Charts

A chart shows a saved view as a graph, a table or a block of text. Charts are made in the Chart Builder, and a chart is placed in an interface with the Interface Builder. A saved view is a query built in the Query Builder.

What you can do in the Chart Builder

• Build a chart from a saved view: drop its fields on shelves and see a preview of its rows
• Choose one of 25 chart types with SHOW ME
• Set the options that each chart type offers
• Show the data as text with a Markdown chart
• Add an interaction, so that a click on the chart opens a record, an interface or another chart
• Save a chart, and lock it so that it cannot be changed by accident
• Place the chart in an interface

Who can use the Chart Builder

The Chart Builder is on the New page, in Custom Fields & Configuration. The section is shown to users who hold Manage Document Custom Fields, and the Chart Builder tile in it is shown to users who hold Manage Interfaces.

New > Custom Fields & Configuration

The Chart Editor

Select Chart Builder to open the Chart Editor. It starts with a Create New Chart tile, then has one tile for each chart. Select a tile to open that chart in the Chart Builder. A chart is listed in the Chart Editor once it is saved.

The Chart Builder

The Chart Builder has three panels: DATA on the left, the shelves and the preview in the middle, and FORMAT on the right. Save Chart is at the bottom of the window and again at the bottom of FORMAT. Lock chart is offered once the chart is saved.

The Chart Builder with a live preview

DATA panel

Item	Description
Chart Name	The name of the chart.
Datasource	The saved view the chart reads. Type part of its name to find it.
Dimensions	The fields of the saved view that group the data. Drag one onto a shelf.
Measures	The fields that are counted or added up. Drag one onto a shelf.

Until a saved view is chosen, the panel says No data source selected.

Shelves and preview

Each chart type has its own shelves. A bar chart has X Axis and Y Values, and a donut has a Categories shelf instead. Above the shelves are four marks: Color, Detail, Label and Tooltip.

The preview is drawn from the real rows of the saved view as soon as a field is placed on a shelf. The Live badge shows that the preview is connected to the data.

FORMAT panel

SHOW ME

SHOW ME shows the 25 chart types as tiles. Select a tile to change the chart type. Each type has its own shelves, so the fields are not carried over: after a change to Donut, its shelves are empty and the fields are placed again. Going back to Bar shows the fields that bar chart had.

• With one dimension and one measure, Donut is the recommended type.
• A tile is greyed out when the fields on the shelves cannot draw that type. With one dimension and one measure, XY, Gantt and Capacity are greyed out, and the tooltip reads Not enough fields for this chart.
• With empty shelves, every type can be chosen.

SHOW ME with Donut chosen

SETTINGS

The options under SETTINGS depend on the chart type. The lists below are the options each type shows.

• Bar has Layout, Corner radius, Slice labels, Sort, Palette and INTERACTIONS.
• Donut has Percentage Threshold, Show Total, Ring Thickness, Slice labels, Sort, Palette and INTERACTIONS.
• Data Grid has the sections Colouring Rules, Formatting Rules, Action Rules, Drilldown Rules, Editing Rules, Document Action Settings and Data layer settings.
• Kanban has the sections Lanes, Cards, Appearance, Conditional Coloring, Interaction Rules, Edit rules and Document actions.
• Timeline has Category Keys, Start Date Key, End Date Key, Event Key, Preview Key and Action Rules.
• Text Table has Cell colour, Sort, Show row totals, Show column totals, Decimals, Palette and INTERACTIONS.
• Stat has Value Key, Compare Key, Trend Key, Unit, Invert Delta and Thresholds.
• Tabs has Tab Configuration, where Add Tab adds a tab.

Data Grid settings

Markdown chart

A Markdown chart writes text from the rows of the saved view. Its SETTINGS have a Template Editor, with Open Template Editor, and Styling & Behavior.

Open Template Editor opens the Edit Markdown Template window. The template is Markdown with Liquid tags: {{ data.size }} is the number of rows, and a {% for item in data %} loop writes one line for each row, using the field names of the saved view, such as {{ item.doc_type }}. The preview shows the text once the window is closed.

A Markdown chart written from the rows of a saved view

INTERACTIONS

An interaction makes the chart respond to a click on one of its data points. The INTERACTIONS list is in SETTINGS. It is empty until an interaction is added, and then it reads No click actions. Add one to drill down to a record or interface.

Select Add to open the Edit Action Rule window:

Item	Description
When	The condition under which the action applies. Leave it empty for an action that always applies.
Then go to	The kind of target, Record, Virtual Interface or Chart, and then the target itself.
Label	The name the click menu shows for this action.

The Edit Action Rule window

The saved interaction is listed under INTERACTIONS by its label.

An interaction in the INTERACTIONS list

When the chart is placed in an interface, a click on a data point opens a menu with Drill to detail, Filter dashboard by this and Actions. The interactions of the chart are listed under Actions. Selecting one opens its target: an interface opens in a window of its own.

The menu after a click on a chart

The interface opened by the interaction

Locking a chart

A saved chart can be locked, so that nobody changes it by accident. Once a chart is saved, Lock chart is offered. Select it and the button reads Unlock chart. The lock is stored when the chart is saved.

A locked chart opens read-only: Save Chart is greyed out until Unlock chart is selected. The Portal also refuses a change to a locked chart from anywhere else, such as the API. To change the chart, select Unlock chart and then Save Chart.

A locked chart

How to build a chart

How to build a chart

Step	Description
1	Select New, open Custom Fields & Configuration and select Chart Builder.
2	Select Create New Chart.
3	Type a Chart Name.
4	Select the Datasource, the saved view the chart reads.
5	Drag a dimension from Dimensions onto the first shelf and a measure from Measures onto the second. The preview fills with the real rows.
6	In SHOW ME, choose a different chart type if the first does not suit the data.
7	Adjust the SETTINGS.
8	Select Save Chart. The chart is listed in the Chart Editor.

How to add an interaction

Step	Description
1	Open the chart and scroll the FORMAT panel to INTERACTIONS.
2	Select Add.
3	Under Then go to, select Record, Virtual Interface or Chart, then choose the target.
4	Type a Label. It is the name the click menu shows.
5	Select Save, then Save Chart.

How to lock a chart

Step	Description
1	Open a saved chart from the Chart Editor.
2	Select Lock chart, then Save Chart.
3	To change the chart later, open it, select Unlock chart and then Save Chart.

How to write text from the data

Step	Description
1	Create a chart and choose its Datasource.
2	In SHOW ME, select Markdown.
3	Under Template Editor, select Open Template Editor.
4	Write the template, for example a heading with {{ data.size }} and a {% for item in data %} loop that writes one line for each row.
5	Close the window. The preview shows the text. Select Save Chart.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Detail
A chart type is greyed out	The fields on the shelves cannot draw that type. Remove the fields from the shelves: with empty shelves, every type can be chosen.
Save Chart is greyed out	The chart is locked. Select Unlock chart.

Related configuration

• Query Builder: makes the saved views that charts read
• Interface Builder: places charts in an interface
• Building Virtual Interfaces: how the three tools connect
• Interfaces: how users open and use an interface