Grid chart

The grid chart (Grid chart) uses symbols of varying size sorted in a grid. The grid chart is included in the Visualization bundle.

Grid charts must have two dimensions and one measure. The dimension values are the x and y axes. The measure is the metric that determines the size of the symbol in each crossing.

When to use it

A grid chart is useful when you need to quickly find measure values that stand out from other values. For example: you want to see which products sell well in some months, but poorly in others.

Grid charts do not work well when the measure has:

• Many duplicate values.

• Values that are numerically close to each other.

Creating a grid chart

You can create a grid chart on the sheet you are editing.

Do the following:

1. In the assets panel, open Custom objects > Visualization bundle and drag a Grid chart object to the sheet.

2. Click the Add Dimension button to select the x axis value of the chart.

3. Click the second Add Dimension button to select the y axis value of the chart.

4. Click the Add Measure button to select the metric being weighed.

The grid chart is now displayed with the dimensions and measures you selected.

Sorting

Grid chart elements are automatically sorted alphabetically or numerically from smallest to largest on the x axis. You can change the sort order of either axes in the property panel.

Do the following:

1. In the property panel, go to Appearance>Sorting.
2. Click on a dimension.
3. Toggle Sorting from Auto to Custom.
4. You can choose any of these options:
   • Sort by expression: Ascending or Descending.
   • Sort numerically: Ascending or Descending.
   • Sort alphabetically: Ascending or Descending.

Changing the appearance of the chart

You can customize the appearance of your grid chart.

Customizing the symbols

You can change the shape and size of the symbols from the Appearance>Presentation tab in the property panel:

• Use the Symbol size slider to change size.

• Use the Symbol dropdown to change symbol type.

Placing labels on symbols

You can place the individual values of symbols directly onto the chart. From the Appearance> Presentation tab, toggle the Labels from Off to Auto.

Using a grid chart as a heat map

You can change the layout of a grid chart to a heat map from the Appearance>Presentation tab in the property panel. From the Layout dropdown menu, choose:

• Standard: The chart will show individual symbols.

• Heatmap: The chart will display data in a grid with a legend ordered by color.

For a visual demo about using a grid chart as a heatmap chart, see Creating a heatmap using a grid chart.

Changing the color scheme

You can change the color scheme of the symbols from the Colors and legend tab. Set Colors to Custom. From the dropdown menu, choose:

• Single color: You can choose any color.
• By dimension: Under Color scheme, you can change how many different colors are used.
• By measure: Under Color scheme, you can alter the color gradient. Click the Reverse colors check box to flip the gradient order. The colors used are based on your app theme.
• By expression: You can have a color code in the expression. Or, deselect the The expression is a color code check box, and you can alter the color gradient. Click the Reverse colors check box to flip the gradient order. The colors used are based on your app theme.

Changing the range limits

You can customize the limits of the ranges if you color by measure or expression. The full range is defined by the value of the dimensions. Go to Appearance > Colors and legend > Range in the properties panel:

• Min: Defines the lower limit of the range.
• Max: Defines the upper limit of the range.

Changing the scale of the axes

You can customize the presentation of the x and y axes. Go to Appearance > X-axis: [dimension] or Appearance > Y-axis: [dimension] in the properties panel. You can set:

• Labels and title: Select what labels and title to display.

• Label orientation: Select how to display the labels. The following options are available:

  • Auto: Automatically selects one of the other options depending on the space available on the chart.

  • Horizontal: Labels are arranged in a single horizontal line.

  • Tilted: Labels are stacked horizontally at an angle.

  • Layered: Labels are staggered across two horizontal lines.

  To view examples of label orientation, see X-axis and Y-axis.

• Position: Select where to display the dimension axis.

• Number of axis values:

  • Auto: The number of visible bars is determined by the number of dimensions and measures used.

  • Max: The number of visible bars is set to maximum.

  • Custom: When custom is selected, you can directly set the upper limit to the number of visible bars using Maximum number, or by entering an expression. Click Expression to open the Expression editor.

• Show grid lines: Select whether to display grid lines.

Limitations

For information about general limitations, see Limitations.

• The Number of axis values setting in the property panel has a limit of 55 per axis.

• Sometimes when you set dimension limits on a grid chart, chart labels will incorrectly display more items than requested.