How best to display this?

[datanibbler]

Hi,

for a new diagram I am planning I have a base file (in Excel) with 14 values for every day - 5 or 6 of them might be 0, the others up to 70.

Can anyone give me an idea how I could display this? All my other diagrams are bar_charts and I like to keep everything consistent - that way, it will be easier for managers and other users looking at the diagrams to quickly grasp the structure. Anyway I don't want to introduce anything too fancy - the focus should remain on the data, not the design.

<=> However, displaying even 6 bars side by side for every day does not seem like a good idea at all (I usually display one entire workweek,six days that is, on my x-axis and the space on the page is limited by multiple standards)

A Trellis chart does not seem very helpful either - that's a good option for 3 or 4 diagrams, but with 6-14, things would get too tiny.

Any ideas, anyone?

Thanks a lot!

Best regards,

DataNibbler

[Peter_Cammaert]

Presenting 6*14 bars is indeed a bit tricky. Nevertheless, here are a fe things you might consider:

• If those 14 values have a common nature, you could stack them. If some values become too small, you could add a straight table underneath the graphic.
• A radar chart doesn't comply with your layout standards, but it allows you to present many values in a compact way.

Best,

Peter

[CELAMBARASAN]

You could have a look at the Block Chart.

I hope it will be suitable for you need.

[datanibbler]

Hi,

thanks for helping! I appreciate any ideas.

However, knowing the managers here, I think that sticking with the chart_types I use anywhere else will be best to avoid silly questions. So the barchart with stacked values would probably be the best solution - and the least work for me, which is also relevant because time is a scarce resource in this context 😉

Having 14 different colours is not very nice, but one can't have everything.

Only one more question:

=> Could I modify the legend to show only those segments which are actually there (with a value > 0)? That way, when an entire week is displayed, most likely all segments will be present somewhere, but when I select just one day, then it would be easy to spot which elements are there - and which are missing on that particular day.

Thanks a lot!

Best regards,

DataNibbler

P.S.: Hmm - I'll just delete the legend altogether and use so many free_text_boxes instead that I can make appear and disappear depending on the value. I will make the colours swap places every day to keep people thinking 😉

[Peter_Cammaert]

You mean to hide expressions when they evaluate to NULL for all dimension values? You can use a conditional show for that (see top of Expression tab).

Best,

Peter

[marcus_malinow]

I'd personally be cautious about using block charts, as I am with any charts which rely on the user making a judgement based on a 2d shape, because evaluating their contents is slow and requires thought. A user finds it much easier to simply glance at a bar, line, or combo chart and can make a judgement almost instinctively.

[Peter_Cammaert]

No need to build your own legend. Just use Conditional Display for each expression.

See this example.

Peter

[datanibbler]

Hi Marcus,

that was my thought, too. I just couldn't put it in words like you did. The KISS principle is especially important when preparing something for shopfloor-workers and managers 😉

@ Peter

You're right. That works. When the whole week is displayed, the legend still has 14 points - and 14 colours - but when i select only one day, there are only two or three.

Thanks a lot!

Best regards,

DataNibbler