Home / Statistical Tools / Analysis Tools / Scatterplot / Preparing Your Data

Preparing Your Data¶

Quantum XL is flexible about data layout. This page explains how different data types behave in scatter plots and helps you prepare your data correctly.

X and Y Column Rules

Scatter Plot requires paired X and Y columns. Continuous, Integer, and Count columns can be used as either X or Y. DateTime columns can only be used as X (not Y). Nominal columns cannot be used as X or Y — use them for GroupBy instead. Each column can only serve one role — a column used as X cannot also be Y, Frequency, or GroupBy.

How Data Types Work¶

The table below shows what happens when you assign each column type to each role in the Scatter Plot dialog. Click a numbered badge to see an example using that configuration.

		Data Column
		Nominal	Continuous	Integer	Count	DateTime
Frequency Column	None	Not Allowed	Column header is name of X/Y axis (respective axis). 1 2	Column header is name of X/Y axis (respective axis).	Column header is name of X/Y axis (respective axis).	Only for X axis. Column header is name of X-axis.
	Nominal	—
	Continuous	—
	Integer	—
	Count	Not Allowed	Expand dataset by count 3	Expand dataset by count	Expand dataset by count	Expand dataset by count
	DateTime	—

— indicates this frequency type is not available for selection

Examples¶

1 Quick Start — Single X/Y pair with linear regression

2 Multiple X/Y Pairs — Multiple X columns against the same Y

3 Count Frequency — Pre-aggregated data with weighted regression

GroupBy — Compare relationships across segments

Data Layout Options¶

Paired X/Y Data¶

Each row must have values for both X and Y columns. Rows where either value is missing are excluded.

Temperature	Yield
150	77.2
160	78.5
170	81.3

Select Temperature as an X column and Yield as a Y column. Quantum XL plots each row as one point on the scatter chart.

Multiple X or Y Columns¶

When you select multiple X columns and/or multiple Y columns, Quantum XL creates one scatter plot for each X/Y combination (Cartesian product).

Temperature	Pressure	Yield
150	30	77.2
160	32	78.5

Selecting Temperature and Pressure as X, and Yield as Y, produces two charts: Temperature vs Yield and Pressure vs Yield.

Common Mistakes¶

Avoid These Issues

Using DateTime as Y column — DateTime columns can only be used as X, not Y. If you need DateTime on the Y axis, consider converting to a numeric format first.
Same column in both X and Y — Each column can only serve one role. A column selected as X is automatically unavailable for Y, Frequency, and GroupBy.
Forgetting that frequency expands the dataset — When using a Count frequency column, the regression is computed on the expanded dataset. The count in the statistics reflects the weighted total, not the number of rows.
Missing data — Rows where either the X or Y value is empty are excluded from the analysis.