Bug in Prism 6 Windows: Duplicating graphs linked to empty data sets
Using releases 6.00 to 6.04 of Prism Windows (but not Prism Mac), this series of steps will cause Prism to crash.
- Make a graph.
- Go back to the data table and remove all values from one of the data sets on the graph.
- Go back to the graph, but do not double click to open the Format Graph dialog.
- Duplicate that sheet (graph) or its entire family.
Fixed in 6.05.
To avoid the problem, double click on a graph to bring up the Format Graph dialog and click OK. After that, the graph can be duplicated. Also make sure Prism's automatic backup is enabled.
The underlying problem is that Prism is smart when you remove data from a data set. The graph remembers that data set (and its properties such as symbol and color) so it can include new data if you later enter data in that data set. But when you duplicate the graph, the link to the empty data set is only partly duplicated and Prism becomes unstable.