Line visualization (SmartViz)

Important

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

The Line visualization plots values across an x-axis, and is the usual choice for showing how a measure changes over time. Multiple lines can be drawn by splitting the data into series, and lines can be stacked, smoothed, filled, or accompanied by a trend line.

When to use a line chart

Line is the default for anything measured over time, and the most forgiving chart here: it copes with many points and several series before it becomes unreadable.

Almost any metric stream fits, such as Metrics from Azure or SCOM, EC2 CPU from AWS, or ELB Active Connections.

Use Mark lines to draw a threshold across the chart, and Second Y axis where two measures share a timeline but not a scale.

Line charts mislead with sparse or irregular data, because connecting two points a week apart implies values in between that were never measured. Use a Scatter where the points are genuinely independent.

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

Tickets closed per day for two teams, both counting the same thing. A well-formed line chart to read before the other samples each introduce a problem.

071320MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Team AtlasTeam Borealis
Line chart: Showing Support tickets closed per day, two teams as a cartesian line chart

Line settings

Data mapping

Setting
Description
X Axis
Select the dimension to plot horizontally. Choose a categorical or time column.
Y Axis
Select the measure to plot vertically. Choose a numeric column.
Series
Select a column to split the data into a separate line per distinct value.
Color
Select a column to color the lines by.

Series appearance

Setting
Description
Line Width
Enter the thickness of each line, from 0.5 to 10.
Line Style
Select how lines are drawn. Choose from: Solid, Dashed, or Dotted.
Point Radius
Enter the size of the marker at each data point, from 0 to 20. Enter 0 to hide the markers.
Point Shape
Select the marker shape. Choose from: Circle, Square, Triangle, Diamond, Pin, Arrow, or None.
Point Border Color
Choose the outline color for each data point marker.
Point Border Width (px)
Enter the outline thickness for each data point marker, from 0 to 10.
Point Fill Color
Choose the fill color for each data point marker.
Smooth Curves
Enable to draw curved lines between points instead of straight segments.
Step Style
Select where the step occurs within each interval. Choose from: Start, Middle, or End.
Connect Null Gaps
Enable to join the line across missing values instead of breaking it.
Area Gradient Fill
Enable to fill the area beneath each line with a gradient.
Stacking
Select how series are combined. Choose from: None to draw lines independently, Stacked to accumulate them, or 100% to normalize each point so the series total fills the 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.
Polar Coordinates
Enable to wrap the chart around a center point instead of using a straight x-axis.

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 next to each data point.
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 data points conditionally. Each rule needs a color and at least one condition.

Setting
Description
>
Enter a value. The rule applies when the data point is greater than it.
≥
Enter a value. The rule applies when the data point is greater than or equal to it.
<
Enter a value. The rule applies when the data point is less than it.
≤
Enter a value. The rule applies when the data point 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 data point 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.

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