Appboard/2.5/builder/widgets/column chart

A Column Chart Widget is a graphical Widget that displays rectangular bars with lengths proportional to the values that they represent. The bars are plotted vertically, as opposed to a Bar Chart, which plots horizontal bars.

Column Chart Sample

How To Create a Column Chart Widget

For instructions on creating a Widget, see the general instructions in Adding Widgets. The Column Widget type is located under the Charts category on the Widget selection screen.

How To Configure a Column Chart Widget

Follow the instructions above to create the basic "ColumnChart" Widget, and then perform the following steps to configure a Column Chart Widget:

Select a Data Collection

Select a Data Collection that contains the information you would like to use for this Widget.

• Click the "Data Collection" pulldown, then select from the list of available Data Collections.
• If you're using the sample CSV data, select "Sample.Data.ChartData".
• If there are no Data Collections available in the pulldown, then click here for instructions on how to bring in some Sample Chart Data, or refer to Add/Edit/Remove a Data Collection.

Configuring the X-Axis

1. Select the desired X-Field to use for the X-Axis of the Chart.
   • The "rows" of this column of data will make up the X-Axis.

If you're using Sample.Data.ChartData, then select "Month" to be the X-Field.

Type

Select an option for Type from the drop-down box. This will be used to determine how the data is translated by AppBoard into the labels that are shown along the x-axis:

• CategoryAxis: This is the default. The "rows" observed in the selected column of data will make up the X-Axis.
• DateTimeAxis: X-axis values are determined as time-based values such as hours, days, weeks, or years. This value can be chosen or "auto" can be used to let the widget decide the best value to use. An option to change the date-time format is also available.

Configuring a Series (Y-Axis)

• Click the "Add" button in the button toolbar of the Series DataGrid.
• Repeat for any additional series.
• Series may be removed with the "Remove" button next to the "Add" button.
• Series may be reordered in the Series DataGrid by clicking the upper-right corner of a row and dragging the Series up or down the grid.
• Values contained within the "Y-field" will determine the height of each column in the series.

If you're using Sample.Data.ChartData, then select "Hardware" as the Y-field

Fill Style

• Fill style is purely aesthetic, and sets the rendering style that will be used for the series.
• The available rendering styles are Solid, Gradient, and Cylinder

Color

• Color will work in conjunction with Fill Style to distinguish one series from another.
• You can select color by clicking on the color swatches in the color picker, or you can manually enter a hexadecimal color value.

Pattern

• In addition to Color, different Pattern options will help users distinguish one series from another
• Click on the Pattern button to view and select from numerous pattern options.

Alpha

• Alpha sets the opacity of the series and can be adjusted for both Color and Pattern.
• Reducing the Alpha lets you see grid lines show through the columns.

Series Type

To select a different Series Type, click the pulldown in the bottom toolbar of the Series Data Grid. The examples below were created using 'Hardware' and 'Totals' from Sample.Data.ChartData.

• clustered: Chart elements for each series are grouped by category. This is the default value for BarChart and ColumnChart controls.
• overlaid: Chart elements for each series are rendered on top of each other, with the element corresponding to the last series on top. This is the default value for AreaChart controls.
• stacked: Chart elements for each series are stacked on top of each other. Each element represents the cumulative value of the elements beneath it.
• 100%: Chart elements are stacked on top of each other, adding up to 100%. Each chart element represents the percentage that the value contributes to the sum of the values for that category.

Additional Chart Options

• Check or uncheck "Show Legend" as desired to include a legend of the line color for each Series (by Y-Field name).
• Enable the X-Axis title and enter value as desired.
• Enable the X-Axis labels and rotate them as desired.
• Enable the Y-Axis title and enter value as desired.
• Enable the Y-Axis labels and rotate them as desired.

Additional Configuration Steps

• Provide additional configuration, if needed, on the Options tab. For details on the available Options, see Options.

• Enter the following information on the Actions tab:
  • Click Add Event Action to configure one or more Actions to be invoked when a user clicks on the Column Chart Widget. The action will apply to the current data record being displayed.

Sample Data

Instructions for bringing sample chart data into AppBoard can be found here: Sample Chart Data