The gauge scale tab (Gauge Areas\Axes\Scale) allows you to control various settings related to the way the scale is decorated. The following settings are available:
Inverted - whether or not the scale is inverted.
Show Labels - controls the visibility of scale labels
Label Text Style - controls the appearance of scale labels.
Label Format - defines the formatting used for scale labels. If you do not specify a format string the control will automatically select formatting based on the chart type and data displayed on the scale. You can also invoke the "Number Value Formatting Editor" that allows you to create a custom formatting string visually. For more information check out the Numeric Label Formatting topic.
Label Angle - defines the angle of scale labels. By default the angle is set to automatic mode. For more information check out the Scale Label Angle topic.
Transform - defines the transform of the scale. You can switch the transform to logarithmic if you have data that is presented better in logarithmic mode - for example data with large differences between the values of the pointers, or data which is logarithmic by nature (such as dB). If you switch the transform to logarithmic mode you can also modify the the logarithm base.
Step Mode - defines how the scale will choose a step to place the major ticks and labels on the scale. You can choose from three modes:
- Min Distance - in this mode the scale will automatically calculate the step depending on the value of "Min Distance" (specified in points) and will not allow ticks to be closer than the specified distance. In this mode the number of scale ticks will increase as the scale is bigger on the screen or printer and decrease when the scale is smaller respectively. This is the default setting.
- Max Count - in this mode the scale will automatically generate steps depending on the value of "Max Count". In this mode the number of ticks will be restricted to the maximum allowed number of ticks. The scale will automatically select a "nice" step given the range of the data and the number of ticks will be constant when the scale is resized.
- Custom Step - in this mode you can explicitly specify a custom step. The step is specified with the "Custom Step" spin.
Minor Tick Count - defines the number of minor ticks that will appear between two major ticks. The default value for this setting is 0, meaning that the scale does not show minor ticks.