are being read.
Figure 11-11: Reading coordinates from a graph.
To copy and paste a coordinate:
1.Click “Copy X” or “Copy Y” (or “Copy Radius” or “Copy Angle” in a polar plot).
2.Paste the value into your worksheet or any other application.