DeltaGraph is a recent entry in the graphing software market from DeltaPoint, Inc. If you hate reading long reviews, here’s the bottom line. DeltaGraph has to be about the most complete graphing software available for the Mac today. Yet, its power doesn’t sacrifice ease of use. In fact, it asses the “10-minute software test” with flying colors (you know, the test where you work with the software for 10 minutes to see if you can figure out how to use it).
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get down to specifics. When you first start DeltaGraph, you are presented with a “Data Sheet” which is similar to a spreadsheet. You enter your data on this sheet just like you would in a spreadsheet. DeltaGraph supports 10,000 data points per series. The first row and first column are reserved for labelling your data (these are conveniently marked “label” so it’s hard to forget this). While DeltaGraph does allow some basic functions for data manipulation, any real sophisticated number-crunching should be done with a spreadsheet program. Not to worry, though. DeltaGraph can directly import data from Excel 2.2, Cricket Graph, Trapeeze, SYLK, WKS, as well as Tab and Comma delimited text files.
On a Data Sheet you have a Note window available to comment your data for future reference. You can also have multiple Data Sheets for a file, so you could keep all data sets from one project or experiment together, for example. You cem format numbers in a variety of formats, including currency, percent, scientific and engineering.
When you are ready to graph your data, just highlight the data you wish to graph and click on the Plot button on the left side of the Data Sheet. You are then presented with a dialog box ... in which you choose with pop-down menus what basic chart type you want. DeltaGraph has an almost dizzying choice of charts from which to choose. These are too numerous to mention here, but they include the usual Line, Bar, Column and Pie Charts, as well as High-Low, Contour, Scatter, Polar and Weekly Stock. There’s also a wide selection of 3-D charts, including 3-D Column, Area, Ribbon and Scatter Charts. I should also mention that once you create chart that you like, you can save all its attributes into a “Library” that allows you to use it again with other sets of data. Also, you can of course have multiple Charts with each data set.
Once you have decided what type of chart you want, you just click on the Plot button. DeltaGraph creates your chart and dlsplajrs it in a window... Pretty boring, huh? You certainly don’t stop there, since DeltaGraph gives very precise control over just about every attribute of your Chart. For example, there is a dialog box for controUtng the column attributes. You can add depth to a twodimensional chart. You can be precise over the amount of horizontal and vertical depth. A nice feature in these and most other DeltaGraph dialog boxes is that you get a preview of what effect the settings will have on your Chart before deciding.
You can control the font, line, fill, pattern and color attributes of every element in the Chart. In 3-D Charts, you can also change the viewing angle and perspective. You can customize a Chart by using the Toolbox... The tools allow you to add text, lines, shapes and even Bezier curves (the Bezier tool Is a joy to use) as well as change line, fill, color and pattern attributes of any object. In addition, you can Import graphics in PICT and EPSF formats.
Once a Chart is complete, it can be printed as is, or it can be exported in Adobe Illustrator, EPSF or PICT formats for use in other programs such as PageMaker, Quark XPress or Persuasion...
I evaluated DeltaGraph on a Mac SE with 4 MB RAM, running in a 1MB MultiFinder partition. I found performance, even updating 3-D graphs to be more than adequate. Obviously, those of you with Mac II's and color monitors will get even better performance, as well as be able to take full advantage of DeltaGraph’s color capabilities.
If your job requires the best presentation-quality graphing, you really need to take a look at DeltaGraph...
Rochowansky, Virgil. (September 1990). DeltaGraph Review. Resources. SDMUG Newsletter. (pgs. 24-25).
The SU5 Group, Inc.
Applications
out of 10 (0 vote)
9 / 
2020-09-14 / 
8d587559c36666cbbb84c38a9be160e7fb40b116 / 
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DeltaGraph1.5.sit
Emulating this? It could probably run under: 
Basilisk II
