Gadgets Help - ALFRED® Graph Gadget
The ALFRED® Graph Gadget is a tool that allows you to view ALFRED (ArchivaL Federal Reserve Economic Data) graphs on a webpage or other software application that supports gadgets, such as iGoogle. The gadget can be customized to display from one to five years of observations of the most recent two vintages for the ALFRED® data series of your choice. Also, series units of measure can be transformed to display change, percent change, and compounded rates of change.
Please review our Disclaimer before using the ALFRED® Graph Gadget.
How to Locate and Customize the ALFRED® Graph Gadget
- The ALFRED® Graph Gadget can be found through web services that support gadgets; once you have located such a service, such as iGoogle, search the list of gadgets with the search term "economic data alfred graph."
- Or, if your webpage or software supports it, add the gadget using the following URL: http://research.stlouisfed.org/gadgets/code/alfredgraph.xml
- Add the ALFRED® Graph Gadget to a webpage or software application that supports gadgets per that application's instructions.
- This is how the ALFRED® Graph Gadget will appear*:
- Although other series can be added, the default gadget displays graphs of these ALFRED® series:
- For example, click on the "INDPRO" tab to view the "Industrial Production Index" graph:
- To customize your gadget's graphs, click "Select New ALFRED® Series" in the gadget. This will take you to the ALFRED® website.
- Locate the "Series ID" of an ALFRED® data series by doing a keyword search or by clicking on the category names and drilling down until
you find the series you are interested in. In this example we will search for "capacity utilization" and choose "Series"
in the drop-down.
- The search results are shown below. In this example we will note the Series ID "TCU" for "Capacity Utilization: Total Industry":
- Return to your webpage or software application, click the down arrow at the top of the ALFRED® Graph Gadget, then click "Edit settings":
- The default gadget settings are shown below:
- Type the Series ID into one of the text boxes labeled "Tab #: Enter ALFRED Series ID."
- In the edit drop-down, tabs are numbered from 1 to 5, corresponding to the gadget's display left to right.
- The default series that is displayed within the chosen tab will be replaced with the Series ID you enter.
- In this example, the GDPC1 graph will be replaced with the TCU graph because we are entering the ALFRED® Series ID "TCU" into the Tab 1 text area. - The default units for each series can be transformed in each graph, when appropriate for the series, by choosing from the "Tab # Transformation:" drop-down:
- Series Units (default units per series - this is also the default if the transformation chosen is not appropriate for the tab's series)
- Change
- Change from Year Ago
- Percent Change
- Percent Change from Year Ago
- Compounded Annual Rate of Change
- Continuously Compounded Rate of Change
- Continuously Compounded Annual Rate of Change
- For more information about data transformations, please refer to Growth Rate Calculations.
- Also editable:
- The number of years of observations to display in the graph (from one to five, one being the default)
- The size of the chart as it is displayed in the gadget
- Click "Save"
- Your custom ALFRED® Graph should now be displayed on your webpage or software application!
- Click "View this ALFRED® Graph" to visit the full-size graph on the ALFRED® website.
- Graphs will automatically update when new vintages are created in the ALFRED database, always displaying the most recent 2 vintages.
- Note: If you've added custom Series IDs to your gadget or chosen data transformations and you click "Cancel" in the gadget's edit drop-down, your settings may be lost—even if you have previously saved them. "Cancel" may revert a gadget to its default settings. Always click "Save" unless you explicitly want the gadget to revert to its default settings.
* Please refresh your browser if less than 5 tabs (data series) are viewable.
