Using Radar Charts

In a radar chart, one or more groups of values are plotted over multiple common variables. Each variable has its own axis, and each axis is arranged radially around a central point. The data points from a single observation are plotted on each axis and connected to each other to form a polygon. Multiple observations can be plotted in a single radar chart to display multiple polygons, which makes it easier to spot outlying values for multiple observations quickly.

Radar chart

You can organize a radar chart along its category, value, or color axes by dragging fields to the Category, Value, and Color field wells. The way you distribute fields among the field wells determines the axis that the data is plotted on.

To create a radar chart:
  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 Radar chart icon.
    Radar chart icon
  6. Add data to the visual by dragging fields from the Data panel to the appropriate field wells in the Visuals panel.
    The way that you place fields in the different field wells determines the axis that a radar chart is organized around:
    • To create a radar chart that uses a value axis, drag one dimension to the Color field well and at least one measure to the Value field well.

      In this type of radar chart, the dimension values are shown as lines and the axes represent value fields.

    • To create a radar chart that uses a dimension axis, drag one dimension to the Category field well and at least one measure to the Value field well.

      In this type of radar chart, group dimension values are shown as axes and value fields are shown as lines. All axes share a range and scale.

    • To create a radar chart that uses a dimension-color axis, drag one dimension to the Category field well, one measure to the Value field well, and one dimension to the Color field well.

      In this type of radar chart, group dimension values are shown as axes and color dimension values are shown as lines. All axes share a range and scale.

    To add drill-down layers, drag at least one more field to the Category or Color field wells.
  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 Radar Chart, set the grid shape, the series style, and the start angle.
      • Under Grid shape, specify whether the grid is a polygon or a circle.
      • Under Series style, select Line to outline the polygons created by the data or Area to fill the polygons with color.
      • Under Start angle, enter a value from -360 through 360. The default value is 90 degrees.
    3. Under Axis, configure the axes, the grid lines, and the range and scale.
      • To remove or display axis lines, click Hide axis line icon, the Hide axis line icon, or Show axis line icon, the Show axis line icon, next to Axis line.
      • To show axis labels, enable the Show axis labels option and set the label size.
      • To show labels for the values in the chart, enable the Show value labels option and set the label size.
      • To fill the space between the grid lines with color, enable the Fill grid lines option. You can set alternate fill colors for the grid lines.
      • Under Range, set the range for the axes.

        If you select Auto (starting at 0), the range starts at 0 and ends around the highest value for the measure being displayed. If you select Auto (based on data range), the range starts at the lowest value and ends around the highest value for the measure being displayed. You can also select Custom to specify custom start and end values in the Min and Max fields.

      • Under Axis behavior, specify whether to use an independent or shared scale for the axes. The Shared option is useful for comparisons across category axes. You can select the Auto option to automatically determine the optimal scale based on the chart configuration.
      • To customize the number of values to show on the axes, enter a custom value under Axis step count. You can enter a value from 1 through 50.
    4. Under Legend, format the legend.
      For more information, see Formatting Legends in Visuals.
Parent topic: Creating Visuals