Formatting visualizations

Once you have created and added a visualization to a dashboard, you can format the display of the visualization. You can rename attributes or metrics, choose whether to display a visualization’s title bar, whether to apply banding to values in a grid, and so on. For a complete list, see General formatting for visualizations.

Besides these general formatting options, each type of visualization has specific formatting that can be applied to it, as listed in Formatting specific visualization types.

You can edit a visualization in Formatting Mode to quickly select formatting options for a specific part of the visualization, such as the titles, row axes, or legend. In Formatting Mode, when you select an object in the visualization, the appropriate formatting options for the object are automatically displayed in the visualization's Properties panel. While you are viewing a visualization in Formatting Mode, other visualizations in the dashboard are greyed out and unavailable, allowing you to concentrate on a single visualization at a time. Formatting Mode is available for Graph, Heat Map, and Network visualizations. For steps to format a visualization in Formatting Mode, see Editing a visualization in Formatting Mode.

Formatting specific visualization types

For steps to select formatting options for a specific type of visualization, see the appropriate topic below:

Dashboard Editor: ESRI Map: Properties

Dashboard Editor: Google Map: Properties

Formatting a Graph visualization

Dashboard Editor: Graph: Properties

Dashboard Editor: Grid: Properties

To add subtotals to a Grid visualization

Dashboard Editor: Heat Map: Properties

Dashboard Editor: Network: Properties

General formatting for visualizations

For steps to perform common formatting tasks, see the appropriate link below:

To show or hide a visualization's title bar

To size a visualization

To move a visualization

To maximize the display of a visualization or restore it to its original size

To change the visualization's display type

To rename a dataset object in a visualization

To determine which attribute forms are displayed for an attribute in the visualization

To change the number formatting applied to a metric in a visualization

Adding or removing a threshold in a visualization

A threshold applies formatting, such as color-coding, to a visualization based on the value of a metric.

 

To show or hide a visualization's title bar:

Do one of the following:

To move a visualization:

Move the visualization by doing one of the following:

To size a visualization:

Hover the cursor over the edge of the visualization, so that the cursor becomes double arrows. Click and drag the edge of the visualization to size it.

 

To maximize the display of a visualization or restore it to its original size:

Do one of the following:

To change the visualization's display type:

From the Visualization Gallery, click the icon of the visualization type to use to display the data. Note: If the Visualization Gallery is not displayed, from the View menu, select Visualization Gallery.

To rename a dataset object in a visualization:

  1. In the Editor panel, right-click the object and select Rename. Note: If the Editor panel is not displayed, from the View menu, select Editor Panel. If the Editor panel is hidden behind another panel, click the Editor icon to display the Editor panel.

  2. Type a name for the object and press ENTER. The object is renamed and the new name is displayed in the visualization.

To determine which attribute forms are displayed for an attribute in the visualization:

You can choose which attribute forms are displayed for a specific attribute. An attribute is a business concept, such as Region or Income Bracket, that provides a label for the numerical data (metrics) in your dashboard. An attribute form is a descriptive category for an attribute. While most attributes have only the forms ID and Description, an attribute such as Customer can have many other forms, such as First Name, Last Name, Address, Email Address, and so on.

For example, for the Customer attribute described above, you can display the First Name and Email Address forms in a grid. You can then export that data as an Excel file to use to create a special email only sales promotion.

Selecting which attribute forms to display is helpful when you are working with attributes containing geographic information. You can select whether or not to display the latitude and longitude information for an attribute, when that information is stored in separate attribute forms.

  1. In the visualization's Editor panel, right-click the object and point to Display Attribute Form. Note: If the Editor panel is not displayed, from the View menu, select Editor Panel. Note: If the Editor panel is hidden behind another panel, click the Editor icon to display the Editor panel.

  2. Select the check box next to each attribute form to display in the visualization.

  3. Clear the check box next to each attribute form to hide in the visualization.

  4. From the Display Attribute Form Names drop-down list, select one of the following:

  1. Click OK to apply your changes.

To change the number formatting applied to a metric in a visualization:

  1. Click the visualization you want to format

  2. In the visualization's Editor panel, right-click the metric, then point to Number Formatting. You can also right-click the object’s name or value in the visualization itself. Note: If the Editor panel is not displayed, from the View menu, ensure that Editor Panel is selected. If the Editor panel is hidden behind another panel, click the Editor icon to display the Editor panel.

  3. From the first drop-down list, select the type of number formatting you want to use to display numeric values, as follows:

  1. From the Negative drop-down list, select the format to use to display each value.

  2. You can choose whether to display numbers with a separator symbol every three digits. To display the separator, click the button to highlight it. Numbers are displayed with a separator symbol every three digits (for example 1,000,000). To display numbers without the separator symbol, such as 1000000, click the button again to remove the highlight.

  3. You can add additional decimal places to the displayed numbers, or decrease the number of decimal places shown. Do one of the following:

  1. From the symbol drop-down list, select the currency symbol to use display the numeric values.

  2. From the position drop-down list, select the position to display the currency symbol in, such as Left, Right, Left with Space, or Right with Space.

  3. From the Negative drop-down list, select the format to display the currency values in.

  4. You can add additional decimal places to the displayed numbers, or decrease the number of decimal places shown. Do one of the following:

  1. From the Negative drop-down list, select the format to use to display the percentages.

  2. You can add additional decimal places to the displayed numbers, or decrease the number of decimal places shown. Do one of the following:

    1. Click OK to apply your changes.

To add subtotals to a Grid visualization:

  1. In a Grid visualization, hover the cursor over the attribute or metric to display subtotals for, then click the arrow icon. Point to Show Totals.

  2. Select the check box next to each subtotal to display, then click OK.

  3. By default, subtotals are shown at the bottom of the grid. To display them at the top of the grid, right-click the subtotal in the grid and select Move to Top. To display them at the bottom of the grid again, right-click the subtotal in the grid and select Move to Bottom.

  4. You can quickly display or hide all subtotals in the grid by clicking the Show Totals icon in the visualization's Editor panel.

  1 In a Grid visualization, hover the cursor over the attribute or metric to display subtotals for, then click the arrow icon. Point to Show Totals.
  2 Select the check box next to each subtotal to display, then click OK.
  3 By default, subtotals are shown at the bottom of the grid. To display them at the top of the grid, right-click the subtotal in the grid and select Move to Top. To display them at the bottom of the grid again, right-click the subtotal in the grid and select Move to Bottom.
  4 You can quickly display or hide all subtotals in the grid by clicking the Show Totals icon in the visualization's Editor panel.

 

 

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