CHAPTER 04

WORKING WITH BOX GRAPHS

You can use a box graph to quickly spot time intervals when the EM data met specific conditions. In FishVue Interpret, box graphs display each category or state on its own timeline. This chapter explains how to view and customize box graphs.

4.1 Using Box Graphs

By default, FishVue Interpret may display several box graphs in the time series section along the top of the main screen. Depending on your requirements, you can choose to display or hide this section, or select which box graphs and what data are displayed in the time series.

4.1.1 Viewing a Box Graph

The Box Graphs section displays each category or state on its own timeline. All of the boxes in a state take on the colour and label specified for that state. A box graph can help you to interpret data sets by showing when a variable or a combination of variables met specified criteria (for example, the time interval during which pressure exceeded a specified value).

NOTE: If you need more room to display a box graph, you can hide the calendar display by clicking the small arrow button located between the time series and the calendar.

To view a box graph:

• On the time series, click the show button beside the Box Graph label to ensure the timelines are displayed.
• Rest the mouse pointer over any box to display more information.
• To expand the timeline, use the mouse wheel to zoom in or out.
• To move back and forth, click on the time series and drag right or left.

4.1.2 Displaying a Box Graph

If you do not see the data you require, you can choose which box graphs to display or hide in the time series.

To display or hide a box graph timeline:

1. From the View menu, choose Box Graphs. The Box Graphs window is displayed, sorting items into two groups: visible items and available items.
2. To hide a visible item, click the button next to it. This moves it from the Visible Items list to the Available Items list. Click on any available item to display it again.
3. Click OK to return to the main screen.

4.2 Customizing Box Graphs

If the information you require is not provided by the default box graphs, you may choose to create a new one and configure it to suit. This section explains how to create a new box graph, how to copy an existing one, and how to configure them to suit your data requirements.

4.2.1 Creating a Box Graph

If the data you need is not listed as visible or available in the Box Graphs window, you can create a new box graph and define the data to display.

NOTE: Once a new box graph has been created, it will remain available on the list until it is deleted, even if FishVue Interpret is closed and re-opened. To delete a user-created box graph from the available or visible list, click the remove icon next to it.

To create a new box graph:

1. From the View menu, choose Box Graphs.
2. On the Box Graphs window, click the Add New Box Graph button. A new item called “New Box Graph” appears under Available Items.
3. Locate the new item and click the Edit button next to it. The Box Graph box is displayed where you can specify a label and define the state for the new box graph. (For more on this, see “Editing a Box Graph” below.)
4. Once you are finished editing the new box graph, click the show button next to it to move it to the Visible Items section and display it in the time series.
5. Click OK to return to the main screen.

4.2.2 Editing a Box Graph

NOTE: If the Edit option next to an item is greyed out, you can create a duplicate of the item, give it a new label, and edit that instead.

To edit a box graph:

1. From the View menu, choose Box Graphs.
2. On the Box Graphs window, locate the item to be edited and click the Edit button next to it. A Box Graph box for the item is displayed.
3. You can now define the following variables:
   • Label: Type a name for the box graph.
   • Colour: Choose a colour to represent the item on the graph and map.
   • Expression: Define the parameters that determine whether a particular data point is in a state (for example, “Pressure > 100 and Speed < 3”).
   • Start Condition and End Condition: Both have the same form as the expression, but they only apply to the first and last points in the time period.
   • Interval Gap Tolerance: Specify the maximum amount of time permitted between points that meet the conditions (for example, 00:05:00 means a five-minute break can occur between qualifying data points).
   • Minimum Interval Length: Specify the shortest time period used to create a box (for example, 00:30:00 means only intervals of 30 minutes or longer will appear).
   • Conditional Density: Define a minimum number of points that must meet the criteria to be included.
   • Include Time Gaps: Specify whether or not to include times when no data was collected.
   • Annotation Type (FishVue Interpret Pro only): Specify the annotation the expression describes, if applicable, to make it available for auto-annotation.

After editing an existing box graph, you can revert to the default by clicking the undo button in the box graph window.

You can use the Add State function to combine two states (for example, set and haul) to create one complex box graph from two simple ones. This can help depict the relationship between two related activities and save space on the time series display.

You can also use the Event Based Classification section to use events recorded in the data to classify the box graph. Options include Label, Colour, Event Type, Event Tolerance, and Event Condition.

4.2.3 Configuring Box Graph Variables

This section provides more detail on the variables used to configure a box graph.

Expression

The expression is a single condition or set of conditions that determines whether a particular data point is in a defined state. If the data for a point meets the conditions specified, that data point will be included in a box within the box graph. For example, “Pressure > 100” includes all data points whose pressure exceeds 100. Multiple conditions can be combined: “Pressure > 100 and Speed < 2” only includes points with pressure greater than 100 and speed less than 2.

Start and End Conditions

The start condition and end condition have the same form as the expression, but they only apply to the first and last points in the time period. For example, if the start condition was EventDetail.EventNumber = 32, only intervals with event number 32 occurring on the first data point would be included.

Interval Gap Tolerance

Specifies the amount of time that can occur between points that meet the conditions in the expression. For example, if the interval gap tolerance is 00:05:00, a five-minute break can occur between qualifying data points and they will still be included in a single box.

Minimum Interval Length

The shortest time period used to create a box within the box graph. For example, if set to 00:30:00, only time intervals of 30 minutes or longer will be displayed.

Conditional Density

Helps to sort out boxes that contain very few points actually meeting the condition. A value of 0.5 specifies that at least half of the points in a box must meet the conditions, while 0.9 specifies that 90% must meet them.

Include Time Gaps

Specifies whether times when no data was collected are included by the boxes for a state. If checked, box graphs will span time gaps if the points before and after meet the conditions; otherwise a box will stop at the beginning of the time gap. In most cases, this option is not selected.

Annotation Type (FishVue Interpret Pro only)

A dropdown list of annotation types available in the configuration loaded in FishVue Interpret Pro. Select the annotation type that corresponds to the expression in your box graph, if applicable. Not every box graph expression will have a corresponding annotation type. This selection makes the annotation available for auto-annotation (the auto-annotate button will appear in the box graph display).

4.2.4 Creating Automatic Annotations (FishVue Interpret Pro Only)

FishVue Interpret Pro can automatically annotate a data set based on box graphs. Note that the automatic annotations feature is an advanced user function and must be used with caution.

For box graphs that have an annotation type selected (see section 4.2.2), the automatic annotations function can create multiple annotations by clicking the auto-annotate button beside the desired timeline.

NOTE: This feature is most useful when working with large data sets representing abundant fishing activity. Trip start and end points must be entered for every trip before auto-annotating any fishing event annotations.

To automatically annotate a data set:

• In the Box Graph section of the time series, click the auto-annotate button next to the desired timeline.

NOTE: Do not click the auto-annotate button more than once, or you will create duplicate annotations.

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