Google Docs Motion Chart

Google Docs Motion Chart
Google Docs now offer an innovative spreadsheet analysis gadget named
Motion Charts that can plot such data in an interactive Flash animation.
Creating charts from a given data is usually a mundane task that you would much
rather assign to your administrator. What makes it even more boring is the limited
number of tools available. Add to it the difficulty of analysing trends over time
between two indicators - such as gender-wise literacy percentage over a decade.
Google Docs now offer an innovative analysis gadget named Motion Charts that
can plot such data in an interactive Flash animation. As the name suggests, Motion
Charts show numeric values travel across the graph canvas as time passes beneath
with a horizontal scroll - similar to a movie playback.

Here's how to make use of Google Motion Chart gadget.
1. Register and login at Google Docs. Google Account or Gmail users can simply
login with their existing email and password.
2. Create a new spreadsheet file using Create New > Spreadsheet menu on the top
left.
3. Click on Insert > Gadget in the new spreadsheet. A list of gadgets is displayed -
scroll down and select Motion Chart from Featured category, or from Charts
category displayed in the Add a Gadget window. Click on Add to Spreadsheet
button.
4. Now add some sample data to see how Motion Chart works. Start with three
columns - City, Year and Population. Add dummy values - say, population of any
three cities in last three years. This will make nine rows. Note that without the data in
required format, Motion Chart gadget produces the error message, “First and
second columns must be entity and time”. In our case, entity is City column and time
is Year column.
5. Click the field Range in the gadget. The field becomes yellow in colour, showing
that the cells selected in the spreadsheet will automatically be considered as range
for the Motion Chart. Select the table with sample data created in the previous step.
6. As an option, add a chart title and select colours/ size of motion bubbles. Use the
checkbox next to city names to add captions to the motion bubbles. Click on the
Apply button so that the chart gadget gets updated.
7. Set the indicators to be displayed at X and Y axis in the chart gadget.
There are three options in the drop-down menus at both the axis. In this sample data
created for this example, these options include:
a) Alphabetical - selects first column entries, i.e., city names
b) Time - this selects second column entries, i.e., years, and
c) Population - keep the time on X axis and population on Y axis. The bubbles that
appear in the graph represent population of cities in a particular year.
8. Click on the Play button at the bottom to see the bubbles move starting from
lowest year going to the highest - animating population trend over time. Adjacent to
the play button, there is speed controller and while the Motion Graph is paused,
trend can be viewed by manual dragging of the progress bar scroll.
9. At the top-right, there's a small icon to convert the bubble Motion Chart into a bar
graph with similar functionality and interactivity. In either of the modes, the user is
free to change basic chart options right from the gadget itself without having to alter
chart properties in any other menu.

10. Click on the Apply and Close button once you are done with the settlings of
Motion Chart. It will now appear in the spreadsheet and can be dragged anywhere
like a chart object in other offline spreadsheet programmes.
Motion Chart is a new and exciting way of creating stunning dynamic graphs which
are visually much more informative than the traditional static charts. It can be used to
plot any two indicators over time to provide a clear visibility in scenarios such as
human development indexes. In general, any indicator that varies over time can be
plotted using Motion Charts.
If you want an example, check out http://johnbowman.net/2009/04/22/google-docs-
motion-chart-test/. Percentage of Canadian population aged 65 or over, by province;
projected from 2006 to 2031.
Google Motion Chart does not have an Export feature. However Trend Compass
software allows you to export a Google Motion Chart into software such as
Microsoft PowerPoint. Trend Compass software also has another great feature
that allows you to record your own voice while the Google Motion Chart is
displayed. Then you can export the Google Motion Chart as an AVI file. Google
Motion Chart spreadsheets can be shared on the web or embedded inside a VLE.

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Google Docs Motion Chart

Google Docs now offer an innovative spreadsheet analysis gadget named

between two indicators - such as gender-wise literacy percentage over a decade.

with a horizontal scroll - similar to a movie playback.

login with their existing email and password.

category displayed in the Add a Gadget window. Click on Add to Spreadsheet

Apply button so that the chart gadget gets updated.

7. Set the indicators to be displayed at X and Y axis in the chart gadget.

created for this example, these options include:

a) Alphabetical - selects first column entries, i.e., city names

b) Time - this selects second column entries, i.e., years, and

appear in the graph represent population of cities in a particular year.

trend can be viewed by manual dragging of the progress bar scroll.

chart properties in any other menu.

like a chart object in other offline spreadsheet programmes.

plotted using Motion Charts.

If you want an example, check out http://johnbowman.net/2009/04/22/google-docs-

motion-chart-test/. Percentage of Canadian population aged 65 or over, by province;

projected from 2006 to 2031.

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