Using ClarisWorks

The Spreadsheet Tool and Make Chart Option

Graphing Air Temperature, Dew Point Temperature, and Relative Humidity

Here is a simple but effective way to record and organize data for graphing. The graph will clearly show the interrelationship among air temperature, dew point temperature, and relative humidity.

1. Open ClarisWorks.
2. Choose Word Processing.

   

3. Under View, choose Show Tools.
4. Click on the cross tool. This is the spreadsheet tool.

   

5. Move the cursor over to the word processing document and you will notice that the cursor changes to the spreadsheet tool. When you click and drag diagonally you will make a spreadsheet of the size you choose. At any time, you can adjust the size of the spreadsheet by clicking on the cursor tool (the arrow), and then clicking anywhere on the spreadsheet --"handles" will appear on the spreadsheet which can be used to resize (by clicking and dragging) or delete the spreadsheet (by pressing delete).

   

6. For our purposes we will need four columns: the first column for time, then air temperature, dew point temperature, and one for relative humidity. To add text or numbers to a cell in the spreadsheet, click in that cell. Type in the information. The typing will appear in the text window under the menu bar. When you press return it will appear in the cell.

    

7. Now add the column headings and data. Note: Do not put the word "Time" into cell A1. What appears in cell A1 becomes the title for your graph.

   

8. After entering the data, highlight the information in the spreadsheet that you want shown on the graph. Then go to Options in the menu bar and drag down to Make Chart. From the Gallery:
   • choose Line graph
   • DO NOT click on OK until you have followed steps #9 and #10.

   

9. Under Modify, click on Axes to get the following window of options for each axis.
   • The y axis is the vertical axis. You can set the minimum and maximum number for your graph. You can also determine the scale for these numbers by filling in the Step size. You can also label this axis by filling in Axis label.
   • Click on the radial button next to "x axis" to set the horizontal axis options. See the x axis window below. Put "Time" as the Axis label. Change the Tick marks to none by clicking on the pull down menu and selecting "None."

   

   

10. Under Modify, click on General.
    • At this window, click on the box next to the words "First Column". This will insure that the numbers in the first column in the spreadsheet (Time) will be used as labels, not data.

    

11. Now you can click on OK to see your graph.
12. The numbers in the following spreadsheet are made up for demonstration purposes.

    

13. By double-clicking on the graph you can get the "Modify" window and change the "look" of your graph.
14. Under Modify, click on Series. This will let you choose the symbol for your data points. By clicking on the orange square, you can even choose different colors.

    

     

15. Under Modify, click on Labels. This is where you can give your graph a Title. You can also modify the "look" and placement of the legend.

    

     

16. If you change the data in the spreadsheet, it will automatically change on the graph. If you make modifications to the look of the graph it will automatically make those changes when you click on OK.
17. If you need to add more data to the spreadsheet, then follow these steps:
    • Delete the old graph (get "handles" on the graph and press delete).
    • Add the additional data to the spreadsheet.
    • Highlight all the data in the spreadsheet that you would like to show on the graph.
    • From the menu bar, select Options and drag down to Make Chart.
    • To set the parameters for the graph axes, follow the same procedure as in Step #9 above.

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