Formatting a chart

You can control some aspects of how data points, field names, and labels are displayed on your chart

About this task

You can edit many of the properties of a chart when you want more control over the appearance of a chart.
  • Displaying and hiding data points.
  • Showing a measure name on charts that include only a single measure.
  • Restricting the number of labels displayed.
  • Rotating the direction of label text.

Displaying data points

You can select whether to display data points in your line, time series, or area chart. Data points can help users visualize chart data more accurately.

Procedure

  1. In the Ad Hoc View pane, click Properties icon to display the Canvas Options menu.
  2. Select Chart Format to display the Chart Format window.
  3. In the Appearance tab, select Show data points on line charts.
  4. Click Apply, and then click OK.
    The name appears along the value axis.

Displaying the measure name on the Y axis

By default, in charts that include only a single measure, the measure name is not displayed along the Y (or value) axis. You can include a measure name on the value axis to clarify your chart.

Procedure

  1. In the Ad Hoc View pane, click Properties icon to display the Canvas Options menu.
  2. Select Chart Format to display the Chart Format window.
  3. In the Appearance tab, select Show measure name on value axis.
  4. Click Apply, and then click OK.
    The name appears along the value axis.

Restricting label display

By default, every field included in your chart is displayed with a label along both axes.

About this task

Measures are displayed as numeric values, often along the Y axis, and fields that are measured display as text along the X axis. On some charts with many fields, labels might overlap or become difficult to read. You can step or reduce the number of labels that are displayed on your chart.

Procedure

  1. In the Ad Hoc View pane, click Properties icon to display the Canvas Options menu.
  2. Select Chart Format to display the Chart Format window.
  3. In the Axis tab, in the Interval between X-axis labels box, specify how often you want the axis label to appear.

    For example, to display every second label, enter 2 or to display every third label, enter 3.

  4. Repeat this process in the Interval between Y-axis labels box.
  5. Click Apply, and then click OK.
    Note: To display every label, open the Axis tab and enter 1 in the Interval between Y-axis labels and Interval between X-axis labels boxes.

Rotating label text

By default, labels on your chart are displayed horizontally.

About this task

Multiple labels or long labels can be difficult to read. You can change the direction of labels, on both the X and Y axes, to improve chart readability.

Procedure

  1. In the Ad Hoc View pane, click Properties icon to display the Canvas Options menu.
  2. Select Chart Format to display the Chart Format window.
  3. In the Axis tab, in the Rotation of X-axis labels box, specify the degree of rotation to apply to labels.

    For example, to rotate labels clockwise 90 degrees, enter 90, or to rotate labels counterclockwise 90 degrees, enter -90.

  4. Repeat this process in the Rotation of Y-axis labels box.
  5. Click Apply, and then click Close.
    Note: To return the labels to their horizontal position, enter 0 in the Rotation of X-axis labels and Rotation of Y-axis labels boxes.

Changing advanced formatting

The Advanced tab on the Chart Format window gives you more control over the appearance of an ad hoc chart

About this task

You can specify a list of colors for a chart. You can change the position of the legend, and you can choose whether to display data values in a chart. You can find a full list of supported commands by clicking the More Information link in the Advanced tab

Procedure

  1. In the Ad Hoc View pane, click Properties icon to display the Canvas Options menu.
  2. Select Chart Format to display the Chart Format window.
  3. Select the Advanced tab.
  4. Click Add New Property.
  5. In the Property field, enter the chart property that you want to format and then enter the values for the property.
    For example, you can format color, vertical alignment, and data value display properties.
    • To format colors, enter colors for the property and a comma-separated list of colors in brackets for the values, such as [red, blue, green, magenta, purple, black, yellow].
    • To change the vertical alignment of the legend, enter legend.verticalAlign for the property and top or bottom or center for the value.
    • To display data values on the chart, enter plotOptions.series.dataLabels.enabled for the property and true for the value.
    Note: Property name or values are not validated. The chart ignores any invalid property that you enter.
  6. Click Tick icon to save the property formatting.
  7. Click Apply, and then click Close.
    Note: To remove the formatting, open the Advanced tab, and click Delete icon for the property to remove.