a!areaChartField(label, instructions, categories, series, xAxisTitle, yAxisTitle, yAxisMin, yAxisMax, stacking, referenceLines, showLegend, showDataLabels, showTooltips, allowDecimalAxisLabels, labelPosition, helpTooltip, showWhen, connectNulls, accessibilityText, colorScheme, height, xAxisStyle, yAxisStyle, data, config, refreshAlways, refreshInterval, refreshOnReferencedVarChange, refreshOnVarChange, refreshAfter)
Displays a series of numerical data as points connected by lines with the area between the line and axis shaded. Use an area chart to visualize trends over time and compare multiple values. If specific values are more important than the trend, consider using a column chart.
See also:
Name | Keyword | Types | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Label |
|
Text |
Text to display as the field label. |
Instructions |
|
Text |
Supplemental text about this field. |
Categories |
|
List of Variant |
Text, Date, or Date and Time array to display on the x-axis below each data point. If you are using an array of Date or Date and Time, make sure the data is sorted prior to using it as a category. |
Series |
|
List of AreaChartSeries |
Array of data series created with a!chartSeries(). |
X-Axis Title |
|
Text |
Title for the independent (horizontal) axis. |
Y-Axis Title |
|
Text |
Title for the dependent (vertical) axis. |
Min Y-Axis |
|
Number (Decimal) |
Determines the minimum displayed point on the vertical axis. |
Max Y-Axis |
|
Number (Decimal) |
Determines the maximum displayed point on the vertical axis. |
Stacking |
|
Text |
Determines if series values display as stacked, or stacked to a height of 100% to show the contribution to the whole, or overlapping. Valid values: |
Reference Lines |
|
List of Variant |
Array of reference line values for each threshold to be defined on the chart. Configured using a!chartReferenceLine(). |
Show legend |
|
Boolean |
Determines if a color legend displays below the chart. Default: true. |
Show data labels |
|
Boolean |
Determines if data values are displayed next to each data point. Default: false. |
Show tooltips |
|
Boolean |
Determines if a tooltip displays the data value for each data point. Default: true. |
Allow decimal axis labels |
|
Boolean |
Allows dependent (vertical) values to display as decimal numbers instead of integers. Default: false. |
Label Position |
|
Text |
Determines where the label appears. Valid values:
|
Help Tooltip |
|
Text |
Displays a help icon with the specified text as a tooltip. The tooltip displays a maximum of 500 characters. The help icon does not show when the label position is |
Visibility |
|
Boolean |
Determines whether the component is displayed on the interface. When set to false, the component is hidden and is not evaluated. Default: true. |
Connect Null Data Points |
|
Boolean |
Determines whether to connect an area across null points, or render a gap between the two points on either side of the null. Default: false. |
Accessibility Text |
|
Text |
Additional text to be announced by screen readers. Used only for accessibility; produces no visible change. |
Color scheme |
|
Any type |
Determines which color scheme to use in the chart. Use one of the following valid values: |
Height |
|
Text |
Determines the chart height. Valid values: |
X-Axis Style |
|
Text |
Determines how to display the labels and axis separators for the X-Axis. Valid values: |
Y-Axis Style |
|
Text |
Determines how to display the labels, axis separators, and grid lines for the Y-Axis. Valid values: |
Data |
|
Any type |
Reference to the record type used for the source of this chart. Can accept a!recordData or a record type reference. |
Chart Configuration |
|
AreaChartConfig |
Configures how to display data on the chart, including fields used for calculations and grouping, using a!areaChartConfig(). Only applies when using a record type as a source in the data parameter. |
Refresh Always |
|
Boolean |
When true, chart data will be refreshed after each user interaction and each interval refresh. Default: false. |
Refresh After an Interval of Time |
|
Number (Decimal) |
How often chart data gets refreshed in minutes. When null, chart data will not be refreshed on an interval. Valid values: |
Refresh on Reference Variable Change |
|
Boolean |
When true, chart data will be refreshed each time the value of any variable referenced in the data parameter is updated. To refresh chart data when another variable that is not used in the data parameter changes, use |
Refresh on Variable Change |
|
Any Type |
Refreshes chart data each time any of these specific variables change. This allows you to refresh the chart data when a variable that is not referenced in the data parameter is updated. You can define a single variable (e.g. r |
Refresh After |
|
List of Text String |
Refreshes chart data each time a specified event completes. Valid values: |
There are two ways to configure an area chart:
If you have a record type that uses a database as the source, or a record type with data sync enabled, we recommend using the record type as the source of your chart. This configuration is easier because Appian will perform the query for you and display the results directly in the chart.
If your record type uses a web service as the source and does not have data sync enabled, use the categories and series to construct the chart manually.
Configuring an area chart using a record type as the source requires using two parameters: data and config. Once you provide a record type in the data parameter and provide the fields in the config parameter, the chart displays the results.
See Chart Configuration Using Record Data for details on using a record type as the source. See Build Reports from Records for examples of reports created with different charts.
When using categories and series, you must provide the list of data labels and values directly to these parameters.
[Category #]
displays on the x-axis with #
as the index number in the categories array of the null or empty item. For example, [Category 1]
.[Series #]
with #
as the index number of the data value. For example, [Series 1]
."NONE"
is best for showing an overlapping area chart. This will shade each line from its vertical value to the common baseline (zero). Use this value when you want to compare two values. If you need to compare more than two values, consider using a line chart instead since it may be hard for users to read multiple overlapping areas. See Area charts vs. line charts for other considerations.
"NORMAL"
is best for showing part-to-whole relationships. This will stack each value on top of each other so the topmost line corresponds to the total of all values. Use this value when you want to see a breakdown of a total.
"PERCENT_TO_TOTAL"
is best for showing the distribution of categories as part of a whole. The Y-axis will display values starting from 0% (the baseline) to 100%. Use this value when the cumulative total is unimportant.
Note: If you've set a Min Y-Axis or Max Y-Axis value, the value will correspond to a percentage. For example, if you set a Min Y-Axis of 20, it will display as 20%.
a!refreshVariable
parameters directly in the chart without creating additional local variables. The only exception being refreshOnVarChange
, which refreshes the chart after a specific local variable has changed.In a portal, you can't use a record type as the data source for a chart. Instead, use the categories and series parameters to construct the chart manually. See Working with Data in Portals to learn how to query data in a portal.
Copy and paste an example into the INTERFACE DEFINITION in EXPRESSION MODE to see it displayed.
The examples below demonstrate how to configure your charts using categories and series. For examples on using record data, see Chart Configuration Using Record Data.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
{
a!areaChartField(
label: "Cases by Month",
labelPosition: "ABOVE",
categories: {"Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun", "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec", "Jan", "Feb"},
series: {
a!chartSeries(label: "Met SLA", data: {72, 91, 93, 95, 92, 99, 98, 99, 79, 83, 90, 99}),
a!chartSeries(label: "Missed SLA", data: {12, 55, 26, 61, 30, 29, 49, 37, 62, 51, 33, 29})
},
stacking: "NORMAL",
colorScheme: "SUNSET",
)
}
Displays the following:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
{
a!areaChartField(
label: "New Customers by Industry",
labelPosition: "ABOVE",
categories: {"2012", "2013", "2014", "2015", "2016", "2017", "2018", "2019", "2020", "2021", "2022"},
series: {
a!chartSeries(label: "Retail", data: {69, 54, 81, 74, 73, 64, 74, 52, 64, 63, 72}),
a!chartSeries(label: "Healthcare", data: {28, 29, 39, 34, 40, 45, 47, 51, 62, 66, 69}),
a!chartSeries(label: "Real Estate", data: {2, 5, 6, 9, 23, 9, 17, 17, 62, 51, 50}),
a!chartSeries(label: "Food Services", data: {1, 2, 2, 7, 1, 2, 10, 7, 22, 21, 29})
},
stacking: "PERCENT_TO_TOTAL",
colorScheme: "CLASSIC"
)
}
Displays the following:
To learn how to create this area chart, see the Dynamically Show Sales by Product Category Compared to Total Sales pattern.
The following patterns include usage of the Area Chart Component.
Area Chart Component