A bar chart is a graph with rectangular bars. Each bar's length is proportional to the value it represents. Use bar charts to compare two or three variables using a single value.
Bar charts are useful for comparing categories: the x-axis represents the category and the y-axis represents the value to compare.
Tip
You can also use a basic bar chart to create a histogram that displays the distribution of x-axis data. Histograms display the frequency of each unique value in the selected x-axis field as a bar that is proportional to the value.
Bar charts can represent more complex categories using grouped or stacked bars. Grouped or stacked bar charts use a third variable to sub-divide the comparison category:
Note
Select the grouped vs stacked view setting on the upper left-hand corner of the chart.
| Setting | Supported data types | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
X-Axis |
|
The field to use as the basis for the chart’s horizontal scale. One bar is created for each unique value in the field, or each unique combination of values if you also specify a Color by field. |
|
Y-Axis |
numeric |
The aggregate value represented by the chart’s vertical axis. You can select a count of the X-axis field or one of several aggregate values for a different numeric column in the table:
Tip Use the Count option to create a histogram that displays the distribution of data for the x-axis. |
|
Color by (optional setting) |
|
The field represented by the third data dimension to the chart. Adding a third data dimension can sub-divide X-axis categories. You can think of the Color by field as a break field. |
