High-Low Charts

The category of high-low charts encompasses all those charts for which a range of data is displayed between two values.

  • Range bar and high-low-close charts. A range bar is the simplest of these charts, with a bar drawn between the low and high variables. In a high-low-close chart, an additional value—the close—is displayed. The close value is always optional, so it's easy to switch from a range bar chart to a high-low-close chart in the Chart Builder.
  • Difference area chart. This is a variation of the range bar chart, except that it uses color to show which of the variables is greater at any point. When you create the chart, you specify two variables, neither of which is explicitly defined as the "low" or "high." If you are certain that the "low" value is always less than the "high" value, there is no need to use a difference area chart except for cosmetic reasons.

How to create a simple range bar chart

  1. In the Chart Builder, click the Gallery tab and select High-Low in the Choose From list.
  2. Drag the Simple Range Bar icon onto the canvas.
  3. Drag a categorical (nominal or ordinal) variable to the x-axis drop zone.
  4. Drag a scale variable to the Low Variable drop zone.
  5. Drag a scale variable to the High Variable drop zone.
  6. Specify statistics in the Element Properties tab by selecting High-Low-Close in the Edit Properties Of list. The result of one statistic determines the bottom of the bars, and the other determines the top. You can choose different statistics for each variable.

Note: Dragging a variable into the Close Variable drop zone is not required, so you do not need to specify a statistic for this drop zone.

How to create a high-low-close chart

  1. In the Chart Builder, click the Gallery tab and select High-Low in the Choose From list.
  2. Drag the High-Low-Close icon onto the canvas.
  3. Drag a categorical variable to the x-axis drop zone.
  4. Drag a scale variable to the Low Variable drop zone.
  5. Drag a scale variable to the High Variable drop zone.
  6. Drag a scale variable to the Close Variable drop zone. The values of the Close variable should be in the inclusive range between the Low and High variables.
  7. Specify statistics in the Element Properties tab by selecting High-Low-Close in the Edit Properties Of list. The result of one statistic determines the bottom of the bars, and the other determines the top. You can choose different statistics for each variable.

Note: A high-low-close chart is typically drawn with I-beam shaped bars for the high/low values and a circle for the close value. You can change the shape of these elements in the Element Properties tab.

How to create a difference area chart

  1. In the Chart Builder, click the Gallery tab and select High-Low in the Choose From list.
  2. Drag the Difference Area icon onto the canvas.
  3. Drag a categorical variable to the x-axis drop zone.
  4. Drag a scale variable to each of the y-axis drop zones.
  5. Specify statistics in the Element Properties tab by selecting Difference Area in the Edit Properties Of list. The result of one statistic determines the bottom of the area, and the other determines the top. The color changes when one variable statistic is greater than the other. You can choose different statistics for each variable.

Additional features

Clustering. Clustering adds dimensionality within the chart. You cannot cluster a difference area chart, but you can cluster a range bar chart or a high-low-close chart. Clustering splits one bar into multiple bars. For more information about specifying clustering, see Adding and editing grouping variables . The gallery also provides options for these charts.

Paneling. Paneling creates a table of charts, with a cell for each category in the paneling variable. See the topic Adding Paneling Variables for more information.