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Showing Results in Charts Using Oracle BI Chart View

Use the chart view to position columns on a chart, and to customize the title, legend location, axis titles, data labels, size, and scale. You can select the chart graph, such as a line chart or a bar chart; the chart subtype, such as two-dimensional; and the style for columns, such as the shape and fill pattern. You can also set borders and colors, and control other chart characteristics. Results are drillable in the Chart view.

Chart graph choices include area charts, bar charts, bubble charts, line charts, and other types. Chart subtypes include 2D, 3D, absolute, clustered, stacked, combination, and custom.

This section explains how to work with charts. It contains the following topics:

• Description of Oracle BI Chart Graphs
• Description of Oracle BI Chart View Buttons
• General Steps to Add or Modify an Oracle BI Chart View
• Specifying General Chart Properties in Oracle BI Chart View
• Controlling the Display of Grid Lines in Oracle BI Chart View
• Specifying the Location of the Legend in Oracle BI Chart View
• Setting Colors for Background, Text, and Borders in Oracle BI Chart View
• Selecting the Columns to Display as Axes in Oracle BI Chart View
• Setting Axis Scaling Options in Oracle BI Chart View
• Editing Scale Markers in Oracle BI Chart View
• Specifying Axis Titles and Labels in Oracle BI Chart View
• Specifying What Happens When a User Clicks a Chart in Oracle BI
• Formatting the Visual Appearance of Charts
• Making Selections for Data Labels in Pie Charts

NOTE:  Oracle BI uses a third-party charting engine. The type of the chart, its size, and the number of elements charted can affect whether axes or legends appear. This is constrained by the amount of available space on the Web browser page. Sometimes, by adjusting the width and height controls, it is possible to get undisplayed axes and legend values to appear.

Description of Oracle BI Chart Graphs

Table 15 shows the chart graphs available from the Graph drop-down list and describes their uses. Not all chart graphs are appropriate for all types of data. The default chart graph is a vertical bar chart.

Your selection for the chart graph determines the chart subtypes that are available from the Type drop-down list. Not all chart types have subtypes; for example, bubble and radar graphs have no subtypes. Charts subtypes default to the 3D option, if available. Depending on the chart type selection, subtype options may include the following:

• Area charts: 3D and 2D
• Bar charts: 3D, 2D, 3D Stacked, and 2D Stacked
• Line charts: 3D and 2D
• Pareto charts: 3D and 2D
• Pie charts: 3D and 2D
• Scatter charts: Scatter, and Scatter with Lines

Your selection for the chart type also determines the styles that are available from the Style drop-down list. Not all chart types have styles. The style defaults to solid fill, if available. Depending on the chart type selection, styles for charts may include the following:

• Area charts: Solid Fill and Pattern Fill
• Bar charts: Rectangle, Cylinder, Gradient, Triangle, Diamond, Pattern Fill
• Line charts: Rectangle, Cylinder, Gradient, Triangle, Diamond, Pattern Fill
• Pareto charts: Rectangle, Cylinder, Gradient, Triangle, Diamond, Pattern Fill
• Pie charts: Solid Fill and Pattern Fill

Description of Oracle BI Chart View Buttons

The buttons at the top of the chart view page provide access to various chart settings. Table 16 describes the chart view buttons and settings.

General Steps to Add or Modify an Oracle BI Chart View

The following procedure provides the basic steps to add or modify a chart view.

NOTE:  If you select a chart graph that is incompatible with the results, no results are shown.

To add or modify an Oracle BI chart view

1. In Oracle BI Answers, create or modify the request with which you want to work, and then perform one of the following actions:
   • To add a new chart view, click the Results tab and choose Chart from the views drop-down list.

     You can also add a chart view by clicking the Chart button at the compound layout view or at the Criteria tab.

   • To edit an existing chart view, click the Results tab, choose Compound Layout from the views drop-down list, and then click the Edit View button for the chart view.

     The workspace shows the options and settings for the view.

2. Make your selections for the chart graph, subtype, and style.

   Your selection for the graph type determines the available choices for the subtype and style. When no subtypes or styles are available, the drop-down lists become unavailable.

   As you make selections from the drop-down lists, the chart view changes to reflect your selections.

3. To add a column to the chart, click it in the selection pane, or add it at the Criteria tab.
4. To delete a column from the chart, click the Criteria tab and click the Delete button for the column.
5. Use the buttons at the top of the chart view page to specify additional chart settings.
6. To see the effects of your changes, click the Redraw button.

   You can click the Redraw button at any time to refresh the chart view.

7. To remove changes and start from the original chart, click the Clear button.
8. To resize the chart, use the vertical and horizontal slide bars.
9. When you are done, you can save the request with the chart view.

Specifying General Chart Properties in Oracle BI Chart View

You can set general properties for the chart, such as a title, and whether data labels appear. You can also set the chart width and height.

Data labels are enabled by default for selected 2D chart types. Data labels have no effect on charts like 3D bar and column.

The default for chart size is to scale all elements of the existing chart, including height and width, to fit the available space. The chart's height and width remain proportional to each other when the size of the chart changes. The chart automatically resizes chart elements based on the space available within the chart.

NOTE:  The chart can expand significantly if the number of items being charted grows substantially.

For example, suppose you create a request to display the sales of three products, create a chart of the results with the product sales shown as three columns, and size the chart to occupy about 25 percent of the page. If the report is run later and six products are returned, the chart is expanded to twice its original width, or about 50 percent of the page, so that the widths of the individual columns in the chart remain constant.

The chart elements are resized as needed to fit into the chart. Using the preceding example, the chart continues to occupy about 25 percent of the page, and the columns are resized to fit in the available space.

To set general properties for an Oracle BI chart view

1. Click the following button at the top of the chart view page:

   The General dialog box appears.

2. To enter a custom title for the chart, click the Custom Title check box and enter the title text for the chart.
3. To format the chart title text, click the formatting button (next to the title field)

   The Text Format dialog box appears, make your changes as follows, and click OK.

   • Family - Select a font family from the drop-down list.
   • Size - Enter a point size to use when displaying the text.
   • Color - Click to display the Color Selector dialog box, and select a color or enter the hexadecimal code for the required color.
   • Style - Select a style from the drop-down list.

     Font styles are only available if the fonts are installed (such as Arial Bold, Arial Italic).

   • Truncate - Enter a number to specify how many characters of the text to display.
4. To specify how to show data labels, select an option from the Show data labels drop-down list as follows:
   • Always - Always display data labels.
   • Never - Never display data labels.
   • On rollover - Display data labels on mouse rollover.
   • Default (On rollover) - Display data labels using default behavior, in this example the default behavior is shown in brackets (On rollover).
5. To format the chart label text, click the formatting button to display the Text Format dialog box, make your changes and click OK (see previous step for details).
6. Click the Override Default Data Format check box, to override the default numeric format in which data labels are currently displayed, and make your selections using the following options:
   • Treat Numbers As - displays data labels as numbers, percentages or currency.
   • Negative Format - displays negative data labels using either the minus sign, or a parenthesis.
   • Decimal Places - displays numbers using the specified number of decimal places (to a maximum of 6 decimal places).
   • Use 1000's Separator - displays a comma character to separate each magnitude of a thousand (for example, 1,000,000,000.00).

     NOTE:  The numeric format is inherited from the representative column in the criteria tab. If two or more columns are selected for the same axis, numeric formatting is not inherited.

7. To specify the size of the chart, enter numbers into the Width and the Height fields.
   • Specifies the width and height of the chart, in pixels.
8. Click OK.

   The chart view refreshes. The chart may resize to accommodate your selections.

Controlling the Display of Grid Lines in Oracle BI Chart View

You can control whether grid lines display on the chart, and specify grid line colors.

To control the display of grid lines on an Oracle BI chart view

1. Click the following button at the top of the chart view page:

   The Additional Charting Options dialog box appears.

2. Click the Grid Lines tab.
3. Make your selections and click OK.

   The chart view refreshes.

Specifying the Location of the Legend in Oracle BI Chart View

You can specify the location of the legend, and set options for resizing the legend.

To specify the location of the legend on an Oracle BI chart view

1. Click the following button at the top of the chart view page:

   The Additional Charting Options dialog box appears.

2. Click the Legend tab.
3. Make your selections and click OK.

   The chart view refreshes. The chart may resize to accommodate your selections.

Setting Colors for Background, Text, and Borders in Oracle BI Chart View

You can specify the color for the chart background, text, and borders.

To specify background, text, and border colors on an Oracle BI chart view

1. Click the following button at the top of the chart view page:

   The Additional Charting Options dialog box appears.

2. Click the Borders & Colors tab.
3. Make your selections and click OK.

   The chart view refreshes.

Selecting the Columns to Display as Axes in Oracle BI Chart View

The column area on the left side of the chart view shows the columns that are included in the request. You can select the columns to display as the different axes in the chart. You can also indicate whether measure labels appear for factual data plotted on an axis.

The available axes can change depending on the type of chart selected from the Graph drop-down list. The chart axis buttons used in chart view are described in Table 17.

To select the columns to display as the axes on an Oracle BI chart view

1. In the columns area to the left of the chart, click the appropriate check box for one of the axis buttons to display that column as the corresponding axis in the chart.

   The axis buttons change depending on the type of graph selected from the Graph drop-down list.

2. To add a column to the chart, click it in the selection pane, and then set it as an axis.

   This is equivalent to adding the column to the request at the Criteria tab.

3. To display the unit of measure on an axis, click the appropriate check box.
4. Click Redraw to refresh the chart view.

Setting Axis Scaling Options in Oracle BI Chart View

You can control axis limits, tick marks and scale type, and the properties of scale markers.

To specify axis scaling options for an Oracle BI chart view

1. Click the following button at the top of the chart view page:

   The Axis Scaling dialog box appears.

2. Make your selections and click OK.

   For charts with numeric axes, the settings of the axis scaling options determine how the scale is selected:

   • When you select Default, the system chooses the scale and sets the axis to zero (0) for positive numbers.
   • When you select Zoom to Data Range, the system chooses the scale. It evaluates the range of values on the axis, and chooses appropriate minimum and maximum values for the scale. This is useful when charting a set of large values that are all within a small percentage of each other. The chart zooms in on the values so differences are more easily distinguished.
   • You can also manually set the axis scaling values to specific numbers.

     The chart view refreshes. The chart may resize to accommodate your selections.

Editing Scale Markers in Oracle BI Chart View

Scale markers are accenting lines or shaded background ranges that mark key points, thresholds, ranges, and so on. The lines or ranges are can be applied on one or more axes depending upon the type of chart.

NOTE:  Some chart types do not use scale markers, such as pie charts.

The following procedure provides the general steps to edit a scale marker.

To edit scale markers for an Oracle BI chart view

1. Click the following button at the top of the chart view page:

   The Axis Scaling dialog box appears.

2. Click the following button:

   Edit Scale Markers

   The Scale Markers Table Editor dialog box appears.

3. Click the Add button to add the first scale marker and make your selections for the marker.

   Advanced options include setting the scale to a static value, a variable, a particular column name, or as the result of an SQL query. For more information about the types of scale markers and using the advanced options, see the procedures that follow this one.

4. Click OK successively to close the dialog boxes.

   The chart view refreshes. The chart may resize to accommodate your selections.

To create a line scale marker

1. Select Line from the Type drop-down list.
2. Enter a line width in the third column.
3. Enter the position for the line in the fourth column.
4. Enter the color for the line.
5. Enter a caption for the line.

To create a range scale marker

1. Select Range from the Type drop-down list.
2. Enter the low end of the range in the third column.
3. Enter the high value of the range in the fourth column.
4. Enter the color for the range.
5. Enter a caption for the range.

Using Advanced Settings for Range and Line Values

Options for these values include a static value, a variable, a value sourced from a column included in the request, or one derived from a SQL query. Advanced options enables you to dynamically set values based on results of a column, query, or presentation variable which is evaluated while rendering the chart as follows:

• Static value - A hard coded value.
• Presentation Variable - Value of the presentation variable.
• Column Name - Based only on a measure column value, which could yield numerous values, and only the first value is applied.
• SQL Query - Based on the results of a SQL query. The results could be a table but only the first row, and first column cell value is applied.

NOTE:  If any of the above do not have a valid value, the scale marker is ignored.

To specify an advanced setting

1. Next to the field, click the Properties button.
2. Select one of the options and enter appropriate values.
3. Click OK when you are done.

Specifying Axis Titles and Labels in Oracle BI Chart View

You can control whether axis titles and data labels display at the bottom of the chart and to the left of the chart.

NOTE:  Adjusting the size of a chart can affect how the axis labels appear.

To specify an axis title on an Oracle BI chart view

1. Click the following button at the top of the chart view page:

   The Axis Titles and Labels dialog box appears.

2. To update axis titles and labels, select either the Left or the Bottom tab.
3. To enter a custom axis title for the chart, click the Custom Title check box and enter the title text for the chart.
4. To format the axis title text, click the formatting button (next to the title field).

   The Text Format dialog box appears, make your changes as follows, and click OK.

   • Family - Select a font family from the drop-down list.
   • Size - Enter a point size to use when displaying the text.
   • Color - Click to display the Color Selector dialog box, and select a color or enter the hexadecimal code for the required color.
   • Style - Select a style from the drop-down list.
   • Truncate - Enter a number to specify how many characters of the text to display.
5. Specify how to show axis scale labels as follows:
   • Display scale labels - Select to display scale labels in the chart.
   • Rotate labels - Click the check box and select a value from the drop-down list to specify the degree of rotation to display the axis scale labels (values available through 180 degrees).
   • Abbreviate - click the check box and select a value from the drop-down list to display an abbreviation following each axis label.
6. To format the scale label text, click the formatting button to display the Text Format dialog box, make your changes and click OK (see earlier step for details).
7. (Only applies to Left tab) Click the Override Default Data Format check box, to override the default numeric format in which axis scale labels are currently displayed, and make your selections using the following options:
   • Treat Numbers As - displays labels as numbers, percentages or currency.
   • Negative Format - displays negative labels using either the minus sign, or a parenthesis.
   • Digits - displays numbers using the specified number of decimal places.
   • Use 1000's Separator - displays a comma character to separate each magnitude of a thousand (for example, 1,000,000,000.00).
8. (Only applies to Bottom tab) Click the Stagger labels check box to display labels so that they do not overlap.
9. (Only applies to Bottom tab) Click the Skip labels check box to display an alternate set of labels.
10. Click OK.

    The chart view refreshes.

Specifying What Happens When a User Clicks a Chart in Oracle BI

When a user views the chart, you can specify the type of interaction to occur if the user clicks the chart. The following are the types of interactions for a chart:

• Drill. Allows the user to drill down to more detailed information. This is the default interaction.
• Navigate. Allows the user to navigate to one or more saved requests or dashboards.
• None. Disables drilldown or navigation from the chart.

To specify the user interaction with an Oracle BI chart view

1. Click the following button at the top of the chart view page:

   The Additional Charting Options dialog box appears.

2. Click the Interaction tab.

   To allow navigation to other saved requests or dashboards (when a user clicks the chart):

   1. Select the Navigate radio button, and click the Add Navigation Target button.

      Target and Caption fields are displayed.

   2. If you want users to navigate to other saved requests or dashboards, click the Browse button to open the Choose Request/Dashboard dialog box, navigate to the target request or dashboard, and click OK to select the target.
   3. (Optional) Enter caption text in the Caption field.

      Caption text is displayed when the user clicks on the chart.

      When no text is entered in the Caption field, the title of the target report or dashboard is displayed as the caption.

   4. To allow navigation to multiple saved requests or dashboards, click the Add Navigation Target button, and repeat the previous steps.
   5. Click OK to save your changes.

      When a user clicks on the chart, the following rules apply:

      • If multiple navigation paths exist to other saved requests or dashboards, a pop-up window displays a caption for each request/dashboard. The user should click a specific caption to navigate to the required request/dashboard.
      • If only a single navigation path exists, the request/dashboard is displayed.

        To disable drilling or navigation, click the None radio button.

3. Click OK.

Formatting the Visual Appearance of Charts

You can format the visual appearance of charts based on two settings, the position of the chart series, and on conditions applied to column values as follows:

• Chart Formatting Based on Position
• Chart Formatting Based on Column Values

Chart Formatting Based on Position

Positional formatting enables you to customize the appearance of a chart series based on the values position in the chart legend. You can format the visual appearance of a chart series in terms of its color, line width, and line symbols.

For example:

• Changing bar color, line width, and line symbol.

  A user has created a line bar combination chart with two data series. Assuming that the bar is position 1 and the line is position 2, you can change the color of the bar, the width of the line, and the symbol representing the data points.

Chart Formatting Based on Column Values

Conditional formatting enables you to customize the appearance of a chart based on column values. You can specify a color in which to display chart data based upon a specific column value, or range of column values.

For example:

• Conditionally changing the color of a chart based on specific column values.

  A user wants to create a bar chart to compare sales between two beverages, Lemonade and Cola. When creating a bar chart the user specifies two conditions, one where the bar representing Lemonade sales is yellow, and another where the bar representing Cola sales is blue.

• Conditionally changing the color of a chart based on a range of column values.

  A sales manager wants to create a bar chart to compare sales for all reps across two sales bands.When creating a bar chart the sales manager specifies two conditions, one where the bar is red for all sales reps with sales less than $250,000, and another where the bar is green for all sales reps with sales greater than $250,000.

To format the appearance of a chart

1. Click the following button at the top of the chart view page:

   The Format Chart Data dialog box appears.

2. Click the Positional tab to format the appearance of a chart series based on its position.

   The available choices depend upon the chart type. For example:

   • To customize a chart series, deselect the Use Default check box.
   • To restore a chart series to its default settings, reselect the Use Default check box.
   • To add a new format series control, click the Add button. Even if the current chart does not use this series, it will be used if it is needed (such as for drilling).
   • To return all chart series to their default values, click the Clear All button.

     This also removes all added format series positions.

   • To change colors, click the color box to access the Color Selector dialog box.
   • To change other chart series attributes, click the desired tab and select bar or line attributes from the options presented.
3. Click the Conditional tab to format the appearance of a chart based on a condition applied to a column value or a range of column values.

   To apply a condition to a column value or a range of column values for a chart:

   1. Click the Add Condition button and select the column to which you want to apply a condition.

      The Create/Edit Filter dialog box is displayed.

   2. Select the operator and enter a column value, or a range of column values for this condition.
   3. Click OK when you are done.

      The new condition is displayed in the Format Chart Data dialog box.

   4. To select a color in which to display a chart series when the condition is met, click the Color button to access the Color Selector dialog box.
   5. To update the condition, click the Filter button to display the Create/Edit Filter dialog box.
   6. To rearrange the order in which conditions are applied, click the up or down arrows next to each condition.

      To display existing conditions for the chart:

   • Click a link in the left hand column.
4. Click OK when you are done.

Rules for Applying Conditional Formats in Charts

The following rules apply for building and using conditions in charts:

• Conditions can only be created from columns that are being used by the chart.
• When format conditions conflict with each other, conflicting conditions are prioritized in the following order:

  1. Measure - Typically the Y axis that is used to show the value of an intersection point.

  2. Legend - A way to group a series of data points that can be plotted on a graph.

  3. Category - Typically the X-axis that is used to separate the values being measured.

  4. Position - The numerical sequence in which a chart series is displayed.

  In the hierarchy above, Category overrides Position, Legend overrides Category, and Measure overrides Legend.

• When a user drills on a chart that has conditional formatting applied, the following rules apply:
  • a conditional format based on measures is not carried to the next chart
  • a conditional format based on dimensional attributes is carried to the next chart if it has not been drilled on

    For example, if you had the conditional format "Lemonade = Blue" and only drill on years, then "Lemonade = Blue" will stay in place.

Chart Exceptions for Conditional Formatting on Column Values

The following table lists the chart exceptions that apply to conditional formatting on column values.

Making Selections for Data Labels in Pie Charts

Data labels appear when a user pauses the mouse over elements in the pie chart. You can specify how values should appear and what the data labels should display.

You can show values as percentages of the total or as actual values. Data labels can display the value or name only, or both the value and name.

Depending on your selection, the chart may resize to allow the data labels to appear.

To make selections for data labels

1. Click the following button at the top of the chart view page:
2. Make your selections for the value and what the data label should show.
3. Click OK when you are done.

Related Topics

Overview of Oracle BI Answers

Performing Common Tasks When Working with Oracle BI Views