Description of available graph styles

The graph styles available in MicroStrategy are described below. After you select a graph style (also called a graph type), you have the option to select graph subtypes. For example, for an Area graph, you can select a subtype of Absolute, Clustered, Stacked, Percent, or 3D.

For examples, images, and a discussion of each graph style, see the Graphing chapter of the Advanced Reporting Help. See Minimum object requirements for each graph style and Description of available graph styles for minimum data requirements for each graph type.

• Area emphasizes the magnitude of change over time. By displaying the sum of the plotted values, an area graph also shows the relationship of parts to a whole.

• Bar illustrates the comparisons among individual items. Categories are organized vertically, values horizontally, to focus on comparing values and to place less emphasis on time. Stacked Bar graphs show the relationship of individual items to all the items.
  
  You can use MicroStrategy Web to create Budgeting graphs, which includes the Lipstick and Overlapping Bar graphs that provide special formatting of values on a graph. These Budgeting graph types help to compare two sets of data. For information on these Budgeting graph types and how to create and format them, see the Graphing chapter of the Advanced Reporting Help.

• Line shows the trends in data at equal intervals.

• Pie displays the proportional size of items that make up a data series to the sum of the items. It always displays only one data series and is useful when you want to emphasize a significant element. For this graph style, limit the category and series, otherwise the graph cannot be read due to too many graphic elements.

• Scatter displays the relationships among the numeric values in several data series or plots two groups of numbers as one series of XY coordinates. In other words, it plots metrics against each other. When you arrange your data, place x values in one row or column, and then enter corresponding y values in the adjacent rows or columns.

• Polar displays a line graph drawn on a circular grid, showing trends in values on the basis of angles. Polar graphs take two columns of data and plot them against each other (rather like scatter). The first column is plotted on a circular grid and the second column is plotted on the straight axis. Like logarithmic graphs, Polar charts are useful primarily in mathematical and engineering applications.

• Radar displays a line graph drawn in a radial grid, showing values as a circular grid lines around a central point, which represents a zero. The higher the value, the further it is from this center point. The grid is an equilateral polygon. The categories are plotted at a point of the polygon. The graph sets one point for each row of data in the grid. The number of points on the graph corresponds to the number of categories set in the graph preferences. For example, if the number of categories in the Graph Preference is set to twelve rows, then twelve points are displayed on the Radar chart.

• Bubble displays a type of X, Y (scatter) graph. The size of the data marker indicates the value of a third variable. To arrange your data, place the X values in one row or column, and enter corresponding Y values and bubble sizes in the adjacent rows or columns. The first metric is used for the Y-axis, the second metric for the X-axis, and the third metric determines the size of the bubble.

• Advanced displays the following advanced graphs styles:

• Stock is designed to plot high, low, open, and close values. It displays these values over a chosen period of time. Therefore, stock graphs are particularly useful in depicting data that often fluctuates, such as stock prices or inventory levels.

• Histogram is designed to group data frequencies in a bar graph format. Histograms capture how certain data falls within specific intervals and are often represented as bell curves. The intervals (for example, profit ranges of $200,000-$300,000) appear on one axis. The number of attribute elements (for example, the number of call centers) that fall within each interval are displayed on the other axis.

• 3D Surface is designed to display data points using shading, color, and multiple dimensions. It helps you analyze patterns, comparisons, and trends in data and is especially useful to interpret the relationships between three different sets of data.

• Gauge is designed to display a specific dataset using a semicircular dial with indicators. The graph's indicators are situated within the dial's range to depict whether the monitored data is within defined limits.

• Funnel provides another visually distinctive way of depicting report data. Funnel graphs are generally designed for conducting pipeline analyses for sales forecasts. They are also useful in illustrating the percent contribution of sales data, as they usually display data that adds up to 100%.

• Pareto is designed to help identify the cause of a quality problem or loss. It includes a histogram that can show how often a specific problem is occurring or the different types of problems that are occurring. In general, Pareto charts allow you to display the specific areas in which improvement or investigation is necessary.

• Boxplot (sometimes called a box and whisker plot) is a graph type designed to compare similar distributions at a glance. The goal of boxplot graphs is to make the center, spread, and overall range of values immediately apparent. The boxplot is useful at isolating the extreme values and identifying the range of middle values in your data. The box shows the median values of a variable, while the whiskers stretch to the greatest and lowest values of that variable. Boxplots can also help you identify symmetrical or skewed distributions among values.

• Gantt chart (also referred to as project timelines) is a bar graph that helps plan and monitor project development or resource allocation on a horizontal time scale.

• Combination displays the graphs styles that are formed by combing two different graphs styles.

• Custom displays the following graph templates that are included in the MicroStrategy products.

• Basic

• Big Data Sets

• Corporate

• Elegant

• Gradients

• Letter Size BW

• Letter Size Color

• Surveys

• Textured

• Trendlines

Related Topic

• Selecting a graph style

• Applying a graph style to a graph report

• Formatting options for each graph type