Axes provide quantitative and categorical scales used to label and assign values to elements in a chart. Most chart types include two axes: a horizontal axis (x-axis) and a vertical axis (y-axis). Charts let you customize the appearance of both axes. Here's how to access the horizontal axis settings.
Axis title
Sometimes a chart is easy to understand at a glance. However, there are cases when your audience may not know what the axes represent. In those situations, adding axis titles can help provide clarity.
- While viewing a chart, click Horizontal Axis in the chart panel.
- Select the checkbox next to Title to enable it.
At the bottom of the chart, click Axis Title and enter the desired title.
Note: You can format the axis title by selecting all or part of the text and choosing a formatting option from the popup menu.
Axis lines
In addition to adding an axis title, you can also customize the axis itself. Here's what you can do:
- To enable the axis line, select the checkbox next to Axis.
- To display vertical grid lines on the chart, select the checkbox next to Grid lines.
- To add tick marks to the axis, select the checkbox next to Tick marks.
Axis labels
Axis labels appear below the horizontal axis to help readers distinguish between the categories represented. In Charts, you can customize both the format and the angle of the labels to better suit your data.
Text and Date as data types
- In the Horizontal Axis section, select the checkbox next to Labels Visible to show or hide axis labels.
- From the Label Angle dropdown, choose the angle that works best for your chart, or select Automatic to let the app determine the optimal angle.
- From the Step dropdown, choose which labels to display: all, every other, every third, and so on.
| Note: In most cases, horizontal axis labels are text values. Even when representing years, they should be treated as text rather than numbers. You can learn more about changing the data type [here]. |
Number as data type
- In the Horizontal Axis section, select the checkbox next to Labels Visible to enable or disable labels.
- From the Format dropdown, choose the format that best fits your labels, such as text, percentage, number, currency, or date and time.
- From the Label Angle dropdown, choose the angle that works best for your chart, or select Automatic to let the app determine the optimal angle.
- Select the checkbox next to Allow decimals in labels to display decimal values.
- Select the checkbox next to Show last label to ensure the last value in your dataset is always visible on the horizontal axis.
Axis scale
You can customize the scale of the horizontal axis by choosing between a Linear or Logarithmic scale. A logarithmic scale is useful when some values in your dataset are much larger or smaller than the others, helping to visualize data more effectively.
- In the Horizontal Axis section, select the scale type that best fits your data from the Scale dropdown.
- For a linear scale, enter the desired interval in the Interval field. For a logarithmic scale, enter the power in the Power field.
- (Optional) Enter the Minimum and Maximum values for the axis scale in the appropriate fields.
| Note: You can further customize the axes when creating a [new theme]. |
