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Changing Visualizations

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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.

2023-08-08_12-05-08.png

Customizing Visualizations

Change the chart type

To change the chart type click the graph icon on the right side of your visualization.

2023-08-08_12-09-36.png

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.

2023-08-08_12-14-52.png

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!

2023-08-08_12-23-09 (1).gif

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.

2023-08-09_10-05-40.png

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.

2023-08-09_10-10-38.png

Notice how the Y-axis title has a little arrow on it.

2023-08-09_10-20-43.png

Clicking on the arrow takes you to an area where you can do the following:

Action

Example

Change column color

2023-08-09_10-30-39.png

Change display of data labels

2023-08-09_10-38-46.png

Choose a data label category

2023-08-09_10-39-36.png

Choose a data label unit

2023-08-09_10-40-29.png

Select how negative values are displayed with data labels

2023-08-09_10-41-35.png

Add rules for conditional formatting

2023-08-09_10-29-26.png

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.

2023-08-09_11-44-09 (1).gif

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!

2023-08-09_12-24-41.png

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.

2023-08-09_12-45-12 (1).gif

Once you're done configuring, you can click the ellipses icon to save it as an answer, if needed.

2023-08-09_14-15-52.png

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.

2023-08-09_14-22-57.png

First, make sure you select the Column chart type.

2023-08-09_14-28-34.png

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.

2023-08-09_14-31-59.png

From the menu that pops up after clicking the arrow, hover over Group, and then select Average Time Entry Billed Amount.

2023-08-09_14-33-36.png

The chart then groups both of those Y-axes together to create a clearer look to your chart.

2023-08-09_14-37-01.png

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.

2023-08-09_14-38-52.png

Go ahead and rename the title Average Time Entry Billable & Billed Amounts.

2023-08-09_14-43-21.png

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.

2023-08-09_14-47-19.png

Click the boxes to display All labels and Y-axis gridlines.

2023-08-09_14-48-22.png

Go back to the Configure tab, click on the Y-axis pencil icon, and select Currency from the Category dropdown.

2023-08-09_14-53-42.png

It's worth remembering that this only changes the way that the Y-axis values look, not how the column labels look.

2023-08-09_14-55-41.png

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!

2023-08-09_15-01-24.png

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.

2023-08-09_15-06-30.png

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.

2023-08-09_15-10-21.png

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.

2023-08-09_15-12-53.png

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.

2023-08-09_15-14-17.png

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.

2023-08-09_15-18-59.png

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

2023-08-09_16-00-40 (1).gif

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

2023-08-09_16-19-00 (1).gif

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! ✨

2023-08-09_16-31-17.png


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.

2023-08-09_16-40-35.png

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.

2023-08-09_16-42-17.png

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.

2023-08-09_16-47-50.png

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.

2023-08-09_16-55-08 (1).gif

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).

2023-08-09_17-03-28.png

Add filters to a pivot table by selecting the three stacked dots in a column and clicking Filter.

2023-08-09_17-05-56.png

Include or Exclude anything you'd like for the pivot table and click Apply.

2023-08-09_17-07-50.png

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:

  1. Go to the gear icon

  2. Choose the Settings tab

  3. Checkmark the Heatmap mode box

2023-08-09_17-12-07.png

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:

2023-08-09_17-18-18.png

After hitting Add, we now see our rule applied to the pivot table!

2023-08-09_17-21-04.png

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!

2023-08-09_17-25-22.png

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!

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