Hello

I have been experiencing a few problems with using the chart editor in IBM SPSS Version 29.01.0. If anyone can offer advice that will resolve either of these problems, that would be great, thank you. I have itemised the two problems separately for ease of reference.

1) Chart editor window cannot be closed.
The usual practice is to double-click on a chart to activate the chart editor and apply preferred edits. However, I am finding that once the chart editor window has been activated, there are problems in finding a way to close it. I have had to click the button for closing the SPSS spreadsheet in order to activate a dialogue box checking whether I want to save the output file, but I cannot isolate a close button for the chart editor window. The response I receive when I try to do further activity with SPSS output is similar to that in MS Word when a hidden pop-up window has not been closed. However, in the former case, I cannot find what I am supposed to close. I have tried using my computer Task Manager as a last resort but this does not help in resolving the problem. Obviously, this is frustrating and a hindrance to progress. 

2)  On using the chart editor to add data value labels to a percentage stacked barchart, I am finding that the counts displayed are wrong. To correct this, it is necessary to move the listed item "Percent" in the Properties dialogue box from the area "Not Displayed" to the area "Displayed" (where "Count" is already listed) and then back to "Not Displayed", while leaving the item "Count" unmoved. This workaround to correct the error should not be necessary and the current need for it is unhelpful for teaching purposes.

Hello John

Thanks for replying. You will, of course, only have encountered the problem I described under 2) if you have fully completed the necessary steps to create a percentage stacked barchart, which is not something you may have every had reason to do. Hopefully, someone will be willing to address the data value labels fault. Tips on how to alert IBM SPSS regarding this new issue would be great, as I am involved in teaching and previously absent anomalies like this can be unsettling for students.

Regarding, the issue I described under 1),  I was referrring to the Windows task manager, as there was no way out from within SPSS and I see that you are possibly referring to the Windows taskview button. That's an interesting suggestion, thank you, the need for which may have emerged from the way Windows 11 is managing my SPSS windows. I look forward to putting your valued suggestion into practice.

Best wishes
Margaret

I can't make the count/percentage issue happen in the CE.  Using the Chart Builder, there are three choices for the percentage base.  I only tried Grand Total as the base, but counts and percentages were correct no matter how I manipulated the data value labels.

I'm on 29.0.2.0.

Thanks, John, but I wasn't using the chartbuilder, and shouldn't need to.  The standalone option 'bar' in the graphs menu, which used to be accessible via legacy dialogs, has all the functionality needed to create percentage stacked barcharts (to which I was referring in particular), but for this menu choice, the version of SPSS I highlighted is causing the error and required workaround I explained.

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Margaret MacDougall
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