Area Chart
Area charts are useful for visually representing volume, and can be expressed either as stacked areas (cumulative areas) or unstacked areas (overlapping areas). Stacked area charts such as the one depicted here are typically used to convey cumulative totals of the data, which can be number values or percentage values, for example. Area charts are typically used when conveying a summed relationship between datasets or multiple series, or if there is a cumulative relationship in the data that is part of a total value, for example.
How to Build: Area chart
Run your SQL query to return at least 2 columns of values. In this example, we have 7 columns of values, with 1 date column and 6 country columns for bookings. This table of values was actually generated using the Holistics 'Quick pivot' feature under the 'Data Settings' section of the Report Editor, for a fast and easy transformation of the data across a column dimension. We specify the data types of the columns within the 'Format Columns' section of the Report Editor. In this example, the 'Date' column uses the date data type, the 'Country' column uses the string data type for its values, and the 'Bookings' column uses the number data type. Selecting the 'Quick Pivot' transform feature then produced this data table.
Access the Visualization Editor at the bottom of the Report Editor screen, and select the 'Area' chart option button. Under 'General', specify which column will be on the x-axis, such as the 'Date' column. As this table of data was built using the 'Quick Pivot' feature, there is no need to specify the columns for the y-axis. Remember to specify if the area chart is stacked or unstacked, by selecting the 'Area chart stacking' checkbox under the 'Series' section of the Visualization Editor.
