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Gauge chart

Owned by Helen Gosper
Last updated: Sept 01, 2023 by Denise McGettigan
2 min read

Available in a focused view (when you select and focus on items in a dimension), in all modes except for Transaction mode.

A Gauge chart displays performance within a range. Red, yellow and green each represent a range entered you set up, typically relating to business goals or targets. The pointer typically moves from red or yellow to green when a target is met or exceeded. If left blank, no color will appear. These charts are useful for representing values within a simple range, for example, percentages, as they are typically in the range 0-100.

The Gauge and Summary charts have similar configuration options. See Configure the chart options page for more information.

Gauge charts can be used for many reasons, such as:

  • To view data containing a comparison or variance, for example, sales vs. budget or profit this year vs. last year.

  • To count a number of something. 

  • To track performance against a target, such as Sales Rep performance, as illustrated in the dashboard image below.

Example: Track Sales Rep performance against budget

In the Sales database, create a Gauge chart to visualize whether a Sales Rep is tracking against the budget.

  1. Prepare the data in the grid:

    1. Select the Sales Rep dimension, then select and focus on a particular rep (Bert).

    2. Select Period > Year to date.

    3. Select Mode > Stream, Stream > Sales and Variance Stream > Budget.

  2. Click the Chart button in the top right toolbar above the grid.

  3. Click the Line chart category button on the left of the chart and select the Line option.

    The default Gauge chart displays but it is meaningless as you have not yet configured the chart settings.

  4. Configure the chart:

    1. Select Summary > % Variance.

    2. Select the Show stream values checkbox.

    3. Enter the Range as -100 to 100, Red as -100 to 15, Yellow as -15 to 15 and Green as 15 to 100 (see image below).

      The chart updates; it now compares Bert’s sales performance against budget. You can see that Bert is over 80% ahead of his budget. 

  5. (Optional) Save the chart as a favorite or add it to a dashboard.