Ad Hoc Charts

Charts summarize data graphically. Types of charts include bar chart, line chart, and pie chart, among others. With the exception of time series and scatter charts, each type of chart compares summarized values for a group.

The following figure illustrates the canvas when creating a chart in the Ad Hoc Editor; sliders in the Filters pane are also shown:

Component	Description
Rows area	Drag fields and measures to the Rows area to define the grouping along the horizontal axis. Measures must all be in the same area; you cannot have measures in the Columns and Row areas at the same time. Right click a measure to change its summary function.
Columns area	Drag fields and measures into the Columns area to add series. Measures must all be in the same area; you cannot have measures in the Columns and Row areas at the same time. Right click a measure to change its summary function.
Slider area	Drag to set the level of aggregation to use for viewing the data.
Canvas Options	Click to select the Select Chart Type or Chart Format window.
Select Chart Type window	Modeless dialog box; to open, use Canvas Options. Click to select a chart type; a blue border indicates the current selection. Click and drag to move the dialog; click  to close it.
Chart area	A chart’s appearance is determined by the type of chart, the fields selected as measures, and the fields that group the data.
Scale	All measures are plotted against the same scale, which is sometimes confusing. You can use a calculated field to multiply or divide one measure so that its values are closer to those in the other measures in your chart.
Legends	The legend is created when measures are added to the chart. Click one or more legends to hide the associated measures; click again to show them.
Labels	The labels on the horizontal scale indicate the values by which the chart is grouped. If there are too many values in the chart, zoom in or use filters to reduce your data.

Because the nature of a chart is to display summarized data, the data mode menu is not available. Charts always present the full data set, not a sample. This may impact performance when working with large data sets.

Common tasks when working with Ad Hoc charts include:

Zoom	Click and drag or swipe to zoom. Only labels used in the zoom area are displayed, so you can use zoom to simplify your view. The zoom level is not saved when you save a view or report; it is always reset to the full view of the chart.
Filter a chart	Right-click a field in the Data Selection panel or the layout band and select Create Filter.
Select a measure’s summary function	Right-click the measure’s name in the layout band and select a function from the context menu.
Set the granularity of groups	Use the slider to specify the granularity of groups.

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*Note: Not all companies have all of the items described in the Online Help.