4 Replies Latest reply: Jun 11, 2013 8:06 AM by alanomaly RSS

    Stop illustrator's graph tool from flipping negative labels?

    alanomaly Community Member
    alanomaly Apr 16, 2013 3:04 AM

      I'm hardly the first to have issues with Illustrator's (CS6) creaking elderly graph tool, but this one is just silly.

       

      It seems like any time you add column total labels to a chart with negative values, the labels for the negative values get printed flipped along the central axis of the chart, upside down or back to front.

       

      I've created a bar chart (same issue exists with column charts) and given it automatic bar total labels using an adapted version of the method in the manual:

       

      • I created an invisible rectange the size of the bar
      • I added a horizontal guide just below the top of the bar
      • I added a coloured rectangle the size of the bar
      • I added text for (in my case) any number of significant figures, no decimal places (%00) as a label
      • I grouped it all and saved it as a graph design, then selected the group of bars / columns and applied the design using Object > Graph > Column, selecting 'Sliding'

       

      So, the 'design' looks like this:

       

      Screen Shot 2013-04-16 at 10.46.23.png

       

      So far so good... But the data for the chart includes negative numbers. The labels for negative numbers come out in exactly the right place, with a minus sign "-" correctly added... but they're all flipped horizontally / vertically. The negative labels are all back to front.

       

      Screen Shot 2013-04-16 at 10.48.13.png

       

      A few things I've tried:

       

      • In my example, the text was rotated 90 degrees so the text labels would continue in the direction of the bars. I thought maybe this was causing the problem, and tried creating a design with non-rotated text: here, the negative labels ended up upside down, flipped in exactly the same way.
      • I also tried a column chart, instead of a bar chart - same thing, ends up flipped, back to front or upside down.
      • I've tried every option I can see (e.g. ticking and unticking "rotate legend"). Nothing seems to help.

       

      I'm hoping for a way to stop Illustrator from automatically doing this.

       

      That said, I can't even see any reasonable way to manually fix these without breaking the chart by ungrouping it: normally, I'd select each negative label using the direct selection tool holding shift, then use Transform Each to flip each one around its own axis. But, Transform Each just doesn't work on graphs or elements of graphs. Object > Transform > Reflect seems to work, but it a) requires the text to be centre-aligned, else the labels need to be moved as well as flipped, and b) takes ages to reflect every negative label one at a time for every chart every time the chart is updated.

        • 1. Re: Stop illustrator's graph tool from flipping negative labels?
          Steve Fairbairn Community Member
          Steve Fairbairn Apr 16, 2013 3:19 AM (in response to alanomaly)

          See this thread, post #4:

          http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1192523?tstart=0

          It’s important to select whole groups by double-clicking.

           

          But I think you will still have trouble with those negative labels if you flip them. It’s the flip that  is causing your trouble.

          • 2. Re: Stop illustrator's graph tool from flipping negative labels?
            alanomaly Community Member
            alanomaly Apr 16, 2013 3:49 AM (in response to Steve Fairbairn)

            Yes the flip is the entire topic of the question. Illustrator's graph tool flips the whole column design for negative values, including the labels. It doesn't correct for the fact that text shouldn't ever normally be flipped like this, and I can't find any way to stop it doing this, or any clean way to reverse it after it has happened, which is why I'm asking here.

             

            I read the other thread - which tool are you talking about when you say double click? Here's the results I get:

             

            • Group selection tool ('white arrow with plus sign') - selects the text label on first click, broadens selection to whole design for that one column on second click. This is column labels, not axis labels (which is what the other thread is about): the labels are each within the group for the 'Graph design' for each column. There's no group that simply contains column labels like there is for axis labels: the group structure is [label] < [whole column design: label, bar, guide] < [each column design] < [whole chart].
            • Selection tool ('black arrow') - does nothing. Would normally go into isolation mode, but AFAIK the graph tool hasn't been updated since well before isolation mode existed and isolation mode doesn't work with graphs.
            • Direct selection tool ('white arrow') - first click selects the text label, second click edits the text with the text tool.

            I think what you say is true for axis labels but not column lables.

             

            So far, the only manual method that works is selecting with the direct selection tool, Object > Transform > Reflect, then change the alignment (so right align if it was left align) making sure that any indents or padding are the same on both sides. Laborious and clunky.

            • 3. Re: Stop illustrator's graph tool from flipping negative labels?
              alanomaly Community Member
              alanomaly May 29, 2013 2:13 AM (in response to alanomaly)

              Bump.

               

              Is there a way to get someone from Adobe to look at this? If there's no other way around it, it really looks like a (rather silly) bug.

              • 4. Re: Stop illustrator's graph tool from flipping negative labels?
                alanomaly Community Member
                alanomaly Jun 11, 2013 8:06 AM (in response to alanomaly)

                Bump.

                 

                Seriously, do Adobe even have any staff any more? I guess they don't need any now they get money from subscribers even when they don't release any new features or fix any bugs.

                 

                Just in case anyone from Adobe cares about their products, I've submitted this as a bug report with the following steps to replicate:

                1. Create a graph design with dynamic text labels (e.g. point text saying %00)

                2. Create a graph that includes negative and positive values

                3. Apply the graph design to the columns

                 

                Results:

                The text in the negative values is upside down or back to front

                 

                Expected results:

                The graph tool should make sure that any text objects in the design are the right way round: if it flips the design objects for negative value, it should un-flip any text.