Vega Chart Component

This feature is currently in production early-access and only available in Classic Designer. Functionality is subject to change as this feature is prepared for general access.

Overview

The Vega Chart component creates a graphical display of data sets in an application. In the Module Builder, Creators configure the Vega Chart component using one or more chart types and data sets. In Express View, the Vega Chart lets end-users visualize the data sets in a meaningful and intuitive way.

The Vega Chart component is a Vega (2.0) runtime component and is not supported in the Centauri (1.0) runtime.

Below are some common examples of when to use the Vega Chart component:

About the Configuration Window

To learn more about general component settings and those that display when a component is associated with Data Models, view our General Component Settings article.

Display

A static image displaying the Vega Chart's Display settings.

General

General settings control titles, labels, and the visibility of the Vega Chart component.

Setting Description

Title

Displays as a header above the chart in Express View.
Subtitle

Enter a value to display as a sub-header below the Title value in Express View.

Accessible Label

Screen readers read this value to end-users in Express View. This value corresponds to the aria-label in the DOM.

X Axis Title

Displays next to the chart's horizontal axis. In Express View, this value displays below the chart's graphics.

Y Axis Title

Displays next to the chart's vertical axis. In Express View, this value displays to the left the chart's graphics.

Hidden

Set to  (ON) to hide the chart in Express View.

By default, this setting is (OFF).

Legend

Legend settings control the display and location of the key values.

Setting Description

Hide Legend

Set to  (ON) to hide the chart's key values in Express View.
Vertical Alignment

Select the vertical alignment location for the legend element. Values include:

  • Top: Displays the key values above the chart graphics.

  • Middle: Displays keys values in the vertical-middle of the chart graphics.

  • Bottom: Displays the key values below the chart graphics.

Alignment

Select the horizontal alignment for the legend element. Values include:

  • Left: Displays the key values to the left of the chart graphics.

  • Middle: Displays keys values in the horizontal-middle of the chart graphics.

  • Right: Displays the key values to the right of the chart graphics.

Series

A static image displaying the Vega Chart's Series settings.

The Series table lets you overlay multiple data sets onto a single graph. Each row in the table represents a single data set.

Setting Description

ID

Enter a reference ID to target the row's chart data.

Type

This field lets you set the chart type to display your data. Below are the available chart types:

  • Area: Best used to visualize trends over time, specifically to highlight the magnitude of change and compare multiple data series.

  • Bar: Effective for comparison of at least one data point. Bar charts show data as a bar with the height of the bar proportional to the values being plotted. Typically, a bar chart plots the variable value horizontally, and the fixed dimension vertically.

  • Column: Effective for comparison of at least one data point. Column charts show data as a rectangle with the height of the rectangle proportional to the values being plotted. Typically, a column chart plots the variable value vertically, and the fixed dimension horizontally.

  • Line: A line chart displays information as a series of data points connected by straight line segments. These charts are typically used to show information that changes over time.

  • Pie: A pie chart is a circular-type chart, divided into slices to show numeric proportion. In a pie chart, the arc length of each slice relates to the quantity the slice represents. When used in conjunction with the Inner Size setting, you can make your pie chart into a doughnut chart.

  • Scatter: A scatter chart uses dots to represent values for two different variables. The position of each dot in the horizontal and vertical axis shows values for the data point. You'll typically use these charts to show relationships between variables.

Label

This value represents the data set's title in the legend. For example, if your graph displays a count of numbers, enter Number. If you're displaying a percentage of businesses involved in an industry, enter Businesses.

Reference Key

Enter the Property ID of the data source. An example data source could be a Data Table component containing the x and y values.

Reference Properties

Enter the component state property value to reference.

X Property

Enter the x-property column value contained in the Reference Key. For example, if your Data Table component has a column labeled x that represents x-axis data, then enter x.

Y Property

Enter the y-property column value contained in the Reference Key. For example, if your Data Table component has a column labeled y that represents y-axis data, then enter y.

Color

Manipulates the color of an input category if the input data array contains colors. Your color data can be in word or HEX form. For example, this text is colored using the following hex: #fb7e14.

Stack Group

Stack or separate data sets based on chart type. For example, if two data sets use the Bar chart type, labeling data set one as A and data set two as B displays each data set as a bar in the graph. Labeling data set one and two as A stacks the bars in the graph.

Adding a Vega Chart Component

While the Vega Chart component provides thousands of possible data set combinations and displays, the example below details a pet availability chart for a pet store. You'll create two data tables, one for available pets, and the other for pets that have been reserved. Then, you'll use a Vega Chart component to visualize the data.

Configure the dtAvailablePets Data Table Component

The first Data Table component contains a list of pet types and the total available pets for each type.

1. In the Module Builder, drag and drop a Dropdown Component Icon Data Table component onto your canvas.
2. In the Property ID and Canvas Label Text fields, enter dtAvailablePets.
3. In the component's configuration menu, click Data Icon Data.
4. In the Data Table, enter the following:
  A B

1

type

total

2

Cat

5

3

Dog

8

4

Bird

2

5

Fish

20

In a Data Table component, the first row acts as headers for the data set.

A static image displaying the completed configuration of the Data Table component.

5. Click Save & Close.

Configure the dtReservedPets Data Table Component

The second Data Table component contains the total reserved pets for each pet type.

1. Drag and drop a Dropdown Component Icon Data Table component onto your canvas, placing it below the dtAvailablePets Dropdown Component Icon Data Table component.
2. In the Property ID and Canvas Label Text fields, enter dtReservedPets.
3. In the component's configuration menu, click Data Icon Data.
4. In the Data Table, enter the following:
  A B

1

type

total

2

Cat

3

3

Dog

4

4

Bird

0

5

Fish

5

In a Data Table component, the first row acts as headers for the data set.

A static image displaying the completed configuration of the Data Table component.

5. Click Save & Close.

Configure the Vega Chart Component

Configure a Vega Chart to display the dtAvailablePets and dtReservedPets data. Add labels to describe each axis, and stack the data sets on top of each other using the Stack Group column.

1. Drag and drop a KPI Icon Vega Chart component onto the canvas, placing above the dtAvailablePets Dropdown Component Icon Data Table component.
2. In the Property ID field, enter displayChart.
3. In the Title field, enter Pet Store - Pet Availability.
4. In the Subtitle field, enter Total, Available, and Reserved.
5. In the X Axis Title field, enter Pet Type.
6. In the Y Axis Title field, enter Total Pet Stock.

A static image displaying the Display settings.

7. In the component's configuration menu, click Browser Storage Icon Series.
8. In the Series table, enter the following:
  ID Type Label Reference Key Reference Property X Property Y Property Color Stack Group

1

series1

Bar

Available Pets

dtAvailablePets

value

type

total

 

A

2

series2

Bar

Reserved Pets

dtReservedPets

value

type

total

 

A

The Stack Group column places data sets on top of each other if they are the same type. In this example, the dtAvailabePets and dtReservedPets data is stacked on top of each other.

9. Click Save & Close.
10. Save your module.

Preview your module in Express View. The Vega Chart displays the two data sets as a bar graph. Each bar is split into two colors, each color represents the dtAvailabePets and dtReservedPets values.

A static image displaying the Vega Chart in Express View

Structure of a Vega Chart Component's Data

Using the example above, the image below displays a Vega Chart's component state:

A static image displaying the Vega Chart's component state.

To view the Vega Chart component's data sets, expand the series array. Each value in the array contains one data set:

A static image displaying the Vega Chart's series array.

Resources