Signal Plot

The Signal Plot is a customized workspace pane for visualizing CAN and LIN signals in real-time. It provides powerful graphing capabilities with support for multiple graphs, customizable axes, time cursors, and zoom controls.

Overview

The Signal Plot pane displays signal data from CAN and LIN buses as time-series graphs. It can be added to any workspace in the Workspace view and configured to show multiple signals simultaneously across one or more graphs, each with one or more Y-axes.

Toolbar Controls

The Signal Plot toolbar provides various controls for configuring and interacting with the plot:

Play/Pause

The Play/Pause button controls whether the plot displays live data or is paused for analysis.

• Play - The plot continuously updates with incoming signal data in real-time.
• Pause - The plot stops updating, allowing you to analyze the current data.

When paused, additional features become available such as time cursors and zoom controls.

Note:
The Play/Pause control is only enabled when a measurement is running (CanKing is online).

Time Window

The time window setting determines how much historical data is displayed on the X-axis. Available options are:

• 20 seconds
• 30 seconds
• 40 seconds
• 50 seconds
• 60 seconds

The default time window is 30 seconds. Changing the time window adjusts the visible time range while maintaining the current position in the data stream.

Time Mode

The time mode setting controls how time is displayed on the X-axis:

• Clock - Shows elapsed time since the start of the measurement as hours:minutes:seconds.
• Elapsed - Shows elapsed time since the start of the measurement as a numeric value in seconds.

Plot Mode

The plot mode determines how new data is displayed as it arrives:

• Scroll - New data scrolls into view from the right side, continuously moving older data to the left. This provides a smooth, continuous visualization of incoming data.
• Scan - New data is drawn from left to right. When the plot reaches the right edge, it advances and continues drawing from the left, creating a sweeping effect similar to an oscilloscope.

Advance Fraction (Scan Mode)

When using Scan mode, the advance fraction determines how much the plot advances when it reaches the right edge:

• 25% - Advances by 25% of the time window
• 50% - Advances by 50% of the time window
• 75% - Advances by 75% of the time window
• 100% - Advances by 100% of the time window (full screen advance)

This control is only available when Plot Mode is set to Scan.

Auto-Scale Y Axes

When enabled, the Y-axes automatically adjust their ranges to fit all visible signal data. This ensures that all signals remain visible regardless of their values.

When disabled, the Y-axes maintain fixed ranges, which can be useful for comparing signal magnitudes or tracking specific value ranges.

Save Y Axes Ranges

The Save button captures the current Y-axis ranges for all graphs. This is useful after manually zooming the Y-axes to specific ranges that you want to preserve.

Saved ranges are persisted in the project file and will be restored when the project is reopened.

Time Cursors

Time cursors are vertical lines that can be positioned at specific time points to measure signal values. Two cursors are available:

• Cursor 1 - Primary time cursor
• Cursor 2 - Secondary time cursor

To use time cursors:

1. Pause the plot
2. Enable one or both cursors using the cursor buttons in the toolbar
3. Click and drag the cursor lines to position them at desired time points
4. View signal values at cursor positions in the legends panel

Note:
Time cursors are only available when the plot is paused.

Zoom Controls

The zoom controls allow you to navigate through zoom history when the plot is paused:

• Undo Zoom/Pan - Reverts to the previous zoom or pan state
• Redo Zoom/Pan - Reapplies a zoom or pan state that was undone
• Zoom All Data - Automatically adjusts the X-axis to display all available data

These controls maintain a history of zoom and pan operations, allowing you to navigate backward and forward through your exploration of the data.

Note:
Zoom controls are only available when the plot is paused.

Show/Hide Legends

The legends button toggles the visibility of the legends panel on the right side of the plot. The legends panel displays:

• Signal names and colors
• Current signal values (when playing)
• Signal values at cursor positions (when paused with cursors enabled)

Interactive Features

The Signal Plot supports various mouse and keyboard interactions for analyzing data:

Zooming

When the plot is paused, you can zoom in on specific areas:

• Mouse wheel in plot area - Zoom in/out on both X and Y axes at the cursor position
• Click and drag in plot area - Select a rectangular area to zoom into both X and Y axes
• Mouse wheel in X-axis area - Zoom in/out on the X-axis
• Mouse wheel in Y-axis area - Zoom in/out on the Y-axis

Panning

When the plot is paused, you can pan to view different parts of the data:

• Click and drag in X-axis area - Pan the view horizontally
• Click and drag in Y-axis area - Pan the signal(s) connected to that Y-axis vertically

Moving Cursors

When time cursors are enabled:

• Click and drag cursor line - Move the cursor to a different time position

Multiple Graphs

The Signal Plot supports multiple independent graphs stacked vertically. Each graph can have:

• Multiple signals plotted on the same graph
• Multiple Y-axes with different scales
• Independent Y-axis ranges and zoom levels

Graphs share a common X-axis (time), which ensures that signals across different graphs are time-synchronized.

Y-Axes Configuration

Each graph can have multiple Y-axes, allowing signals with different units or value ranges to be plotted on the same time axis but with different scales:

• Y-axes are displayed on the left or right side of the graph
• Each Y-axis can be independently zoomed and panned
• Signals are assigned to specific Y-axes based on their configuration
• Y-axis colors typically match the signals they represent

Manual Y-Axis Scaling

To manually adjust Y-axis ranges:

1. Pause the plot
2. Disable "Auto-Scale Y Axes" if enabled
3. Zoom in/out on the desired Y-axis using mouse wheel
4. Optionally save the ranges using the "Save Y Axes Ranges" button

Legends Panel

The legends panel on the right side of the plot displays information about all visible signals:

• Signal name - The name of the signal as defined in the database
• Color - A color indicator matching the signal's graph line
• Current value - The most recent signal value (when playing)
• Cursor values - Signal values at cursor positions (when paused with cursors)
• Unit - The signal's unit of measurement (if defined)

The legends panel can be hidden to maximize the plot area by clicking the Show/Hide Legends button in the toolbar.

Setting Up Signal Plot

To add a Signal Plot pane to your workspace:

1. Open the Workspace view from the left toolbar
2. Create a new workspace or select an existing one
3. Click "Select View" or "Edit Workspace"
4. Select "Signal Plot" from the available views
5. Configure which signals to display

Signal Selection

Signals must be available in the UI stream to be displayed in the Signal Plot. To ensure signals are available:

1. In the Measurement Setup view, add a "Databases" data processor to your CAN or LIN channel
2. Load a database file (.dbc for CAN, .ldf for LIN) containing your signals
3. Start a measurement to begin receiving data
4. Configure the Signal Plot to display the desired signals

Tips and Best Practices

Performance

• For optimal performance, limit the number of simultaneously displayed signals, especially at high data rates
• Use filters in the Measurement Setup to reduce the amount of data reaching the UI stream

Data Analysis

• Use Pause and time cursors to measure exact signal values at specific time points
• Use the delta between two cursors to calculate signal changes over time
• Zoom in on areas of interest for detailed analysis
• Use multiple graphs to separate signals with different scales or purposes

Workspace Organization

• Group related signals on the same graph
• Use separate graphs for signals with vastly different value ranges
• Create multiple Signal Plot panes in different workspace panels for different analysis perspectives
• Save workspace configurations for different testing scenarios