JMP Flash Bubble Plot
Introduction
The Flash implementation of the JMP Bubble Plot displays up to five dimensions of data in a two-dimensional plot. Data can be displayed as x-coordinates, y-coordinates, size, color, and time.
Dynamic bubble plots were pioneered by Hans Rosling, Professor of International Health, Karolinska Institutet, and the people of http://www.gapminder.org/.
Parts of the Application
At the top left, the menu button shows available commands.
The Help link (top right) takes you to this document. The JMP icon in the lower left takes you to the JMP.com home page.
If your bubble plot displays more than two dimensions of data, controls below the plot enable you to vary the time period, and legends to the right of the plot show color and size.
General Features
Actions
There are two ways you can interact with the plot. For common commands, you can generally just click on the item you want to interact with. For example, to select a bubble, simply click on it. This displays the bubble’s label.
The other way to interact with the plot is to select an object, then choose an action from a menu. For example, suppose you want to change the scale of the X-axis from linear to logarithmic. First, click on the axis to select it. Then choose the Log Scale command from the menu button to apply the scale.
Selecting and Resizing
To select an object in the bubble plot, click on its edge, or on its title if it has one. For example, clicking on an axis title selects the axis. Clicking on the edge of a graph selects the graph.
When you select an axis, a graph, or the entire bubble plot, resize handles appear. Drag these handles to change size in any direction.
To enlarge the plot and its elements, use the resize handles. For example, to see a larger font, click on the application title, then drag the resize handles to increase the application size.
To select multiple objects, hold down the Shift or Ctrl key when you click. This enables you, for example, to apply log scales to multiple axes.
The Menu Button
Commands are displayed when you click on the menu button.
To apply a command, first select an object, then choose a command from a menu. If no objects are selected, commands apply to all objects.
Reset
The Reset command restores objects to their original state when the bubble plot was launched. This is useful, for example, when resetting axes that have been adjusted during exploration.
Print To
Printing always prints the entire application, so it does not matter whether objects are selected. Choose Print To to print the plot.
Context Menu
Commands for each type of object are also listed in a context menu, accessible by right-clicking. A context menu automatically selects the object under the cursor, so the command you choose applies to that object.
For example, the Log Scale command is listed in the context menu for axes. Right-click on the axis and select Log Scale to change the scale of the axis. Repeat the action to change the scale back to linear.
At the bottom of the Context Menu appear several actions provided by the Adobe Flash Player. These actions are documented on the Adobe website. They include Flash Player settings, which rarely need to be changed.
Bubble Plot Features
The bubble plot supports the following features.
Play / Pause
The Play/Pause button works as in other media players.
Press it to start the animation; press it again to pause. The animation displays bubbles for each unique time value. At the end, the animation fades, then starts again from the initial time.
Note: If your plot has no Time variable, this button does not appear.
Previous and Next
These buttons display the previous and next time slices of data. To create a smooth animation, bubble positions, sizes, and colors are linearly interpolated between data values. Previous and next buttons show you the actual data values, without interpolation.
Note: If your plot has no Time variable, these buttons do not appear.
Adjust Time
Drag the Time slider to adjust the time value. The tick marks show the time values that have actual data values. Between tick marks, data values are interpolated.
Note: If your plot has no Time variable, this slider does not appear.
The current time is shown by default in the least-populated corner of the plot. It can be dragged to any position on the plot.
Adjust Speed, Transparency, or Size
Click or drag the corresponding sliders to adjust speed of animation, transparency of deselected bubbles, or size of bubbles. All values are between 0% and 100%.
The Speed slider controls speed of animation and only appears when there is a time variable.
The Transparency slider controls the transparency of deselected bubbles. By default, deselected bubbles are more transparent (dimmer) than selected bubbles.
The Size slider controls the bubbles’ absolute maximum size. Relative size is determined by the Size variable.
Filter by Size and Color
Both size and color legends act as data filters: they show or hide bubbles based on your choices.
Size is usually a continuous variable. The two thumbs of the Size slider define the range of bubbles displayed. Drag the thumbs to change this range. If your plot has no Size variable, this legend does not appear.
If Color is a continuous variable, the color legend displays a similar range slider.
If Color is a categorical variable, the color legend is a list of check boxes. Click the check boxes off and on to hide or show data. The "All" checkbox at the top of the list shows or hides data for all values.
If your plot has no Color variable, this legend does not appear.
Note: The bubble plot sometimes displays colored bubbles, or bubbles of different sizes, without displaying legends. In JMP, it is possible to assign colors or sizes to observations without using a Color or Size variable, and in such cases no legend appears.
Labeling Bubbles
All selected bubbles display a label. To select multiple bubbles, hold down the Shift or Ctrl key.
To show the labels for all bubbles, selected and deselected, choose the Label All Bubbles command. To undo this labeling, select the command again.
Zoom Inward, Zoom Outward
Choose these commands to view bubbles in more or less detail. This useful, for example, when you have a cluster of overlapping bubbles and need to see them more clearly.
Fill All Bubbles
By default, bubbles are drawn as filled circles. Choose Fill All Bubbles to toggle between filled and unfilled bubbles.
Estimate Missing Values
By default, the bubble plot estimates missing time values by linear interpolation. Missing values are shown as bubbles with dashed lines around their rims.
Drawing Trailing Lines and Bubbles
Trailing lines and bubbles show the path of selected bubbles as the animation plays.
By default, the trails do not appear. Click the menu button and then select the trail options.
Note: You can't change these settings until you have selected some bubbles and played the animation.
Trails let you to focus on the paths of a few bubbles over time. If your bubble plot is dense, using only lines may be the best choice.
Note: These commands have no effect unless some bubbles are selected.
Axis Features
An axis displays continuous or categorical data on a vertical or horizontal scale.
Panning and Zooming
To zoom, or stretch an axis (therefore altering its range) drag near the maximum or minimum of the axis. To pan, or shift the center of an axis, drag near the midpoint of the axis.
Log Scale
The Log Scale command applies a log scale to a continuous axis. Select the command again to revert to a linear axis.
