4.1.1 Global Vertical Cursor

Summary

The Vertical Cursor gadget can be used to read X and Y coordinate values for data points in stack/multi-panel plots or contained in multiple graphs simultaneously.

Minimum Origin Version Required: Origin 2021

What You Will Learn

This tutorial will show you how to:

  • Use the vertical cursor gadget to read XY coordinates for multiple graphs and output the results.
  • Link/Unlink graphs when using the vertical cursor gadget.
  • Move or relocate the cursor line among the linked graph windows.
  • Add cursors in linked layers of the multi-panel graph which has multiple panels side-by-side

Steps

Using Vertical Cursor on a Stacking Graph

  1. New a project with an empty workbook. select Data > Import From File: Multiple ASCII... to open ASCII box, browse to <Origin Folder>/Samples/Curve Fitting and add the filesStep01.dat, Step02.dat and Step03.dat. Click OK button to open the ASCII:impASC dialog.
  2. In the dialog, select Start New Books for Import Mode, Column Designation = (XY) and From = 2 for Partial Columns as below. All these three files selected will be imported into one workbook.
    Tutorial Vertical Cursor 00.png
  3. Activate the workbook with long name Step01.dat and highlight the whole worksheet. Select Plot > Multi-Panel/Axis: Stack from the menu item to open the Plotstack dialog. Under the Plot Assignment branch, enter 3 for Number of Plots in Each Layer, accept other settings as default and click OK to create a stacked graph.
    Tutorial Vertical Cursor 00a.png
  4. Similarly create two other stacked graphs for the other two workbooks. So now we have Graph1, Graph2, and Graph3 for workbooks Step01, Step02 and Step03 respectively.
  5. Activate Graph1 and choose Gadgets:Vertical Cursor to open the Vertical Cursor dialog. Right-click on the column header to check Book to add one more column "Book" in the data points table.
    Tutorial Vertical Cursor 01.png
  6. Click the Link/Unlink Graphs button Button Link Unlink Graphs.png in control panel and open the Graph Browser, you can choose whether to link or unlink a graph to the current active graph.
  7. Select Graph2 and Graph3 in the left panel and click the Button Expand Panel Right.png button to add the two graphs as linked graphs to Graph1. Click OK.
    Tutorial Vertical Cursor 02.png
    Note:You can also unlink graphs in this dialog by using the Button Expand Panel Left.png button to remove a graph from the right panel.
    On the upper right-hand corner of each linked graph, a Icon Linked Graphs.png icon appears to indicate that it belongs to a group of linked graphs.
  8. Make sure Graph1 is active and the Vertical Cursor dialog is open, the asterisk before the graph name marks the current active plot on which the cursor is on. Enter 25 as the X value, uncheck the box before Snap Cursor to Nearest X and click the Move Cursor to X button Button Move Cursor to X.png to read the data points in each plot when X=25.
    Tutorial Vertical Cursor 03.png
  9. Click the Add Tag and Label button Button Add Tag and Label.png to add tags at X=25 for all linked graphs.
  10. Click the Output Report button Button Output Report.png, then click the Go to Report Worksheet button Button Go to Report Sheet.png to generate and open the results worksheet. The XY coordinates of all plots in linked graphs are listed in the report sheet. Each time you click the Output Report button Button Output Report.png, a new row of data will be output to the result sheet.
  11. Activate Graph2, click on the Icon Linked Graphs.png icon and select Move Cursor Line here, the cursor line will be moved to Graph2.
  12. In the Vertical Cursor dialog, double click any row of Graph3 to activate the Graph3 window. Click on the previously added tag and press the Delete key to delete it. The tags in all the linked Graph windows are deleted. To go back to Graph2 where the cursor is currently on, click on the Icon Linked Graphs.png icon and select Go to Cursor Line Window.

Using Vertical Cursor on a multi-panel graph with side-by-side layers

  1. New a workbook, select Help: Open Folder: Sample Folder... to open the "Samples" folder. In this folder, open the Graphing subfolder and find the file Waterfall.dat. Drag-and-drop this file into the empty worksheet to import it.
  2. Right-click on the first row to select Set As Lone Name. Highlight col(B)~col(E) to select Plot > Multi-Panel/Axis : 4 Panel to plot the graph with 4 panels, 3 rows and 2 columns .
  3. Click the first panel and select Gadgets: Vertical Cursor. The cursor will be added on the first column of panels, and only the data points in first and third panel will show up in the list.
    Tutorial Vertical Cursor Side-by-Side 01.png
  4. We are going to read the point X=1113.31 in all layers. Click the Add Linked Cursor for Each Layer button Button Add Linked Cursor.png to add a cursor in all layers which are linked together(Once you clicked this button, it will turn to be its paired button Button Remove Linked Cursor.png which can be used to remove the cursors in linked layers and go back to the initial status). And, enter 1113.31 in the X= box and click Move Cursor to X button Button Move Cursor to X.png to move all cursors to this X value.
    Tutorial Vertical Cursor Side-by-Side 02.png
  5. Click Add Tag and Label button Button Add Tag and Label.png to tag this position in all layers. Click on the cursor in Layer1, drag-and-drop it to the other peaks to read the data points in all layers.
    Tutorial Vertical Cursor Side-by-Side 03.png
  6. You can click Output Report button Button Output Report.png at any time to output the interested data points to the result sheet row by row.
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