- Run your program and generate the data you want to graph
in a row/column format, with tabs between
each of the items in a given row.
Do this by modifying the print statements or
cutting-and-pasting the data. For example:
printf("%f\t%f\t%f\t%f\t%f\n", data[0],data[1],data[2],data[3],data[4]);Produces output formatted like:
- Save this data as a text file.
- Sit down at a PC in one of the University computing labs (ie. Smith Hall lab).
- FTP your data. Double-click on
the
ftpicon, then click New, and type the name of the machine on which your data file resides (ie.porsche.cis.udel.edu). Enter your login name and password, then click OK. Find your data file, and Copy it to the local PC hard drive or a floppy disk.
- Start Microsoft Excel (double-click).
- Select Open on the pull-down File menu.
- Locate your data file, which may take a bit of navigation to the correct directory or floppy. Double click on the data file. Excel's Text Import Wizard will automatically run and help you import the data file to Excel.
- Check Tab under Delimiters.
Select Treat consecutive delimiters as one. Click Finish.
- Edit to get column headers in the correct position. To do this, use the Edit menu to copy, paste, or delete a row. Use the Insert menu to insert a row. The column headers will appear on the graph, so be sure to have them set up as you want. Your data is now available for graphing in Excel.
- Highlight your data by dragging the mouse over the data, including the column headings. Select the icon for ChartWizard. The cursor will turn into a crosshair.
- Drag the mouse over the area where you want the graph to appear. ChartWizard - Step 1 of 5 should appear on your screen. Click next.
- Select Column for chart type and click Next.
- Select the column chart format that is most appropriate for the kind of graph you are creating. 6 is a good choice. Click Next.
- Change the Use First 0 Column(s) for Category(X) Asix Labels to 1. Click Next.
- Enter a chart title along with Category(X) and Value(Y) axis titles. Click Finish.
- Save the document containing your graph. You can save
it to a floppy, or temporarily to the hard drive and then
ftpit back to your account. - Print your graph when done if you like, or incorporate it directly into a write-up (which you can do in Microsoft Word).
- Delete any stray files (data, etc.) you may have created on the local hard drive.