The table lens: merging graphical and symbolic representations in an interactive focus + context visualization for tabular information
We present a new visualization, called the Table Lens, for visualizing and making sense of large tables. The visualization uses a focus context (fisheye) technique that works effectively on tabular information because it allows display of crucial label information and multiple distal focal areas. In addition, a graphical mapping scheme for depicting table contents has been developed for the most widespread kind of tables, the cases-by-variables table. The Table Lens fuses symbolic and graphical representations into a single coherent view that can be fluidly adjusted by the user. This fusion and interactivity enables an extremely rich and natural style of direct manipulation exploratory data analysis.