*Bar chart

Create and configure bar charts in the Polyteia Platform.

Use a bar chart to compare values between categories. For example: how many customers each country has. You can display bars side by side (Group), stacked (Stack), or as a percentage (Stack %).

You can customize:

• The title and description

• The X-axis (category) and Y-axis (value)

• The layout (vertical or horizontal bars)

• The metric (breakdown by subcategory like gender)

• Whether values are grouped or stacked

• Tooltips with additional data fields for more context

• Mark areas to highlight specific categories or ranges

The bar chart is one of the most flexible ways to compare values between categories. It's excellent for showing differences between groups like countries, regions, products, or age groups.

You can switch between vertical and horizontal layouts and even break down values by a second category using the metric and grouping options.

How to create a bar chart

1. Go to the Chart tab

2. Select Bar chart from the Chart type dropdown menu

3. Choose the Vertical or Horizontal layout

4. Set your columns for X-axis and Y-axis

X-axis column

This defines the categories for your bars - for example:

• Country

• Region

• Department

Each unique value becomes a bar (or group of bars).

Y-axis column

This is the value that is displayed - for example:

• Number of customers

• Average rating

• Total revenue

The height (or length) of the bar reflects the value.

Title and description

In the upper area of the chart settings, you can:

• Set a custom title (default is the name of the insight)

• Add a description to explain what the chart shows

This helps when sharing or embedding the chart.

Showing value labels

You can toggle Show value labels to display the number above each bar, making the chart easier to read at a glance.

Customizing labels

When people hover over your bars, they'll see a tooltip with more information. You can add extra details to make the data more useful:

1. In the chart settings, scroll to Additional Labels

2. Click Add Label to include more information from your data

3. Choose a column from your dataset (like "Population" or "Budget")

4. Add a custom label name if you want (otherwise it uses the column name)

5. Drag labels to put them in the order you want

Example: For a chart showing vaccination rates by district, you might add "Total Population" and "Health Centers" to give people more context when they hover over each bar.

Tip: Your tooltip settings stay the same if you switch to a different chart type later.

Mark areas

Highlight specific categories or ranges on your chart with colored background areas:

1. In the chart settings, look for Mark Areas

2. Add a label for the area (like "Target Districts" or "High Priority")

3. Choose the start value from your categories (where the highlight begins)

4. Choose the end value from your categories (where the highlight ends)

5. The area will appear as a colored highlight behind your bars

Example: For a chart showing vaccination rates by district, you might mark "Urban Districts" from District A to District E to show which areas have different characteristics.

Use cases:

• Group related categories together

• Highlight priority regions or departments

• Show target vs. actual performance ranges

• Emphasize specific program areas

Tip: Mark areas work best when your categories have a logical order, like districts by geographic location or departments by budget size.

Using the metric field (optional)

Want to break down each bar by a second variable like gender or status?

1. Add a column to the Metric field - for example: Gender

2. Choose a grouping option:

   • Group - bars appear side by side for each metric value

   • Stack - bars are stacked on top of each other

   • Stack % - bars show percentage share

Example: If you set Country as X-axis and Gender as metric, you'll see bars for each gender within each country.

Label layout

When your category names are long, change the X-axis label layout:

• Normal - default horizontal labels

• Rotate - diagonal layout

• Alternate - staggered layout

When to use a bar chart

Bar charts work best when:

• You have multiple categories to compare

• You want to show trends or rankings

• You want to break down values by another variable

If you're working with time-based data, consider using a line chart instead.