Symbol Chart

Symbol Charts show aggregated values (unlike scatter plot which is based on non-aggregated data) with the purpose of seeing which data points stand out as the highest and lowest of the bunch - this makes sense when you have many data points. Symbol Charts are considered very close to Bar Charts in their use case and therefore everything that applies to a Bar Chart also applies to a Symbol Chart in the analytical sense.

Creating a Symbol Chart

Symbol Charts are used when you want to present a single value and a single category. To create a Symbol Chart, drag and drop a data field from the Data Panel onto either the corresponding shelf or the canvas.

In the case below, we wanted to see which months the quantity shipped was at its highest and which months it was at its lowest. We dragged and dropped shippedDate as Category and Quantity as Value. We continued with styling the chart in the Configuration Panel.

If you have more than one category you’d like to visualize, you can use a Multiseries Symbol Chart.

Styling the Symbol Chart

In the Configuration Panel on the right of the Chart Builder, you can style different aspects of your chart.

General

The General section is available for all chart types, and the options vary depending on the chart selected. For more information on the options, see General Chart Settings.

Styles

The Styles section enables you to control various visual elements of the charts, such as colors, labels, and more. It is available for most chart types, and the options vary depending on the chart selected. For a glossary of all styles, see Styles. Style options specific to this chart are listed below.

• Color Type

  • Single - all bars are the same color.
    • Color - change the color of the bars.
  • By category - each bar is colored based on its category.
    • Theme - set one of the predetermined themes for a more unified look of your charts.
    • Match colors across charts - unify the colors of each categorical value throughout the page and application.

• Color Type. Select one of the following color types:

  • Single color. Sets all bars to the same color. Select the color in the Color field.
    • Color. Change the color of the bars.
  • By category. Sets the color of each bar is colored based on its category. Select the following color options:
    • Theme. Set one of the predetermined themes for a more unified look of your charts.
    • Match colors across charts. Select to unify the colors of each categorical value throughout the page and application.

• Axis Labels - Show or hide the labels of the axes.
• Values axis (typically y axis)
  • Label - give the axis a custom label.
  • Values - show or hide values on the axis.
  • Values Rotation - if value labels are enabled, decide how you want them to be displayed. You can use this option to avoid overlapping labels.
  • Format - set the format of the values choosing between Default, Abbreviated, Decimal (set the number of decimal points), Currency (choose the currency from the drop-down menu and set the number of decimal points), Percentage (set the number of decimal points), Scientific. Values can also be formatted from the Values column pill.
  • Scale Type - the default scale type is Linear; however, a linear scale is not appropriate for data that is spread over a wide range. Use the Logarithmic scale to display numerical data over a wide range of values in a compact way.
  • Min Range - set the minimum value for the axis.
  • Max Range - set the maximum value for the axis.
  • Steps - Depending on how wide the axis range is, the default configuration could display a lot of tick marks, making it hard to read or analyze the chart. Intervals are set to Auto by default, meaning the chart will calculate the appropriate intervals based on the axis scale range and the dataset values. In the example below, we set the step to 100 units, so the chart will display a tick mark every 100 units starting from 0, resulting in only 3 tick marks. It’s important to keep in mind that when the axis range is vast (e.g., 0 - 10,000,000), setting the “Steps” option to 1 will create 10 million tick marks, causing performance issues on the chart and probably blocking the browser. To avoid this situation, the chart will ignore the defined value and fall back to automatic mode.
    
• Category axis (normally the X-axis)
  • Label - give the axis a custom label.
  • Values - show or hide values on the axis.
  • Values Rotation - if values are enabled, decide how you want them to be displayed.
• Symbol - choose between 7 different types of symbol styles (Circle, Square, Diamond, Triangle Down, Triangle Up, X, Cross) depending on the visualization they need.
• Fill - decide if you want the symbols on the chart to be filled or outlined.
• Data Labels - show or hide the Value labels of your data points.
  • Borders - display your values within a frame.

Sorting

Like all XY Charts, you can sort by either the category or aggregated values from the column pills. If the column is not included in the chart, go to the Sorting section of the Configuration Panel and pick your desired column from the dropdown, and select the sorting direction.

For more information, see Sorting.

Layers

Add a Trend Line or a Reference Line to your chart to allow users to visually compare the data against some set trend or reference value.

Format

The Small Multiples feature is available in all XY Charts. You can apply Conditional Formatting to your Symbol Chart.

Filters

You can also add Filters to your data by expanding the Filters section in the configuration panel or by clicking on the Filters button in the toolbar above the canvas. Filters that are created in the Chart Builder are hidden from End Users. These types of filters can’t be edited or interacted with in the view mode. For more information, see Filters.

For more on Symbol Charts and other XY charts, watch the XY Chart video