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Column and Bar Plots
The Column
and Bar
plots are suitable for side-by-side comparison of multiple Data Values
per Category
, or comparing across categories. Both plot types have the same configuration, but they visualize it differently:
A
Column
plot arranges categories horizontally and encodes data values into vertical columns.A
Bar
plot arranges categories vertically and encodes data values into horizontal bars.
In addition, you can choose one of the following methods of placing data values within a containing category. The examples below emphasize Data Values with a bold font and Categories - with an italic font.
Clustered Column and Bar
A clustered plot usually has multiple columns or bars, one for each data value, per containing category. For instance, the Clustered Column Demo shows the Net Sales and Net Income per Product Category.
You could also use a clustered column or bar to break down data values into subcategories within the containing category. For example, the Clustered Bar Demo shows the Net Sales for each sales channel per Product Category.
Stacked Column and Bar
A stacked plot is another way to break down data values into subcategories by placing corresponding column or bar subsections on top of each other or next to each other within the containing category. The Stacked Column Demo shows the Net Sales for each product category per Sales Channel.
Percentage Stacked Column and Bar
A percentage stacked plot combines the stacked plot and the Percentage
axis scale. It indicates the contribution of each data values' sub-category to a containing category's total. For instance, the Percentage Stacked Bar Demo shows the percentage share of the product categories' Net Sales per Sales Channel.
You can configure all these types using the Column
or Bar
plot template and its properties that we described in the following sections. The Stacked Column/Bar
and Percentage Stacked Column/Bar
templates are just shortcuts to a specific configuration.
You can use the following demos to explore plot properties - open a link, toggle the Report explorer, select the Plot - Plot 1
node and use the Properties panel to modify the configuration.
You could also download the report files listed below and open them in the Standalone Report Designer.
Chart Wizard
If you add a chart into a report, set the plot type to Column
or Bar
on the first page of the Chart Wizard
, and click the Next
button, the wizard shows the Column Settings
or Bar Settings
page that looks like the following:
The Data Values
section allows you to add one or more Data Values.
The Data Categories
section allows you to set the Category Encoding.
The Data Subcategories
section allows you to configure the Details Encoding.
Data Values
The Column
and Bar
plots are the best for comparing items, such as the net sales or the average rainfall. The plot's Values
collection determine these items. The Chart Wizard displays the Values
collection as Fields
in the Data Values
section. Collection items consist of two properties:
The
Value
is usually a bound field reference. The Properties Panel displays theValue
as the collection, butBar
andColumn
plots take the first item only. The Chart Wizard displays theValue
asField
.The
Aggregate
is an optional function, such asCount
orAverage
, that reduces many field values into a single one. If a Bound DataSet contains aggregated values, then you can set this property toNone
.
Multiple data values generate a clustered plot, as in the Clustered Column Demo. You can switch the Show Values Names In Legend
flag to supply the plot with a legend that displays the match between columns or bars background and the corresponding data value names. You can set the displayed name by using the Caption
property of a data value item.
Category Encoding
The Category Encoding
of the Column
and Bar
plots is a set of properties that determine the range of Category Values
for which the plot generates columns or bars that represent those above Data Values
.
The
Category
is usually one or more bound field references. Bound DataSet Records with the same values of these fields fall into the same category. For instance, the Clustered Column Demo Chart is bound to theSales DataSet
containing several fields per data record including theProductCategory
. The plot'sCategory
list contains the{ProductCategory}
reference. Therefore the plot goes through theSales DataSet
and places distinctProductCategory
field values along the horizontal axis.The
Category Sorting
configuration determines the order of the category values appearance. For instance, the plot in theClustered Column Demo
has the following settings to sort the product categories by the sum of sales in descending order.Category Sort Expression = {[Net Sales]}
Category Sorting Aggregate = Sum
Category Sorting Direction = Descending
The Chart Wizard
offers the simplified editor of the Categories Encoding
in the Data Categories
section:
A single
Category Expression
displayed asField
is available.The
Sorting
configuration of theCategory Encoding
displays theSort direction
property only. TheSort Expression
is automatically set to the same value as theField
property has.
Details Encoding
The Details Encoding
allows you to break down those above Data Values
into subcategories within the containing category for more granular comparison.
The Details
property of the Column
and Bar
plots is the collection of items that define these subcategories. Each item includes several properties:
The
Values
is usually one or more bound field references. Bound DataSet Records with the same values of these fields fall into the same subcategory. For instance, in the Stacked Column Demo the plotDetails
value is{ProductCategory}
. Consequently, theNet Sales
columns break down into multiple subsections corresponding to distinct product categories.The
Exclude Nulls
flag indicates whether DataSet Records with an undefinedDetails Value
should be excluded from the visualization.The
Group
property determines how the plot arranges columns or bars divided into subsections.Stack
- a bar plot places subsections next to each other; a column plot places them on top of each other. You can use this value to configure aStacked Column
orStacked Bar
plot.Cluster
- subsections are clustered into groups. The Clustered Bar Demo uses this value for the plot details.None
- equals the default value.
The
Sorting
configuration determines the order of the subsections appearance.
The Chart Wizard
offers the simplified editor of the Details Encoding
in the Data Subcategories
section:
A single
Details Encoding
item is available.A single
Value
item displayed asField
is available.The
Group
property of the Detail Encoding is displayed asBreak-down method.
The
Sorting
configuration of the Details Encoding displays theSort direction
property only. TheSort Expression
is automatically set to theField
value.
Colors Encoding
The Colors Encoding
enables the color legend of the Category Encoding
or Details Encoding
and includes the Color
expression and the optional Color Aggregate
function that reduces many Color
values into a single one.
If the Details Encoding
is empty, Column
and Bar
plots calculate distinct Color Encoding
results for the categories produced by the Category Encoding
, convert them to the background color of the corresponding columns or bars, and display the match in the legend.
Otherwise, Column
and Bar
plots calculate distinct Color Encoding
results for the subcategories produced by the Details Encoding
, convert them to the background color of the corresponding columns or bars subsections and display the match in the legend.
In both cases, plots pick up colors from the Chart Palette.
For instance, the colors encoding in the Stacked Column Demo is set to the {ProductCategory}
expression. Consequently, the report output shows the legend that matches Product Categories with corresponding column subsections background.
In most cases, you will use the same configuration for both Details Encoding
and Colors Encoding
to enable a visual map of data values breakdown.
Note: The Color
property is the collection, but the Bar
and Column
plots take the first item only.
Column and Bar look-and-feel
The following properties allow you to fine-tune the outfit of rectangular shapes that form the Column
and Bar
plots. You can see their effect in action by modifying the configuration of any column or bar demo.
The Opacity
is a Number in percentage that determines the opacity of bars and columns. 100%
means they are opaque, and 0%
means that they are completely transparent.
The Bar settings
is the combination of numbers in percentage that you can use to change the dimensions and form of columns and bars.
Note: To configure the Bar Settings select the root Chart node in the Report Explorer
The
Width
property sets the column width or bar height relative to the size that the plot allocates for the containing category along the horizontal or vertical axis. This value is55%
by default. Try setting it to90%
for theStacked Column Demo
plot to see the difference.The
Overlap
property sets the gap between adjacent columns or bars relative to the containing category's size.The
Neck Height
property breaks down the containing column or bar into two parts that may have different width or height that you can set using theTop Width
and theBottom Width
properties. This combination allows you to set a bullet-like shape for columns or bars. For instance, try settingNeck Height=60%, Bottom Width=85%, Top Width=0%
for the Clustered Column Demo plot.
The Bar Lines
Boolean flag shows and hides the connecting lines between columns and bars that belong in the same Detail
or the same Category
if the Details Encoding
is empty.
The Offset
is a Number in percentage, relative to a single column width or a single bar height, that translates the column and bar plots to the right or the bottom side respectively.
The Clipping Mode
indicates the manner that the plot area draws the translated plot:
Fit
value means that the plot area should use all the available space to fit the shifted columns and barsClip
value means that the plot area cuts off shifted columns and bars on the edge of its right or bottom paddingNone
value equals toFit
The Background Color
Expression overwrites any other columns and bars background settings, including the Color Encoding
that we described earlier.
The Style
section has the line properties that allow you to set up the color, style, and width of the columns and bars border.
Tooltip and Labels Template
In the report output, columns and bars can display tooltips and labels with the following content that you can set up using the Tooltip Template
and Label Text Template
expressions, respectively.
You can choose one of the following values in the drop-down list
Value Field Name
usually means the field name bound to aData Value
.Value Field Value
means the currentData Value
within the containing Category or Details.Percentage In Details
means the percentage share of the currentData Value
among all the values with the sameDetails
.Percentage In Category
means the percentage share of the currentData Value
among all the values with the sameCategory
.Category Field Name
usually means the field name bound to theCategory Encoding
.Category Field Value
means the currentCategory Encoding
value.Details Field Name
usually means the field name bound to theDetails Encoding
.Details Field Value
means the currentDetails Encoding
value.Color Field Name
usually means the field name bound to theColor Encoding
.Color Field Value
means the currentColor Encoding
value.
Also, you could use the template's Expression Editor to set the formatting for these values using the interpolation syntax and supported format strings. For instance, you can set the Label Text Template
to {valueField.value:C2}
in the Stacked Column Demo to display the Net Sales
as currency.
Labels Appearance
A subset of text properties in the Label Text
section and the line properties in the Label Border
section allow you to set up the corresponding visual parameters of the plot labels.
The Label Position
and an optional Offset
in pixels determine the location of labels relative to the containing column or bar:
Inside
- on the inner edgeOutside
- on the outer edgeCenter
- on the centerAuto
- equals toOutside
The Overlapping Labels
property indicates the handling of overlapping labels. Possible values are:
Auto
- hides some labels to prevent the overlappingShow
- shows all labels even if the overlapping persists
The line properties in the Label Line
section allows you to add the connecting lines between labels and the edge of columns or bars. The Label Line Position
determines the connection point of a label's bounding box and the line:
Auto
- selected automaticallyCenter
- on the center of the bounding box side
Dynamic Rules
The Rules
configuration allows you to create if this then that
rules based on one or more data conditions to apply to the plot appearance. A condition is an expression that may refer to one of the following values:
Chart!CurrentData
- the currentData Value
Chart!PreviousData
- the previousData Value
Chart!NextData
- the nextData Value
Chart!CurrentCategory
- the currentCategory Encoding
valueChart!PreviousCategory
- the previousCategory Encoding
valueChart!NextCategory
- the nextCategory Encoding
valueChart!CurrentDetail
- the currentDetails Encoding
valueChart!PreviousDetail
- the previousDetails Encoding
valueChart!NextDetail
- the nextDetails Encoding
value
A condition expression can also include references to report parameters and standard operators. The easiest way to build a condition is to use the expression editor that you can open by click on the box on the right side of the Condition
property.
The following visual properties of Bar
and Column
plots can be applied when a condition is met:
The background color of a bar or column
The color of the bar or column border
The width of the bar or column border
The style of the bar or column border
The tooltip and label template
For instance, you can set the following rules for the plot in the Clustered Bar Demo to emphasize the Net Sales
values that are lower than $50000:
As a result, the output of the chart will be like this:
Action
This group of properties determine the Interactive Action that occurs when a report reader clicks a column or bar. You can use bound field references to pass parameters in a drill-through report or configure a dynamic bookmark or URL. The field value is evaluated in the scope of the current detail or category. Visit the Drill-Through Reports Walkthrough for more information.
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