Bar Chart with Reference Lines :: SAS(R) BI Dashboard 4.31: User's Guide, Second Edition

Definition

A bar chart with reference lines consists of a grid and some vertical or horizontal columns (bars). Each column represents quantitative data. Moreover, reference lines are drawn to emphasize specific data values on the chart.

Example of a Bar Chart with Reference Lines Indicator

example bar chart with reference lines indicator

For a sample of the indicator data that was used to create this indicator, see “Sample Data Structure” for this indicator.

Usage Information

Data best suited for	If you want to display the average interval in a graph, the bar chart with reference lines is the easiest method to use. The tooltip for each data series indicates that the displayed value is the average interval.
Target audience	This indicator type is appropriate for all user audiences. Most people find this indicator type familiar and easy to interpret. The reference lines especially help users to easily determine which interval the values are in and quickly get an idea of the value’s distance from the interval thresholds.
Data aggregation support	This indicator type averages the applicable indicator data.
Range support	A range is required.
Alert support	Alerts are supported. For information, see Customizing Alerts.
Link support	This indicator type can be used to define a link or as the destination of a link.For more information about defining an indicator with a hyperlink, see Adding Links to Indicators or Other Content.
Interaction support	Data filter support: This indicator type can be used as either a source or target indicator. Interactive highlighting support: This indicator type can be used as either a source or target indicator. For more information, see Adding Interactions between Indicators.
Filter multiple items support	Filtering multiple items is supported.For more information, see Supporting Multiple Selections in a Filtered Data Interaction.

General Settings

The General Settings section provides controls that support the following tasks:

Display Settings

The following display settings are used in the preceding figure. For more information, see “Sample Data Structure” for this indicator.

Display Setting	Selection Used for Figure
X-axis value	Product_Line
Bar value	Profit
X-axis title	Set to Product Line
Y-axis title	<blank> (defaults to Profit) Note: The Scale Y axis setting adds the label (thousands) to the title.
Scale Y axis	This setting is selected.
Y-axis format	$123,456 is selected.

You can customize the following display settings for this indicator:

(Required) From the X-axis value list, select the column in your data that you want to use for the X-axis value in the indicator. When you view your indicator data, the columns in the data set are described by the values in the Column Name column. The selections available in the X-axis value list are all of the values in the Column Name column.
(Required) From the Bar value list, select the value that you want to use for the bars that are drawn in the indicator.
In the X-axis title field, type the title to use for the X axis in the indicator. If you do not specify a title, the value that you selected from the X-axis value list is used by default. If you do not want a title, type a space in the field. If you select Scale X axis, a measurement label is added to the title.
In the Y-axis title field, type the title to use for the Y axis in the indicator. If you do not specify a title, the value that you selected from the Y-axis value list is used by default. If you do not want a title, type a space in the field. If you select Scale Y axis, a measurement label is added to the title.
Select Scale X axis if you want to scale that axis. When you make this selection, a measurement label is added to the X-axis title if the data is numeric. For example, if the X-axis title is set to Revenue and you select Scale X axis, the X-axis title is displayed as Revenue (millions).
Select Scale Y axis if you want to scale that axis. When you make this selection, a measurement label is added to the Y-axis title if the data is numeric. For example, if the Y-axis title is set to Revenue and you select Scale Y axis, the Y-axis title is displayed as Revenue (millions).
Select Hide axis tick labels if you want to hide the axis tick labels when a user zooms out the view of an indicator. When the user zooms in, the axis tick labels reappear. Select this setting to avoid visual clutter when the view is zoomed out.
Select Hide axes when zoomed out if you want to hide the axes when a user zooms out the view of an indicator. When the user zooms in, the axes reappear. Select this setting to avoid visual clutter when the view is zoomed out.
Click Hide reference lines if you want to hide the reference lines when a user zooms out the view of an indicator. When the user zooms in, the reference lines reappear. Select this setting to avoid visual clutter when the view is zoomed out.
From the Row group by list, select the value that you want to use to group rows of data. If you do not want to group the rows, select (none).
From the Column group by list, select the value that you want to use to group columns of data. If you do not want to group the columns, select (none).
From the X-axis format list, select the format that you want to apply to the data on that axis. If you do not want to specify a format, select (none). When set to (none), the indicator uses the format that is used in the data source.
From the Y-axis format list, select the format that you want to apply to the data on that axis. If you do not want to specify a format, select (none). When set to (none), the indicator uses the format that is used in the data source.
From the X-axis labels list, select the style to apply to the data labels that are used on the X axis. Depending on your labels, one style might be easier to read than others.

Sample Data Structure

To create a bar chart with reference lines, you must provide a variable (X-axis value) and a measure (bar value). Optionally, you can specify additional variables by using the Row group by and Column group by lists.

The following data sample is associated with the figure previously shown. Underneath each column heading is its associated display setting.

Product Line (X-axis value)	Profit (Bar value)
Children	4,123
Clothes & Shoes	9,947
Outdoors	5,010
Sports	15,213

Note: To prevent aggregation by the bar chart with reference lines indicator, aggregate the data at the indicator data level.

For the best results, the indicator data should return only one value for each unique value in the Category Label data column. If the indicator data returns only one value, the bar chart with reference lines indicator does not need to aggregate the data. The category variable is specified by the data column selected for the Category Label field when the data source is defined.

If the bar chart with reference lines indicator does aggregate data, the bar chart with reference lines does two things:

It displays data points at the average interval for each data series.
It averages the indexes of the aggregated intervals to determine the interval to display and the color of the bar.