Scatter visualization (SmartViz)

Important

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

The Scatter visualization plots individual data points against two numeric axes, which shows the relationship between two measures. Points can also be colored and sized by further columns, so a single chart can show up to four dimensions at once.

When to use a scatter chart

A scatter plot is for the relationship between two numeric measures, one per axis. It's the only chart here that answers "does X track with Y?".

Cost against usage is a common pairing, plotting AWS Cost against Lambda Invocations per function to find the expensive outliers. Latency against throughput, from API Latency and API Request Count, works the same way.

Points can also be sized and colored by further columns, letting one scatter carry four dimensions. That's also the risk: four encodings is usually two more than a reader can hold.

Where the x-axis is time, use a Line.

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

Response time against CPU for three regions, each dot sized by requests a minute. Size carries a third value, so the busy services stand out.

10018326735020406080CPU %Response time (ms)
us-easteu-westap-south
UncorrelatedWeakly correlatedStrongly correlated
Chart: 10 points, Strongly correlated, colored by category

Scatter settings

Data mapping

Setting
Description
X Axis
Select the numeric column determining horizontal position.
Y Axis
Select the numeric column determining vertical position.
Color
Select a categorical column to color the points by.
Size
Select a numeric column to scale the point size by.

Series appearance

Setting
Description
Point Radius
Enter the size of each point, from 0 to 20. Ignored when a Size column is mapped.
Point Shape
Select the point shape. Choose from: Circle, Square, Triangle, Diamond, Pin, Arrow, or None.
Point Border Color
Choose the outline color for each point.
Point Border Width (px)
Enter the outline thickness for each point, from 0 to 10.
Point Fill Color
Choose the fill color for each point.
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.

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 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

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

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

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.

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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