Bubble Chart
Bubble charts are a kind of scatter plot that allow you to visualize data with three dimensions: a vertical axis, a horizontal axis, and the size of the bubbles in the chart. In Planview Advisor, bubble charts are customized using the dropdown menus and control options at the top of the chart. We also have a video tutorial on bubble charts here.
Hovering over a bubble will display that bubble's values which determined its size and position in the chart. Clicking on a bubble will drill down into its details.
Chart controls
The projects displayed in the chart are controlled by the project list under the chart. Only projects that are currently visible in the project list will be visible in the chart. The columns visible in the chart also determine what options are available in the dropdown controls above the chart. Essentially, the project list is a bin of pieces and the dropdown controls allow you place the pieces together into the chart.
You use the dropdowns at the top of the chart to select what data appears in the chart. The dropdown options are described in the table below.
| Chart Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Left | Selects a field for the vertical axis. Projects will be placed vertically on the chart based on their values in this field. |
| Bottom | Selects a field for the horizontal axis. Projects will be placed horizontally on the chart based on their values in this field. |
| Size by | Selects a field for the size of the bubbles. Projects will be sized based on their values in this field. |
| Labels | Selects a field for bubble labels. Each project will be labeled with their value in that field if annotations are on. |
| Group | Groups totals together by a category, creating fewer, larger bubbles. You can ungroup totals by selecting Project in this dropdown. |
| Color | Selects a field to color the bubbles. |
| Shape | Selects a field which controls the shape of the bubbles. |
| Annotate |
You have the following additional display options in this chart:
|
Chart options
You can use the Chart Options Panel to add additional elements that can highlight or otherwise enhance parts of the chart.
To access the Chart Options Panel:
- Open the bubble chart in your portfolio.
- Click the three parallel lines icon in the upper-right corner of the chart area.
This opens the Chart Options Panel. The chart options are described in the table below.
| Category | Chart Option | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Legend Controls | Legend font size | The slider adjusts the legend's font size. Move the slider to right to increase size for better readability or to the left to decrease size and fit more items in the legend. |
| Legend on bottom | Check the box to render the legend at the bottom of the chart instead of the right. | |
| Legend title | Enter a title here to override the default legend title. You can also type a space to have no title. | |
| Size legend title | Enter a title here to override the default size legend title. You can also type a space to have no title. | |
| Sizing Controls | Annotation font size | The slider adjusts the font size of the optional labels that appear next to each bubble or symbol. Moving the slider left reduces the font size and moving it right increases the font size. |
| Bubble/symbol size | The slider adjusts the size of the bubbles or symbols. Moving the slider left reduces the size and moving it right increases the size. | |
| Axis Controls | Axis label font size | The slider adjusts the axis label's font size. Moving the slider left reduces the font size and moving it right increases the font size. This does not affect the axis tick labels. |
| Axis padding | The slider adjusts the amount of padding between the axis labels and the plot area. Moving the slider left reduces padding and moving it right increases padding. | |
| Axis labels outside | Check the box to display the axis labels outside of the chart area instead of the corners of each axis. |