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Scatter and Bubble Plots
Scatter
and Bubble
plots are suitable to visualize relationships between data values. Both plots arrange data values along the horizontal and vertical axes and display points called Symbols
on the intersections. The Bubble
plot encodes an additional data value into the size of a symbol.
Simple Scatter plot
In its simplest form, a scatter plot visualizes relationships between two variables. For instance, the simple scatter demo displays the correlation between the GDP per capita and life expectancy.
Simple Bubble plot
A bubble plot adds the third variable into visualization by encoding it into the size of displayed symbols. For instance, the simple bubble demo displays the correlation between the diameter of a tree, its height and its volume.
Multi-category Scatter and Bubble plots
You can configure Scatter and Bubble plots to split data values into categories and visualize them using symbols' colors, shapes, or both. For instance, the multi-category scatter demo displays the correlation between the GDP per capita and life expectancy categorized by the continent.
You can configure all these types using the Scatter
and Bubble
plot templates and their 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 Scatter
or Bubble
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 configure Data Values.
The Size Field
editor allows to set the Size Encoding for a Bubble plot.
Data Values
The Values
collection of Scatter and Bubble plots determines the data values whose relationships you want to visualize. The collection items include the Value
property that should be a pair of bound field references or more advanced expressions. Values of the first expression are arranged along the horizontal axis, values of the second expression - along the vertical axis.
The Chart Wizard represents the first value as X-Field
and the second value as Y-Field
.
For instance, the Simple Scatter Plot Demo has the {gdpPercap}, {lifeExp}
Data Value.
Color Encoding
The Color Encoding
enables the color legend and includes the Color
expression and the optional Color Aggregate
function that reduces many Color
values into a single one.
Scatter and Bubble plots calculate distinct Color Encoding
results for items produced by the Data Values
collections, convert them to fill color of corresponding data points, and displays the match between colors and encoding results in the legend. Colors come from the Chart Palette.
For instance, the Multi-category Scatter Plot Demo uses the {continent}
expression for the Color Encoding. Consequently, the report output shows the color legend that matches continents with the corresponding data points' fill color.
Note: The Color
property is the collection, but the Scatter
and Bubble
plots take the first item only.
Shape Encoding
The Shape Encoding
enables the shape legend and includes the Shape
expression and the optional Shape Aggregate
function that reduces many Shape
values into a single one.
A Scatter
plot calculates distinct Shape Encoding
results for items produced by the Data Values
collections, convert them to the symbol of corresponding data points, and displays the match between symbols and encoding results in the legend. Supported shapes are Dot, Box, Diamond, Triangle, Cross, Dash, Plus.
For instance, the Multi-category Scatter Plot Demo uses the {continent}
expression for the Shape Encoding. Consequently, the report output shows the shape legend that matches continents with the corresponding data points' symbols.
Note: The Shape
property is the collection, but a Scatter
plot take the first item only.
If the Color Encoding and the Shape Encoding use the same value, then the shape legend and the color legend are merged into the single one, as in the Multi-category Scatter Plot Demo
.
Size Encoding
The Size Encoding
of a Bubble
plot enables the size legend and includes the Size
expression and the optional Size Aggregate
function that reduces many Size
values into a single one. The Size Encoding works only with numeric values and breaks them down into ranges that determine the size of symbols
. It allows you to encode additional information in a bubble plot.
For instance, the Simple Bubble Plot Demo has the size encoding is set to {Volume}
expression. Thus, the plot uses the range of symbol sizes derived from distinct values of the Volume
field.
Note: The Size
property is the collection, but the Bubble
plot takes the first item only.
The Chart Wizard allows configuring Size encoding
in the Size Field
editor of the Data Values
section.
Symbols look-and-feel
The following properties allow you to fine-tune the outfit of symbols that form Scatter
and Bubble
plots. You can see their effect in action by modifying the configuration of any demos referenced above.
The Symbol Opacity
is a number in percentage that determines the opacity of symbols. 100%
means they are opaque, and 0%
means that they are entirely transparent.
The line properties, the Background Color
expression, and the Symbol Shape
allow you to set up the appearance of symbols. If the Symbol Shape
is Auto
, then the plot either picks the default value or applies the Shape Encoding
that we described earlier.
Tooltip and Labels Template
The data point symbols 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 to which the second item of theData Value
is bound.Value Field Value
means the current value of the second item of theData Value
.Color Field Name
usually means the field name to which theColor Encoding
is bound.Color Field Value
means the currentColor Encoding
value.Shape Field Name
usually means the field name to which theShape Encoding
is bound.Shape Field Value
means the currentShape Encoding
value.Size Field Name
usually means the field name to which theSize Encoding
is bound.Size Field Value
means the currentSize 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:f0}
in the Simple Scatter Plot Demo to display life expectancy values without decimal digits.
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
- insideOutside
- on the topCenter
- 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 allow 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
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 Scatter
and Bubble
plots can be applied when a condition is met:
The background color of a data point symbol
The border color of a data point symbol
The border width of a data point symbol
The border style of a data point symbol
The tooltip and label template
For instance, you can set the following rules for the plot in the Simple Scatter Plot Demo to apply a custom background color for outlying data points(life expectancy values above 80 and below 50 years):
As a result, the output of the chart will be like this:
Action
This group of properties determine the Interactive Action when a report reader clicks a data point symbol. 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 data value. 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 scatter or bubble plot.
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