1. From the Help button on the top tool bar, access a guide to Data Planet Statistical Datasets, the complete library of Data Planet search guides, and a brief listing of useful tips. Your library has the option of adding additional links, so some of you may also see a Chat or other options:
2. Compare multiple data and variables by holding the Control (Windows) key or Command (Mac) key and left mouse click on the multiple data series you would like to visualize. Hint: showing more than five data series / variables can make a visualization look messy!
3. Click once on the orange magnifying glass to the immediate right of the Quick Search box to enter Advanced Search:
4. Send your visualizations and data to colleagues, faculty & students by creating permanent links (DOIs) just below the charts and forwarding that link to a contact or include it in a paper. This link ensures that the person viewing it will see the exact version of the chart at the time you created it.
5. Options for visualizing and customization are available when you click on the Show Chart Options link in the middle menu bar:
6. Colors for Trend and Rank charts can be customized by clicking on the color box in the chart legend:
A dialog box will open, click on "Column Color" to open a color palette. Select your choice and "Save to Chart":
7. View the underlying data by clicking on the Show Data link in the middle menu bar:
8. Find related data by clicking on the Subject Terms links in the descriptions below the visualizations:
9. Use the Expand/Contract icon at the far right of the middle tool bar to maximize or minimize the view of the chart you've created.
10. Adjust the width or height of the Indicator, Criteria, or Results panels by clicking on the thin lines separating the panels and dragging them to the desired location. You can also double click on the lines to maximize or minimize the view of the chart:
11. Gotten a little carried away with Control-click and lost track of where you are? Click on Reset in the top left corner of the upper tool bar for a quick way back to a clean screen!
12. Interested in honing in on just a portion of a trend? Click on the beginning data point of interest and drag the cursor to the end point. An option to Zoom back out will appear in the chart area:
13. Use the Calculator to derive new data values.
Click on the Calculator icon on the far right of the center tool bar.
You can either type in your own formula or select a preformatted formula, as in the example below. Difference from previous was selected from the drop-down menu in the Functions tab. After saving to the chart, a new data column displays in the chart, along with the new trend:
