InvalidUser

Drawanchors="0" Does Not Disable Tooltips For Zoomline Dataset (As It Should?)

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Greetings charters.

My first post - a bug/problem of course.

 

 

 

FusionCharts XT Documentation --> Chart XML API --> Multi-Series Charts --> Zoom Line Chart (Zoom Line Chart Specification Sheet) --> Data --> <dataset> element:

 

Attribute Name: drawAnchors

Type: Boolean

Range: 0/1

Description: "Whether to draw anchors for the particular dataset. If the anchors are not shown, then the tool tip won't work for the dataset."

 

 

This is reproducible with your Yearly Revenue zoom line sample chart.

 

Ugh.

 

I discovered this in attempting to work-around another issue I'm having with the zoom line charts design which is that setting a maximum y-axis value overrides the dynamic axis feature, which IMO, it shouldn't. Setting a specific minimum y-axis value does not override the dynamic axis, so why should setting a maximum?

 

So as a workaround, I was tried creating a dummy invisible dataset (by setting drawAnchors="0" and line alpha="0") with strategic minimum and maximum points which would force my desired minimum and maximum chart boundaries without disabling the dynamic axis feature - but since the tooltips don't disappear along with the line, my only acceptable workaround fails. (And setting the toolText to " " for each value is not an adequate solution because the tooltip still shows up as a little single-space empty tooltip.)

 

Any suggestions?

 

P.S.

Despite my issues mentioned above, I'm impressed with Fusion Charts. Easy to build, good range of capabilities, very good documentation, and you were quick to respond to my forum sign-up problem. I'm experimenting with the trial at the moment but have a project coming up that would benefit a great deal from some of the charts and especially some of the live-updating widgets so I may consider a purchase.

Edited by InvalidUser

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Hi,

 

First, thanks for your appreciation and patronage. Your kind words and suggestions keep us moving and improving.

 

 

Regarding -

 

If the anchors are not shown, then the tool tip won't work for the dataset."

 

 

We would like to state that this is a Documentation bug, which we will correct instantly in our Website Documentation. The product pack will be updated with the correction in the next release.

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Thanks for the quick reply Mr. Being.

 

The same behavior is stated for drawAnchors in the MSLine documentation and the tooltips DO actually disappear. This seems like the behavior that is intended, and that which I would expect. I would not expect tooltips to show up on a smooth line or especially an invisible line (alpha="0"). Why should it work differently for the static line chart than for the zoom line chart? Hope you'll reconsider this being a 'documentation bug' .

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Might I suggest that if FusionCharts would like to still optionally show anchor tooltips on a smooth line, drawAnchors="0" could be the implied "turn tooltips off" switch (along with the primary function - removing the anchors) while setting the anchorRadius="0" could be the alternative switch to disappear the anchors but keep their corresponding tooltips visible.

 

This seems like it would be logical/intuitive behavior since tooltips are tied to anchors in these charts' context. If the anchors are switched off altogether (drawAnchors="0"), the associated tooltips should also switch off. But if the anchor size is only reduced to the point of blending with the line, they're not technically 'gone' so the associated tooltips should still appear. (Currently, setting anchorRadius="0" duplicates the behavior of drawAnchors="0" on the MSLine and ZoomLine charts, respectively.)

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Hi IU,

 

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

As of now, the Zoom Line chart's intended behaviour is a bit different from the MSLine chart, as you would find in Zoom Line chart there exists a tracker vertical line along with the tooltips. Again, Zoom Line chart, in general, with huge amount of data, does not show up anchors. It tend to be a smooth line. Anchors in Zoom Line chart do not hold much ground in visualizing huge data points. Thus, there is an automatic option to show anchors only when the pixel distance between the two data points cross a threshold.

 

In a normal line chart, tooltips may tie to anchors (A better way to untie this is to use anchorAlpha='0' where the invisble anchor [= mouse tracker for tooltip] consume healthy amount of real estate for easy interactivity). However, in a Zoom Line chart, anchors are likely to be auto-invisible in majority of the cases - and the same behaviour (tooltips tied to anchors) may reduce the use of tooltip to a great extent.

 

However, we can consider adding to our 'wish-list' - an option to explicitly hide tooltips for a particular dataset. This can be a generic option for all charts.

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