9.5.1.1 The (Plot Details) Color Map/Contours Tab

See more related video:Contour Plots and Color Mapping

The Plot Details dialog for Color Fill Surfaces, Contours, Image plots, and 2D plots using Color Indexing all have variants of a Color Map tab (called Color Map / Contours for Contour plots) that provide controls for customizing the levels, fill color, contour lines, contour labels, and fill methods, where applicable.

Contour	3D Surface

Image	Heatmap

Level, Fill, Line and Labels

Level

Origin displays a default set of levels by finding the minimum and maximum values plotted in the matrix-based graph (Z values) or worksheet-based graph (column index values), then calculating an increment that creates eight color levels. Two additional levels are added to represent values less than the minimum and greater than the maximum value. Individual values may be edited in the list by double-clicking. You can also click the Level header to open the Set Levels dialog. Then you can edit the levels as a group.

Level is available in all the above plot types.

Fill

Origin defaults to using a color list that introduces Yellow and Green between limits of Red and Blue. Individual colors and Fill Patterns may be edited in the list by clicking, or you can click on the Fill header to open the Fill dialog, wherein you can edit the fill method and properties as a group.

Fill is available in all the above plot types.

Note: When the Fill color is linked to the palette, the individual color in the list is not editable. To modify the Fill color for individual level, you should double click Fill header and uncheck Link to Palette in Fill dialog.

Line

Each level of the Color Map may show a Contour Line. Individual Lines may be turned on or off and edited by clicking the row in the Line column, or by clicking on the Line header to open the Contour Lines dialog, wherein you can edit the Line properties as a group.

Line is available only for Contour plots.

Note: When Line is set to Show on Major Level Only, the individual line except the one that is on a major level is not editable. To show/hide the line for individual level, you should double click Line header and uncheck Show on Major Levels Only in Contour Lines dialog.

Labels

Each level of the Color Map may show a Contour Label. Individual Labels may be turned on by checking the box in the Labels column of the row, or by clicking on the Labels header to open the Contour Labels dialog, wherein you can specify whether to show or hide Labels as a group.

Labels is only available for Contour plots.

Note: When Labels is set to Show on Major Level Only, the individual label except the one that is on a major level cannot be turned on by checking the box. To show/hide contour label for individual level, you should double click Labels header and uncheck Show on Major Levels Only in Contour Labels dialog.

Editing levels

To edit a level value

In the Colormap/Contours tab of Plot Details dialog, double click on any cell in Level.... column to directly in-place edit the Level value. Values are restricted to those between the previous Level and next Level values.

To edit the full range of levels

Right click on the plot, and select Colormap: Set Levels to open the Set Levels dialog.

In the Colormap/Contours tab of the Plot Details dialog, click on the Level... heading to opens the Set Levels dialog box (see the following).

To customize the minimum or maximum level

Type the desired value into the associated text box.

Click Find Min/Max to automatically set the From and To values, based on your data. Select a type for the scale. Please see details about the scale type here.

Additionally, you can set the interval between levels or you can specify the number of levels manually by setting the values of Major Levels and Minor Levels.

Major Levels: Set the absolute number of major levels shown in the color range.
Minor Levels: Specify the number of minor levels to display between adjacent major levels.

You also can set the First Level item to specify the value of the first major level.

Editing Fills

To set colors for the full range of data, click the Fill header. In the Fill dialog, choose modes of color and pattern generation (see Color Generation by Interpolation, below).

When the Fill color is linked to the palette or color list, you cannot edit individual fill colors by clicking on them in the Fill column (the Fill dialog opens with the controls dimmed).

To enable modification of one or more levels of Fill color

With no Level selected, click the pencil icon in the Fill column header.
Clear the Link to Palette/Color List check box and click OK.

To edit the fill color for a level:

Click the color in the Fill column you wish to edit to open the Fill dialog.

Contour	3D Surface

To edit a range of fill colors:

Click in the Level column, pressing CTRL or SHIFT to select multiple levels.
Click the Fill header to open the Fill dialog box where you can customize colors for the selected levels.

Color Generation by Interpolation

Limited Mixing	Select this radio button to select a minimum level fill color (From) and a maximum level fill color (To), and to fill the levels between these extremes with a linear mix of the two colors.
3-Color Limited Mixing	Select this option to select a minimum level fill color (From), a middle level fill color (Middle) and a maximum level fill color (To), and to fill a range of cells by using a gradation of three colors. Additionally, specify how to determine the Middle Position: If By Percentile, enter the percentile of the level that corresponds to the Middle color. If By Percent, enter the percent of the level that corresponds to the Middle color. Note that because you can insert or delete individual levels on the Colormap/Contours tab, the n% level may not correspond to the nth percentile level. If By Value, enter a number in the From and To range of values, that you wish to correspond with the Middle color.
Introducing Other Colors in Mixing	Select this radio button to have Origin automatically introduce complementary colors into the mix. This option provides fill colors that are more distinct than the ones provided by the Limited Mixing option.
Load Palette	Load the palette and apply it to color fills. Click the Select Palette button, you can select one palette from the 40 built-in palettes. Besides, you also can browse the user-defined palette files by clicking More Palettes... in the palette list. Link to Palette/Color List Select this check box to link the color filling to the selected palette. It will disable editing the single color under the Fill column by clicking. Flip Flip the order of colors in the selected palette and map it to the existed color level. Stretch to Full Range If this checkbox is checked, the colors in the palette will be repeated or skipped to n, where n is the number of color map levels in the input graph layer. If this checkbox is clear and n is less than 256 (palette), only the first n colors in the palette will be used. If the checkbox is clear and n is more than 256 (palette), the entire set of colors in the palette will be repeated as many times as needed.
Color List	Load the color list and apply it to color fills. Click the Select Color List button, you can select one color list from built-in or user defined color list. Link to Palette/Color List Select this check box to link the color filling to the selected color list. It will disable editing the single color under the Fill column by clicking. Flip Flip the order of colors in the selected color list and map it to the existed color level. Stretch to Full Range If this checkbox is checked, the colors in the color list will be repeated or skipped to n, where n is the number of color map levels in the input graph layer. If this checkbox is clear and n is less than color number in the color list, only the first n colors in the color list will be used. If the checkbox is clear and n is more than color number in the color list, the entire set of colors in the color list will be repeated as many times as needed.
From	This is available only when either Limited Mixing, 3-Color Limited Mixing or Introducing Other colors in Mixing is selected. Use it to specify the color for the minimum level.
Middle	This is available only when 3-Color Limited Mixing is selected. Use it to specify the color for the middle level.
To	This is available only when either Limited Mixing, 3-Color Limited Mixing or Introducing Other colors in Mixing is selected. Use it to specify the color for the maximum level.

Range

The read-only boxes in the Range group display the range of levels that are affected by the current dialog box settings. To specify another range, you must close the dialog box and select the desired range from the Level column of the Color Map/Contours tab, and then click the Fill header again.

If you want to edit all levels, make sure that no more than one level is selected from the Level column (or that all the levels are selected).

Pattern Generation

Check Use Increment Pattern

You can select the increment from build-in pattern list, or click the button to open Increment Editor dialog to custom the new pattern list.
You can select the From and To pattern style form the Pattern list. The list is according to the Increment Pattern list that you selected.
After you select From and To pattern for the maximum and minimum levels, then others will be interpolated according to the Increment Pattern list between the levels.
Also, you can select the Color and Line Width for From and To pattern.

Uncheck Use Increment Pattern

You can only can select one pattern style under From, then that pattern is used for all levels.
Also, you can select the Color and Line Width for From pattern.

Editing Contour Lines

To edit individual Contour Lines:

You can click the row in the Line column to opens the Line dialog:

Check or clear the Show check box to display or hide the line. When the box is checked, you can customize the line color, style, and width.

Note: When Line is set to Show on Major Level Only, the individual line except the one that is on a major level is not editable by clicking. To show/hide the line for individual level, you should double click Line header and uncheck Show on Major Levels Only in Contour Lines dialog.

To edit a range of Contour Lines :

Click the Line header to edit all levels of the contour lines. (Make sure that no more than one level is selected from the Level column. )

Select a contiguous range of values in the Level column (using the Ctrl key or Shift key), then click the Line header.

You can then use the Contour Lines dialog box to edit that range of Contour Lines:

Show Lines	This section just active when editing all levels of the contour lines. Show on Major Levels only Show the lines only on the major levels and leave the minor levels out of account. When this box is checked, the radio buttons below will be inactive. Keep Current Maintain the current visibility of lines in the selected range. Show All (Show Selected) Display all contour lines in the range. Hide All (Hide Selected) Hide all contour lines in the range.
Line Properties	Link Line to Colormap Color Contour Lines will match the colormap color at each level. This checkbox is only active when editing all levels of the contour lines. If this checkbox is selected, the Color checkbox under Apply to All will be grayed out. Apply to All (Apply to Selection) Allow editing of the Color, Style and Width independently for all lines in the range.

Show Lines

This section just active when editing all levels of the contour lines.

Show on Major Levels only

Show the lines only on the major levels and leave the minor levels out of account. When this box is checked, the radio buttons below will be inactive.

Keep Current

Maintain the current visibility of lines in the selected range.

Show All (Show Selected)

Display all contour lines in the range.

Hide All (Hide Selected)

Hide all contour lines in the range.

Line Properties

Link Line to Colormap Color

Contour Lines will match the colormap color at each level. This checkbox is only active when editing all levels of the contour lines.

If this checkbox is selected, the Color checkbox under Apply to All will be grayed out.

Apply to All (Apply to Selection)

Allow editing of the Color, Style and Width independently for all lines in the range.

Editing Display of Labels

To control labeling of contour lines, click on the Labels column heading to open the Contour Labels dialog.

Show on Major Levels Only will display labels only on the primary levels (whether set by Increment or # Major Levels) as determined by Set Levels dialog settings. Other label display options, including enabling of individual labels by checking boxes on the Colormap/Contours tab, are not available when Major Levels Only is selected.
Select Keep Current to maintain your chosen Labels selections.
Select Show All (or Show Selected) to show all the contour labels within the range (i.e. label every level).
Select Hide All (or Hide Selected) to hide all the contour labels within the range.

When you label a contour plot using the Mini Toolbar Show Contour Labels button , you are adding labels to Show on Major Levels Only.

When Show on Major Levels Only is not checked, you can label levels individually by checking Label column boxes on the Colormap/Contours tab.

Note: To add individual labels to your contour graph, press CTRL + SHIFT and click precisely on a contour line. Then, right-click and choose Add Contour Label. You can adjust location by dragging the added contour label.

Level Group

Use the buttons in the group to insert or delete levels.

To insert a level:

Click the Insert.. button in the Level group to open the Insert dialog.
Enter the level(s) you want to inserted in the blank box. Please note, multiple levels can be separated with netring spaces.
Click OK to insert the level(s)。

To delete a level:

Click on the level to select it and then click the Delete button in the Level group. When you delete a level, the other levels do not change.

Color Fill Control Group

For Color Mapped Surface plots, the Color Fill Control Group consists only of the Enabled check box. Unchecking this box turns the plot into a wire grid.
For contour graphs, the Enabled check box controls association of colors with levels. There are two methods for filling :

Matrix/XYZ Surface	Matrix Contour	XYZ Contour

Color Fill Control Group for Matrix/XYZ Surface

Enable Contours
Show Contour lines on the surface.

Color Fill Control Group for Matrix Contour (also applies to Virtual Matrix).

Fill to Contour Lines
Uses the contour lines as a color fill boundary.
Fill to Grid Lines
Uses the grid lines as a color fill boundary.

Fill to Contour Lines uses linear interpolation of cell values to determine contour line placement and colors are filled to irregularly-drawn contour lines, using chosen color scale values. By contrast, Fill to Grid Lines treats each matrix cell as a discrete rectangle (or square), with a scale color assigned to each rectangle. Each has its applications and you have to determine which makes sense for your particular application.

Note: Origin's Heatmap graph type uses the Fill to Grid Lines setting. With this setting, each matrix cell is assigned a single color value from the chosen color scale. Further, cells or "blocks" are centered on ticks. Thus, a contour plot created from a 10 X 10 matrix might use axis scale values From 1 To 10, whereas a Heatmap produced from the same matrix would have scale values From 0.5 To 10.5.

Color Fill Control Group for XYZ Contour

Color Fill
Enable color fill for contour.
Show Grid Lines
Show the grid lines by connecting nearby data points as triangles.
Show Data Points
Show the data points, in XY coordinates.

Note:

The Color Fill Control group is not available for Image plots or 2D plots using Color Indexing.

Missing values Group

Under Missing values group, you can not only specify the threshold value for missing value in matrix, but also indicate the way to interpret values according to threshold value. By selecting the operators in drop-down list, you can assign values larger than/smaller than/equal to threshold value as missing value. This is in addition to an Origin Missing Value, which appears in a matrix as --.

And then, you can click the color box to specify a color for these missing values.

Colormap Theme Group

Use the buttons in the group to copy or save/load the color map settings specified in the Color Map table.

This group of buttons can copy or save all the settings specified in the Color Map table, including levels, fill colors, contour lines, and labels. You can select the Include Levels and Colors Only check box to copy/save settings in the Level and Fill columns only.

To copy color map settings from one plot to another:

On the Colormap/Contours tab of the source plot, click the Copy button.
Go to the Colormap/Contours tab of the destination plot. Click the Paste button.

To save color map settings as a graph theme:

Click on the Save button. In the Save As dialog that opens, save the settings as a graph theme (*.oth file). The default location where themes are saved is /Theme/Graph in the the User Files folder.

To use an existing graph theme for color map settings:

Click on the Load button. In the Open dialog, browse to select and load a graph theme.

Boundary

This group provides controls to customize the contour boundary, it is only available for contour graphs (either from XYZ or matrix). For XYZ contour plot, boundaries is defined in the Contouring Info tab, while for matrix contour, the data boundary is used.

Follow Contour Line	When this check box is selected, the contour boundary lines will follow the style of contour lines. Only when this is not selected, can one customize the boundary line style separately (i.e. all options below will be available).
Show	Specify whether to show the contour boundary lines. Only when this is selected, will the controls below be available.
Color	Specify the color of the boundary lines.
Style	Specify the line style from the drop-down list.
Width	Specify the line width, either type in the width value or select from the drop-down.

Border

This group is only availiable for Heatmap plots, used to control the cell border of the heatmap cells.

Check the check box before Border to enable this group. Then, you can set the color and thickness of the border lines.

Rescale Mode

The Rescale Mode drop-down list allows you to control whether or not the levels that are established on the Color Map or Color Map/Contours tab will update if the current values change.

Normal	Origin automatically finds the minimum and maximum values in your data set, and then creates evenly sized levels and associated colors.
Manual	Current levels and associated colors set on the Color Map/Contours tab will remain fixed, independent of the range of your data set. To alter the levels and colors, you must edit the Level and Fill controls.
Fixed From	The minimum level remains unchanged, independent of the values in your data set.
Fixed To	The maximum level remains unchanged, independent of the values in your data set.
Auto	Auto resale the color levels and color fills, once the data range is changed.

Transparency

To specify the transparency of the colormap filled area(contour, image, heatmap or surface), move the slider or type a desired integer from 0 to 100 in the combination box.

Note: 0 means the area is not transparent at all, and 100 means the area is fully transparent.

Workbook (Matrix) Button

Click the Workbook Button (if the raw data is a Matrix, this button will be a Matrix Button) at the bottom of the dialog, the Workbook/Matrix contains raw data will be opened. Besides, If the plot is made from a Virtual Matrix, then click Workbook button should open Virtual Matrix Manager with corresponding Virtual Matrix highlighted.