Every Plot Type in SciDAVis, at a Glance
SciDAVis can draw more than “a line through some points” — but the full list is scattered across the Plot menu, the 3D Plot submenu, and the scripting API. This page is the map: every plot type the official SciDAVis Handbook confirms, one sentence each, with links to the in-depth tutorials. Pick your type here, then go deep on the linked guide.
The key rule of thumb: the plot type follows the data container. Data in table columns gives you 2D plots from the Plot menu; three XYZ columns give you 3D scatter; a regular grid in a matrix gives you 3D surfaces and contours. Choose the container first, and the right plot types appear on their own.
2D plots from table columns (Plot menu)
Select X and Y columns in a table, then choose from the Plot menu (or the plot toolbar):
Line — the workhorse: connects data points in order, for time series, spectra, and anything measured against a continuous axis.
Fit models to it when you need parameters, not just a picture.
Scatter — unconnected symbols, for correlations and raw data where connecting the dots would imply a continuity that isn’t there. Add
error bars when each point carries an uncertainty.
Line + Symbol — lines with markers at each data point; the standard presentation style for experimental curves in papers.
Splines (under Special Line/Symbol) — smoothed curves through your points. Presentation only: never fit or read values off a spline, because the smoothing invents curvature between your data.
Vertical drop lines (under Special Line/Symbol) — a vertical line from each point down to the axis, handy for showing discrete events or peak positions against a baseline.
Horizontal / Vertical steps (under Special Line/Symbol) — step functions for data that holds a value until the next measurement: digital signals, histograms-as-steps, survival curves.
Vertical bars / Horizontal bars — column and row charts for categorical comparisons. Bars start at zero, so use them for quantities where zero is meaningful.
Area — a line plot with the area under the curve filled; good for cumulative quantities and for emphasizing magnitude in presentations.
Histogram (under
Statistical graphs) — SciDAVis bins your column into a frequency distribution for you. See the
statistics guide for what the bins mean.
Box plot (under Statistical graphs) — median, quartiles, and outliers in one glyph; the compact way to compare distributions across groups.
Pie — part-to-whole shares as sectors. Available through the plot styles; use sparingly — bars usually communicate the same comparison more honestly.
Vectors XYXY / XYAM — arrow plots from four columns: XYXY draws vectors defined by two endpoints, XYAM by an origin plus angle and magnitude. For velocity fields, force diagrams, and gradient maps.
Logarithmic axes are a formatting choice, not a plot type
Any of the 2D types above can be drawn on log scales: double-click an axis (or Format → Scales) and switch the type to logarithmic. The log-scale guide covers when log axes help and when they mislead.
3D plots: scatter from tables, surfaces from matrices
3D data lives in two places, and the plot types follow: XYZ triplets in table columns give scatter-style plots; a regular Z grid in a matrix gives surface-style plots. The full walkthrough is in 3D Scatter and Surface Plots: A Complete Guide — here is the complete list:
From a table (Plot → 3D Plot)
3D Scatter — points rendered as dots, cones, or cross-hairs in XYZ space; rotate and zoom with the mouse.
3D Bars — a bar chart standing up in 3D, for two categorical axes plus a value.
Ribbon — a ribbon through a single column, for showing one series with depth.
Trajectory — XYZ points connected in order, for paths: particle tracks, flight paths, phase-space orbits.
From a matrix (3D Plot submenu, active when a matrix is selected)
Wire frame / Hidden lines / Polygons / Wire surface — the classic surface renderings, from skeletal mesh to filled polygons.
Contour lines / Contour + color fill / Gray scale map — the contour family: contour variants in SciDAVis are 3D matrix plots, not 2D overlays — you build them from a matrix of Z values.
Surface from a function —
File → New → New Surface 3D Plot renders z = f(x, y) analytically, no data needed. The
function plots guide shows how.
What SciDAVis does not draw: waterfall plots (stacked offset spectra) are not supported — the honest workaround is a
multi-layer graph with stacked panels sharing an x-axis. True 2D contour overlays on flat axes are not a plot type either; contours come from the 3D matrix pipeline above. Everything else on this page is confirmed in the official handbook or the current source code.
How to choose: a 30-second decision table
| Your data looks like… | Start with |
|---|
| Y measured against continuous X (time, wavelength) | Line or Line + Symbol |
| Two variables, checking for a relationship | Scatter |
| Categories to compare | Vertical / Horizontal bars |
| Distribution of many measurements | Histogram, then Box plot for groups |
| Shares of a whole | Pie (or bars, honestly) |
| Directions and magnitudes | Vectors XYXY / XYAM |
| XYZ points in space | 3D Scatter |
| A surface over a regular grid | Matrix → surface or contour variant |
| Several related plots in one figure | Any of the above + layers |
New to the program? Work through importing data first, then come back here once your numbers are in a table.
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