Bar visualization (SmartViz)

Important

This feature is in beta and subject to change. Reach out to support with any issues.

The Bar visualization compares values across categories. Bars can be grouped or stacked by series, drawn horizontally, or wrapped into polar coordinates for a radial bar chart.

When to use a bar chart

Bar is the default for comparing a measure across categories, and it's usually the right answer when you're unsure. The eye judges length more accurately than angle, area, or color, so a bar chart beats a donut or treemap wherever precision matters.

It needs one categorical column and one numeric column. Add a series column to group or stack.

Cost attribution is a common fit: Cost (Service) from the Azure plugin, or Account Cost from AWS, stacked by subscription.

Bars become unreadable earlier than most charts, because every bar needs a legible label. Past roughly 30 categories, switch to a Treemap, or sort descending and cap the list in Shaping.

Try it out

Change the settings below and see how the chart updates. Select a dataset from the dropdown to see different use cases.

Interactive example
Showing

Monitor counts by status. With one series, each bar takes its color from the category rather than from the series.

017335042Healthy9Warning3Critical1UnknownThreshold: 10
Highlighted: 1 of 4 categories above the threshold: Healthy

Bar settings

Data mapping

Setting
Description
X Axis
Select the dimension to plot along the category axis. Choose a categorical or time column.
Y Axis
Select the measure determining bar length. Choose a numeric column.
Series
Select a column to split the bars into groups.
Color
Select a column to color the bars by.

Series appearance

Setting
Description
Bar Width
Enter the width of each bar, from 1 to 100. Leave empty to fit the bars to the chart.
Bar Corner Radius (px)
Enter the corner radius for each bar, from 0 to 50.
Negative Bar Color
Choose a distinct color for bars with negative values.
Outline Bars
Enable to draw bars as outlines rather than solid fills.
Stacking
Select how series are combined. Choose from: None to draw bars side by side, Stacked to stack them, or 100% to normalize each stack so it fills the full height.
Cumulative (Running Total)
Enable to plot a running total rather than each individual value.
Trend Line
Enable to add a linear regression line indicating the overall tendency of the data.
Trend Line Color
Choose the color for the trend line. Leave empty to use the next color in the palette.
Horizontal Bars
Enable to rotate the chart so the bars run left to right.
Polar Coordinates
Enable to wrap the bars around a center point, producing a radial bar chart.

X axis

Setting
Description
Show Labels
Enable to show the tick labels along the x-axis.
Label Rotation (°)
Enter the rotation for x-axis labels, from -90 to 90 degrees. Useful when labels overlap.
Tick Density
Select how many tick labels are shown. Choose from: Sparse, Auto, or Dense.
Show Axis Title
Enable to show the axis title text.
Axis Title
Enter a custom title for the x-axis.
Show Grid Lines
Enable to draw vertical grid lines at each x-axis division.

Y axis

Setting
Description
Scale
Select the axis scale. Choose from: Linear or Log.
Range
Select how the axis range is set. Choose from: Fit to data, which scales to the values plotted, or 0–100%, which fixes the range regardless of the data.
Min Value
Enter a value to fix the bottom of the axis. Leave empty to fit the axis to the data.
Max Value
Enter a value to fix the top of the axis. Leave empty to fit the axis to the data.
Decimal Places
Enter the number of decimal places shown on axis labels, from 0 to 6.
Inverse Axis
Enable to flip the axis so values increase downwards.
Show Labels
Enable to show the tick labels along the y-axis.
Label Rotation (°)
Enter the rotation for y-axis labels, from -90 to 90 degrees.
Tick Density
Select how many tick labels are shown. Choose from: Sparse, Auto, or Dense.
Show Axis Title
Enable to show the axis title text.
Axis Title
Enter a custom title for the y-axis.
Show Grid Lines
Enable to draw horizontal grid lines at each y-axis division.
Unit Column
Enter the name of the column whose first-row value is appended as a suffix to the y-axis tick labels, for example ms, %, or GB. Available on line, bar, and scatter charts.

Legend & labels

Setting
Description
Axis Label Font Size (px)
Enter the font size for both the x- and y-axis tick labels, from 6 to 72.
Legend Position
Select where the legend is displayed. Choose from: None, Top, Bottom, Left, or Right.
Show Data Labels
Enable to print the value on each bar.
Show Stacked Totals
Enable to print the total above each stack. Applies when Stacking is enabled.
Label Color
Choose the text color for data labels.
Label Font Size (px)
Enter the font size for data labels, from 6 to 72.
Label Format
Enter an Expression to format the data label content. Use {{value}}, {{name}}, or a column name. The date, number, and percent helpers are available.
Tooltip Template
Enter an Expression to format the tooltip content. The date, number, and percent helpers are available.

Second Y axis

Bind one column to a second, right-hand y-axis. This helps when two measures share an x-axis but not a scale.

Setting
Description
Data Column
Select the numeric column to plot against the right-hand y-axis.
Scale
Select the axis scale. Choose from: Linear or Log.
Min Value
Enter a value to fix the bottom of the second axis. Leave empty to fit the axis to the data.
Max Value
Enter a value to fix the top of the second axis. Leave empty to fit the axis to the data.
Axis Title
Enter a custom title for the second y-axis.

Colors

Add up to 20 colors to set the palette, in order. The palette repeats when there are more items than colors. Leave the palette empty to use the SquaredUp default colors.

Series / status colors

Pin a named value to a specific color, regardless of its position in the palette. Enter the name exactly as it appears in your data, then choose its color.

Color rules

Recolor bars conditionally. Each rule needs a color and at least one condition.

Setting
Description
>
Enter a value. The rule applies when the bar is greater than it.
≥
Enter a value. The rule applies when the bar is greater than or equal to it.
<
Enter a value. The rule applies when the bar is less than it.
≤
Enter a value. The rule applies when the bar is less than or equal to it.
Series
Enter a series name. The rule applies to that series only.
Label
Enter a label. The rule applies to the bar with exactly that label.
Contains
Enter text. The rule applies to any label containing it.
Series #
Enter a position, counting from 0. The rule applies to the series at that position.
Color swatch
Choose the color applied when the rule matches.

Mark lines

Add reference lines across the chart.

Important

Mark lines and mark areas are not available when Polar Coordinates is enabled.

Setting
Description
Mode
Select how the line is positioned. Choose from: Average, Median, Min, Max, or Custom value.
Value
Enter the position of the line. Available when the mode is Custom value.
Label
Enter optional text to display against the line.
Color swatch
Choose the color for the line.

Mark areas

Add shaded bands across the chart.

Important

Mark lines and mark areas are not available when Polar Coordinates is enabled.

Setting
Description
Axis
Select which axis the band spans. Choose from: Y Axis or X Axis.
From
Select the start of the band. Choose Min, or choose Custom and enter a value.
To
Select the end of the band. Choose Max, or choose Custom and enter a value.
Label
Enter optional text to display on the band.
Color swatch
Choose the fill color for the band.

Was this article helpful?

Have more questions or facing an issue?
Submit a ticket