Sub Type - the following table summarizes the surface chart subtypes:
| Subtype | X Dimension Type | Z Dimension Type | Data Requirements | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Grid |
Categorical |
Categorical |
Y |
Shows a surface connecting the adjacent data points. The X and Z location of each data point is the center of the grid cell corresponding to the respective category - series. To show a Grid surface chart you typically create a series data grouping. |
|
Mesh |
Numeric |
Numeric |
Y |
Shows a surface connecting the adjacent data points. The X and Z location of each data point is explicitly specified. To show a Grid surface chart you typically create a series data grouping. |
|
Triangulated |
Numeric |
Numeric |
Y |
Shows a surface built from the automatic triangulation of a set of points in 3D. |
Drawing Mode - defines the mode in which the surface is drawn. Possible values are:
Scaled - the surface Y dimension is scaled on the Y axis (the default setting)
Flat At Axis Begin - the surface is drawn flat at the Y axis begin
Flat At Axis End - the surface is drawn flat at the Y axis endFlat drawing modes are typically used for contour plots. If you use a flat drawing mode you may consider changing the PaletteMode to Custom Steps Count. Contour plots are best displayed with the following 3D effects: Rotation=0, Elevation=90, Projection Type=Orthogonal, X Depth Offset=0, Y Depth Offset = 0.
Frame Mode - defines the mode in which the surface frame is rendered. Possible values are:
None - the frame of the surface is not displayed.
Mesh - displays the frame as lines connecting the adjacent data points. In the case of a mesh surface the adjacent data points are determined by the triangulation.
Contour - displays lines, which outline the elevation zones.
Mesh Contour - combines the mesh and contour modes.
Fill Mode - defines the mode of the surface filling. Possible values are:
None - the surface is not filled.
Zone - the surface is filled in zones which depict the ranges of elevation.
Uniform - the surface is filled with the Fill Style of the "first in chart" values data grouping.
Palette Mode - defines the mode in which the surface zoning palette is determined. Possible values are:
Sync With Axis Scale - the palette is automatically synchronized with axis scale.
Custom Steps Count - the palette is automatically calibrated to the elevation data [min:max] range, but has the number of steps defined by the Palette Steps setting.
Palette Steps - defines the number of steps in the palette when the Palette Mode is set to Custom Steps Count.
Smooth Palette - defines whether palette smoothing should be performed for zoned filling.
Smooth Shading - whether the surface should use smooth shading (smooths the surfaces edges).
Use Precise Geometry - when checked geometric operations used in the triangulation are more precise, at the cost of performance. This option is available only for Triangulated surface sub type.
Cluster Mode - this mode controls whether the visualized data set will first be simplified before triangulation is performed. When rendering in cluster mode the surface will automatically reduce the number of triangulated data points, which will speed up rendering at the expense of the surface accuracy. Possible options are:
Auto - clustering is automatically enabled when the number of data points becomes large.
Enabled - clustering is always enabled.
Disabled - clustering is always disabled (this is the default).
Cluster Distance Factor - control the amount of simplification of the original set of points passed for triangulation. Smaller values for this property produce less simplified and more accurate data set and vice versa.
The settings in the Palette tab are described in the Value Palette Settings topic.