How to Create an Area Chart

Click the “Add New Items” button on the home page, and select the “New Chart” option. You can also click the Mapline logo, and select “New Chart” to get there too. If you’re looking to create a chart from a dataset page, then you will want to select “Dependencies,” “Add to,” then “New Chart.”

Create a name for the chart. For Chart “Type” select the drop down arrow to select 100 Percent Area or Area. For both of these chart types, once creating a chart you can switch interchangeably between 100 Percent Area and Area Chart as many times as desired. The difference is a matter of personal preference.

Choose an existing dataset from the drop-down list that automatically populates or click “Add New Dataset” to upload new spreadsheet data you want the chart to be based on.

Once the page loads, the chart will be blank. Datasets can contain many different metrics for measurements. For Mapline to understand which data you are wanting to display on the chart, you will need to assign fields as “X-Axis Field” or “Y-Axis Field.” The “X-Axis Field” describes the information you want to display on the x-axis (bottom) of the graph.

For this chart type, there can only be one field categorized as the X-Axis. The X-Axis is a display of where differences occur. These differences might derive from sales reps, months, company products, etc. The “Y-Axis Field” describes the numerical data that you want to display on the y-axis (side) of the graph. For this chart type, there can be unlimited fields categorized as the Y-Axis. The Y-Axis field consists of the different categories for which you would like to see percentages out of a total. The Y-Axis may display the percentage of raw materials obtained from different countries, the categories a company budget was spent in, how many website visitors create an account, etc. Each unique part of the whole will need to be added separately. When you hover over a field you would like to appear on the chart, six blue dots will appear. Click and drag those dots to pull that spreadsheet data into the field of your choice.

On the left side of your screen you will see the different dataset fields that you have chosen. You can change these at any time. By right clicking on the fields you chose to display, options will appear for changing the way that your data is formatted. If your data is not displaying how you would like, try changing the calculation on your Y-Axis Fields.

Different forms of information can be formatted differently on charts. To change the way the date is formatted, right click on date information you may have to group the data differently.

After the data populates, you can view the data for analysis. Under the “Y-Axis Fields” you can rearrange the order of your chart section. To do this, hover over a Y-Axis field, then click and drag the six blue dots that appear to the left of a field.

To change the color of an area, click the legend’s colored squares then select “Color Picker.”

Once you have the map set up how you would like, hover over the small dots above the different X-Axis sections. These dots will describe the percentage of the individual section below the cursor.

If you would like to convert your chart from 100 Percent Area to Area (optional), click the “Options” menu (located at the top left section of your screen). Once the “Options” menu expands, select “Layout,” then click “Area.”

Once the 100 Percent Area Chart has been converted to an Area Chart, you can play around with Mapline’s different features and learn more about charts by accessing the Mapline Academy. Additionally, if you would like to hide a specific section, simply click its name on the right side to temporarily hide that specific section from view.