Change the Appearance of a Box
Charting Tool Edit Users can customize the visual appearance and position of each box on the chart while the Formatting panel is open.
1. First, enter Edit Mode by clicking the Edit Mode icon until a pencil appears in the icon.
2. Open the Box/Line Styles tab within the Formatting panel by clicking the Formatting icon.
3. Select the box or boxes to customize by clicking the box or boxes (multiple boxes can be selected by holding down the Control key on Windows or the Command key on MacOS and then clicking the desired boxes).
4. The Box Styles menu is open by default. Select the general format of the selected boxes in the Template field. The options are:
All data – The default box type in GEMS Charting; the box contains all data as returned by the search selected when the chart was created.
Title only – The box contains only the name of the Entity.
Greyed Out – The box contains only the name of the Entity, and its text and border are rendered in a light grey color; users cannot change the colors or shape of the box or text.
Hidden – The box is hidden from the chart entirely.
5. If you selected either All data or Title only in step 4, customize the appearance of the selected boxes using the following fields in the Box Styles menu:
Box Shape – To change the shape of the box, click this dropdown menu and select the desired shape from the options provided.
Border Color – This field modifies the color of the box border. Clicking it allows users to use an eyedropper tool to select a color or to enter their desired RGB value in the appropriate fields.
Border Width – Type a number value here to increase or decrease the width of the box’s border.
Border Transparency – This field determines how solid the box’s border appears. Options are Solid, 25% Transparent, 50% Transparent, and 75% Transparent.
Border Style – Change the appearance of the box’s border by selecting between Solid Line, Dashes, Dots, and Dashes & Dots.
Background Color - This field modifies the color of the box’s background. Clicking it allows users to use an eyedropper tool to select a color or to enter their desired RGB value in the appropriate fields.
Background Transparency – This field determines how solid the box’s background appears. Options are Solid, 25% Transparent, 50% Transparent, and 75% Transparent.
Title Bar Color - This field modifies the color of the box’s title bar if you selected a Template of All data. Clicking it allows users to use an eyedropper tool to select a color or to enter their desired RGB value in the appropriate fields.
6. If you selected either All data or Title only in step 4, customize the text for the selected boxes using the following fields within the Text Styles menu:
Title Text Color – This field modifies the color of the box’s title bar. Clicking it allows users to use an eyedropper tool to select a color or to enter their desired RGB value in the appropriate fields.
Title Text Size – Click this dropdown to select the size of the text for the box’s title.
Data Text Color – This field modifies the color of the box’s data fields for boxes of the All data Template type. Clicking it allows users to use an eyedropper tool to select a color or to enter their desired RGB value in the appropriate fields.
Data Text Size – Click this dropdown to select the size of the text for the box’s data fields for boxes of the All data Template type.
7. To change the size of the selected box or boxes, click Box Size to open the Box Size menu.
8. Enter the desired values in the Box Height and Box Width fields—the higher the number, the higher and wider the box.
Alternatively, tick the Auto checkbox to have GEMS automatically adjust the Box Height field for each selected box based on its content (Box Width still needs to be manually set).
9. Determine which boxes the above customizations will apply to by locating the Apply Changes To field at the bottom of the Box Styles panel and selecting from the below options:
Current Box Only – If one box is selected, the customizations will only apply to that box; if multiple boxes are selected, the customizations will apply to the box that was selected last.
All Boxes – The customizations will be applied to all boxes on the chart.
All Selected Boxes – The customizations will be applied to all the boxes selected.
All Search Highlighted Boxes – Customizations will be applied to all boxes highlighted as a result of a search executed via the Search icon on the toolbar.
10. To apply the customizations, click the Apply Style Changes button; to cancel without applying, click the Close icon in the top right of the Formatting panel.
Change the Appearance of a Line
1. First, enter Edit Mode by clicking the Edit Mode icon until a pencil appears in the icon.
2. Open the Box/Line Styles tab within the Formatting panel by clicking the Formatting icon.
3. Select the line or lines to customize by clicking the line or lines (multiple lines can be selected by holding down the Control key on Windows or the Command key on MacOS and then clicking the desired lines).
4. To change the color of the line, click the Line Color field and select the desired color.
5. Adjust the line thickness by entering a value into the Line Thickness field or using the arrows on the right side of the field. Larger numbers indicate thicker lines.
6. Select a line pattern by clicking the Line Pattern field and selecting Solid, Dashed, or Dotted.
7. Select the arrow type by clicking the Arrow Type field and selecting the desired shape.
8. Determine which lines the above customizations will apply to by locating the Apply Changes To field at the bottom of the Line Styles panel and selecting from the below options:
Current Line Only – If one line is selected, the customizations will only apply to that line; if multiple lines are selected, the customizations will apply to the line that was selected last.
All Lines– The customizations will be applied to all lines on the chart.
All Selected Lines – The customizations will be applied to all the lines selected.
9. To apply the customizations, click the Apply Style Changes button; to cancel without applying, click the Close icon in the top right of the Formatting panel.
