Somewhat surprised we don't have the 3d scatter plot but...

Thank you for reporting this enhancement request! I can confirm that this is a valid enhancement request on:
Version: 4.2.0.0.alpha0+Build ID: b0a1666f756aa5f5315366eca9d7d02ddd55d2b
Date:   Tue May 28 08:51:01 2013 +0300 
Platform: Bodhi Linux 2.2 x64
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 
As I've been able to confirm the enhancement request I am marking as:

New (confirmed)
Enhancement
Medium - without more input from users (more comments, etc...) I can't justify highest, I'm putting it to default Medium because I think it will be quite difficult to implement. I'm not even sure if there are some issues with open standards and 3d scatter plots - something a develop will have to address


+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 
LibreOffice is powered by a team of volunteers, every bug is confirmed (triaged) by human beings who mostly give their time for free. We invite you to join our triaging by checking out this link:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/QA/BugTriage

There are also other ways to get involved including with marketing, UX, documentation, and of course developing -  http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/. 

Lastly, good bug reports help tremendously in making the process go smoother, please always provide reproducible steps (even if it seems easy) and attach any and all relevant material

I make graphs in Excel on a Daily Basis, so some other features to bring LO charts up to speed with Excel's graphing capabilities:

1. Data label Backgrounds & Outlines <- Necessary for any chart type including two or more time series. It is a clean and consistent way of denoting which label is for which, without sacrificing readability.

2. Free placement/editing of data labels <- Often times, I insert labels for specific purposes, or to highlight specific distributions/growths in a particular time period; or in case of a stacked graph, to highlight particular components. At times, these components are outliers, and such labels need to be placed manually. Right now, the only way is to cut-paste the label, which transforms it into a graphic, and makes it unable to be edited afterwards.

3. Customizable periodicity of data labels <- Excel is really bad at inserting data labels. Monthly data from 5+ years will get 60+ labels, and one needs to manually "weed" them off (a total of 120+ clicks and 60+ keystrokes just to adjust the labels). Labels in Calc also suffer from the same issue. It would be nice to adjust the periodicity of Data Labels via an "interval feature".

4. Better interval handling <- The current implementation does not handle them well. Excel has both "interval between ticks" and "interval between labels", which serve this purpose, and are much friendlier than having to use X-Y scatter plots, and specifying marks to go on minor intervals while axis labels go on major. This especially shines when using category-style axes, and not all the axis labels need to be shown.

5. Chart Templates <- a necessity when creating 25+ graphs, each with a particular set of formatting in different sections of a document. Copy-pasting the graph multiple times runs is only practical if you are using a single spreadsheet document for all the graphs, and it turns cumbersome when using two or more files: data selection returns you to the original file, etc. More importantly, it serves to standardize the layout of charts across my company.

These things, as well as a revamp of Pivot Tables (other bug related), would make Calc my go-to program for creating charts & graphs. Its very nice time formats & functions, recognition of ISO dating and very good styles handling make it suitable for a lot of aggregation-style methods in daily or weekly data.

(In reply to comment #0)
> ... the spreadsheet is missing two chart features:
> 1) a 3D scatter plot: plot a dependent variable Z as function of two
> independent variables (X,Y)
> 2) A radial plot: the independent variable is an angle and the dependent
> variable should be plotted as distance from the origin at the angle
> specified by the independent variable.

Summary amended to more clearly indicate the original enhancement request. Component set to Chart.

(In reply to comment #2)
> ... some other features to bring LO charts up to speed 

I think separate bug (enhancement) reports should be raised for these requests.

> 1. Data label Backgrounds & Outlines

I can't find an existing open report for this issue.
 
> 2. Free placement/editing of data labels 

This would appear to be bug 72809, although there are several bugs relating to specific issues with pie chart label placement.

> 3. Customizable periodicity of data labels 

I am not entirely clear what this issue is. I can only replicate the 12 months over 5 years giving 60 labels issue in relation to Pie and Net chart types. Bar, Column, Area, Line, Stock, and Column and Line chart types produce 60 minor intervals, but that is covered by the next point. XY (Scatter) and Bubble chart types produce even less intervals and labels. The distinction between "period" and "interval" and how this relates to the axis Scale major / minor interval feature in Calc charts I think needs to be made clearer.

> 4. Better interval handling 

This would appear to be at least partly covered by bug 31683.

> 5. Chart Templates 

I can't find an existing open report for this issue.

(In reply to comment #3)
> > 5. Chart Templates 
> 
> I can't find an existing open report for this issue.

Bug 62925