For help accessing the Gallery, see How to Set the Graph Type.

The Gallery lets you set the graph type. If not previously set, the graph type will be the (vertical) bar type, except for graphs of the efficient frontier, which will be displayed as the scatter type. The following graph types are available:

Line   This graph shows trends or changes in data over a period of time. The line passes through the location of each point, or data mark.

Point   This type of graph is similar to the line graph but plots only the points, or data marks.

Spline   This graph is similar to the line graph, but the lines curve to pass through each point, or data mark. This type of graph is also described as “fit to curve”.

Bar   This is the most commonly used graph and shows variation over a period of time. Bars are drawn vertically (as columns).

Horizontal Bar   This is the same as the bar graph, but the bars are drawn horizontally.

Cube   This type of graph shows the relative importance of values over a period of time. Instead of bars, cubes are the data marks.

Area   This type of graph shows the relative importance of values over a period of time. It is usually displayed only in 3D mode.

Surface   This is a rubber sheet stretched over a three-dimensional (3D) bar graph. This type of graph is useful for finding the best combinations of two sets of data, because it shows relationships between large amounts of data that otherwise would be difficult to see.

Pareto   This type of graph is often used in statistical studies, as its columns show a variation over a period of time and there is a cumulative curve indicating the proportion accumulated by each column in the graph.

Pie   This type of graph shows the relationship or proportion of parts to a whole. In ProVal, it is useful for displaying, as pieces of the pie, the proportion of pension liability that is due to retirement, termination, and other decrements.

Doughnut   This type of graph shows the relationship or proportion of parts to a whole. It is a pie with a hole in the middle.

Polar   This type of graph shows the relative importance of values over a period of time.

Scatter   This is a point graph that shows the relationship or degree of relationship among numeric values in several series. It plots the groups of numbers as one set of x-y coordinates. In ProVal, it is useful only for displaying the efficient frontier.

Hi-Low   This graph is used in financial studies. Its columns contain all the series, facilitating display of stock volumes related to high, low, open, and closing prices.

You can also create variations on the graphs above, including:

Conic This is a 3D graph that shows, by means of conic bars or cubes (depending upon the selected graph type), the relative importance of values over a period of time.

Cylindric This is the same as the conic variation, but it shows cylindrical bars or cubes (depending upon the selected graph type).

MultiType This type of graph allows you to combine graph types in different series of the graph. The most common example is the Floating Bar graph, which shows a percentile distribution of some value (e.g., employer contributions) from a stochastic forecast.

If your graph is of the line, spline, pareto or polar type, you may show the data marks, or points, as well as the lines or curves. You may also select a point type. (For details, see Working with Graph Properties.) If your graph is of the bar (horizontal or vertical) or area type, it may be “stacked”. (For details, see Bar Graphs or Area Graphs.)

The graph types most commonly used in ProVal are the (vertical) bar, line, point and area (3D only) types. The spline and pie graphs are also used occasionally. The scatter graph is used in ProVal only for the efficient frontier.