- Getting Started
- Developer Guides
- Report Author Guides
Radar Area Plot
Radar Area
plots are useful to display ordinal measurements of a variable across a range of categories. A radar area plot arranges categories on a circle and connects the corresponding points with straight lines. Data values are represented by points laid out along radial lines and connected with straight or curved lines. The resulting shape is filled with a color.
Radar Area Plot with Single Value
A single value radar area plot visualizes measurements of a single variable.
For instance, the Radar Area Plot with Single Value Demo displays the average budget for several movie genres.
Radar Area Plot with Multiple Areas
A multiple-area radar plot allows you to split data values into subcategories for more granular analysis. For instance, the Radar Area Plot with Multiple Areas Demo displays the average movie budget per country for several movie genres.
You can configure all these types using the Radar Area
plot template and its properties described in the following sections.
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 Radar Area
on the first page of the Chart Wizard
, and click the Next
button, the wizard shows the Radar Area 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 Radar Area plot's Values
collection determines data values that are displayed by data points connected by lines. The collection items consist of two properties:
The
Value
is usually a bound field reference. The Properties Panel displays theValue
as the collection, butRadar Area
plots take the first item only. The Chart Wizard displays theValue
asField
.The
Aggregate
is an optional function, such asCount
orSum
, that reduces many field values into a single one.
For instance, all the demos listed above have the Value={Budget}, Aggregate=Average
Data Value.
Category Encoding
The Category Encoding
of a Radar Area
plot is a set of properties that determine categories for which the plot generates connected data points representing those above Data Values
.
The
Category
is usually a bound field reference. Bound DataSet Records with the same value of that field fall into the same category. For instance, the Radar Area Plot with Single Value Demo is bound to theRatings
DataSet containing several fields, including theGenre
field, for each data record. The plot'sCategory
is set to{Genre}
expression. Therefore the plot goes through theRatings
DataSet finds the distinctGenre
values and generates one category per genre. If you preview the demo output, you can see seven genres.The
Category Sorting
configuration determines the order of the category values appearance.
The Chart Wizard
offers the simplified editor of the Category 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.The Sort Expression
is automatically set to theField
value.
Details Encoding
The Details Encoding
allows you to break down those above Data Values
into subcategories for more granular analysis of changes.
The Details
property of a Radar Area
plot is the collection of items that determine 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 Radar Area Plot with Multiple Areas Demo theDetails
value is{Country}
. Consequently, theAverage Budget
of each genre splits into theUSA
andUK
subcategories that generate a data point.The
Exclude Nulls
flag indicates whether DataSet Records with an undefinedDetails Value
should be excluded from the visualization.The
Sorting
configuration determines the order of subcategories' 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
Sorting
configuration of theDetails 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 Details Encoding
and includes the Color
expression and the optional Color Aggregate
function that reduces many Color
values into a single one.
The plot calculates distinct Color Encoding
results for the subcategories produced by the Details Encoding
, converts them to fill colors of corresponding areas, and displays the match between colors and encoding results in the legend. Colors come from the Chart Palette.
For instance, the Radar Area Plot with Multiple Areas Demo uses the {Country}
expression for the Colors Encoding. Consequently, the report output shows the colors legend that matches countries with the fill color of corresponding areas.
Note: The Color
property is the collection, but the Radar Area
plot takes the first item only.
Plot look-and-feel
The following properties allow you to fine-tune the outfit of shapes that form the Radar Area
plot. You can see their effect in action by modifying the configuration of any area demo.
The Opacity
is a number in percentage that determine the opacity of areas filled with color. 100%
means they are opaque, and 0%
means that they are entirely transparent.
The Line Aspect
property determines the style of the line that connects data points.
Default
means the straight lineSpline
means the bezier curveStep Center
,Step Left
andStep Right
are not applicable for a Radar Area plot.
The Show Nulls
property indicates the arrangement of data points for Null
values.
Gaps
means that the plot will not draw a line between a null data point and its previous and next pointsZero
means that null data points will be considered to have0
valueConnected
means that the plot will connect the previous and the next points of a null point
The Clipping Mode
indicates the manner that the plot area draws a plot:
Fit
value means that the plot area should use all the available space to fit the plotClip
value means that the plot area cuts off the plot on the edge of its right or bottom paddingNone
value equals toFit
The line properties in the Style
section determine the appearance of lines that connect data points.
The color expression in the Background
section sets the fill color of areas and overwrites the Color Encoding
described earlier.
The Start Angle
is a number in arcdegree that defines the rotation of the plot clockwise. Full rotation is 360
degrees.
Tooltip and Labels Template
Data points can display labels with the following content that you can set up using the Label Text Template
expression.
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:'$'0'M'}
in the Radar Area Plot with Single Value Demo to display the average budget as millions of USD.
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 a parent data point symbol:
Inside
- inside the area filled with colorOutside
- outside of the area filled with colorCenter
- near the data pointAuto
- 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 their parent data points. 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
Action
This group of properties determine the Interactive Action when a report reader clicks inside a filled area. 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. Visit the Drill-Through Reports Walkthrough for more information. It explains how to set up the drill-through column plot, but the same technique applies to a radar area plot.
Feedback
Submit and view feedback for