Create a chart
Within a dashboard, you can present data visually with bar, pie, line, dial, and area charts. To create a chart, first use the Query Editor to select a data source on which the chart is based. After defining the data source, use the Chart Designer to create a chart that presents the data in the dashboard. The following tutorials include the basic steps for creating a dashboard chart.
In this guide:
Use Query Editor
Learn how to use the Query Editor to retrieve dynamic data from a data source so that you can include the data in a new dashboard chart.
Complete the following steps to select a source and define data from that source to use in the Orders by Country {parm} chart. The Orders by Country {parm} chart is shown in the sample dashboard containing sales performance data for the example company, Steel Wheels.
Navigate to the User Console Home page.
Click Browse Files.
In the Folders pane, click to expand the Public folder, and then click the Steel Wheels folder.
The content of the Steel Wheels folder opens in the Files pane.
In the Files pane, select Sales Performance (dashboard).
In the File Actions pane, click Edit.
The Editing: Sales Performance (dashboard) tab opens.
In the Editing: Sales Performance (dashboard) tab, navigate to the Orders by Country {parm} pane.
Click the Insert Content icon, and then click Chart.
The following image shows the Insert Content icon and the Chart option.
Location of the Insert Icon and Chart list option in the Query Editor. ItemName1
Insert Content
2
Chart
A warning opens for discarding current content.
Click OK.
The Select a Data Source window opens.
Select Orders and click OK.
The Query Editor window opens.
In the Categories / Columns pane, click to expand the Customer list.
Select Territory, and then click the top right arrow to add the Territory column to the top right table.
The following image shows the Territory option that you select in the Categories / Columns pane, the top right arrow that you click to add the Territory column to the top right table, and the top right table where you add the Territory column.
Location of the Territory option, top right arrow, and Territory column in the Query Editor. In the Categories / Columns pane, click to expand the Orders list.
Select Total, and then click the middle right arrow to add the Total column to the middle right table.
Click Preview to preview the table with data from the source that you selected in the columns that you added.
The following image shows the Preview window that contains a table with order data in the Territory and Total (SUM) columns.
Preview window in the Query Editor. Click Close to close the Preview window.
Click OK.
The Chart Designer window opens.
Next: Use Chart Designer.
Use Chart Designer
After defining the data for the new chart with the Query Editor, you are ready to create the visual layout for the chart using the Chart Designer.
This part of the tutorial assumes you have followed the steps in Use Query Editor to define the data for the examples shown in the following steps.
In Chart Designer, under Data, click the drop-down arrow to display the data selection menu:
Data panel Data FieldDescriptionSeries Column
Series display as the individual columns on a bar chart and as individual lines in a line chart. Area charts display each series as a point.
Category Column
Categories display as bars or groups of bars on the x-axis (horizontal axis). In line charts, categories are usually associated with time periods. In area charts, the x-axis displays the category labels. If you do not want to display categories, choose None.
Values Column
The value determines the height of columns in a bar chart and the height of lines in a line chart. In area charts, the y-axis values determine the heights of the points. The value is always numeric.
A preview of the chart appears in a box in the upper-right corner of the Chart Designer as you select your options.
Chart designer preview Under Chart Type, click the type of chart applicable for your data. If you are unsure which chart type is best for displaying your data, see Chart types. In this tutorial, Bar Chart is selected.
By default, pie and dial charts display in animated Flash mode. You can turn animation off by disabling the Animated check box in the Chart Designer. Animated charts can highlight key data points. For example, you may want to apply animation if a data point reaches a critical value, such as high or low sales numbers. If you selected a pie or dial chart, see Pie charts or Dial charts.
Under Theme, select a theme from the list. In this tutorial, the Default theme is selected.
The theme is applied to your chart.
Enter the labels for the Chart Title, X Axis Title (horizontal axis), and Y Axis Title (vertical axis).
Entries appear in the chart preview.
Chart preview x and y axis Click Apply to see the chart preview.
Click OK to display your chart in the dashboard panel.
The revised chart now appears in the dashboard.
Chart types
The following guidelines may help you determine which chart type is best suited for the data you want to present in your dashboard:
Bar charts
If you want to compare items during a specific time period, consider using a bar chart.
Keywords to think about when creating a bar chart are compare or rank.
For example, if you want to compare items sold to show which one made the most profit, you might create a bar chart that ranks the products from the lowest to highest profit. The bar's length determines its ranking. The label identifies the item.
Bar chart data can be presented horizontally or vertically depending on your requirements.
Pie charts
If you are comparing parts of a whole, consider using a pie chart. It gives dashboard consumers an immediate visual clue of the relative sizes of the shares of a whole.
Keywords associated with pie charts include portion, share, and percentage.
For example, if you want to demonstrate the proportion of the company's budget spent on health insurance, use a pie chart. Categories are represented by individual slices. To make the chart easier to read, limit the number of slices to five.
The size of the slice in a pie chart is determined by the value as shown in the following example:
You can animate a pie chart if you want its pieces to be exploded. This means that the individual slices of the pie can be pulled away from the rest of the pie.
To animate a pie, enable the Animated check box in the Chart Designer.
Line charts
Line charts are useful for showing changes over time.
Keywords associated with data that is best suited for a line chart are trend, growth, and decline.
If, for example, you want to show how product sales have changed over five years, use a line chart. The slope of the line helps users quickly identify the direction of the trend.
Dial charts
Dial charts are often associated with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Dial charts are circular and contain a scale, a needle, and one or more dial sectors.
The dial sector is used to identify a specified area on a dial chart using a particular color. For example, you could have a dial plotting inventory with a minimum dial value of 10000 and a maximum dial value of 50000. There could be a red dial sector for the region between 2000 and 4000 indicating that if the needle is in this area, there is a danger of a supply inventory shortage.
For dial charts to display correctly, you must enter values for your range and the chart title.
In the example below, the dial chart preview is displaying ranges associated with sales. Notice that each dial sector is represented by a color: red, yellow, or green. The needle is positioned in the 220796.48 range, indicating that total orders, while not stellar, are not near the danger zone indicated by the red sector in the dial.
You can change the color of a dial sector by clicking the small down arrow in the color boxes associated with Range. Select a color from the palette so that you can preview it on your dial chart.
Click Apply to preview your dial chart. Click OK to place your dial chart into the dashboard.
Area charts
Area charts can be used to show a comparison of the same thing during different points in time.
Area charts are not designed to provide exact data, but they do give users visual clues of the relative sizes of the items they are representing.
Modify charts
After creating a chart, you can modify it in these ways:
Edit a chart
Use these steps to edit a chart:
In the Dashboard Designer, select the panel that displays the chart.
In the upper-right corner of the panel, click Edit Content.
Chart Designer opens.
Click Edit Query.
Query Editor opens.
Edit the query as needed, then click OK.
Chart Designer opens.
Select the data definitions to build the chart.
Optional: Change the chart type and theme.
Click Apply to preview the chart.
Click OK to show the chart in the dashboard.
Rotate axis labels
Use these steps to rotate chart axis labels:
In Chart Designer, display your chart.
Under Label Rotation, select Diagonal or Vertical, then click Apply.
Click OK to show the chart in the dashboard panel.
Adjust numeric scaling
Use scaling when long numeric values affect chart display.
Scaling is available for all chart types except pie.
Preview your chart in Chart Designer.
Under Scale, open the drop-down list and select a scaling option.
In the example below, the scaling option is 1 million. Hover over bars to see actual values.
Scaling in chart Click OK to show the chart in the dashboard.
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