Why can't I format individual data points from the data table?

As of the writing of this FAQ, there are a number of known issues in Prism related to formatting data points from the data table. In some situations, the selected formatting changes are not applied at all, while in other cases the formatting changes are partially applied to the graph. All of these issues will be fixed in a future release.

The list below provides information on the known issues for both the Windows and Mac versions of Prism (as well as workarounds for both Windows and Mac).

Windows

• It is impossible to apply Bar, Error Bar, and Line options via the Format Points submenu from a data table when using a "Scatter with bars" graph in the Grouped family of graphs
• Options from the Symbols section of the Format Points dropdown are partially applied to Violin graphs when several cells on the data table are selected
• It is impossible to apply Error Bar and Line options via the Format Points submenu from a data table when using a "Superimposed Scatter" graph in the Grouped family of graphs
• It is impossible to apply Line and Quartile options via the Format Points submenu from a data table when using a a "Violin" graph in the Grouped family of graphs
• It is impossible to format data points for the XY family of graphs via the Format Points options after executing "Apply Data Set Format" command
• The Line section is dimmed in the Format Points submenu when using graphs with means and medians

Example

Workaround

As stated previously, these issues will all be fixed in a future version of Prism. In the meantime, the workaround for these issues is to format individual points or data sets using the contextual menu directly from the graph sheet. To format a point or a data set, right-click on the point or bar on the graph and select the desired options.

Additional related issues

Below are a number of other issues that you may experience related to this topic. These will also be fixed in a future release of the software.

• After duplicating a graph family, saving and re-opening the file, data points on the duplicated graph do not retain color formatting
  • Workaround: use the Magic tool to copy formatting from the original graph onto the affected graph. Find more details here.
• Labels are not shown on graph sheets after clicking "Show Row Titles" in the Format Points submenu
  • Workaround 1: Enable row titles from the graph by right-clicking and selecting "Show Row Titles" from the "Format this point" submenu
  • Workaround 2: Resize the graph manually, which may help with showing row titles

Mac

• The Line section is dimmed in the Format Points submenu when using graphs with means and medians
• It is impossible to format data points for the XY family of graphs via the Format Points options after executing "Apply Data Set Format" command

Workaround

As stated previously, these issues will all be fixed in a future version of Prism. In the meantime, the workaround for these issues is to format individual points or data sets using the contextual menu directly from the graph sheet. To format a point or a data set, right-click on the point or bar on the graph and select the desired options (example in the Windows section)