The Microcharts widget consists of one or more microcharts, which are compact representations of data that allow analysts to quickly visualize trends in data.
Microcharts convey information in such a way that the user can, at a glance, determine the trend of a metric over time or how a metric is performing compared to forecasted figures. The Microcharts widget is useful for this purpose because individual microcharts can display attribute and metric data in a small graph that would otherwise be displayed as a single value in a grid report cell.
The Microcharts widget can be used when an analyst needs to quickly visualize the trend of a metric at a glance without having to know many additional details. The bar, sparkline, and bullet microcharts used in the Microcharts widget convey information that an analyst can understand just by looking at the graph once.
To create a Microcharts widget
Add the widget to a document in MicroStrategy Web
Open the document in Design or Editable Mode.
From the Insert menu, point to Widgets, and then select Microcharts.
Click the location on your document in which to place the widget. You cannot place the widget in the Detail section of a document.
The widget template, which looks like a standard grid container, is displayed. A small icon is displayed at the bottom right of the widget template, identifying the type of widget you added to the document.
If desired, resize the widget by clicking and dragging its handles.
Add objects to the widget template
From the Dataset Objects panel on the left, select attributes, and drag them on top of the widget. The steps below ensure that all three microcharts (bar, sparkline, and bullet) are displayed in the widget.
If KPI List mode will not be used, place at least two attributes on the widget template’s rows.
The last (right-most) attribute on the rows determines the X-axis values in the bar microcharts and in the sparkline microcharts in the widget.
The remainder of the attributes on the rows (the first, second, third, fourth, and so on), determine the total number of rows displayed in the widget. The elements from those attributes become individual rows in the widget.
If KPI List mode will be used:
Only one attribute can be included on the rows if the widget will be used with KPI List mode enabled in Grid mode or Vertical Scroll mode.
Use a time-based attribute such as Month since the attribute controls the time series of the bar charts and of the sparklines in the widget. If only one attribute is included on the rows, KPI List mode is enabled automatically and the widget cannot be used except in KPI List mode.
Place at least seven metrics on the widget template’s columns.
The first (left-most) metric on the columns determines the height of the bars in the bar microcharts and the peak points in the sparkline microcharts.
The second metric creates the horizontal reference lines that are displayed in the sparkline microcharts.
The third metric determines the length of the performance measure bar in the bullet microcharts. The bar represents the actual metric value.
The fourth metric determines the maximum possible values in the bullet microcharts.
The fifth metric determines the right-most boundary of the first color band, Band 1, in the bullet microcharts.
The sixth metric determines the right-most boundary of the second color band, Band 2, in the bullet microcharts.
The seventh metric determines the value of the vertical reference line in the bullet microcharts, which is typically the target value for the metric.
Any additional metrics are displayed in the columns of the widget, after the microcharts and their associated metrics.
View the widget in Flash Mode
To view and interact with the widget, open the View menu and select Flash Mode.
Note: If Flash Mode is not available in the View menu, you must make Flash Mode available for this document.
Modify the widget
In Flash Mode, right-click the widget and select Properties. The Microchart Widget dialog box opens.
Choose Options from the drop-down list. These are the options:
Sparkline
Show sparkline graph: Select whether or not to include the sparkline graph in the widget.
All points: Select whether or not to include all sparkline points in the graph. For example, each point can indicate revenue for every month of a particular year.
End points: Select whether or not to include end sparkline points in the graph. For example, the first end point may represent January 2007, while the final end point may represent December 2007.
Reference line: Select whether or not to include a reference line. For example, the reference line could represent the median revenue for the entire year.
Reference area: Select whether or not to include the reference area. This setting provides a gray background for the sparkline graph.
Associated metric: Select whether or not to display the metric associated to the graph.
Display metrics for hidden graph: Select whether or not to display metrics associated to the graph regardless if the graph is showing or not.
Inherit grid formatting: Select whether or not to format the graph in the same way as the grid.
Bar
Show bar graph: Select whether or not to display the bar graph in the widget.
Min/max legend:
Reference line: Select whether or not to include a reference line. For example, the reference line could represent the median revenue for the entire year.
Display metrics for hidden graph: Select whether or not to display metrics associated to the graph regardless if the graph is showing or not.
Inherit grid formatting: Select whether or not to format the graph in the same way as the grid.
Bullet
Show bullet graph: Select whether or not to display the bullet graph in the widget.
Reference line: Select whether or not to include a reference line. For example, the reference line could represent the YTD revenue.
Reference bands: Select whether or not to display reference bands. This setting provides a gray back drop for the bullet graph.
Band legend: Select whether or not to include the band legend in the bullet graph. This setting displays the band levels and band level colors.
Associated metric: Select whether or not to display the metric associated to the graph.
Invert graph axis: Check the box to change the graph's axis position from left aligned to right aligned.
Minimum Value: Enter a minimum scale setting value in the text box to display in the graph.
Display metrics for hidden graph: Select whether or not to display metrics associated to the graph regardless if the graph is showing or not.
Inherit grid formatting: Select whether or not to format the graph in the same way as the grid.
Choose Colors from the drop-down list. These are the options:
Sparkline
Series line: Select a color from the palette to represent the Series line in the Sparkline graph.
Reference line: Select a color from the palette to represent the Reference line in the Sparkline graph.
Reference area: Select a color from the palette to represent the Reference area in the Sparkline graph.
Bar
Positive values: Select a color from the palette to represent Positive values in the Bar graph.
Negative values: Select a color from the palette to represent Negative values in the Bar graph.
Reference line: Select a color from the palette to represent the Reference line in the Bar graph.
Bullet
Positive values: Select a color from the palette to represent Positive values in the Bullet chart.
Negative values: Select a color from the palette to represent Negative values in the Bullet chart.
Reference line: Select a color from the palette to represent the Reference line in the Bullet chart.
Band 1: Select a color from the palette to represent the first band.
Band 2: Select a color from the palette to represent the second band.
Band 3: Select a color from the palette to represent the third band.
Choose Labels from the drop-down list. These are the options:
Sparkline
Header: Enter a value in the Header text box to display above the Sparkline graph.
Associated metric: Enter a value in the Associated metric text box to display in the Sparkline graph section.
Bar
Header: Enter a value in the Header text box to display above the Bar graph.
Bullet
Header text: Enter a value in the Header text text box to display above the Bullet graph.
Associated metric: Enter a value in the Associated metric text box to display in the Bullet graph section.
Band 1: Enter a value in the Band 1 text box. For example, "Low".
Band 2: Enter a value in the Band 2 text box. For example, "Medium".
Band 3: Enter a value in the Band 3 text box. For example, "High".
Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.
To use the widget as a selector
A Microcharts widget template often consists of several attributes in the row headers and the elements of those attributes in the rows. You can enable these attributes and elements as selectors. This allows an analyst to select an attribute or an element and view specific data related to it in other Grid/Graphs in the document.
When an analyst hovers the cursor over an attribute element that is enabled as a selector, it becomes a hand pointer to indicate that a link exists. When the link is clicked, all target Grid/Graphs on the dashboard are updated with a set of data related to the attribute element that was clicked. For example, if you click Southeast, all data related to the Southeast region is displayed in the target Grid/Graphs on the dashboard.
Only Grid/Graphs that are assigned as targets of the widget are updated when you choose an option from a selector.
Each attribute element in the widget template, including the attribute names in the row headers, can act as a selector. When you click an attribute name displayed in a row header, all elements of that attribute are selected. This overrides the selection of any of the individual attribute elements. The background color of the attribute in the row header appears in gray to indicate that the attribute is selected.
Note the following:
Metric columns cannot be used as selectors.
When two or more attributes are set as selectors, the selections occur independently of each other.
You can also use the sparklines and bar charts in the widget as selectors by enabling a time-based attribute (such as Month) on the widget template as a selector. When you hover the cursor over a sparkline or bar chart, and then click a specific data point, all data related to that data point is displayed in all target Grid/Graphs and panel stacks in the document.
In Design or Editable Mode, do one of the following:
Right-click the attribute, custom group, or consolidation in the Grid/Graph to use as the selector, and choose Edit Selector. The Configure Selector dialog box opens.
Right-click the Metrics column in the Grid/Graph, and choose Edit Selector. The Configure Selector dialog box opens.
Select the target Grid/Graph or panel stack in the list of available targets on the left. Click > to add it to the list of selected targets on the right. You can select multiple targets.
The attribute, custom group, or consolidation you selected in the Grid/Graph is the source, and the selected Grid/Graph is the target. The Action Type of the selector is set the Select Element.
To ensure that the user can select more than one element in the widget, select the Show option for All check box.
To ensure that the element displayed in the selector changes if an element is chosen in another selector, select Allow selection to be updated by other selectors.
Click OK to apply the changes and return to the document.
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