In this lesson:
Changing Visualizations
Whenever you create a search, the answers will display with the visualization that best suits the data you're looking for. However, you can always switch to a different chart type so that it makes sense to you. In this lesson, we'll discuss:
- Customizing visualizations
- Using pivot tables
For this lesson, I'll go ahead and use my Daily Hours by Service Item visualization. If you'd like to follow along, I entered these attributes and measures in the search bar under the Time data source.
- Time Entry Hours
- Time Entry Start Date
- last 30 days
- Time Entry Service Item Id
- Service Item Id
- Service Item Name
Your answer should look something like this after you press Go.
Customizing Visualizations
Change the chart type
To change the chart type click the graph icon on the right side of your visualization.
A deck slides out to show all possible Chart options. Feel free to switch to a different chart type that makes sense to you! However, if an option is grayed out, you cannot select it.
This is because you don't have the right combination of measures and attributes in your search. It's like the secret to the ever-so-tasty Chick-fil-A sauce, you'll have to experiment with ingredients to get the taste just right. Luckily, there is no guessing with Insights because you can hover over any chart type and you'll see exactly what measures or attributes you need for the search!
Control the Chart Display
You can make more advanced edits to your charts by navigating to the gear (edit chart configuration) icon on the right.
Options for configuration vary from chart to chart, so keep that in mind! In this example, the column chart configuration settings show me the following:
- X-axis
- Y-axis
- Slice with color
- Not visualized
You can edit the names of both axes from this section.
Notice how the Y-axis title has a little arrow on it.
Clicking on the arrow takes you to an area where you can do the following:
| Action | Example |
| Change column color | |
| Change display of data labels | |
| Choose a data label category | |
| Choose a data label unit | |
| Select how negative values are displayed with data labels | |
| Add rules for conditional formatting |
You can also see which columns are not displayed in the chart at this time. For this example, we can see that Time Entry Service Item Id, Service Item Id, and Service Item Name are not shown in the chart. You can easily show these columns by clicking and dragging the option to the X or Y axes. For now, I'll go ahead and drag Service Item Name to the X-axis section and select Apply.
Now I can see the Daily Time Entry Start Date and the Service Item Name listed for each data point in the chart!
At times, the data listed in a chart can get crowded. That is a perfect time to switch charts. To do this, go back to the graph icon on the right and click around to find the right chart for your situation!
Once you've changed the chart, go back to the gear icon to make sure it's configured correctly.
The slice with color feature is helpful especially when comparing data. Click and drag an attribute to the Slice with color section and then select Apply to view changes. Notice how a legend populates for the slices of color once you hit Apply. Click on a legend item to "hide" it from the chart until you click it again! You can also change the colors of the slices by selecting the dot next to the legend item and picking a color from there.
Once you're done configuring, you can click the ellipses icon to save it as an answer, if needed.
Let's see an example of an answer with two measures and one attribute. Set one up now like below using Average Time Entry Billable Amount, Average Time Entry Billed Amount, and Service Item Name, then press Go.
First, make sure you select the Column chart type.
Now we see that there are two Y-axes (Average Time Entry Billable Amount and Average Time Entry Billed Amount) on either side of the chart. To group these axes together, hover over one of the titles and click the small arrow.
From the menu that pops up after clicking the arrow, hover over Group, and then select Average Time Entry Billed Amount.
The chart then groups both of those Y-axes together to create a clearer look to your chart.
You probably noticed how insanely long that Y-axis title is now, so let's update it! Go back to that small arrow in the Y-axis title and click Rename.
Go ahead and rename the title Average Time Entry Billable & Billed Amounts.
Great! Now it's a little easier on the eyes.
Now, let's revisit the gear icon to configure the chart. In the Edit chart window, go to the Settings tab.
Click the boxes to display All labels and Y-axis gridlines.
Go back to the Configure tab, click on the Y-axis pencil icon, and select Currency from the Category dropdown.
It's worth remembering that this only changes the way that the Y-axis values look, not how the column labels look.
In cases where there are a lot of data points, use the scroll bar at the bottom of the chart to show the rest of your results!
While we're on the subject of scrolling and data points, it's also valuable to know that the default max amount of data points in a chart is 5,000. However, you do have the option to set it higher, up to 20,000.
Selecting the Fit to screen box gathers all the data points in that one window of the chart. You don't need to scroll to see more data points. This can help you to spot big-picture issues at your firm.
Conditional Formatting
Under the Configure tab, select a Y-axis column. For this example, we'll click on the Average Time Entry Billable Amount column. Under the Conditional formatting area, select + Add rule.
Next, we'll enter an Operator (Greater than), a Value (500), and a background color for the result and then click Add. This is probably the best way to see values of focus in one glance.
Add as many rules as you need to highlight what you are looking into!
You can delete this rule by clicking on the little trash can icon when you hover over the specific rule.
Select an Area
Under the Settings tab, you'll see an option to Select an area. This feature helps you see data in a more granular sense. To use this tool:
- Click Select an area
- Press and hold the mouse
- Highlight a section of the chart
- View granular data
You can also:
- Keep "zooming in" if needed
- Click Reset zoom when you're done
Time Buckets
At times, you'll want to see how productivity is over a period of time. Generally, when you create an answer, it will populate the data within one month, unless otherwise specified. To change this, just
- Click the small arrow on the X-axis title
- Hover over the Time Bucket option
- Select an option from the list that populates
Take it a step further by heading to the chart settings and checking the All labels, Data markers, and Regression line boxes. Ooooo, so pretty! ✨
Using pivot tables
Pivot tables are crucial when you need to organize and analyze tons of information about your firm. For this example, let's use this Billable & Billed Hours by Team Member answer seen below.
First things first, let's get this changed to a pivot table view STAT. You guessed it, go to that chart icon on the right and select the Pivot Table chart option.
Now that you've got a pivot table, you can click on a dropdown arrow in the table to see more information under each line item.
Simply drag and drop columns as needed so that your pivot tables make the most sense to your firm. Note that you can rearrange the columns on the left and the right side shows the new order.
You can add additional measures or attributes, just be sure to navigate to the Configure tab and move the newly added item out of Not visualized and into Measures, Rows, or Columns (this changes based on your needs).
Add filters to a pivot table by selecting the three stacked dots in a column and clicking Filter.
Include or Exclude anything you'd like for the pivot table and click Apply.
You're probably wondering why you're just seeing a table in a drab grayscale, unlike my fab-u-lous rainbow pivot table. That's because I've got Heatmap mode turned on! To do this:
- Go to the gear icon
- Choose the Settings tab
- Checkmark the Heatmap mode box
Maybe turning the Heatmap mode on didn't quite make the data clearer in your pivot table. That's okay! After turning off Heatmap mode, you'll also go and add a rule under Conditional formatting. The rule you'll add can be whatever fits your needs at the moment, but for demonstration purposes, I'll go ahead and add the following rule:
After hitting Add, we now see our rule applied to the pivot table!
You can also change the way that a Totals column is calculated in a pivot table. Head to the gear icon, select the Settings tab, click the No calculation dropdown, and choose what you would like to see from the menu!
And there you have it! All the tips and tricks to changing visualizations within Canopy Insights. Congrats. It was a long haul, but you made it out alive! Here's a GIF because you earned it, superstar!