Line chart

This chart displays a change to one or more measures over a time interval. It indicates trends, seasonality, dynamics, and a ratio of multiple measures in a single point in time. A chart is built using points with (X, Y) coordinates that are then connected by a line.

It can show multiple measures with different lines. For example, the basic sales targets, optimistic sales targets, and actual sales can be represented as a dotted, dashed, and solid line, respectively.

Source table

Year	Sales	Basic targets	Optimistic targets
January 2019	209K	200K	210K
February 2019	194K	205K	220K
March 2019	333K	250K	280K
April 2019	359K	260K	290K
May 2019	394K	270K	300K
June 2019	477K	300K	350K
July 2019	557K	350K	400K
August 2019	685K	400K	450K
September 2019	609K	500K	550K
October 2019	665K	530K	570K
November 2019	724K	600K	670K
December 2019	869K	700K	800K

If measure values differ significantly, you can place them on different Y axes. In this case, the values of each measure will be plotted on their own axis. For example, a chart for sales and customer count.

Source table

Year	Sales	Number of customers
January 2019	298450	64
February 2019	498052	84
March 2019	629201	99
April 2019	895075	147
May 2019	998557	166
June 2019	1050330	161
July 2019	1350246	244
August 2019	1452550	255
September 2019	1716182	273
October 2019	1670980	300
November 2019	1743450	326
December 2019	1935377	345

This chart lets you compare multiple categories by a single measure. Each category's line has its own color and form. For example, the sales amount for different product categories.

Source table

Year	Home appliances	Household goods	Household cleaners
January 2019	128K	55K	26K
February 2019	97K	79K	18K
March 2019	187K	105K	41K
April 2019	188K	137K	34K
May 2019	230K	121K	43K
June 2019	256K	162K	59K
July 2019	284K	206K	67K
August 2019	409K	204K	72K
September 2019	314K	209K	86K
October 2019	324K	262K	79K
November 2019	385K	238K	101K
December 2019	451K	307K	111K

Wizard sectionsWizard sections

Wizard section	Description
X	Dimension. You can only specify one field here. This dimension is usually a date. If this is the case, make sure to specify the Date data type for this field in the dataset. This is required for correct sorting and signature display. For better visualization, you can group dates into weeks, months, and years. For more information, see Field settings.
Y	Measure. You can specify multiple measures. If you add more than one measure to a section, the Colors section will contain a dimension named Measure Names.
Y2	Measure. Use it to add a second Y axis to a chart. You can specify multiple measures. If you add more than one measure to a section, the Colors section will contain a dimension named Measure Names.
Colors	Measure Names dimension or field. Affects the color of lines. To delete Measure Names, click the cross icon or remove measures from the Y axis.
Forms	Measure Names dimension or field. Affects the shape of lines.
Sorting	Dimension. You can only use one dimension from the X axis. Affects the sorting of the X axis. The sorting direction is marked with an icon next to the field: for ascending or for descending. To change the sorting direction, click the icon.
Labels	Measure. Displays measure values on the chart. If multiple measures are added to the Y or Y2 section, drag Measure Values to this section.
Split	Dimension. Splits a chart horizontally by the selected dimension's values. The maximum number of splits per chart is 25.
Filters	Dimension or measure. Used as a filter.

Creating a line chartCreating a line chart

To create a line chart:

1. Go to the DataLens home page.
2. In the left-hand panel, select Charts.
3. Click Create chart → Chart.
4. At the top left, click Select dataset and specify the dataset to visualize.
5. Select Line chart as your chart type.
6. Drag a dimension from the dataset to the X section. The values will be displayed in the lower part of the chart on the X axis.
7. Drag one or more measures from the dataset to the Y section. The values will be displayed as a chart on the Y axis.
8. Drag one or more measures from the dataset to the Y2 section. The values are displayed as a chart on the second Y axis.
9. Drag a dimension to the Color section. The measure value is divided by color depending on the selected dimension.
10. Drag a dimension or measure from the dataset to the Filters section. The field can be empty. In this case, no filters are applied.

Configuring the display of valuesConfiguring the display of nullvalues

If the source data includes a row where the measure value is null, the chart will not be built for that point at default settings. For example, if the source has a row with a date (20.07.2022) but the sales amount for it is missing.

You can configure how the chart will display null values in the chart section settings:

1. In the section with a measure whose values you want to show, in the top-right corner, click (the icon appears when you hover over the section).
2. In Empty values (null), select Display as 0.
3. Click Apply.

Now, the chart will use 0 instead of null.

If a row is missing from the source data completely, the chart section settings will not change the way the chart is presented. For example, if the source does not have a row with a certain date (20.07.2022), nothing will be shown for this date on the chart.

For more information, see Configuring the display of null values.

RecommendationsRecommendations

• The perception of data on a line chart depends on its proportions. An upward or downward trend may intensify if the chart is contracted and be less evident if it's spread.

  Chart examples

  

• If the values of the categories contain a large amount of text, try to reduce it. Then the signatures on the diagram will look more accurate. You can use string functions in the calculated fields or conditional operators CASE.

• When visualizing multiple measures, select colors carefully. They should be distinguishable and contrasting. We recommend using no more than 3-5 colors per chart. If you want to emphasize one certain measure above the others, highlight it in some bright color.

• Disable the Sum in tooltips option in the chart settings if the chart lines represent different entities. For example, the sales amount and the number of customers.

• Sign measure values on the chart. To do this, drag a measure from the dataset to the Signatures section. The chart will display its values.

  Chart example

  

  If multiple measures are added to the Y or Y2 section, drag Measure Values to this section.

  Chart example

  

  You can also sign the last value on the chart only. To do this, add a calculated field with the MAX function.

• You can split a chart by dimension into a number of small charts that are convenient to compare to one another. To do this, drag a dimension from the dataset to the Split section.

  Chart example

  

• For better visualization, use formatting in the dimension and measure setup window. Check the data type for correct sorting and comparison of values. Specify additional parameters. For example, the format and units for numeric data and the number of decimal places for fractions.

  Sample measure settings