Showing Mixed Values as Donuts
Mixed-value node coloring makes it possible to distinguish a node containing one categorical value from a node containing several values. A mixed genotype or other mixed categorical value is displayed as a hollow, segmented ring instead of a pie chart.
The colored segments are always divided evenly. They identify which values are present; they do not represent proportions within an individual node.
Although this page uses genotypes as examples, the feature can be used with any node field containing mixed categorical values.
| Data represented | Appearance | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| One node with one value | Solid node | One value is associated with one person, sample, or record. |
| One node with multiple values | Hollow, multi-color ring | Multiple values are associated with one person, sample, or record. |
| Collapsed group | Filled aggregate pie or bubble with a thicker outline | Multiple nodes have been combined. Pie slices represent the number of nodes in each category. |
| Collapsed group containing mixed values | Aggregate pie or bubble with only the mixed portion hollow | The hollow portion represents the members with mixed values. Other portions remain solid. |
The collapsed group contains three equal outer slices:
One-third is solid in the color assigned to A.
One-third is solid in the color assigned to B.
One-third has a transparent inner portion and an outer ring divided evenly between C and D.
Only the one-third associated with the mixed member is hollow. The other two-thirds remain solid.
The C and D segments indicate that both values occur in the mixed member. Their equal widths do not indicate that C and D occur in equal biological proportions.
If several members have the same mixed label, their combined slice grows according to the number of members. The component colors within that mixed slice remain evenly distributed.
Collapsed groups also include:
A visibly thicker outer border identifying the node as an aggregate
Thin black lines between top-level pie slices
No black inner outline around the hollow portion
Because the hollow part of a collapsed slice is transparent, it may appear white when the visualization or exported image has a white background.
The legend deliberately uses rectangular swatches rather than miniature node shapes.
Solid values use the standard single-color swatch.
Mixed combinations use one rectangular swatch divided into colored stripes.
The stripe order matches the order used in the nodes.
The legend does not use hollow rings or donuts.
This keeps the legend consistent with the other color-table entries while still showing every component in a mixed value.
Saving the project as a .microbetrace session preserves the mixed-value setting, component colors, and component transparency values.
Normal visualization exports capture the displayed mixed-value styling. Remember that transparent portions of collapsed nodes may appear white in raster exports or other formats that use a white background.
Use the visual shapes as follows:
Solid means one value in one individual node.
Hollow and segmented means several values in one individual node.
Filled and proportionally divided with a thick border means several nodes have been collapsed.
Partly hollow aggregate means that only some members of a collapsed group contain mixed values.
Do not interpret the equal segments of an individual mixed ring as measured proportions. They are categorical indicators only.
Each node is counted once, even when its value contains multiple components.
Each distinct mixed combination receives its own legend row.
Equivalent combinations such as
A/BandB/Aare combined.Component colors remain consistent between individual and collapsed nodes.
Solid and mixed nodes may use the same underlying component colors; the fill treatment distinguishes their meanings.
The selected node geometry is preserved.
The setting is off by default, preserving the previous behavior for existing sessions and datasets.
The Mixed Values option is missing: Select a field under Color Nodes By. The option is hidden when node coloring is set to None.
A mixed value still appears solid: Confirm that the option is selected and that the value contains at least two distinct, nonblank components separated by a supported delimiter.
A value is being split unexpectedly: Check whether its category label contains
/,,,;,+,|, or the word “and.”The colors are unexpected: Open the Node Color Table and edit the stripes in the mixed-value swatch. Also check for inconsistent spelling or capitalization in the source data.
The component order differs from the source text: This is expected. MicrobeTrace uses a canonical order so equivalent mixtures look the same in every view.
Only part of a collapsed node is hollow: This is intentional. Only the share belonging to mixed members is hollow.
An individual node has a white center instead of a transparent center: Individual mixed nodes intentionally use a neutral white center. Transparency is used for the hollow portion of collapsed aggregate slices.
A transparent aggregate hole looks white: The view or exported image may have a white background. Change the visualization background to confirm that the hole is transparent.
The hollow center is hard to see: Zoom in or increase the node size. At extremely small on-screen sizes, there may not be enough pixels to display every segment clearly.
Mixed components are categorical and evenly divided; weighted proportions are not supported.
MicrobeTrace does not infer a mixture from multiple unrelated columns. The components must appear together in the selected node-color field.
Separator characters cannot be used literally within a single category name while mixed-value coloring is enabled.
At extreme zoom levels, very small nodes may not have enough screen pixels to show every color or hollow region clearly.