A Cylinder widget is a simple status indicator that displays a vertical cylinder with fluid in it. The level of the fluid within the cylinder is a visual representation of a single metric value. Like the Gauge and Thermometer widgets, this type of widget is designed to display the value of a single metric.
The Cylinder widget is most useful when combined with a selector because this allows users to choose specific metric values to display in the cylinder. In the image below, the liquid level in the cylinder represents the amount of revenue (the Revenue metric).
Insert a Cylinder widget into the document. For steps, see Inserting a widget into a document
Add objects to the widget template. To do this from the Dataset Objects panel on the left, select attributes and metrics and drag them on top of the widget, using the following requirements:
Place at least one attribute on the widget template's rows. Its elements are displayed in the selector.
Place one metric on the widget template's columns. This ensures that the liquid level in the cylinder represents the metric values.
Right-click the widget template, select View Mode, and then Graph. The widget template is displayed in a graph view.
Insert a selector next to the Cylinder widget. This selector allows users to choose different attribute elements. Assign the attribute as the selector's source. For steps to insert a selector and choose a source for it, see Inserting a selector into a document.
Set the Cylinder widget template as the target of the selector. For steps to select an object as target of a selector, see Choosing targets for a selector.
It is recommended you also drag the dataset report from the Dataset Objects panel and place it beneath the selector. This allows you to see the report's values as you select different attribute elements from the selector and see how they change the appearance of the Cylinder widget.
By default, the values on the side of the Cylinder widget range from 1 to 100. If there are metric values on your report that are larger than 100, right-click the widget and select Properties. In the Max value field, enter a number larger than the largest metric value on the report. For example, if the metric values on the report range from 60,000 to 1,000,000, enter a number like 1,100,000 to accommodate larger values in the data.
View and test your results by selecting Flash Mode from the Tools menu.
If Flash Mode is not available, you must make Flash Mode available in the document. For steps, see Defining which display modes are available to users.
In Flash Mode, right-click the widget and select Properties. The Cylinder dialog box opens. These are the options:
Cylinder type: There are two different cylinder types. They function in the same way, but they each have a different look and feel. Select the cylinder design that you prefer:
Metallic, a cylinder design with light-blue liquid and a silver canister.
Web 2.0, the original cylinder design pictured in the image at the top of this Help page.
Min Value: This is the value that will display at the bottom of the cylinder. Type a minimum value in percentage or currency, for example, to display in the widget.
Max Value: This is the value that will display at the top of the cylinder. Type a maximum value in percentage or currency, for example, to display in the widget.
Inherit graph-grid formatting: This option allows you to select whether the widget values -- the percentage or currency, for example -- display in the same format as they do in the grid or graph from which they were added to the widget.
Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.
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