Certain variables, such as the submission date, map naturally onto the time axis. However, we may use the time axis to support animation over any variable. So the three spatial axes and the time axis all together map four variables at a time to the screen. An additional problem is that the data set is not just multidimensional but also large, making screen real-estate precious. To reduce screen clutter, we introduce filters on each of the variables to further support analysis.
Users can construct queries based on a range for each variable.
We demonstrate how glyphs can be used in conjunction with other projection techniques. We decouple the variables from the axes, and allow the user to interactively choose mappings of variables to the axes. We demonstrate the usefulness of this interactive mapping with our data. We use VCR-like animation controls to show the advantages of the added time axis. We demonstrate the addition of a time axis to a three-dimensional visualization system, raising the total number of dimensions to four.