Bar charts

Introduction

Bar charts can be used to group data and to compare certain metrics. The bars are displayed horizontally.

Adding data to a bar chart

Follow these steps to add data to a default bar chart.

Step	Action
1	Click on the chart to select it and go to the Chart tab.
2	Click on none next to Rows and select an attribute from the table item list.

See illustration below.

After selecting the attribute, the dashboard is split in different bars and after each bar the number of records per row is displayed.

In the above example, the dashboard now shows the number of records per Invoice owner.

By default the column width is determined automatically. It is possible to define a width for table items which can be useful for table items that have large text values. See Introduction to Table Items.

Note: By default the value displayed is the record count. In the above example the numbers reflect the number of invoices.

Changing the values

It is possible to display different values in the chart by selecting a metric, for example, the average amount instead of the default number value. In this case you must create a metric that calculates the average amount.

Follow these steps to display a different metric in the chart.

Step	Action
1	Click on the chart and go to the Chart tab.
2	Create a new metric in the table item list.
	Click on none next to Metric and select the metric from the drop down list. Note: The Metric drop-down list only displays metrics and selectors that are defined in the table.

Note: If you want to enable end-users to switch between different values in the chart, you can create different metrics, and add them to a metric selector. In that case, you select the metric selector from the Metric drop-down list.

Splitting the chart

You can split the data on the chart by adding columns. Select an attribute from the Column drop-down list in the Grid panel to split up the data by the selected attribute and display the information in different columns. See illustration below for an example where the data is split up per Supplier type.

Column sorting

By default the data is sorted alphabetically by category in ascending order. The options in the Grid panel enable you to change the sorting of columns and/or the direction. See illustration below.

Note: Since the sorting applies to columns, the Sort columns and Sort direction options are only available if the the Column attribute is set in the Grid panel.

If you select the By sum of metric option from the Sort columns drop-down menu the data in the chart is sorted by the sum of the metric values of the metric displayed in the chart. The Sort direction option enables you to select whether the data should be sorted in ascending or descending order.

Adding a compare bar

It is possible to add a compare bar to the chart which can be used to compare periods. In this case, you must create a period filter and add it to the dashboard. See illustration below for an example.

The dashboard contains the Event end period filter and the results or the selected month are displayed. The results of the previous month are indicated by the light-blue colored bar, which allows users to compare the values between the two periods.

Follow these steps to add a compare bar to the chart.

Step	Action
1	Click on the chart to select it and go to the Chart tab.
2	Select the Compare bar option in the Settings panel.
3	Create a period filter and drag it to the Right level in the Controls panel.

Note: If you select the Compare bar option, the compare color is automatically determined based on the chart colors. If you want to change the compare color, you must change the color in the period filter.

Adding a drilldown

You can define a drilldown attribute for a main attribute. Both the main attribute and the drill-down attribute must be present in an attribute selector on the chart and the selector must be on the X-axis.

The attribute selector is used as a level in the chart. If the attribute that is selected in the selector has a drilldown attribute defined for it, a drilldown icon is added to the bar chart.

Defining a drilldown attribute

Follow these steps to define a drill down attribute.

Step	Action
1	Click on the chart to select it and go to the Chart tab.
2	Right-click on the attribute for which you want to create a drilldown in the table item list and select Edit...
3	Click on ADVANCED....
4	Go to the Advanced tab.
5	Click on none next to Drilldown attribute.
6	Select the attribute (or expression) to which you want to drill down from the list and click on OK. See illustration below.

Note:

If you want to drill down to an attribute which is not available in the table to which the main attribute belongs, you have to create an additional expression to resolve this.

For example, if you want to create a drilldown from Variant type to Variant. Assume the Variant type attribute type is defined in the Cases_base table, but not in the Cases table where you have defined Variant. To enable the drill down to Variant you must create an expression in the Cases table to define the Variant type. In the Variant type expression you select Variantas the Drilldown attribute.

Adding the drilldown to the chart

Follow these steps to add the drilldown to the chart.

Step	Action
1	Create a new attribute selector and add both the main attribute and the attribute you defined as drilldown attribute to the selector.
2	Go to the Chart tab.
3	Click on none next to Rows and select the attribute selector from the table item list.
4	Drag the attribute selector to the Header controls panel.

The drilldown icon is added to the bar chart. See illustration below.

When a user clicks on the drill-down icon in the chart, the drilldown attribute is automatically selected in the attribute selector and a filter based on the top level attribute is created the Filters panel.

To drill up the user must select the main attribute from the attribute selector, or use the Back button in the web browser. This automatically removes the filter that was created from the drilldown.

Adding context columns

You can define metrics that determine the context of the main metric to provide a better understanding of the main metric displayed on the dashboard. Contexts are displayed as tooltips on charts. On bar charts, contexts can also be added as additional columns. This enables users to sort on the contexts.

See Contexts for more information.

Follow these steps to create a bar chart with context columns.

Step	Action
1	Create a metric and define the context metrics.
2	Click on the chart to select it and go to the Chart tab.
3	Click on none next to Rows and select an attribute from the table item list.
4	Click on none next to Metric and select the metric from the table item list.
5	Make sure the Context columns check box in the Settings panel is selected. See illustration below.

Related information

Metrics.

Contexts.