Create a chart

Insights in ArcGIS Online
Insights in ArcGIS Enterprise
Insights desktop

To create interactive charts, select one or more string, number, rate/ratio, or date/time fields from the data pane and drag them onto the page, or use the Chart button at the top of the data pane.

You can also switch to different supported visualization types from existing cards.

Tip:

Drag-N Drop You can copy a chart card onto another page by dragging it to the New page tab New page or an already created page. If you want to copy the chart onto the same page, use Ctrl+C to copy and Ctrl+V to paste.

Chart types

There are several types of charts that can be created using ArcGIS Insights. Insights uses smart defaults to create the best type of chart for the data you want to visualize, so you know you are always getting the best type of chart for the field that you select.

The table below indicates the inputs for each chart, related visualizations you can switch to using the Visualization type button Visualization type, and questions the chart can help you answer.

VisualizationMinimum data requirementsRelated visualization typesQuestions it can help you answer

Bar chart

One string field

  • Unique values map
  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • KPI
  • Column chart
  • Treemap
  • Bubble chart
  • Line graph
  • Donut chart
  • Point chart

How is it distributed (by category)?

Box plot

One number or rate/ratio field

  • Graduated symbol map
  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • KPI
  • Histogram

How is it distributed?

What are the high values?

What are the low values?

Bubble chart

One string field

  • Unique values map
  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • KPI
  • Bar chart
  • Column chart
  • Treemap
  • Line graph
  • Donut chart

How is it distributed (by category)?

Chord diagram

Two string fields

  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • Bar chart
  • Stacked bar chart
  • Column chart
  • Stacked column chart
  • Treemap
  • Heat chart
  • Data clock
  • Link chart
  • Line graph

How is it related?

Column chart

One string field

  • Unique values map
  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • KPI
  • Bar chart
  • Treemap
  • Bubble chart
  • Line graph
  • Donut chart
  • Point chart

How is it distributed (by category)?

Combo chart

One of the following:

  • One string field and two number or rate/ratio fields
  • Two datasets with the same string field
  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • Treemap
  • Scatter plot
  • Point chart

How is it distributed (by category)?

How is it related?

Data clock

Two string fields

  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • Bar chart
  • Stacked bar chart
  • Column chart
  • Stacked column chart
  • Treemap
  • Heat chart
  • Chord diagram
  • Link chart
  • Line graph

How has it changed?

How is it related?

Donut chart

One string field

  • Unique values map
  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • KPI
  • Bar chart
  • Column chart
  • Treemap
  • Bubble chart
  • Line graph

How is it distributed (by category)?

Heat chart

Two string fields

  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • Bar chart
  • Stacked bar chart
  • Column chart
  • Stacked column chart
  • Treemap
  • Chord diagram
  • Data clock
  • Link chart
  • Line graph

How is it related?

Histogram

One number field

  • Graduated symbol map
  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • KPI
  • Box plot

How is it distributed?

What are the high values?

What are the low values?

KPI

One number field

None

How is it related?

Line graph

One string field

  • Unique values map
  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • KPI
  • Bar chart
  • Column chart
  • Treemap
  • Bubble chart
  • Donut chart

How is it distributed (by category)?

Link chart

Two string fields

  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • Bar chart
  • Stacked bar chart
  • Column chart
  • Stacked column chart
  • Treemap
  • Heat chart
  • Chord diagram
  • Data clock
  • Line graph

How is it related?

Point chart

One string field and one number or rate/ratio field

  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • KPI
  • Bar chart
  • Column chart
  • Treemap
  • Bubble chart
  • Line graph
  • Box plot
  • Donut chart

How is it distributed (by category)?

Scatter plot

Two number or rate/ratio fields

  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • KPI

How is it related?

Scatter plot matrix

Three or more number or rate/ratio fields

  • Summary table
  • Reference table

How is it related?

Stacked bar chart

Two string fields

  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • Bar chart
  • Column chart
  • Stacked column chart
  • Treemap
  • Heat chart
  • Chord diagram
  • Data clock
  • Link chart
  • Line graph

How is it distributed (by category)?

Stacked column chart

Two string fields

  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • Bar chart
  • Stacked bar chart
  • Column chart
  • Treemap
  • Heat chart
  • Chord diagram
  • Data clock
  • Link chart
  • Line graph

How is it distributed (by category)?

Time series graph

One date/time field

  • Reference table

How has it changed?

Treemap

One string field

  • Unique values map
  • Summary table
  • Reference table
  • KPI
  • Bar chart
  • Stacked bar chart
  • Column chart
  • Stacked column chart
  • Heat chart
  • Chord diagram
  • Data clock
  • Link chart
  • Line graph
  • Point chart

How is it distributed (by category)?

Change variables

As the data story emerges from your visualizations, you can show different data and adjust properties such as grouping your data, as well as change chart styling. Editable fields on charts are shown in gray drop-down boxes. You can choose a different field to show on one axis or both axes. Click an editable field on your chart, and choose a different field from the list.

Visualizations that summarize data, such as bar charts, time series graphs, line graphs, and summary tables allow you to choose a different statistic type. For example, you can switch from displaying the sum of sales per region to the average sales per region by using the statistic type drop-down menu.

Modify an axis

By default, all numeric axes in Insights are on a linear scale. One or more axis can be changed to a logarithmic scale for scatter plots, time series graphs, and line charts. Logarithmic scales are nonlinear scales that can be used to display datasets with large ranges of data values. A logarithmic scale uses logarithmic orders of magnitude to display the data at a more manageable scale. By default, Insights will use a base 10 logarithmic scale. Changing the scale of the axis does not change the value of the data, just the way it is displayed.

The scale of an axis can be changed by clicking the axis and choosing Linear or Log.

The scale of an axis can be changed by clicking the axis and choosing a scale.
Left—Changing the scale of the y-axis to Log by clicking the axis and choosing the Log scale. Right—A scatter plot with the x-axis displaying data on a linear scale and the y-axis displaying data on a logarithmic scale.

Field names are used to label axes by default. To change the axis labels on a chart, use the following steps:

  1. Click the Card options button Card options.
  2. Click the Edit labels button Edit labels.
  3. Click a label to highlight the text.
  4. Type the new axis label.
  5. Press Enter or Return on your keyboard to make the changes go into effect.

Copy a chart

A chart card can be duplicated on a page by activating the card (a card is active when the Action button Action is visible) and using Ctrl+C to copy the card and Ctrl+V to paste it on the page.

A chart card can be copied to a different page by dragging the card to the New page tab New page or to an existing page. When a chart is copied to a new page, the dataset will also be copied, if necessary, along with all of the processes used to create the chart. The dataset will not be copied if it already exists on the new page unless one of the datasets contains a dataset filter, a calculated field, or a location field created by enabling location.

Resources

Use the following resources to learn more: