Summary chart

A Summary chart displays just one number, either alone or with an icon, on a card. This type of chart is suitable for displaying large numerical values, such as your total branch sales for the month, the value of goods in a warehouse or the profit for the quarter.

By default, a grey bar displays at the bottom of the card but you can apply conditional color formatting to use it as a clear visual indicator of performance. For example, you can set the bar to be red or yellow until a target is met or exceeded, at which point it will turn green.  You can also use summary icons, such as a smiley, emoji or arrow for additional visual appeal. For example, arrows are useful to represent upwards or downwards trends when used with Variance or %Variance metrics.

Here are some examples of the Summary charts you can add as widgets on your dashboard.

You can save Summary charts as alerts that automatically appear on your home screen or dashboard when performance against a target reaches a certain point.

Example - Create a Summary chart (Smiley)

In a Sales database, create a Summary chart that shows monthly sales and apply conditional formatting so that as the monthly sales targets are met, the color on the chart changes from red, through to yellow and then to green.

1. Prepare the data in the grid:

   1. In Period mode, select the Customer dimension.

   2. Select Period > Current Month.

2. Click the Chart  button, then click the KPI chart category button on the left of the chart and select the Summary option.

   

   The default Summary chart displays in grey color with the count of customers in the month. This does not meet the requirements, so you need to configure the chart.

   

3. Configure the chart:

   1. Select Summary > Sum to display the sum of the customer sales in the month.

   2. Select Summary Type > Smiley.

   3. Enter the From and To value range into the color boxes to set the conditional formatting, so when sales are between 0 to $2m, the card displays in red, for sales $2m to $4m it is yellow, and for sales $4m to $6m it is red.

      

      You can can see that so far this month, the target of $4m has not been met, so the yellow color displays. Later in the month, as the target is met, the color will change to green.

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

Example - Create a Summary chart (Emojis)

In a Sales database, create a Summary chart that shows monthly sales and apply conditional formatting so that as the monthly sales targets are met, the color on the chart changes from red, through to yellow and then to green.

You can personalize the Summary chart by using an emoji of your choice for each value range, instead of a more traditional traffic light color scheme or smiley.

Emojis add more of a visual impact when the charts display on dashboards.

1. Do your data analysis as usual.

2. Click the Chart button and click the KPI chart group > Summary chart. The grid converts into chart.

3. Select Summary Type > Emoji.

4. Select and insert an emoji:

   • On Windows, use the Windows key + semi colon ( ; )

   • On a Mac, use Control + Command + Space bar

5. Enter the To and From value range into the color boxes to set the conditional display. In the screenshot below, the user has chosen a party celebration face for the good news, a thinking face for the not-so-good news and and a frowning face for the bad news.