Create charts and tables on-the-fly
Add or remove data from charts and tables
Cycle through different chart types
Apply equations to your data
Export your analysis for use in your own presentations
Your data provider determined which type of IDV appears on your screen and set its features. Some IDVs may not include all features.
1b. What are the benefits of an IDV?Many formatting and analytical tasks have been automated.
Data can be analyzed directly online, eliminating the need for spreadsheets and chart wizards.
In most cases, IDVs are best viewed with a screen resolution setting of 1024 x 768 pixels.
topA Chart IDV is a chart that you can interact with online using your mouse.
topCreate charts in two steps by:
Selecting the line items of data to plot on the chart
Selecting the horizontal axis entries
Most of the data sets your provider has posted online contain many line items of related data for you to plot on a chart. Line items can be almost anything -- from federal revenues to acres of Nebraska farm land to oil production in the North Sea. A data set of balance sheet information might contain line items representing revenues, earnings per share, total assets, liabilities, and other financial categories for one firm or for many companies. In a standard table or spreadsheet, line items are typically listed in Column A.
To examine a list of all the available line items provided for you in an online data set, look in the Legend List Box. (If you are working with an Advanced IDV, this box is called a Tree.) Located below the chart in a Chart IDV, the Legend List Box contains all of the line items of data the provider has offered for you to explore. In some Legend List boxes, every line item contains data points that can be plotted on a chart. In others, some line items may be headers for a subgroup of line items below. In the Chart IDV, header line items are usually flush left in the Legend List Box; subgroups of line items under the headers are indented, as they would be in an outline.
One or more line items are usually plotted already on a chart when you access the Chart IDV. The data provider determined what these are.
To display a line item, click your mouse on that line item in the Legend List Box. Plotting a line item in this fashion replaces all other line items on the chart with the one you clicked.
Plot multiple line items on the chart simultaneously by holding down the CTRL key and clicking individually on each desired line item in the Legend List Box. You can also use the SHIFT key to plot multiple line items on the chart. Click a line item you wish to plot. Hold down the SHIFT key and click another line item. The Chart IDV plots the two line items you clicked and all line items in between.
There is no limit to the number of line items that may be selected simultaneously, but charts with six or more line items plotted can become difficult to follow.
Remove a line item from the chart -- but leave others plotted -- by holding down the CTRL key and clicking in the Legend List Box on the line item to be removed.
The entries along a chart's horizontal axis segment the line items of data by category, time period, or other distinction.
To examine the list of all available horizontal axis entries, look in the Column List Box below the chart display.
Some horizontal entries are already plotted on a chart when you access it. The data provider determined what these defaults are. In most cases, the data provider set the default to display ALL available horizontal axis entries.
You can choose the horizontal axis entries to plot by clicking on a desired entry in the Column List Box below the chart. If the initial chart contained ALL of the available horizontal entries, your selection replaces them.
Add more entries to the horizontal axis by clicking the desired entries in the Column List Box. Adding new entries does not replace existing ones. Entries appear on the horizontal axis in the order in which you clicked them.
The data provider determined which calculations to offer in the 'Calculate' menu.
The adjusted data, as transformed by the calculation, appears on the chart after a calculation has been applied.
The name of the applied calculation appears next to the title of the IDV.
Click 'Original Data' to remove all calculations from the data.
If your data provider offers this feature, you can save the data you have been analyzing online to your own system, as a data file or as an image.
Your provider may offer two image formats -- JPEG and PNG -- and two data formats -- Excel and RDL. RDL is a markup language created by enumerate to display numerical content online. RDL is derived from eXtensible Markup Language (XML); exported RDL files are XML-compatible.
From the �Export' menu, choose �Data� to download the data to your system.
A screen will appear asking if you want to save as Excel or RDL. If your data provider has only enabled one format -- most often Excel -- the RDL option will not appear.
Choose �Current Selections� to export only the data you have plotted on the chart or populated in the table. If you have applied a calculation, the exported data will be adjusted by the calculation.
Choose �All Data in Current File(s)� to export all of the data in the active data sets. This option exports the data with no calculations applied.
Click �Save� when you are ready to export.
From the �Export� menu choose �Image� to export a picture of your chart or table.
A screen will appear asking if you want to save the image in JPEG or PNG format. If your data provider has only enabled one format, only that option will appear.
You can adjust the image size (in pixels) by changing the height and width values in the accompanying text boxes. To maintain the current proportions of pixel width to pixel height, select 'Constrain Proportions.' This option automatically updates the width as you change the height and vice versa. Note: Adjusting the height and width too much from the default settings could result in a low quality image.
Click �Save� when you are ready to export.
If your data provider enabled the Export feature, a code certification screen is activated when you access the IDV, asking your permission to permit the download.
By answering �Yes� when this screen appears, you will be able to save images or data.
enumerate's IDVs are enabled by Java applets. For security reasons, online Java applets are normally prohibited from interacting with your file system. enumerate certifies that our Java code will not maliciously affect your computer and offers a digital signature with the applets to guarantee they have not been tampered with to introduce malicious code.
topThe Table IDV is already populated with line items when you access it. Your data provider determined what these line items are.
The columns of a table include data points about the line items. You can choose which columns to put in your table, from among all of those offered by your data provider.
To see the list of all available columns for your table, look in the Column List Box below the table.
Some columns are usually already displayed in a table when you access it. The data provider determined what these are. In most cases, the data provider set the default to display ALL available columns of data.
Choose the columns for your table by clicking in the Column List Box. If the initial table contained ALL of the available columns, your selection replaces them.
Add more columns by clicking the desired entries in the Column List Box. Adding new entries does not replace existing ones. Columns appear in the order in which you clicked them.
Reverse Columns -- See the data arrayed beginning with the last column instead of the first by selecting the 'Reverse Columns' menu item.
Toggle row numbers -- Turn the row numbers on or off by selecting the 'Row Number' menu item.
Transpose X and Y -- Turn rows into columns and vice versa by selecting the 'Transpose X Y' menu item.
Sort columns in a Table IDV by clicking a column heading. The message line directly above the table grid displays what sorts have been applied. The sorted column is highlighted in a color chosen by your data provider.
To remove all sorts and return to the original layout of the data, select 'Original Ordering' in the View Modifications menu.
Advanced IDVs include both a chart and a table for you to interact with online using your mouse.
Advanced IDV charts and tables have the same features and functionality as individual Chart IDVs and Table IDVs, with some important additions:
If your data provider enabled these advanced features, you can:
Toggle between a chart and table view or see both displayed together
Load and explore more than one RDL file, allowing you to compare independent data sets against one another.
Advanced Charts:
Create charts in the Advanced IDV in the same manner as you create charts in the Chart IDV -- with one exception.
In the Advanced IDV, the box containing the available line items of data to explore is called a 'Tree.' (In the Chart IDV, that box is the Legend List Box). In most cases, the list of line items displayed in the Tree can be expanded or contracted. Line items in the Tree with a "plus" sign next to them include multiple line items of associated data available under that header. Clicking the "plus" sign expands the Tree to reveal the line items below and replaces the "plus" sign with a "minus" sign. Any line item with a "diamond" next to it is not a header and can be plotted directly. Note: While the diamond is the default image provided by enumerate, your data publisher may replace the diamond with a different image.
Advanced Tables:Your data provider determines which data sets you can explore in the Advanced IDV. There is no limit to the number of data sets that may be offered.
Select the 'Library' menu to display the list of data sets that can be explored.
Select the data set you want to load. The line items in that data set appear automatically in the Tree together with the line items from other active data sets.
Plot line items by clicking in the Tree in the same manner as you would create charts in the Chart IDV.
Click the 'Reports' menu to display the list of reports offered by your data provider.
Click the report you want to plot it on the chart or populate the table.