Using Heat Maps

Use heat maps to show a measure for the intersection of two dimensions, with color-coding to easily differentiate where values fall in the range. Heat maps can also be used to show the count of values for the intersection of the two dimensions.

Heat map

Each rectangle on a heat map represents the value of the specified measure for the intersection of the selected dimensions. The color of the rectangle shows where the value falls within the range for the measure. Darker colors indicate higher values and lighter colors indicate lower values.

Heat maps and pivot tables display data in a similar tabular fashion. Use a heat map if you want to identify trends and outliers, because the use of color makes them easier to notice. Use a pivot table if you want to further analyze the data in the visual, for example by changing the column sort order or by applying aggregate functions.

To create a heat map, you must choose at least two fields of any data type. The rectangle values are populated with the count of the x-axis value for the intersecting y-axis value. Usually, you choose a measure and two dimensions. For example, you can create a heat map to compare the number of printed copies in each location, over a period of several months.

Heat maps show up to 50 data points for rows and up to 50 data points for columns.

To create a heat map:
  1. Click Dashboards tab, the Dashboards tab.
  2. Click Dashboard Designer, in the bottom-left corner.
  3. On the Analyses dialog, click New analysis or click Options button, the Options button, next to an existing analysis and select Edit.
  4. On the analysis page, click , the Add visual button, on the toolbar.
    Analysis page - Create a visual
  5. Click the Heat map icon.
    Heat map icon
  6. Add data to the visual by dragging fields from the Data panel to the appropriate field wells in the Visuals panel:
    1. Drag a dimension to the Rows field well.
    2. Drag a dimension to the Columns field well.
    3. Drag a measure to the Values field well.
    4. Add drill-down layers by dragging one or more additional fields to the Rows or Columns field well.
  7. Customize the appearance of the visual in the Properties panel on the right.
    1. Under Display Settings, format the title and subtitle.
      For more information, see Formatting Titles and Subtitles in Visuals.
    2. Under Rows and Columns, set formatting settings for the rows and columns.
      • To remove or display titles, click Hide axis title icon, the Hide axis title icon, or Show axis title icon, the Show axis title icon, next to Title.

        You can also enter a custom title in the text box. To include a parameter in the title, click Insert parameter icon, the Insert parameter icon.

      • To remove or display the quick sort icon, click Hide quick sort icon icon, the Hide quick sort icon icon, or Show quick sort icon icon, the Show quick sort icon icon, next to Sort.
      • Under Label size, set the size of the label.
      • Under Number of rows to show and Number of columns to show, enter the maximum number of rows and columns to include in the heat map.
    3. Under Color, configure color settings for the values displayed in the heat map.
      • Under Gradient color, select the colors that you want to use for the highest value and the lowest value.
      • To add a third color, enable the Enable 3 colors option. You can enter the value that defines the midpoint between the two main gradient colors in the Point of divergence field.
      • To limit the visual to the colors that you specified instead of using a gradient, enable the Enable steps option.
      • Under Color for Null Value, select the color that you want to use for null values.
    4. Under Legend, format the legend.
      For more information, see Formatting Legends in Visuals.
    5. Under Data labels, format the labels.
      For more information, see Formatting Data Labels in Visuals.
Parent topic: Creating Visuals