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Showing Results in Charts

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 Siebel CRM On Demand Answers Chart Graphs
  • Description of Siebel CRM On Demand Answers Chart View Buttons
  • General Steps to Add or Modify Chart Views

NOTE: Siebel CRM On Demand Answers 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 Siebel CRM On Demand Answers Chart Graphs

The following table 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.

Chart Graph Type

Description

Area

An area graph is similar to a line graph, but with the areas under the lines filled in. Area graphs show the percentage of the whole that each variable comprises.

Area graphs are useful for observing changes in cumulative value or percentage over time; for example, by comparing groups on certain measurements such as outcome, and displaying group trends.

Horizontal Bar

A horizontal bar graph can be used to compare facts by showing bars in a horizontal direction.

Horizontal bar graphs are useful for comparing differences among like items; for example, competing product sales, same product sales over different time periods, or same product sales over different markets.

Bubble

A bubble graph is a variation of a scatter graph that displays data elements as circles (bubbles). It shows three variables in two dimensions. One value is represented by the location of the circle on the x-axis. Another value is represented by the location of the circle on the y-axis. The third value is represented by the relative size of its circle.

Bubble graphs are useful for plotting data with three variables, and for displaying financial data over a period of time.

TIP:  To create a bubble graph, plot one fact on the x-axis, another fact on the y-axis, and a third fact on the bubble radius axis. These three facts are plotted for selections on the Level axis.

Vertical Bar

A vertical bar graph compares facts using vertical columns.

Vertical bar graphs are useful for comparing differences among like items.

Line

A line graph can be used to plot multiple facts.

Line graphs are useful for showing patterns and trends in data.

Line Bar Combo

A line bar combination graph plots two sets of data with different ranges, one set as bars, and one set as lines overlaid on the bars.

Line bar combination charts are useful for showing trend relationships between data sets.

TIP:  You can specify any mix of bars and columns, but there must be one of each. Specifying all columns as lines works, but if you want only bars, use a bar chart. (When only bars are selected for this chart type, some column selections may be drawn as lines.)

Pareto

A pareto graph is a form of bar chart and line chart that displays criteria in descending order. In this graph type, the line shows a cumulative total of the percentages.

Pareto graphs are useful for identifying significant elements, such as best and worst or most and least.

Pie

A pie graph shows data sets as percentages of a whole.

Pie graphs are useful for comparing parts of a whole, such as sales by region or by district.

Radar

A radar graph plots the same information as a bar graph, but instead displays data radiating from the center of the graph. Each data element has its own value axis.

Radar graphs are useful for examining overlap and distribution.

Scatter

A scatter graph displays x-y values as discrete points, scattered within an x-y grid. It plots data points based on two independent variables. This allows you to plot large numbers of data points and observe the clustering of data points.

Scatter graphs are useful for observing relationships and trends in large data sets.

TIP:  To create a scatter graph, plot one fact on the x-axis and plot another fact on the y-axis. These facts are plotted for selections on the Level axis.

Step

A step graph is similar to a line graph. It can also be used to plot multiple facts.

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
  • Step charts: 3D and 2D

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 Siebel CRM On Demand Answers Chart View Buttons

The buttons at the top of the Chart view page provide access to various chart settings. The following table describes the Chart view buttons and settings.

Chart View Button

Description

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

Sets general properties for the chart, such as its title, whether data labels appear, and the chart size.

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

Controls the display of axis title and data labels at the bottom of the chart and to the left of the chart.

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

Sets the axis scaling properties, the number of tick marks, and the scale type.

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

Controls additional charting options such as:

  • the display of grid lines on the chart
  • the location of the legend, and provides options for resizing the legend
  • background, text, and border colors
  • how users interact with the chart when they click it, such as drilling down to lower-level data, or navigating automatically to a related saved report or a Web site

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

Allows users to format the visual appearance of chart series such as color, line width, and line symbols.

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

For pie charts, allows users to make selections for data labels.

Description of Basic Chart Components

You can define basic components for a chart. The following table describes the components you can customize.

NOTE: Some components are only available for specific chart types. For example, a pie chart does not have axes. The type of chart you select determines which components are applicable.

Chart Component

Description

Measure labels

Controls the position and formatting of the column heading for the data in the Measures section. It also provides totaling and ordering capabilities. If there is only one measure, you can exclude this element.

Legend

Use the legend to explain the chart. You can specify a location for the legend, and if it can be truncated.

Axes

The horizontal and vertical lines that identify the scale of the chart. You can specify horizontal and vertical axes for the chart.

Grid Lines

A matrix of horizontal and vertical lines that help you to visually relate any point on a chart to the axes. You can specify the colors for grid lines.

Scale Markers

Identify the scale of the chart. You can specify properties such as location, size, color, line width and range.

Drill

Display more detail. You can specify if and how a user can drill down to access further details about the information presented in the chart.

Title

Specify a title to describe the chart.

Axis title, labels and limit

Specify if and how you want titles and scale labels to appear on the axes of your chart.

Chart series

Format elements of the visual appearance of chart series, such as color, line width, and line symbols. You can also apply rule-based formatting, such as applying a certain color when a position of the series is equal to a specified value.

Tick Marks

Subdivide the scale markers on an axis, to enhance detail.

Data Labels

Show the numeric value of data as you roll the mouse over the chart.

General Steps to Add or Modify Chart Views

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 a Chart view

  1. In Siebel CRM On Demand Answers, create or modify the report with which you want to work, and then perform one of the following actions:
    • To add a new Chart view, navigate to the Create Layout page, click the Add Views button, and select Chart from the views drop-down list.
    • To edit an existing Chart view, navigate to the Create Layout page, find the chart, and click the Edit View button.

      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 Action bar, or add it from the Define Criteria page.

    NOTE: This will add the column to the report overall; you will see it in Define Criteria and also in Table views.

  4. To delete a column from the chart, navigate to the Define Criteria page and click the Remove Column 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 Restore Default button.
  8. To resize the chart, use the vertical and horizontal slide bars.
  9. Save the report.

Specifying General Chart Properties in Chart Views

You can set general properties for the chart, such as a title and the appearance of data labels.

Data labels are enabled by default for selected 2D chart types.

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 report 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.

You can specify a fixed size for the chart in General Chart Properties. This will override the default behavior.

To set general properties for a chart view

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

    OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

    The General Chart Properties dialog box appears.

  2. Make your selections and click OK.

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

Controlling the Display of Grid Lines in Chart Views

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

To control the display of grid lines on a chart view

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

    OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

    The Additional Charting Options dialog box appears.

  2. Click the Grid Lines tab, make your selections, and click OK.

    The chart view refreshes.

Specifying the Location of the Legend in 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 a chart view

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

    OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

    The Additional Charting Options dialog box appears.

  2. Click the Legends tab, 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 Chart View

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

To specify background, text, and border colors on a chart view

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

    OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

    The Additional Charting Options dialog box appears.

  2. Click the Borders & Colors tab, make your selections, and click OK.

    The chart view refreshes.

Selecting the Columns to Display as Axes in Chart View

The column area on the left side of the chart view shows the columns that are included in the report. 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 the following table.

Chart Axis Button

Axis

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

Level axis (for scatter and bubble graphs)

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

Horizontal axis

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

Vertical axis (for a radar graph, this is the fact axis)

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

Legend

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

Overlay axis (for a line bar combo graph)

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

Radius axis (for a bubble graph)

OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

Pie Values axis (for a radar graph, this is the radar axis)

To select the columns to display as the axes on a 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 area, and then set it as an axis.

    This is equivalent to adding the column to the report at the Define Criteria page.

  3. Click Redraw to refresh the chart view.

Setting Axis Scaling Options in Chart View

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

To specify axis scaling options for a chart view

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

    OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

    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 selects the scale and sets the axis to zero (0) for positive numbers.
    • When you select Zoom to Data Range, the system selects the scale. It evaluates the range of values on the axis, and selects 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 Chart View

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

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

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

To edit scale markers for a chart view

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

    OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

    The Axis Scaling dialog box appears.

  2. Click the following button:

    Edit Scale Markers

    The Scale Markers 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 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. This value is the thickness of the line, in pixels.
  3. Enter the position for the line in the fourth column. The position indicates where on the axis the line will be located. For example, if your left axis has values from 0 to 100 and you specify a position of 40, you see a horizontal line intersecting the 40 position on the vertical axis.
  4. Enter the color for the line.
  5. Enter a caption for the line.

    The caption appears when a user pauses the mouse over the line in the chart, and in the legend.

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.

    NOTE: You must specify values that appear on the same axis as the range. For example, if your left axis has values from 0 to 100 and you specify 20 for low and 40 for high, the graph background will appear in the color you specify for the range between those values.

  4. Enter the color for the range.
  5. Enter a caption for the range. The caption appears in the legend.

Using Advanced Settings for Range and Line Values

Options for these values include a static value, a value sourced from a column included in the report, or one derived from an SQL query.

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.

Specifying Axis Titles and Labels in Chart View

You can specify:

  • if the axis titles and data labels display at the bottom and to the left of the chart
  • if the labels are rotated (to fit better)
  • the maximum label length
  • the text for the label (if different from the default).

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

To specify an axis title on a chart view

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

    OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

    The Axis Titles and Labels dialog box appears.

  2. Make your selections, and click OK.

    The chart view refreshes.

    NOTE: When you set the Limit label length, specify the total number of characters that a label can contain. An ellipsis (…) will appear where any additional characters have been truncated.

Specifying What Happens When a User Clicks a Chart

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 if a drill path is automatically configured. If no drill path is initially available, use Navigate to configure a custom drill path.
  • Navigate. Allows the user to navigate to another saved report or dashboard.
  • None. Disables drilling down or navigation from the chart.

To specify the user interaction with a chart view

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

    OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

    The Additional Charting Options dialog box appears.

  2. Click the Interaction tab, and make your selection for the interaction.
  3. Click OK.

Formatting the Visual Appearance of Chart Series

Chart series formatting allows users to customize individual series components, based on their position. Users can format the visual appearance of chart series such as color, line width, and line symbols.

For example, on a line bar combination chart with two data series, assume that the bar is position 1 and the line is position 2. Users can change the color of the bar, the width of the line, and the symbol representing the data points. Users can also apply rule-based formatting, such as applying a certain color when a position of the series is equal to a specified value.

To format the appearance of chart series

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

    OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

    The Series Format Control dialog box appears. The available choices depend upon the chart type. For example:

    • To customize a series, deselect the Use Default check box.
    • To restore a 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 series to their default values, click the Clear All button.
    • To change colors, click the color box to access the Color Selector dialog box.
    • To change other series attributes, click the desired tab, and select bar or line attributes.
  2. Click OK.

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:

    OnDemand Embedded Icon Template

  2. Make your selections for the value and what the data label should show.
  3. Click OK.

Published May 2008