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How do I plot chart with negative value using Logarithmic Scale ?

 
 
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      15th May 2006

 
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Del Cotter
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      15th May 2006
On Sun, 14 May 2006, in microsoft.public.excel.charting,
FTian <(E-Mail Removed)> said:

[no content, but Subject line reads: "How do I plot chart with negative
value using Logarithmic Scale ?"]

It's not Excel's fault you can't do that, it's a mathematical
impossibility. Zero is an infinite distance way down past the bottom of
the chart, and negative numbers are "beyond infinity".

If you still want to try it, then you need to use a linear scale, but
create a column with a formula that looks like:

=IF(x<0,-LN(-x),LN(x))

and plot that instead. Then go to Jon Peltier's site and learn about
using "dummy axes", ranges of labelled data that are created to mimic
the appearance of an axis in Excel, to do what Excel's axes can't do.

Then you should put a text box in the chart to explain to the readers
that what they're seeing is not a proper log scale, but two log scales
back-to-back, one for positive, and one for reversed negative.

--
Del Cotter
NB Personal replies to this post will send email to (E-Mail Removed),
which goes to a spam folder-- please send your email to del3 instead.
 
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