How to prevent a large scatter graph being squashed?

[jj-007]

Hi I am trying to plot a scattered line graph that contains nearly 4000 points on the y axis. The points represent a day. The x axis is the percentage belonging to that day. The problem that I am having is that the graph looks squashed together and the line is very thick because of this. One of the reasons for this is that a lot of the 4000 points have similar percentages so the line just moves a tiny bit. Is there a way that I can make the graph look more presentable? Thanks

The following is a picture of how it looks. You may need to enlarge it to see it properly.

 

[AlphaFrog]

Sub-sample your data:

• Plot every nth data point
• Or do a running average (or min or max) of n data points

 

[jj-007]

Sub-sample your data:

• Plot every nth data point
• Or do a running average (or min or max) of n data points

I need to be able to see where the line peaks. So if I plot every nth point, wouldnt that show incomplete results?

 

[AlphaFrog]

I need to be able to see where the line peaks. So if I plot every nth point, wouldnt that show incomplete results?

A running Max will preserve peaks.

Alternatively, widen your chart... a lot.

 

[jj-007]

A running Max will preserve peaks.

Alternatively, widen your chart... a lot.

How would I do a running max?

 

[AlphaFrog]

This will return the max value for every block of four values in column A (x-axis data) starting at A1. Put it at the top of an empty column and drag down. Do the same for column B (y-axis data). Adjust the 4s within the formula to change the sub-sample rate.

=MAX(OFFSET(A$1,ROW(A1)*4-4,0,4))