Symbol Overlay Chart

Intro

Symbol Overlay charts are similar to Stacked Bar charts in that series items are shown overlaid on top of each other within their respective categories. However, instead of bars, Symbol Overlay charts use symbols to indicate series values. This may help viewers identify highs and lows within their data. However, Symbol Overlay charts also have a disadvantage in that it may be hard to tell exactly what value a particular symbol falls on. For this reason, these charts are best used for showing relative values rather than comparing specific numbers. Symbol Overlay charts are nearly identical to Symbol charts, the difference being that in a Symbol chart, symbols in a given series are shown side by side rather than overlaid on top of each other.    

Symbol Overlay charts include both vertical and horizontal subtypes. In a vertical Symbol Overlay chart, categories are represented along the horizontal axis (or x-axis) and values are measured on the vertical axis (or y-axis). A horizontal Symbol Overlay chart has the same overall concept, but the categories are represented along the vertical axis and the values are represented along the horizontal axis.

Powering Symbol Overlay charts

A Symbol Overlay chart requires three data columns or rows from your DataSet—one for categories, one for the series in each category, and one for values. For information about value, category, and series data, see Understanding Chart Data.

In the Analyzer, you choose the columns containing the data for your Symbol Overlay chart. For more information about choosing data columns, see Applying DataSet Columns to Your Chart.

For more information about formatting charts in the Analyzer, see Visualization Card Building Part 2: The Analyzer.

The following graphic shows you how the data from a typical column-based spreadsheet is converted into a vertical Symbol Overlay chart:

The following graphic shows you how the data from a typical column-based spreadsheet is converted into a horizontal Symbol Overlay chart:

Customizing Symbol Overlay charts

You can customize the appearance of a Symbol chart by editing its Chart Properties. For information about all chart properties, see Chart Properties.