Line chart

A line chart displays a change to one or more measures over a time interval. It indicates trends, seasonality, dynamics, and a ratio of multiple measures at a single point in time.

It can show multiple measures with different lines.

line_chart

For example, you can display the basic sales targets, gaming performance trends, or app usage statistics as dotted, dashed, or solid lines.

AI-Insights supported

Use the AI-Insights feature with this chart type.

Create this chart

API

Data fields

Data type settings

Chart settings

Wizard settings

Usage hints

Open the All workbooks overview page and select your workbook.
Click Create → Wizard chart. You'll see the chart creation wizard.
On the top left, select the Dataset you want to visualize.
Click the chart type field on the right of the dataset section and select Line chart from the drop-down menu.
Drag and drop Measures and Dimensions to the appropriate sections of the chart (see the Data fields tab).

Your chart creation wizard should look similar to the following:
Click Save in the upper-right corner of the page.
Name your chart and click Done.
Choose the appropriate location for your chart by dragging it around the dashboard and resize it by dragging the lower-right corner of its frame.
Click Save in the upper-right corner of the page.

Note

This configuration is a segment in the overall description of Visualization assets in the workbook. For the complete tutorial, see Use Visualization API.

To describe a line chart, use the LineChart configuration:

name - your chart's name. Must be unique within the workbook.
dataset - the ID of the dataset whose data to visualize.
ad_hoc_fields - (optional) describe the calculated fields to use in the chart.
visualization - describe the configuration of your chart:
- kind: column_chart_normalized - specify the chart type.
- x - configure the data reference for the X axis:
  - source - specify the data source:
    - kind: ref - take the data from the reference data source. This is the dataset specified above.
    - id - specify the ID of the data field from the dataset whose data will be used to visualize is the X axis.
- y - configure the data reference for the Y axis:
  - source - specify the data source:
    - kind: ref - take the data from the reference data source. This is the dataset specified above.
    - id - specify the ID of the data field from the dataset whose data will be used to visualize the Y axis.
- y2 - (optional) configure the secondary data reference for the Y axis:
  - source - specify the data source:
    - kind: ref - take the data from the reference data source. This is the dataset specified above.
    - id - specify the ID of the data field from the dataset whose data will be used to visualize the Y axis.
- sort - specify the data field to be used as a sorting reference:
  - source - specify the data source:
    - kind: ref - take the data from the reference data source. This is the dataset specified above.
    - id - specify the ID of the data field from the dataset whose data to use as sorting reference.
  - direction - configure the sorting direction to apply to the chart. You can assign ASC for ascending or DESC for descending.
- coloring (optional):
  - kind - specify which data type field to use as a color filter. You can specify a dimension or measure.
  - source - specify the data source:
    - kind: ref - take the data from the reference data source. This is the dataset specified above.
    - id - specify the ID of the data field from the dataset whose data will be used as a color filter.
  - palette_id - select the palette to apply to the chart. For most cases, use default-palette.
  - mounts - assign colors from the palette to data points from the source:
    - value - specify the exact value from the source.
    - color_idx - match the above value to a color swatch number in the palette.

API example

- name: ch_linear_sales_per_month
chart:
   datasets:
   - ds_sales
   ad_hoc_fields: []
   visualization:
   kind: line_chart
   x:
      source:
         kind: ref
         id: order_month
   y:
   - source:
         kind: ref
         id: sum_sales
   y2: []
   sort: []
   coloring:
      source:
         kind: ref
         id: category
      palette_id: default-palette
      mounts:
      - value: Furniture
         color_idx: 19
      - value: Office Supplies
         color_idx: 17
      - value: Technology
         color_idx: 18

Wizard slot	Description
X	Dimension.
Y	Measure. Multiple-field slot. If you add more than one field to this slot, the `Measure Names` field will appear in the Colors slot.
Y2	Measure. Multiple-field slot. If you add more than one field to this slot, the `Measure Names` field will appear in the Colors slot.
Colors	Dimension or `Measure Names`. Affects line colors. You can add a `Measure Names` or `Measure Values` field to this slot. You can delete the `Measure Names` field by removing fields from the Y and/or Y2 slots.
Shapes	Dimension or Measure. Affects the line shapes.
Sorting	Measure. Measures from the x-axis. Affects the sorting of the x-axis.
Signatures	Dimension or Measure. Shows dimension values on the chart. You can add a `Measure Names` or a `Measure Values` field to this slot.
Split	Measure as a category. Separates a single chart into multiple by category.
Chart filters	Dimension or Measure. Used to filter values. You can add a `Measure Names` or `Measure Values` field to this slot.

To open data type settings, click the field type icon before the field name:

for Integer type fields:

Name	Description	Possible values
Name	Sets the name of the measure	A string of characters.
Type (Before aggregation)	Sets the field's data type.	`Integer`, `Fractional number`, `String`, `Logical`, `Date`, `Date and time`
Aggregation	Applies a selected aggregation function to the data field.	No: doesn't apply aggregation. Count: applies the COUNT function, returns the total number of entries. Sum: applies the SUM function, returns the sum of all the field's values. Average: applies the AVG function, returns the arithmetic mean value. Minimum: applies the MIN function, returns the minimum value. Maximum: applies the MAX function, returns the maximum value. Count distinct: applies the COUNTD function to the data field and returns the number of unique values in the field.
Label	Displays labels with values on the chart.	`Show`, `Hide`
Format	Sets the value display format	Number: display the values as plain numbers. Percent: show the values as a percentage.
Show delimiter	Toggles the separation of groups of thousands.	Show: display spaces between groups of thousands. Hide: hide spaces between groups of thousands.
Prefix	Sets a text to display before the value	A string of characters.
Postfix	Sets a text to display after the value.	A string of characters.
Units	Sets a rounding scale to apply to the field's values.	`Null`: don't apply rounding. `Auto`: select and apply a rounding scale automatically. `Thousands, K`: round to thousands, display `000` as `K`. `Millions, M`: round to millions, display `000 000` as `M`. `Billions, B`: round to billions, display `000 000 000` as `B`. `Trillions, T`: round to trillions, display `000 000 000 000` as `T`.

for String type fields:

Name	Description	Possible values
Name	Sets the name of the dimension	A string of characters.
Type	Sets the field's data type.	`Integer`, `Fractional number`, `String`, `Logical`, `Date`, `Date and time`
Aggregation	Sets the aggregation type	No: doesn't apply aggregation. Count: applies the COUNT function to the data field and shows the number total number of entries. Count distinct: applies the COUNTD function to the data field and returns the number of unique values in the field.

for Date type fields:

Name	Description	Possible values
Name	Sets the name of the dimension	A string of characters.
Type	Sets the field's data type.	`Integer`, `Fractional number`, `String`, `Logical`, `Date`, `Date and time`
Grouping	Sets the grouping and rounding by time period.	No - doesn't apply grouping. Rounding - rounds the values by `Year`, `Quarter`, `Month`, `Week` or `Day`. Date part - returns the number of a time period: `Year`, `Quarter`, `Month`, `Week`, `Day of week`, or `Day`.
Date mode	Toggles the date display mode.	Continuous - display all the dates continuously. Discrete - show the dates containing values.
Aggregation	Applies a selected aggregation function to the data field.	No: doesn't apply aggregation. Count: applies the COUNT function, returns the total number of entries. Minimum: applies the MIN function, returns the minimum value. Maximum: applies the MAX function, returns the maximum value. Count distinct: applies the COUNTD function to the data field and returns the number of unique values in the field. Average: applies the AVG function, returns the arithmetic mean value.

for Geodata type fields:

Name	Description	Possible values
Name	Sets the name of the data field	A string of characters.
Type	Sets the field's data type.	`Integer`, `Fractional number`, `String`, `Logical`, `Date`, `Date and time`, `Geopoint`, `Geopolygon`
Aggregation	Sets the aggregation type	No: doesn't apply aggregation. Count: applies the COUNT function to the data field and shows the total number of entries.
Column fill color	Fills the cells with different colors from a gradient depending on the value.	`On`: apply the color fill. `Off`: remove color fill.

To open chart settings, click to the right of the chart type above the wizard slot fields. You'll see a dialog window with the following controls:

Control	Default state	Description
Header	`On`	Displays the specified text in the centered line above the chart.
Legend	`On`	Displays the field name associated with color line below the chart.
Sum in tooltips	`On`	Displays the sum of the values of all the lines on data point hover.
Navigator	`Off`	Displays the Navigator for selected lines below the chart.
Labels overlap	`Off`	Allows the labels with a large amount of text to overlap. Use with caution - this may negatively affect the labels readability.

After managing the controls, click Apply to see the results on the chart preview.

To open wizard slot settings, click in a row with the slot name. Depending on the slot, you'll see a dialog window with the following controls:

X and Y axes:

Setting	Description	Possible values
Axis title	Sets an axis label.	Auto: Uses a field name. If the section contains several fields, Visualization uses the name of the field added to the list first. Manual: Allows you to enter an axis title manually. `Off`: Axis will have no label.
Axis type	Sets the axis type. The setting is available for fields in the axis section that have the Fractional number type.	Linear: Sets a linear axis type. Logarithmic: Sets a logarithmic axis type, preferable for charts with a wide range of values. A logarithmic axis allows you to display a fast-growing graph in a convenient form for analysis, reducing values by order of magnitude.
Grid	Displays a grid on the chart.	`On`: Displays the grid. `Off`: Hides the grid.
Grid step	Sets the grid spacing in pixels.	Auto: Sets the grid size automatically. Manual: Allows you to set the grid size in pixels.
Labels	Displays data field labels on the chart.	`On`: Displays labels. `Off`: Hides labels
Labels view	Sets the appearance of the label display. The setting is available if the Labels setting is set to `On`.	Auto: Positions label values automatically. Horizontal: Positions label values horizontally. Vertical: Positions label values vertically. Angle: Displays label values at a 45-degree angle.
Empty values (null)	Specifies how to process empty values. Not supported by Scatter chart.	Ignore: Doesn't display empty values in a chart. Connect: Joins values of fields that have empty values between them. Display as 0: Displays empty values in charts as zero (0) field values.
Scaling	Sets the scale of chart axes.	Auto: Sets the scale automatically. You can specify how Visualization sets the scale: from the minimum to the maximum field values (Autoscale from min to max) or from 0 to the maximum field value (Autoscale from 0 to max). Manually: Allows you to set the axis scale manually. You can set the maximum and minimum values along the axis. Visualization trims the chart lines by this value.

Colors:

On the left, you can select a line from a data source in the Colors slot of your chart.

On the right, you can select a color scheme and a color for the line. Select AUTO to let Visualization do the coloring for you.

Shapes:

On the left, you can select a line from a data source in the Colors slot of your chart.

On the right, you can select a color scheme and a color for the line. Select AUTO to let Visualization do the coloring for you.

After managing the controls, click Apply to see the results on the chart preview.

To highlight the trends a line chart displays, lower its width on your dashboard.
When visualizing multiple measures, give a thought to which colors you select for them. For better readability, choose contrasting and easy-to-distinguish colors:

We recommend you use three to five colors per chart.

If you want to draw particular attention to one certain line, highlight it in some bright color and tone down the colors of the other lines on the chart:

You can also use the Shapes settings to change the style of the line you want to emphasize.
To display the values for each data point, drag Measure values to the Signatures section:
If the lines on your chart represent different entities, toggle the Sum in tooltips in the chart settings to the Off position - this way, you won't get confusing results in the pop-up window on data point hover.

Overview

Stacked area chart