Comparative Data Display Tutorial

If you have created a graph containing State level data, you can drill down to the county level data by clicking on the state name. To return to the United States level, click on the link called United States.

Learning about this Graph

If you would like to read about this graph, what it contains, and where the data comes from, click on the About this Table button located in the bottom left corner of the graph.

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Creating a Simple Display

You can do a lot with the Comparative Data Display Graph. The simple graph consists of one column of data. To create a graph with one column of data, use the following procedure.

  1. Select the data you want to display in the drop down boxes on top right of the sample table marked Right Column Data.
  2. Click on the Draw button located near the bottom of the column of drop down boxes.

Note: The selection of items from the drop down boxes may affect other drop down boxes.

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Creating a Comparison Display

Using the Comparative Data Display Graph you can display two columns of data next to each other for comparison. To create a graph with two columns of data, follow the procedure below.

  1. Select the data you want to display in the drop down boxes on top right of the sample table marked Right Column Data.
    Note: If you have previously created a graph with one column of data, you can skip this step unless you want different data displayed.
  2. Select the data you want to display in the drop down boxes on top right of the sample table marked Left Column Data.
  3. Click on the Draw button.
    Note: The selection of items from the drop down boxes may affect other drop down boxes.

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Modifying a Graph

You can modify a Comparative Data Display Graph by creating a new graph. Following the procedures under Creating a 5-Year Rate Change Graph.

Note: Each column can be modified independently or you can modify both columns of data at once.

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Starting Over

Use the following procedure to clear all of the data from the existing graph…

  1. Click on the Clear All button located near the bottom of the drop down list boxes.
  2. All existing lines and the legend will be removed.

Note: If you accidentally clear the graph, use your browser's Back button to undo the clear operation.

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Sorting the data on the Table

You can sort the data on a Comparative Data Display Graph by State or County or by rank in either data column. To sort by one of these columns, click on the white button with the triangle on it under the column name. To sort a column in reverse order, click on the button a second time.

Note: The column that the table is currently sorted by is indicated by a black triangle on the sort button.

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Drilling Down

If you have created a graph containing State level data, you can drill down to the county level data by clicking on the state name. To return to the United States level, click on the link called United States.

Important Note: Do not use the browser's back button to try to go back to the United States level. This will reset your entire graph.

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Zooming in on the Map/Data Overview

If you have created a graph containing State level data, you can drill down to the county level data by clicking on the state name. To return to the United States level, click on the link called United States.

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Customizing the Display

You can change a number of things that affect the way the Comparative Data DisplayGraph is displayed including

To change any of these options, click on the Options button at the bottom of the column of drop down boxes.

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Accessing the Underlying Data

Once you have created a Comparative Data Display Graph, you can view the data that was used to generate the bars. Use the following procedure to view this data.

  1. Click on the Data Table button located in the bottom left corner of the graph.
  2. The data table will appear in a new browser window that includes the estimated annual percentage change for each segment of a line and both observed and estimated values for each year included on a line.

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Exporting Data from a Comparative Data Display Graph

You can export the data from a Comparative Data Display Graph it can be imported into another program such as SAS or Excel. Use the following procedure to export the data from a Comparative Data Display Graph.

  1. Click on the Data Table link.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the window.
  3. Click on the Semicolon Delimited Data.
  4. Follow the instructions on the screen.

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Copying a Comparative Data Display Graph into another Program

Use the following procedure to put a copy of the Comparative Data DisplayGraph into another program.

  1. Right mouse click on the Comparative Data Display Graph.
  2. Select Copy from the pop-up menu.
  3. Open the destination program (e.g., PowerPoint, Word, Word Perfect).
  4. Select Paste from the File menu, press Ctrl-V, or right click and select Paste from the pop-up menu.

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Interpreting the Graph

A text description has been provided to assist in understanding the Comparative Data DisplayGraph. Use the following procedure to access this text description.

  1. Click on the Interpret link located located in the bottom left corner of the graph.
  2. The text description will appear in a new browser window.

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Printing the Graph

If you select Print within your browser or press the print button, the entire screen is printing including all controls. Use one of the following procedures to print only the 5-Year Rate Change graph…

Printing with a print preview

  1. Click on the Printable View button located in the bottom left corner of the graph. A new browser window will appear containing only the graph you have created.
  2. Select Print within your browser or press the print button.

Printing without a print preview

  1. Right click on the graph and select the Print Picture... option from the pop-up menu. A print dialog box will appear.
  2. Click on the Print button.

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