# ManYue heatmaps in pictures: identify rows, columns and colour ranges before comparing cells

Language: en
Canonical: [ManYue heatmaps in pictures: identify rows, columns and colour ranges before comparing cells](<https://allluckly.cn/en/guides/manyue-in-story-heatmap-cell-bin-legend/>)
中文：[中文 HTML](<https://allluckly.cn/guides/manyue-in-story-heatmap-cell-bin-legend/>)
English: [English HTML](<https://allluckly.cn/en/guides/manyue-in-story-heatmap-cell-bin-legend/>)
Published: 2026-11-10T00:00:00+08:00
Modified: 2026-11-10T09:39:21+08:00
Author: Bison

Pair each cell with both labels and its colour interval, distinguishing ranges from exact values and avoiding comparisons across different legends.

English translation of the [Chinese original](<https://allluckly.cn/guides/manyue-in-story-heatmap-cell-bin-legend/>), translated on 2026-11-10. Original publication dates, attribution, code and version notes are retained.

A coloured grid in a comic may be a heatmap; a dark cell does not necessarily identify one exact number. Read an original two-row, three-column example in ManYue, aligning row, column and legend before making comparisons. Records and calculations are manual. The app does not recognise the data for you or recover exact measurements from ambiguous colour.

## Identify what each direction represents

Record work, edition, chapter, page position and chart title, then read horizontal column and vertical row labels. Our original grid uses rows Place A/Place B and columns morning/noon/evening, measuring fictional observation counts, not geography or body temperature. Record unit and collection interval; leave them unspecified if absent. If a speech balloon covers the legend, consult surrounding explanation rather than assuming temperature because a character says it is hot. Keep the full chart extent before enlarging cells so colour does not lose its coordinate identity.

## Give every cell a row-and-column address

Create six addresses: A-morning, A-noon, A-evening, B-morning, B-noon, B-evening, rather than “third cell on the left,” which may change with a crop. Where explicit numbers exist, the illustrative values in that order are 2, 12, 22, 8, 18, 28; never insert them into an unnumbered real chart. Follow a row label horizontally and a column label vertically to the target, then cross-check. If panning moves labels off-screen, return to the full chart before checking again. Do not confuse A-evening with B-noon from memory or treat similar colours as one observation.

## Read colour bins from the legend endpoints

Assume three bins here: zero to below 10, 10 to below 20, and 20 through 30, with 30 included in the last bin. Retain endpoint membership: 10 is middle-bin and 20 high-bin, not both adjoining bins. If the real legend is continuous rather than binned, record that continuous legend instead of imposing these intervals. Save legend text, unit and direction with the cells: this chart must establish whether darker means higher or lower. Without a legend, mark the range unknown rather than borrowing another familiar heatmap’s colours or treating red as a danger category.

## A shared colour gives only the range actually encoded

A-morning 2 and B-morning 8 both occupy the low bin, so equal colour does not mean equal values; colour alone establishes only shared bin membership. The same applies to A-evening 22 and B-evening 28. Only explicit numbers justify calculating that B-morning exceeds A-morning by 6; shade differences do not provide decimal precision. For interval-only cells, state interval-only conclusions, leaving within-bin ordering unknown when appropriate. Separate printed values, legend-derived ranges and your calculations so an inference does not later become an author-supplied exact datum. A blank cell is not automatically zero.

## Check legend comparability before comparing charts

If the next page uses the same three colours over zero to 100, matching colour does not establish equal values across pages. Record each title, interval, unit, endpoints and whether scaling is independent, then decide whether values or only within-chart ordering are comparable. Even with one unit, different collection periods prevent cumulative counts from representing equal-period intensity. Do not adjust screen brightness or image enhancement until colours look alike and then declare identical data: display treatment does not change legend definitions. Keep original observations and display conditions in separate records.

## Distinguish sequential scales from zero-centred scales

A separately labelled control chart of change may use a diverging scale with negative values at one end, zero centrally and positive values at the other. Distance from the centre can indicate larger change magnitude, not a necessarily larger signed value: minus 20 has greater absolute magnitude than positive 5 but is numerically lower. Do not transfer the original count chart’s low/middle/high reading unchanged. Record centre, endpoint signs and actual legend. This article does not assume every diverging scale is zero-centred; use that interpretation only when explicitly established, and leave unspecified ranges unresolved.

## Troubleshoot unclear colours and obscured labels

When colours are unclear, enlarge the original legend and labels and compare a known clear location in the same source instead of guessing every value. Scan noise, screening or scaling may interfere, but one anomaly does not identify the cause. A cropped legend means missing range evidence; a covered cell is unobserved, not a value interpolated from neighbours. A textual description should give row/column address and confirmed interval, separately identifying unknowns. Readers unable to distinguish the colours can then tell which conclusions rest on text and which still depend on unverified graphics.

## Exit and return to recheck three coordinates and the legend

Exit the reader and return. Relocate A-morning, A-evening and B-morning, confirming row and column before reading colour rather than repeating memorised shades. Check that 2 and 8 share a bin without equality, verify membership at 10 and 20, and explain the negative control. Save six fields: chart identity, cell address, legend range, explicit value, comparison and unknowns. Completion means another reader can reproduce the comparison and see its limited precision. It does not certify the picture’s data through the app or infer real places’ or individuals’ circumstances.

## Related guides and sources

[ManYue colour cues: cross-check identity and state with shape and text](<https://allluckly.cn/en/guides/manyue-colour-cue-redundant-evidence/>); [ManYue comic infographics: distinguish icon counts, areas and legend units](<https://allluckly.cn/en/guides/manyue-comic-pictogram-quantity-legend/>).

Checked on November 10, 2026: [Apple public version information](<https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=6753895889&country=cn&entity=software&timestamp=20261110>) lists ManYue 2.0.5, requiring iOS / iPadOS 15.0 or later. See the [official App Store](<https://apps.apple.com/cn/app/id6753895889>) for feature descriptions; specific controls must still be checked in the installed version.

Method reference: [UK Government: heatmaps and labels in data visualisation](<https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-bite-sized-guide-to-visualising-data-a-dstl-biscuit-book/a-bite-sized-guide-to-visualising-data>). Numbers, short passages and controls are original exercises. Sources explain concepts rather than prove automatic recognition or grading in the app. Manual notes may be kept externally. This article does not claim step-by-step testing on a physical device or private server; unresolved content should remain marked for review.