Area chart

Owned by Helen Gosper
Last updated: Apr 12, 2023 by Denise McGettigan
3 min read

Availability:

  • Summary view - All modes except for Transaction.

  • Focused view (when you select and focus on items in a dimension) - Period and Moving mode only.

An Area chart plots performance over time, displaying data as a shaded ‘area’ that falls below a set of points connected by straight lines. Area charts are good for visualizing comparisons, for example, using two color-coded shaded areas to display this year vs. last year’s sales, or the value of sales vs. orders.

 

Summary view

Focused view

Contents

There is a blue area for the current period (or stream) and an orange area for the previous period (or other stream).

There is a colored area for each of the focused items.

X-axis

The X-axis displays the time units of your current period. 

Y-axis

The Y-axis displays the total amount, which starts at zero.

Example

The % Area chart behaves in the same way as the Area chart but it provides a different way to view the proportional areas, as the Y-axis displays the percentage from 0 to 100% rather than the total amount.

Example - Visualize product profitability

In the Sales database, create an Area chart to visualize the profitability of four key product categories, this year to date.

  1. Prepare the data in the grid:

    1. In Period mode, select the Product Class dimension, then select and focus on the four product classes.

    2. Select Measures > Profit.

    3. Select Period > Year to date.

    4. Click the Summary button.

  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 Area option.

    The chart displays the profitability of the four product classes for this year to date.

  4. (Optional) Change your view of the chart:

    • Use Total - If you have a dimension selected and are in Period mode (as in the current example), you can select the Use total option to create a simplified Area chart. This option means that rather than charting all the focused items for each time unit, Phocas charts only the total. In the image below, the total value of the four product classes have been added together for each month, represented by a single blue shaded area.

    • Use cumulative - The Use cumulative option is only available in Summary view, in Period mode. Click the Summary button, then select the Use cumulative option to chart current vs. previous cumulative for each time unit, rather than simply current vs. previous.

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