Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where can I download NetCharts Pro?
2. Can NetCharts Pro output charts that show popup/hover labels?
3. Can NetCharts Pro output charts that support drilldown?
4. Why do I see an expired or invalid license when using NetCharts Pro to display applets?
5. In a stacked BarChart how can the default restricted stack length of 10 be increased to be unlimited?
6. Why do I see numbers repeat in the left axis tic labels?
7. Which chart types are available in NetCharts Pro?
8. What output types does NetCharts Pro support?
9. Since upgrading to Java 1.7u45 why do I get Security Warnings in my applets?
10. Why do I see a grey box grey box with the message “This plug-in is not supported” in place of my chart?

1. Where can I download NetCharts Pro?
   You can download a fully functional evaluation copy of NetCharts Pro here:
   https://visualmining.com/try-ncp/

 
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2. Can NetCharts Pro output charts that show popup/hover labels?
   Yes. Default values are presented and full control is available via the APIs for developers to specify the content and styling of the popup. NetCharts calls these popup windows Active Labels since they not only present information but can also perform actions when the user clicks on the label.

 
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3. Can NetCharts Pro output charts that support drilldown?
   Yes. Almost any element can be drilldown enabled. The actions to perform when a user clicks on the area (e.g. go to another web page, call a JavaScript function, etc.) can be specified via the APIs.

 
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4. Why do I see an expired or invalid license when using NetCharts Pro to display applets?
   When using NetCharts Pro’s applets in Microsoft IIS 6.0 or later, the default configuration for IIS will prevent the validation of the license file used with NetCharts Pro. This results in a screen starting that NetCharts Pro is not properly licensed.

   The first step to correct this issue is to verify that the license file required for NetCharts Pro applets, NFLicense.dat, is in the correct location. In the applet tag is an attribute named codebase. This attribute points to the location where the NetCharts Pro library (ncp-core.jar) can be found. Additionally, the NFLicense.dat file containing the license must be located in the same directory. You can verify the existence of the file by entering http://server//NFLicense.dat in a browser. For instance, if the codebase in the applet tag is “/classes”, then entering http://server/classes/NFLicense.dat should return the license file.

   If you receive a 404 Status Error when trying to verify the NFLicense.dat file, your IIS is not configured to serve .dat files. This will prevent NetCharts Pro applets from verifying the license via the NFLicense.dat file. To resolve this issue, do the following:
   1. Open the Internet Information Services Management Console
   2. Right-click the web-site or server and select “Properties”.
   3. Click MIME Types.
   4. Click the “New” button.
   5. In the Extension field, type in “.dat”.
   6. In the “Content Type” or “MIME Type” field, type text/plain.
   7. Apply the new settings. You might need to restart the World Wide Web Publishing Service or wait a moment for the changes to take effect.

   Now your IIS Server should be able to serve .dat files and the NetCharts Pro applet can verify it’s license.

 
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5. In a stacked BarChart how can the default restricted stack length of 10 be increased to be unlimited?
   This can be overriden with a runtime property called MaxPoints. You can use this Properties object to specify NFRuntime related properties such as MaxPoints.

 
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6. Why do I see numbers repeat in the left axis tic labels?
   By default, the tic marks on an axis are equally split into segments based on the scale of the axis, with a tic mark at each segment. You may be specifically setting the format of the left axis to “INTEGER”.
   ex.
   LeftFormat = (INTEGER, , , );

   By specifying INTEGER the axis values will be rounded to the appropriate whole number.

   If in your chart the tic marks are corresponding to 0.5 increments (i.e. first tic label is at value 0, the second at 0.5, the third at 1.0, the fourth at 1.5, etc) when these values are rounded they become 0, 1, 1, 2 and 2. So what looks like duplication is actually caused by the rounding of the values.

   Instead of using INTEGER, you can either remove the LeftFormat entirely, or try using DECIMAL and specifying a format like #,###.## (use the thousands comma and show up to 2 decimal places as needed).

   You could also try setting the scale to only include a step of 1 and leaving the min and max to autoscale (left empty) to see how that works.

 
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7. Which chart types are available in NetCharts Pro?
   We support a wide range of different chart types such as Bar, Line, Pie, XY/Quadrant, Bubble, Dial/Gauge and many more. You can find examples of all our supported chart types in our Chart Gallery:
   https://visualmining.com/resource/chartgallery/

 
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8. What output types does NetCharts Pro support?
   NetCharts Pro library can produce charts in a variety of output formats, both raster and vector. Our vector output types include SVG, with support for animation, popup labels, drilldown, highlight overlays, zooming, and data set visibility controls. If full native SVG isn’t supported by the browser, NetCharts Pro will convert the SVG object to Flash to support older browsers. Our raster output types include PNG, JPG, BMP, etc, and when included as part of a HTML page with JavaScript (created by NetCharts Pro), allow for popup labels, drilldown, highlight overlays, and zoom callbacks.

 
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9. Since upgrading to Java 1.7u45 or Java 1.8 why do I get Security Warnings in my applets?
   Oracle introduced a new security feature regarding the way unsigned Java applets and web start applications are run with the release of Java 7 update 11. The default security level for Java applets and web start applications has been increased from “Medium” to “High”. This affects the conditions under which unsigned Java web applications can run.

   Due to recent JVM updates Visual Mining has released an update to NetCharts Pro 7.1 to help prevent warning dialogs that come up when using applets and when interacting with them via JavaScript.

   A Knowledge Base solution that describes the issue in greater detail and includes a signed NetCharts Pro 7.1 ncp-core.jar with instructions is available via our Customer Support Portal. Customers with current M&S agreements can log in to our Customer Support Portal here for access. Contact our technical support team for more information or if you have questions about your current M&S agreement or obtaining a M&S agreement.

 
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10. Why do I see a grey box grey box with the message “This plug-in is not supported” in place of my chart?
    As of April 2015, starting with Google Chrome Version 42, Google has added an additional step to configuring NPAPI based plugins like Java, Silverlight, Facebook Video and Unity.

    These steps must be taken to view NetCharts charts when viewing as applets
    (from the Oracle documentation https://java.com/en/download/faq/chrome.xml):

    Enabling NPAPI in Chrome Version 42 and later
    As of Chrome Version 42, an additional configuration step is required to continue using NPAPI plugins.

    In your URL bar, enter:
    chrome://flags/#enable-npapi
    – Click the Enable link for the Enable NPAPI configuration option.
    – Click the Relaunch button that now appears at the bottom of the configuration page.

    Users of NetCharts Pro who are not serving charts as applets (e.g. PNG, SVG, etc.) are not affected.

    Users of Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer are not affected.

    Contact our technical support team for more information.

 
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