# Histograms

The histogram is suitable for visualizing distribution of numerical data over a continuous interval, or a certain time period. The data is divided into bins, and each bar in a histogram represents the tabulated frequency at each bin.



## Number of columns (dimensions and measures)

You can only apply a single dimension to a histogram. The dimension must be a numerical field. Histograms do not need a measure, as the frequency of the binned data is automatically calculated.

Information noteYou cannot use a master dimension that was created using the expression editor, even if the resulting field is numeric.

[Columns (dimensions and measures)](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/sense-developer/May2025/Subsystems/Mashups/Content/Sense_Mashups/Create/Visualizations/columns.htm)

## Default settings for a histogram

Most native Qlik Sense chart types are automatically sorted on the dimension content:

* Numeric content is numerically sorted.
* Categorical content is alphabetically sorted.