Select a chart type

Metatron Discovery provides about 20 types of charts. If you place columns on shelves before selecting a chart, suitable charts are highlighted in purple.

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The table below summarizes conditions to create, uses, and examples for each chart.

Chart name/icon

Conditions to create

Characteristics

Uses

Examples

icon01

Bar chart

Column: 1 or more dimensions / Cross: 1 or more measures

Compares the value of each item.

Used to compare groups or view trends over time. Very effective when the trend is significantly fluctuating.

Comparison between products regarding their sales and profits

icon02

Table

Column or row: 1 or more dimensions / Cross: 1 or more measures

Displays the values of crossings between two dimensions as text.

Used to view measure values aggregated by certain criteria. Useful to check exact values rather than a visualization of them.

Sales details by year

icon03

Line chart

Column: 1 or more dimensions / Cross: 1 or more measures

Displays data changes over time.

Used to view trends over time. If changes are moderate, a line chart is more effective than a bar chart.

Monthly sales trend

icon04

Scatter chart

Column: 1 measure / Row: 1 measure / Cross: 1 or more dimensions

Displays relations between items.

Used to define relations between two parameters.

Relations between product sales and profits

icon05

Heatmap

Column or row: 1 or more dimensions / Cross: 1 or more measures

Displays the values of crossings between two dimensions in colors and sizes at different points.

Used to provide an intuitive view of relations between two dimensions represented by colors and sizes. Similar to a table chart, but more of a visual type.

Sales of each product by region

icon06

Pie chart

Cross: 1 or more dimensions, 1 or more measures

Shows how much each item accounts for.

Used to compare the compositions of something.

Comparison between web browsers regarding their market share

icon07

Map view

Layer shelf: dimension (location attribute), 1 or more dimensions, 1 or more measures

Displays the data for each location on the map.

Used for intuitive comparisons of variables by using colors for each region. Used to emphasize visual elements.

Comparison of sales of each product by region

icon08

KPI

Cross: 1 or more measures

Displays main indicators along with their trends.

Used to quickly convey information on an organization’s current achievement.

An organization’s performance index, such as how many customers have been brought in this year

icon09

Box plot

Column: 1 or more dimensions / Row: 1 dimension / Cross: 1 measure

Indicates increase and decrease in value.

Used to compare groups regarding their share.

Proportion of flight delay accounted for by each airplane model

icon10

Waterfall chart

Column: 1 time-dimension / Cross: 1 measure

Displays cumulative changes resulting from the increase or decrease in value for each time interval.

Used to emphasize increase and decrease in value over time.

Changes in the number of team members for a certain period; stock price trends

icon11

Word cloud

Cross: 1 or more dimensions, 1 measure

Displays words sized in proportion to the number of mentions.

Used to summarize and emphasize important words.

Summary of the voices of customers

icon12

Combo chart

Column: 1 or more dimensions / Cross: 2?4 measures

Compares data by combining bar and line charts.

Used to visualize different types of data simultaneously.

Simultaneous monitoring of product price and sales

icon13

Treemap

Column: 1 dimension / Row: 1 or more dimensions / Cross: 1 measure

Displays hierarchical data using nested rectangles.

Used to visualize hierarchical data.

Monitoring of sales of products classified into major, medium, and minor categories.

icon14

Radar chart

Cross: 1 dimension, 1 or more measures

Displays different quantitative variables on axes starting from the same point.

Used for a visual comparison among different quantitative variables.

Product quality evaluation in five aspects.

icon15

Network diagram

Subject shelf: 1 dimension / Target shelf: 1 dimension / Connecting shelf: 1 measure

Diagram connecting elements in dependence relations

Used to view data flows regarding where data elements are generated.

Monitoring the task flows of a project

icon16

Gauge chart

Column: Row: 1 or more dimensions / Cross: 1 measure

Visualizes performance for the specified target.

Used to view the proportions of data elements.

Monitoring of profits by region

icon17

Sankey diagram

Column: 3 or more dimensions / Cross: 1 measure

Displays the proportion of each data flow by the width of the connection line.

Used to monitor data flows and their respective sizes.

Monitoring energy flows in a factory