Stepped area

Stepped area visualizations are like line visualizations, but the areas below the lines are filled with colors or patterns.

Stepped area visualizations form a series of steps between the data points.

Stepped area visualizations are useful for comparing proportional contributions within a category. They plot the relative value that each data series contributes to the total.

For an effective stepped area visualization, use a time column in the x-axis, such as years, quarters, months, or days. If the x-axis shows something else, such as Canada, Netherlands, UK, and US, use a bar or column visualization.

For example, this stepped area visualization shows the trend in sold products by product type, over the quarters.