Skip to content
Book a demo Try the demo MacWindows

Chart widget

Draw a bar, line, area or pie chart, or one big KPI number, from the rows of a Table. The chart redraws by itself as the table changes.

All plansUpdated

The Chart widget turns the rows of a Table into a picture. You choose the table, the kind of chart and what to add up, and the chart works out every number from the table's rows. When the table changes, the chart redraws, so it is always up to date.

Use a Chart when you want to see a pattern at a glance: totals by stage, tasks by status, or a single headline figure. Put several on one desk and you have a dashboard. See Build a dashboard on a desk from a table.

More about this widget Coming soon

Before you start

  • The Chart widget is on every plan.
  • You need a desk open.
  • You need a Table with your data in it. A Chart reads Table widgets, not spreadsheets. A spreadsheet has charts of its own. See Charts and sparklines in a sheet Coming soon.
  • To add up amounts, keep them in a Number column. See Table columns and field types.

Add a Chart

  1. Open the desk you want the chart on.
  2. Click Add widget in the centre of the header.
  3. Click Chart.

The Add widget menu groups widgets into columns by what they are for. Chart is in the Numbers & data column, with Metrics, Stat card, Table, Spreadsheet and Calc. You can also type chart in the search box at the top of the menu and press Enter to add it.

You can also press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows, type chart and choose Add Chart.

A new chart opens at 520 × 380 with its Data panel already open, and the message Pick a table and a value to chart in the Data panel.

Connect it to a table

The Data panel is where you tell the chart what to draw.

  1. If the panel is closed, click Data at the top right of the chart.
  2. Under Table, open Choose a table… and pick your table. The list shows every table in the workspace you are in, with the most recently changed first.
  3. Under Type, click a chart shape: Bar, Line, Area, Pie or KPI. Rest the pointer on a button to see its name.
  4. Under Group by, choose the column whose values become the bars, points or slices. Choose All rows (one group) for a single total across the whole table.
  5. Under Values, click Add value.
  6. In the new row, choose what to work out (Sum, Average, Count, Min or Max), then choose the column after of.
  7. For a Bar, Line or Area chart, click Add value again to draw more values side by side. Each one gets its own colour and its own entry in the legend, such as "Amount (Sum)".
  8. Click Data again to close the panel.

To take a value off the chart, click the × at the end of its row (tooltip Remove value).

Name the chart

Click the Untitled chart box at the top of the chart and type a name. The title bar shows the same name, unless you give the widget a different one with Rename. Until you name it, the title bar shows the table's name followed by "chart".

Choose what to work out

  • Count counts the rows in each group. It works with any column.
  • Sum, Average, Min and Max work with numbers: a Number column, or text cells that hold a number. Cells without a number are skipped.
  • On a Checkbox column, a ticked box counts as 1 and an unticked box as 0, so Sum gives you the number of ticked rows.

The five chart types

  • Bar draws a bar for each group, one for each value you added.
  • Line joins the groups with a line, one line for each value. It suits groups that follow an order.
  • Area is a Line chart with the space underneath filled in.
  • Pie draws a slice for each group, sized by the first value in the list.
  • KPI shows one large number for the whole table, with what it is underneath, such as "Amount (Sum)". It has no Group by, and its panel shows Metric with a single value. Numbers of 1,000 and over are shown with separators.

Rest the pointer on a bar, point or slice to see its exact value.

What the groups are

Each different value in the Group by column becomes one group. Rows with nothing in that column are grouped together as (empty). For a Single select or Multi-select column, the groups use the option names.

Groups appear in the order they first appear in the table. To change the order, drag the table's rows into a new order. See Move around a table and copy cells.

What you will see while it is being set up

The chart tells you what it still needs:

  • Pick a table and a value to chart in the Data panel. No table has been chosen yet.
  • Add at least one value series in the Data panel. A table is chosen, but there is nothing to work out yet. Click Add value.
  • This table has no rows yet. The chart fills in as data arrives. The table is empty. Add rows to it and the chart appears.

It stays up to date

The chart reads the table's rows as they are now. When you type in the table, paste or import rows, or add rows with AI, the chart redraws straight away. Several charts can read the same table, each showing it a different way.

The chart always uses every row in the table. A filter in the Table widget changes what the table shows, not what the chart counts. To count only some rows, use a Metrics widget or a Stat card, which have their own Only rows where setting.

The title bar

The title bar's buttons appear when you rest the pointer on the chart. With a chart you will mostly use:

  • Rename (the pencil), or double-click the name.
  • Pin, to keep the chart in a corner of the window while you move around the desk.
  • − and +, to make the chart smaller or larger.
  • Expand, for Larger on desk or Focus mode.
  • ×, to remove the chart from the desk. The table it reads is not affected.

Right-click the title bar for the menu every widget shares. See The controls on every widget and Right-click menus.

Sharing

When you publish a live view of a desk, charts are included. Visitors can see them but cannot change them. See Publish a live view of a desk.

Good uses

  • Pipeline by stage. A table of deals with a Stage column and an Amount column: Bar, Group by Stage, Sum of Amount.
  • Work by status. A table of tasks with a Status column: Pie, Group by Status, Count.
  • The headline figure. KPI with Sum of Amount, as a big number at the top of a dashboard.
  • Progress. Sum of a Done checkbox column, grouped by owner, shows how many items each person has finished.
  • Compare two measures. A Bar chart with two values, such as Sum of Budget and Sum of Spent, grouped by project.

Common questions

My table is not in the list. The list shows tables, the data behind Table widgets, in the workspace you are in. Spreadsheets are not listed. If you have just made the table, close the Data panel and open it again to refresh the list.

Two tables in the list have the same name. Give your tables names you can tell apart. Double-click a Table widget's name in its title bar and type a new one. The table takes the same name.

All my bars are zero. Sum, Average, Min and Max need numbers. Check that the column holds numbers, or use Count instead.

There is one bar called All. Group by is set to All rows (one group). Choose a column to split the rows into groups.

I added a second value but the pie did not change. A Pie chart uses only the first value. Use a Bar chart to compare several values.

Can I change the colours? The chart picks the colours for you, in order, so each value or slice has its own.

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].