Builder Lesson 40 of 66 ⏱ 4 min read

Chart options reference — every control in the chart builder

Lesson summary

A flat catalog of every control in the chart builder, grouped by the accordion it lives in. The lessons that walk you in the door are Your first chart and Chart data shaping. This page is the lookup you come back to. It covers the eight chart types that share one builder — line, bar, column, stacked column, pie, area, range bar, and scatter; the specialized visualizations have their own builders and their own reference, added as those lessons publish.

By the end of this lesson

  • Find any chart control by the accordion it lives in
  • Know which options appear for which chart type, and why some come and go

Background

The chart builder organizes its controls into accordions, collapsed by default. There are two scopes worth keeping straight: per-series controls that live inside Add New and apply to one value series at a time, and chart-wide controls in the accordions below the series list.

What's on this page

Per-series controls

Set once per value series, inside Add New.

  • Value Field
  • Values Options (format, precision, scale)
  • Color Options
  • Symbol Options (scatter only)

Chart-wide controls

Apply to the whole chart, below the series list.

  • Chart Options (axes, legend, series type)
  • Display Options (spline, points, constant line)
  • Hover Options (target document)

Scope of this page. Everything below applies to the eight chart types that share one builder — line, bar, column, stacked column, pie, area, range bar, and scatter. Where a control only appears for some of them, it's flagged; the applicability matrix at the end of the catalog lists every type-specific control in one place.

Three ways to use this page

I need a control's exact behavior
Skip to the catalog below — every accordion, every control, grouped per-series then chart-wide.
Which controls apply to my chart type
Jump to the applicability matrix at the end of the catalog — the type-specific options in one table.
An option I expected isn't there
Read the pitfalls at the bottom — most "where did it go?" answers are about chart type.

Find the control, check its scope and chart-type rules, set it. Come back when the next one puzzles you.

Can't find a control, or one's behaving unexpectedly? Email [email protected] with the chart type and the control you're after. Real human, same business day reply.

Do it

  1. Value Field (per series)

    The number this series plots. Only number and currency fields are eligible — text fields can't be a value series. Range Bar is the exception: it asks for two value fields (the start and end of each span).

  2. Values Options (per series)

    Control
    What it does
    Label Formats
    How the number reads: fixedPoint (plain), currency, largeNumber (e.g. 2.5K), or percent.
    Currency Code
    Appears only when Label Formats is currency — picks the currency symbol.
    Precision
    Decimal places. 0 for whole numbers.
    Show Value Axis as Discrete Scale
    Treats the value axis as evenly-spaced categories rather than a continuous number line. Hidden for Pie.

  3. Color Options (per series)

    Select Bar Color (the label tracks the chart type — bar, line, area) sets this series' color. Pick a swatch or enter a hex value; the default is #25A0DA. Set per series, so a multi-series chart can give each series its own color.

  4. Symbol Options (per series — scatter only)

    Only on a Scatter Plot. Select Symbol sets the marker shape for the series: circle, square, cross, triangleUp, or triangleDown.

  5. Chart Options (chart-wide)

    Control
    What it does
    Select Series Type
    Series in columns (default) or Series in rows — flips which dimension is the argument and which is the legend. Range Bar is columns-only.
    Title Position
    Where the chart title sits: top or bottom, left / center / right.
    Argument Axis
    The label printed along the x-axis (e.g. "Customer").
    Value Axis
    The label printed along the y-axis (e.g. "Ticket count").
    Legend Position
    Left, Right, Top, Bottom, or None to hide the legend.
    Tick Interval
    Spacing of the value-axis ticks. 0 means auto.
    Allow Numeric Argument Fields
    Off by default (the argument dropdown shows text fields only). Check it to use a numeric field as the argument.

  6. Display Options (chart-wide, type-specific)

    This list grows and shrinks with the chart type. The type-specific rows are noted.

    Control
    What it does
    Constant Line
    Draws a static threshold line at the value you enter — a goal or limit.
    Chart Area Human Readable Labels
    Prints each value directly on the chart, so you don't have to hover or read it off the axis. Clean with few categories, noisy with many.
    Show value on hover
    The tooltip showing the exact value on mouse-over. Turn off if you're showing on-chart labels.
    Disable Line Chart Points (Line only)
    Hides the dots, leaving a clean line.
    Plot null and zero values (Line only)
    Whether gaps and zeros are drawn or skipped.
    Invert Argument Axis
    Reverses the order of the argument axis. Hidden for Pie.
    Display as Spline (Line, Area)
    Curves the line instead of drawing straight segments.

  7. Hover Options (chart-wide)

    Target Document points the chart at another report to open on interaction. Use Select Target Document to pick it, Clear Target to remove it. This is distinct from a Field Builder drill-down on the underlying grid — covered in Drill-downs.

  8. Applicability — which options appear for which chart type

    Control
    Appears for
    Second value field
    Range Bar only (the span's start and end).
    Symbol Options
    Scatter only.
    Disable Line Chart Points
    Line only.
    Plot null and zero values
    Line only.
    Display as Spline
    Line and Area.
    Series in rows
    All types except Range Bar (columns-only).
    Discrete scale, Invert axis
    All except Pie. Pie also shows percentages automatically.

If you're stuck

"Where did that option go?" — usually the answer is chart type.

Display as Spline isn't there

Spline only appears for Line and Area charts. On a column or bar there's nothing to curve.

Series in rows is missing

You're on a Range Bar, which is columns-only. Every other chart type offers both orientations under Select Series Type.

The argument dropdown won't show my number field

By design — it lists text fields until you check Allow Numeric Argument Fields in Chart Options. See Chart data shaping.

None of these match my situation

Email [email protected] with the chart type and the control you're after. Real human, same business day reply.

Reference Glossary → Module 8 Your first chart → Module 8 Chart data shaping →

Related lessons

Module 8 · 12 min

Viz basics

The chart mental model + your first saved chart.

 Module 8 · 15 min

Chart data shaping

Shape real data into chartable rows.

 Module 7 · 8 min

Data Prep tools

Finishing touches before visualization.

 Module 7 · 13 min

Drill-downs

Click-through navigation between reports.
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