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Bar and column charts

Use column and bar charts to compare field values across a data set.

A bar chart


Data formatting

Column and bar charts represent one or more data series. To make sure that a search generates one or more series, check the Statistics tab in Search & Reporting. The table should have at least two columns.

Search results not structured as a table with valid x-axis or y-axis values cannot generate column or bar charts. For example, using the eval or fields commands might change search result structure.

Statistics table order and chart axes

Column and bar charts each use the Statistics table values in different ways. Column charts get x-axis values from the first column in the table. The next table columns contain y-axis values.

Bar charts get y-axis values from the first column in the table. The next table columns contain x-axis values.

As an example, any search using the timechart reporting command generates a table where _time is the first column. A column chart generated with this search has a _time x-axis. A bar chart using this search has a _time y-axis.

Single and multiple data series

Column and bar charts can visualize single or multiple data series. The following examples show you how to generate these series.

Single series

This search compares the activity of different Splunk users. In this search, the over operator indicates that user is the first table column.

index=_internal|chart count over user

The search produces the following table.

A single series table.

Column and bar charts represent this single series differently.

Column chart
X-axis user values are placed horizontally . The y-axis count values are placed vertically.
Bar chart
X-axis user values are placed vertically. The bar chart y-axis count values are placed horizontally.

Multiple data series

To generate multiple data series, you can also change the query to introduce a split-by field. For example, change the previous single series search by adding sourcetype as a split-by field.

...| chart count over user by sourcetype

The split-by field produces multiple data series. Each sourcetype is a data series with its own count values for each user.

A column chart

Generate a bar or column chart

  1. Select the bar or column chart using the visual editor by clicking the Add Chart button ( The Add Chart button in the editing toolbar. ) in the editing toolbar and either browsing through the available charts, or by using the search option.
  2. Select the chart on your dashboard so that it's highlighted with the blue editing outline.
  3. Set up a new data source by adding a search to the Search with SPL window if you are selecting a chart, or by clicking + Setup Primary Data Source if you've selected a shape.
  4. To select an existing data source, close the Configuration panel and reopen it. In the Data Configurations section, click +Setup Primary Data Source and click + Create Ad hoc Search to create a new search from this window. You can also choose a new ID that describes the search better than the default.

Configuration Panel options for bar and column charts

You can use the Configuration panel to configure the following bar and column chart components.

Title

Give your visualization a name. This is also helpful when searching for individual visualizations in the dashboard definitions. This name is not the same as the automatically assigned unique ID.

Description

Give your visualization a description to explain what the user is viewing.

Data Configurations

Choose an existing ad hoc search or create a new one.

Position & Size
You can use your mouse to change the size of the panel, or the Position & Size section of the Configuration panel for pixel perfect sizing and placement.

General

Use the following Stack Modes:

Stack option Column or bar appearance Use case
Unstacked Columns or bars for different series appear next to each other. An unstacked chart is useful for a lower number of series. As the number of series increases, the chart can become more difficult to understand.
Stacked Data points within a series appear as segments of a column or bar. The total column or bar value is the sum of all of the segments. Use a stacked column or bar chart to highlight the relative volume, frequency, or importance of data points in a series. See the stacked chart example below.
Stacked 100% Each bar or column is divided into segments representing the distribution percentage for each data value in one series. Use stacked 100% to show data distributions when there is significant segment size variation in each column or bar.

Show Data Values

Choose whether to show all data values (On), no data values (Off), or only the minimum and maximum (Min/Max).

Axes

  • Use X Axis title to name your x-axis.
  • Use Y Axis title to name your y-axis.

Legend

  • Use Position to choose the position of the legend.
  • Use Truncation to choose how legend labels are truncated when they overflow the layout boundaries by choosing where to place ellipses (...)

Drilldown
Drilldown from a bar or column chart to let users click on a part of the chart to open an internal or external URL.

Code
Select your visualization or its search to view and edit the source code in real-time. You can also change the Visualization ID to a more readable ID to help identify this visualization in the source code.

Source options for bar and column charts

While some of these options can be set using the visual editor, there are additional options that can only be set in the source editor for splunk.bar and splunk.column. These options are added to the options field of the visualization stanza. For example, the following example shows the addition of background color settings using a hexadecimal code:

"viz_25NNIqLF": {
			"type": "splunk.bar",
			"options": {
				"backgroundColor": "#0000FF",
			},
			"dataSources": {
				"primary": "ds_gcEN4c7Q"
			}
		} 


To read more on how visualization stanzas are structured, see The source code stanza of a visualization. Below are all of the options available.

Bar chart options

The following options are available for editing bar charts in the source editor:

Property Type Default Description
x (string | number) > primary | seriesByIndex(0) Specify the dataSource applied to the x-axis.
y (string | number) > primary | frameBySeriesIndexRange(1) Specify the dataSource applied to the y-axis.
y2 (string | number) n/a Specify the dataSource applied to the y2-axis
xField string > x | getField() Specify the field that should be mapped to the x-axis.
yFields string > y | getField() Specify the field that should be mapped to the y-axis.
y2Fields (array | string) > y2 | getField() Specify field(s) that should be mapped to a second y-axis.
backgroundColor string > themes.defaultBackgroundColor Specify the color for the background. You may use a dataSource to apply the color. The default for enterprise light is "#ffffff". The default for enterprise dark is "#000000". The default for prisma dark is "#0b0c0e".
barSpacing number n/a Specify, in pixels, the spacing between columns in a bar chart.
dataValuesDisplay ("off" | "all" | "minmax") off Specify whether chart should display no labels, all labels, or only the min and max labels.
legendDisplay ("right" | "left" | "top" | "bottom" | "off") right Specify the location of the legend on the panel.
legendLabels string n/a Specify a list of labels to pre-populate the legend. For example, ["percent", "count"].
legendTruncation ("ellipsisEnd" | "ellipsisMiddle" | "ellipsisStart" | "ellipsisOff") ellipsisEnd Specify how to display legend labels when they overflow the layout boundaries by replacing overflow text with an ellipsis.
lineWidth number 2 Specify the line width, in pixels, for chart overlay.
resultLimit number 50000 Specify the number of data points rendered in a chart.
seriesColors string #7B56DB,#009CEB,#00CDAF,#DD9900,#FF677B,#CB2196,#813193,#0051B5,#008C80,#99B100,#FFA476,#FF6ACE,#AE8CFF,#00689D,#00490A,#465D00,#9D6300,#F6540B,#FF969E,#E47BFE Specify the colors used for a series. For example, ["#FF0000", "#0000FF", "#008000"].
seriesColorsByField object n/a Specify the colors used for specific fields in a series. For example, {"count": "#008000", "percent": "#FFA500"}.
seriesSpacing number n/a Specify, in pixels, the spacing between clustered series in column and bar charts.
stackMode ("auto" | "stacked" | "stacked100") auto Specify stack mode.
showIndependentYRanges boolean FALSE Specify whether split series charts have independent y-ranges.
showSplitSeries boolean FALSE Set to "true" to split a multi-series chart into separate charts that are stacked from top to bottom; one for each series.
showXMajorGridLines boolean FALSE Specify whether major grid lines are visible on the x-axis.
showYMajorGridLines boolean TRUE Specify whether major grid lines are visible on the y-axis.
showY2MajorGridLines boolean FALSE Specify whether major grid lines are visible on the y2-axis.
showYMinorGridLines boolean FALSE Specify whether minor grid lines are visible on the y-axis.
showY2MinorGridLines boolean FALSE Specify whether minor grid lines are visible on y2-axis.
showYAxisExtendedRange boolean TRUE Specify whether the y-axis should be extended to include whole major tick marks.
showYAxisWithZero boolean FALSE Specify whether the y-axis range includes zero.
showY2AxisWithZero boolean FALSE Specify whether the y2-axis range includes zero.
xAxisLabelVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide labels on the x-axis.
yAxisLabelVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide labels on the y-axis.
y2AxisLabelVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide labels on the y2-axis.
xAxisLineVisibility ("show" | "hide") hide Specify whether to show or hide the x-axis line.
yAxisLineVisibility ("show" | "hide") hide Specify whether to show or hide the y-axis line.
y2AxisLineVisibility ("show" | "hide") hide Specify whether to show or hide the y2-axis line.
xAxisMajorTickSize number 6 Specify the size, in pixels, of major tick marks on the x-axis.
yAxisMajorTickSize number 6 Specify the size, in pixels, of major tick marks on the y-axis.
y2AxisMajorTickSize number 6 Specify the size, in pixels, of major tick marks on the y2-axis.
yAxisMinorTickSize number 6 Specify the size, in pixels, of minor tick marks on the y-axis.
y2AxisMinorTickSize number 6 Specify the size, in pixels, of minor tick marks on the y2-axis.
xAxisMajorTickVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide major tick marks on the x-axis.
yAxisMajorTickVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide major tick marks on the y-axis.
y2AxisMajorTickVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide major tick marks on the y2-axis.
yAxisMinorTickVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide minor tick marks on the y-axis.
y2AxisMinorTickVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide minor tick marks on the y2-axis.
xAxisMaxLabelParts number 3 Specify the maximum number of time-parts that a tick label will have (the 3 possible parts are year, month, time).
yAxisScale ("linear" | "log") linear Specify the type of scale that applies to a numerical y-axis.
y2AxisScale ("linear" | "log") linear Specify the type of scale that applies to a numerical y2-axis.
xAxisTitleText string n/a Specify the title of the x-axis.
yAxisTitleText string n/a Specify the title of the y-axis.
y2AxisTitleText string n/a Specify the title of the y2-axis.
xAxisTitleVisibility ("show" | "hide") show Specify whether to show or hide the title of the x-axis.
yAxisTitleVisibility ("show" | "hide") show Specify whether to show or hide the title of the y-axis.
y2AxisTitleVisibility ("show" | "hide") show Specify whether to show or hide the title of the y2-axis.
yAxisAbbreviation ("off" | "auto") auto Specify whether to abbreviate large y-axis values with the closest SI prefix.
y2AxisAbbreviation ("off" | "auto") auto Specify whether to abbreviate large y2-axis values with the closest SI prefix.
yAxisMajorTickInterval (string | number) auto Specify the spacing unit between major tick marks along the numeric y-axis.
y2AxisMajorTickInterval (string | number) auto Specify the spacing unit between major tick marks along the numeric y2-axis.
yAxisMax (string | number) auto Specify the maximum number for the visible y-axis range.
y2AxisMax (string | number) auto Specify the maximum number for the visible y2-axis range.
yAxisMin (string | number) auto Specify the minimum number for the visible y-axis range.
y2AxisMin (string | number) auto Specify the minimum number for the visible y2-axis range.
overlayFields (array | string) n/a Specify field(s) that should be differentiated on the chart and displayed as chart overlays.
showOverlayY2Axis boolean FALSE Enable a y2-axis for chart overlays. All overlay fields will be mapped to a second y-axis.
showRoundedY2AxisLabels boolean TRUE Specify whether to round y2-axis values to the nearest integer.


Column chart options

The following options are available for editing column charts in the source editor:

Property Type Default Description
x (string | number) > primary | seriesByIndex(0) Specify the dataSource applied to the x-axis.
y (string | number) > primary | frameBySeriesIndexRange(1) Specify the dataSource applied to the y-axis.
y2 (string | number) n/a Specify the dataSource applied to the y2-axis
xField string > x | getField() Specify the field that should be mapped to the x-axis.
yFields string > y | getField() Specify the field that should be mapped to the y-axis.
y2Fields (array | string) > y2 | getField() Specify field(s) that should be mapped to a second y-axis.
annotationColor string n/a Specify the annotation colors. You may use a dataSource to apply the color. For example, ["#FF0000", "#0000FF", "#008000"].
annotationLabel string n/a Specify a list of labels used for the annotations. You may use a dataSource to apply the labels. For example, ["houston, we have a problem", "just close the jira", "looking good now"].
annotationX (string | number) n/a Specify the dataSource field applied to the event annotation on the x-axis.
backgroundColor string > themes.defaultBackgroundColor Specify the color for the background. You may use a dataSource to apply the color. The default for enterprise light is "#ffffff". The default for enterprise dark is "#000000". The default for prisma dark is "#0b0c0e".
dataValuesDisplay ("off" | "all" | "minmax") off Specify whether chart should display no labels, all labels, or only the min and max labels.
columnGrouping ("auto" | "overlay") auto Specify the column grouping mode. If chart.stackMode is defined it will override grouping behavior.
columnSpacing number n/a Specifies, in pixels, the spacing between columns in a column chart.
legendDisplay ("right" | "left" | "top" | "bottom" | "off") right Specify the location of the legend on the panel.
legendLabels string n/a Specify a list of labels to pre-populate the legend. For example, ["percent", "count"].
legendTruncation ("ellipsisEnd" | "ellipsisMiddle" | "ellipsisStart" | "ellipsisOff") ellipsisEnd Specify how to display legend labels when they overflow the layout boundaries by replacing overflow text with an ellipsis.
lineWidth number 2 Specify the line width, in pixels, for chart overlay.
resultLimit number 50000 Specify the number of data points rendered in a chart.
seriesColors string #7B56DB,#009CEB,#00CDAF,#DD9900,#FF677B,#CB2196,#813193,#0051B5,#008C80,#99B100,#FFA476,#FF6ACE,#AE8CFF,#00689D,#00490A,#465D00,#9D6300,#F6540B,#FF969E,#E47BFE Specify the colors used for a series. For example, ["#FF0000", "#0000FF", "#008000"].
seriesColorsByField object n/a Specify the colors used for specific fields in a series. For example, {"count": "#008000", "percent": "#FFA500"}.
seriesSpacing number n/a Specify, in pixels, the spacing between clustered series in column and bar charts.
stackMode ("auto" | "stacked" | "stacked100") auto Specify stack mode.
showIndependentYRanges boolean FALSE Specify whether split series charts have independent y-ranges.
showSplitSeries boolean FALSE Set to "true" to split a multi-series chart into separate charts that are stacked from top to bottom; one for each series.
showTooltip boolean TRUE Specify whether a tooltip should be visible on hover
showXMajorGridLines boolean FALSE Specify whether major grid lines are visible on the x-axis.
showYMajorGridLines boolean TRUE Specify whether major grid lines are visible on the y-axis.
showY2MajorGridLines boolean FALSE Specify whether major grid lines are visible on the y2-axis.
showYMinorGridLines boolean FALSE Specify whether minor grid lines are visible on the y-axis.
showY2MinorGridLines boolean FALSE Specify whether minor grid lines are visible on y2-axis.
showYAxisExtendedRange boolean TRUE Specify whether the y-axis should be extended to include whole major tick marks.
showYAxisWithZero boolean FALSE Specify whether the y-axis range includes zero.
showY2AxisWithZero boolean FALSE Specify whether the y2-axis range includes zero.
xAxisLabelRotation (-90 | -45 | 0 | 45 | 90) 0 Specify the rotation of the x-axis label in degrees.
xAxisLabelVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide labels on the x-axis.
yAxisLabelVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide labels on the y-axis.
y2AxisLabelVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide labels on the y2-axis.
xAxisLineVisibility ("show" | "hide") hide Specify whether to show or hide the x-axis line.
yAxisLineVisibility ("show" | "hide") hide Specify whether to show or hide the y-axis line.
y2AxisLineVisibility ("show" | "hide") hide Specify whether to show or hide the y2-axis line.
xAxisMajorTickSize number 6 Specify the size, in pixels, of major tick marks on the x-axis.
yAxisMajorTickSize number 6 Specify the size, in pixels, of major tick marks on the y-axis.
y2AxisMajorTickSize number 6 Specify the size, in pixels, of major tick marks on the y2-axis.
yAxisMinorTickSize number 6 Specify the size, in pixels, of minor tick marks on the y-axis.
y2AxisMinorTickSize number 6 Specify the size, in pixels, of minor tick marks on the y2-axis.
xAxisMajorTickVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide major tick marks on the x-axis.
yAxisMajorTickVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide major tick marks on the y-axis.
y2AxisMajorTickVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide major tick marks on the y2-axis.
yAxisMinorTickVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide minor tick marks on the y-axis.
y2AxisMinorTickVisibility ("auto" | "show" | "hide") auto Specify whether to show or hide minor tick marks on the y2-axis.
xAxisMaxLabelParts number 3 Specify the maximum number of time-parts that a tick label will have (the 3 possible parts are year, month, time).
yAxisScale ("linear" | "log") linear Specify the type of scale that applies to a numerical y-axis.
y2AxisScale ("linear" | "log") linear Specify the type of scale that applies to a numerical y2-axis.
xAxisTitleText string n/a Specify the title of the x-axis.
yAxisTitleText string n/a Specify the title of the y-axis.
y2AxisTitleText string n/a Specify the title of the y2-axis.
xAxisTitleVisibility ("show" | "hide") show Specify whether to show or hide the title of the x-axis.
yAxisTitleVisibility ("show" | "hide") show Specify whether to show or hide the title of the y-axis.
y2AxisTitleVisibility ("show" | "hide") show Specify whether to show or hide the title of the y2-axis.
yAxisAbbreviation ("off" | "auto") auto Specify whether to abbreviate large y-axis values with the closest SI prefix.
y2AxisAbbreviation ("off" | "auto") auto Specify whether to abbreviate large y2-axis values with the closest SI prefix.
yAxisMajorTickInterval (string | number) auto Specify the spacing unit between major tick marks along the numeric y-axis.
y2AxisMajorTickInterval (string | number) auto Specify the spacing unit between major tick marks along the numeric y2-axis.
yAxisMax (string | number) auto Specify the maximum number for the visible y-axis range.
y2AxisMax (string | number) auto Specify the maximum number for the visible y2-axis range.
yAxisMin (string | number) auto Specify the minimum number for the visible y-axis range.
y2AxisMin (string | number) auto Specify the minimum number for the visible y2-axis range.
overlayFields (array | string) n/a Specify field(s) that should be differentiated on the chart and displayed as chart overlays.
showOverlayY2Axis boolean FALSE Enable a y2-axis for chart overlays. All overlay fields will be mapped to a second y-axis.
showRoundedY2AxisLabels boolean TRUE Specify whether to round y2-axis values to the nearest integer.
Last modified on 08 February, 2023
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This documentation applies to the following versions of Splunk® Enterprise: 9.0.0, 9.0.1, 9.0.2, 9.0.3, 9.0.4, 9.0.5, 9.0.6, 9.0.7, 9.0.8


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