FIXED: How do I reference an RGraph object that was loaded with jQuery? - Official support forum

About

RGraph is a JavaScript charts library based on HTML5 SVG and canvas. RGraph is mature (over 17 years old) and has a wealth of features making it an ideal choice to use for showing charts on your website.

New datagrid in v6.21

In version 6.21 a new datagrid object has been added. This makes it easy to add static or dynamic data tables to your pages. It can be used whether you use the canvas or SVG libraries or entirely standalone.

Download

Get the latest version of RGraph (version 6.21, 10th April 2025) from the download page. You can read the changelog here. There's also older versions available, minified files and links to cdnjs.com hosted libraries.

Download »

License

RGraph can be used for free under the GPL or if that doesn't suit your situation there's an inexpensive (£129) commercial license available.

How do I reference an RGraph object that was loaded with jQuery?

hi,
I'm creating RGRaph a charts using jQuery - e.g.

<script>jQuery(document).ready(function() {
var chartcvs = new RGraph.Scatter( {"chart_type":"...});
</script>

If I then try to access chart object e.g. with: "chartcvs.clearLassoState();"

It will fail with: "Uncaught ReferenceError: chartcvs is not defined"

Can you help with this?

Because the Scatter chart object is created inside a function along with the var keyword the chartcvs variable is local to that function.

To access it outside of the jQuery.ready() function you would need to omit the var keyword. That then makes the chartcvs variable global. So you could access it by name.

For example:

<script>
    jQuery(document).ready(function()
    {
        // A global variable on purpose!
        myChart = new RGraph.Scatter({ ... });
    });

    myChart.draw();
</script>

There are other ways, like going via the RGraph registry to get to the chart object - but they're a little convoluted.

One thing you could do to make things clearer is use a GLOBALS object like this:

<script>
    GLOBALS = {};

    jQuery(document).ready(function()
    {
        GLOBALS.myChart = new RGraph.Scatter({
            // ...
        });
    });

    // You can then access the chart object by doing this:
    GLOBALS.myChart.draw();
</script>