Visual QuickStart Guide [Electronic resources] : Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger

Maria Langer

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Grapher

Grapher is a charting tool that can create static and dynamic 2-D and 3-D graphs based on formulas. Although Grapher appeared in earlier versions of Mac OS (as Graphing Calculator), Mac OS X 10.4 includes the first Mac OS X-compatible version.

I won't pretend to be an expert on Grapher because I'm not. Sure, I can tell you how to use it, but I can't tell you how it works to create all the cool graphs it can create. In fact, if you have a need for a tool like Grapher, you probably know a lot more about its use than I do. But in this section, I explain how to get started using it so you can experiment on your own.

Tip

Graphing Calculator has a fascinating history that might interest you if you like Apple trivia. To learn more about how and why it was written, fire up your Web browser and visit http://www.pacifict.com/story/.

To graph a formula

Open the Grapher icon in the Utilities folder (Figure 1 ).

If necessary, choose File > New or press to display the New Graph dialog (Figure 77 ).

Figure 77. The first step to graphing a formula is to choose a graph type in the New Graph dialog.

Click a button near the top of the dialog to list either 2D or 3D document types.

In the list on the left side of the dialog, select the type of document you want. A preview appears in the right side of the dialog (Figure 77 ).

Click Open. An untitled window with an empty graph appears (Figure 78 ).

Figure 78. An untitled document for a 3-D graph.

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Type the formula you want to chart in the box at the top of the window.

Press . The formula's graph appears in the window and the formula is added to the Definitions list (Figure 79 ).

Figure 79. Grapher can create animated, 3-D graphs like this one.

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If desired, repeat steps 6 and 7 to add other formulas to the graph.

Chapter 7 and printing in

Chapter 12 .

Figure 80. You may find it easier to enter complex formulas with the Equation Palette.

Grapher's Equation Palette (Figure 81 ) makes it a bit easier to enter complex formulas. To display it, choose Window > Show Equation Palette or press .

Figure 81. Grapher's File menu offers commands you can use with completed graphs.

Want to see some cool examples? Check out a few options under the Examples menu (Figure 82 ).