Using the Graph View

You can use the graph view to position columns on a chart, and to customize the title,
legend location, axis titles, data labels, size, and scale. You can select the graph, such as a line graph or a bar graph; the graph subtype, such as two-dimensional; and the style for columns, such as the shape and fill pattern. You can also set borders and colors,and control other chart characteristics.

Graph choices include area charts, bar charts, bubble charts, line charts, and other
types. Graph subtypes include 2D, 3D, absolute, clustered, stacked, combination, and
custom.

note: The type of the chart, its size, and the number of elements charted can affect
whether axes or legends appear. This is constrained by the amount of available space
on the Web browser page. Sometimes, by adjusting the width and height controls, it is
possible to get undisplayed axes and legend values to appear.

Description of Graphs

The following table lists the available graphs and describes their uses. Not all graphs are appropriate for all types of data. The default chart graph is a vertical bar graph.

 

Screen

Graph View

How to…

Add a Graph View

1. Create or modify the report with which you want to work.

2. Click the Results tab.

3. Click the button and choose the graph using the drop-down, cascading
menu.

4. Configure the view, as required.

5. Click the button to save the view.

6. Click the button to save the report.

note: If you select a graph that is incompatible with the results, no results are shown.

 

Format the Container

1. Click the  button. The Format Container dialog appears.

2. In the Cell section, specify the horizontal and vertical alignment, along with the
background color.

3. In the Border section, specify the position, border style, and border color.

4. Click the Additional Formatting Options button to expand the section. Specify the
formatting options, as appropriate.

5. Click the OK button.

 

Configure a Graph View

1. Create or modify the report with which you want to work.

2. Click the Results tab. The Results page appears.

3. In the Views pane, select the graph view and click the button. The view
appears in the workspace.

4. In the Layout pane, specify the layout of the graph view.

Do the following:

a. Use drop targets to modify the way that data is arranged in a view.
In the Layout pane, the columns in a graph view are displayed in drop targets.
Drop targets represent a valid position for a column and indicate where a column
can be inserted, moved to, or dropped. Examples of drop targets include
Graph Prompts and Sections, among others.
Drag and drop columns from the Subject Areas pane to a drop target. You
can also use drop targets to modify the way data is arranged in a graph view
by dragging and dropping columns to different targets within the view.
b. Click the  button (Properties) in a drop target to configure the properties for
the target. The Properties dialog appears.
Configure the drop target properties, as required.
c. In the Sections drop target, select the Display as Slider checkbox to specify
that members of the dropped columns are to be displayed as a section slider
(instead of displayed as a unique view).
note: Deselect this checkbox to hide sliders in graph views that listen to masterdetail
events if you want to simplify the appearance of the analysis or dashboard.
d. For line-bar graphs, use the Use unified scale checkbox specify whether to display
the lines and bars using the same scale or two separate scales (one for
the lines and one for the bars).
e. Use the Show In Legend checkbox to specify whether to display a legend to
show the color variation of the columns dropped in the Vary Color By (Horizontal
Axis) drop target.

5. Click the button.

6. Click the button to save the report (and embedded views).

 

Configure Graph View Properties

1. Create or modify the report with which you want to work.

2. Click the Results tab. The Results page appears.

3. In the Views pane, select the graph view and click the button. The view
appears in the workspace.

4. Click the button (Graph View Properties). The Graph Properties dialog
appears.

Graph Properties Dialog

5. Click the General tab.

6. In the Canvas Width field, type the width of the graph canvas in pixels.

7. In the Canvas Height field, type the height of the graph canvas in pixels.

8. In the Legend field, choose the location of legend using the drop-down list.

You can choose from among the following options:

• Default (Right)—Display the legend in the default location (to the right of the
graph canvas)
• None—Don not display a legend
• Top—Display the legend at the top of the graph canvas.
• Right—Display the legend to the right of the graph canvas
• Bottom—Display the legend at the bottom of the graph canvas
• Left—Display the legend to the left of the graph canvas

9. In the Zoom and Scroll fields, specify whether to enable zooming and scrolling on
the horizontal and vertical axes.

You can select the following options:

• Enable for Horizontal Axis—Enable zooming and scrolling on the X axis
• Enable for Vertical Axis—Enable zooming and scrolling on the vertical axis
When you enable zooming and scrolling for an axis, the Zoom button appears
when you hover the mouse over the graph.

10. In the Master-Detail field, select the Listen to Master-Detail Events checkbox to
specify that the graph is to act as a detail view in a master-detail relationship (and
listen for master-detail events).
In the Event Channels field. type one or more channels on which the graph is to listen
for master-detail events raised by one or more master views. The channel
name is case sensitive and must match the channel name specified in the master
view exactly. Separate channels with commas, for example, channel a, channel
b.

11. In the Null Values field, select the Include Null Values checkbox to override null
suppression and include null values in graph rows that contain all nulls.

12. In the Animation field, select the Animate Graph on Display checkbox to show an
initial rendering effect. The rendering effect varies from graph to graph. In a horizontal
graph, for example, the bars start at the horizontal axis and move up to the
current measurement level.

note: The Animation field is not supported for funnel graphs.

13. Click the Style tab.

14. In the Graph Data section, do the following:

a. In the Style field, choose the graph style using the drop-down list.
b. To specify the style and conditional formatting, click the button. The Style
and Conditional Formatting dialog appears.
c. To specify whether the graph is to be three-dimensional, select the 3D checkbox.
note: The Style options are not available for bubble and radar graphs.

15. In the Plot Area section, do the following:

a. In the Background field, click the button and select the plot area background
color in the Color Selector pop-up that appears.
b. In the Gridlines field, specify whether to display the default gridlines or gridlines
that you specify by selecting the corresponding radio button.
If you select the Specify option, select the lines and color to display for the
Major Grid and Minor Grid.

note: If you select the Specify option, and do not select any checkboxes for
the major and minor grid, no gridlines (not even the ones shown by default)
are displayed.

16. In the Legend section, do the following:

a. In the Background field, click the button and select the legend background
color in the Color Selector pop-up that appears.
b. In the Transparent field, select the checkbox to have the legend appear transparent
(with no background color).
c. In the Border field, click the  button and select the border color (around
the legend) in the Color Selector pop-up that appears.

17. In the Canvas Colors and Borders section, do the following:

a. In the Background field, click the button and select the canvas background
color in the Color Selector pop-up that appears.
b. In the Gradient field, select the checkbox to have the canvas background
color gradually fade from the specified color (at the top) to white (at the bottom).
c. In the Border field, click the button and select the border color (around
the canvas) in the Color Selector pop-up that appears.

18. Click the Scale tab.

19. In the Axis Limits section, do the following:

a. In the Axis Limits field, choose the limits of the vertical or horizontal axis using
the drop-down list

You can choose from among the following options:

• Default (Dynamic)—The system determines the scale and sets the axis to
zero for positive numbers.
• Specify—Allows you to specify the minimum and maximum axis limits using
the Minimum and Maximum fields respectively.
• Zoom to data range—The system determines the scale, evaluates the
range of values on the axis, and chooses the appropriate minimum and
maximum values for the scale.

20. In the Axis Scale section, do the following:

a. In the Tick Marks field, specify the number of tick marks to display using the
drop-down list.

You can choose from among the following options:

• Dynamic—The system automatically calculates the number of tick marks
to display based on the data.
• Specify—Allows you to specify the number of tick marks to display.
note: The color you select color for the horizontal and vertical gridlines on the
Style tab also applies to the major and minor tick marks.

b. In the Show Major Ticks field, select the checkbox to show major tick marks. If
you select this option, type the number of major tick marks to show.
c. In the Show Minor Ticks field, select the checkbox to show minor tick marks. If
you select this option, type the number of minor tick marks to show.
d. In the Use logarithmic scale field, select the checkbox to use a logarithmic
scale.
e. In the Scale Markers field, click the button to edit scale markers. The Scale
Markers dialog appears allowing you to define the scale markers for the
graph.
note: The Axis Scale area is disabled for a 100% stacked graph.

21. Click the Tile and Labels tab to set properties that control the display of titles and
labels for the graph.

22. In the Graph Title section, do the following:

a. In the Title field, type a title for the graph.
This field is editable only when the next field is unchecked.
b. Select the Use measure name as graph title checkbox, as required.
c. Click the  button to specify the font information for the title. The Font Format
dialog appears.

23. In the Axis Titles section, do the following:

a. In the Vertical Axis field, type a title for the vertical axis.
This field is editable only when the next field is unchecked.
b. Select the Use measure name as axis title checkbox, as required.
c. Click the button to specify the font information for the title. The Font Format
dialog appears.
d. In the Horizontal Axis field, type a title for the horizontal axis.
This field is editable only when the next field is unchecked.
e. Select the Use column name as axis title checkbox, as required.
f. Click the button to specify the font information for the title. The Font Format
dialog appears.

24. In the Labels section, do the following:

a. In the Legend field, click the button to specify the font information for the
legend.
b. In the Vertical Axis Labels field, click the button to specify the font information
for the labels.
c. In the Horizontal Axis Labels field, click the  button to specify the font information
for the labels.
d. In the Data Markers field, click the button to specify the font information for
the markers.

25. In the Totals section, do the following:

a. In the Total field, type the text to display in the graph legend and along the
horizontal axis for the last total bar.
b. In the Subtotal field, type the text to display along the horizontal axis.

note: The Totals section is only available for waterfall graphs. Use these two boxes
to customize the text that displays on the waterfall graph. The options are:

26. Click the OK button.

27. Click the  button.

28. Click the  button to save the report (and embedded views).

Format the Visual Appearance of a Graph

You can format the visual appearance of graphs based on the following settings:

• The position of the graph elements (such as lines or bars in a line-bar graph or
slices in a pie graph)
• Conditions applied to columns

Format a Graph Based on Position

Positional formatting enables you to customize the appearance of a graph based
on the position of graph elements; that is, the numeric sequence in which graph
elements (for example, bars) are displayed in a group. A group is determined by
the attribute columns that are displayed in the Group By drop target area.

You can format the visual appearance of a graph based on position in terms of its
color, line width, and line symbols.
note: Positional formatting is not supported for waterfall graphs

Format a Graph Based on Columns

Conditional formatting enables you to customize the appearance of a graph
based on conditions applied to columns. The formatting is applied to the column
values that meet the condition.
You can specify a color in which to display graph data based upon a specific column
value, or range of column values that meet the condition specified for the
column.
For example, using conditional formatting, you could configure the following:

• Conditionally change the color of a graph based on specific column values
You could create a bar graph to compare sales between two beverages,
Lemonade and Cola. When creating a bar graph, you can specify two conditions,
one where the bar representing Lemonade sales is yellow, and another
where the bar representing Cola sales is blue.
• Conditionally changing the color of a graph based on a range of column values.
You could create a bar graph to compare sales for all reps across two sales
bands.When creating a bar graph, you can specify two conditions, one where
the bar is red for all sales reps with sales less than $250,000, and another where
the bar is green for all sales reps with sales greater than $250,000.

To format the appearance of a graph:

1. Create or modify the report with which you want to work.

2. Click the Results tab. The Results page appears.

3. In the Views pane, select the graph view and click the button. The view
appears in the workspace.

4. Click the  button (Graph View Properties). The Graph Properties dialog
appears.

5. Click the Style tab.

6. Click the  button (Style and Conditional Formatting). The Style and Conditional Formatting dialog appears.

7. Click the Style Formatting tab to format the appearance of a graph based on
position of the graph elements.

To add a custom formatted position, do the following:

a. Select the tab for the graph element (for example, bar) to which you want
to add a custom formatted position.
b. Click the  button (Add new position). A new position entry appears in
the Custom Formatted Positions table.
c. Specify the formatting.
For example, to select the color to be applied to the position, click the
down arrow next to the Color box. The Color Selector dialog appears.
(Note that the formatting options depend on the element.)
d. Click the  button to remove the selected position.

8. Click the Conditional Formatting tab to format the appearance of a graph
based on a condition that is applied to columns.

To add a condition to a column, do the following:

a. Click Add Condition Format button and choose the column to which you
want to apply a condition. The New Condition dialog appears.
b. In the Operator field, choose the operator using the drop-down list.
c. In the Column field, type a column value or a range of column values for
this condition.
d. Click the OK button.
The new condition appears in the Conditional Formatting tab.
e. To select the color to be applied to column values when the condition is
met, click the down arrow next to the Color box. The Color Selector dialog
appears.
f. Click the  button to remove the corresponding conditional formatting
setting.

9. Click the OK button.

10. Click the OK button again to close the Graph Properties dialog.

 

Rules for Applying Conditional Formats in Graphs

The following rules apply for building and using conditions in graphs:

• Conditions can be created only from columns that are being used by the
graph.
• When format conditions conflict with each other, conflicting conditions are prioritized
in the following order:

• Conditional formatting on attributes
• Conditional formatting on measures
• Style formatting based on the positions of graph elements
• When a user drill down on a graph that has conditional formatting applied, the
following rules apply:
• A conditional format based on measures is not carried to the next level. (It
does not make sense to carry the conditional format to a different level; for
example if, in a geographic hierarchy, from Region to City.
• A conditional format based on attributes is carried to the next graph if it
has not been drilled on.
For example, if you had the conditional format “Lemonade = Blue” and
only drill on years, then “Lemonade = Blue” stays in place.
• Conditional formatting is not supported on subtotals and totals for waterfall
graphs.

 

Graph Exceptions for Conditional Formatting on Columns

The following table lists the graph exceptions that apply to conditional formatting
based on columns.