Bar charts
There are three bar chart components available in Dashboard Publisher. All bar chart components must be connected to a data source.
Bar Chart
Section titled “Bar Chart”Displays answer categories along the vertical axis and values along the horizontal axis.
Stacked Bar Chart
Section titled “Stacked Bar Chart”Shows comparisons between categories of data, with each bar representing a whole, and the segments within the bar representing different sub-categories of that whole.
100% Stacked Bar Chart
Section titled “100% Stacked Bar Chart”Used to show relative percentage of multiple data series, where the total of stacked bars always equals 100%.
Properties
Section titled “Properties”- Component Name — enter a label for the component (optional). The label will not be visible in the dashboard; it is useful for identifying components quickly while laying out your dashboard.
- Chart Format — set the Title (default “Chart Title”), Title Colour, Sub Title, Sub Title Colour and Font.
- Size — set the component’s Fill and Height.
- Chart Settings — includes:
- Downloadable Data — adds an export menu to the chart so viewers can download it as a JPEG, PNG or Excel file. It’s off by default.
- Data Sorting — None, Ascending or Descending.
- Smooth Data Gaps.
- Tooltips, with Tooltip Number Format and Tooltip Number of Decimals (default 1).
- Show Data Labels, with Data Labels Colour, Data Label Number Format and Data Label Number of Decimals (default 0).
- Colours — there are 10 default colours pre-set in Dashboard Publisher. You can change any or all of these by clicking the arrow next to each colour.
- Column or Bar — switch between a bar or column chart.
- Horizontal Axis — includes Opposite Side, Reversed Direction, and grid line colour and width. Stacked charts also have Reverse Stack Direction.
- Vertical Axis — set the Minimum Value, Maximum Value and Units, plus the same options as the horizontal axis.
- Legend — configure the legend settings.
- Border and Background — add borders and/or background colours to the component.
Data source settings
Section titled “Data source settings”When you connect a bar chart to a data store, some aggregation types (such as Mean) ask you to select supporting variable(s) - Limit: 1. Pick the variable that splits the data into bars. Save stays disabled until you choose one. NPS and CSat data sources don’t need a supporting variable, and neither do Categorical data sources on a Bar Chart.
After a data source is connected, you can still change these settings on the DATA SOURCE tab:
- Decimal Places
- Format with commas
- Suppress Nulls (Bar Chart only)
Each data source also has its own filter bindings on the DATA SOURCE tab. See Dashboard filters for details.
Frequently asked questions
Section titled “Frequently asked questions”Can I add multiple data sources to a bar chart?
Yes. All three bar chart types (Bar Chart, Stacked Bar Chart, and 100% Stacked Bar Chart) support unlimited data sources, allowing you to overlay or combine data from multiple sources in a single chart.
What aggregation types do bar charts support?
The standard Bar Chart supports Mean, NPS, CSat, Categorical, and Multi-Response. The Stacked Bar Chart and 100% Stacked Bar Chart support Mean, NPS, CSat, and Multi-Response.
What’s the difference between a bar chart and a column chart?
They display the same types of data, just oriented differently. Bar charts display categories along the vertical axis with horizontal bars, while column charts display categories along the horizontal axis with vertical columns. Bar charts can be useful when category labels are long, as horizontal bars give more room for label text.
Can I switch between a bar chart and a column chart?
Yes. Use the Column or Bar property to switch the orientation between horizontal bars and vertical columns without recreating the component.
Can bar charts connect to data explorations?
Yes. All three bar chart types support connecting to data explorations as well as data stores.
How can viewers download a chart or its data?
Turn on Downloadable Data under Chart Settings. The chart then shows an export menu where viewers can download it as a JPEG, PNG or Excel file.
Why does my chart show an error icon instead of data?
This happens when a field the chart uses has since been excluded from exports and AI. Excluded fields are withheld from Dashboard Publisher, so they no longer appear in the variable pickers, and charts that already use them show an error icon. Connect the chart to a different variable, or ask the data owner whether the field can be included again.