Add and format shapes and other visualizations

In addition to using charts and classic Splunk visualizations, you can add images, rectangles, ellipses, and connecting lines. You can only use shapes if you are using the absolute layout. Complete the following steps to create a dashboard with this layout type.

1. Click Create New Dashboard.
2. Click Dashboard Studio.
3. Select Absolute in the Select layout mode section.

There are two editing elements in the visual editor: the editing toolbar, located at the top of the canvas, and a Configuration panel, located to the right of the canvas.

The options available to you in the Configuration panel depend on the object you've selected. Each chart has its own topic that expands on the formatting information in this topic.

When you select an object, you can use the Configuration panel to format the object and also add a search-powered ad hoc data source to drive it in the form of a search string. For example, if you've selected an ellipse, you can use the Position & Size section to edit the position and the Border section to modify the color, opacity, thickness, and border style of the shape. You can also add a data source and enable thresholding.

You can perform the following actions using the toolbar and Configuration panel in the visual editor:

Action	Description
Create and customize visualizations	For more information on how to work with shapes and other visualizations see Create and customize visualizations.
Configure source code within the visual editor	For more information see Access visualization source code in the visual editor.
Configure thresholding	You can use the visual editor to make shapes and many other visualizations change color according to value ranges. For more information, see Configure thresholding.
Add drilldown to a visualization	For more information on how to add drilldown, see Use drilldown to connect a visualization to a URL.
Select multiple objects and modify them all at once	For more information, see Select multiple visualizations at once.
Change a visualization by using the visualization picker	For more information, see Change a visualization by using the visualization picker.
Use keyboard shortcuts	When you select an object in the canvas, you can customize it using the Configuration panel or with keyboard shortcuts. For more information on the available keyboard shortcuts, see Use keyboard shortcuts to edit your dashboard.
Use reference options for shapes	You can format most shapes using the Configuration panel. Some options are only available by adding them in the source editor. To see a complete list of options available for shapes, see Source options for shapes.
Use reference options for charts and other visualizations.	Some options are only available by adding them in the source editor. To see a complete list of options available for these objects, select the object topic from the Table of Contents and scroll down to the reference section.

Create and customize visualizations

Use the editing toolbar to add charts, ellipses, lines, and rectangles to your dashboard. Use the Configuration panel to format your visualizations.

When an object, such as a shape, is placed at (0,0) on the canvas axis, the top left corner of the object is placed in the top left corner of the canvas. When you increase the X value, the object moves to the right. When you increase the Y value, the object moves down. The (0,0) location is the default for background images.

For example, to add a shape:

1. On the editing toolbar, click the shapes icon ().
2. Select a shape to add it to the dashboard. When a shape is selected in the canvas, you can customize using the Configuration panel or you can use keyboard shortcuts. For more information on keyboard shortcuts see keyboard shortcuts.

Change the position and size of visualizations

Expand Position & Size section of the Configuration panel.

• Change the object's position on the canvas by entering the position of the shape in pixels in the X and Y fields. You can also drag the object to reposition it.
• Change the height or width by entering the dimensions of the shape in pixels in the W and H fields. You can also drag the edges to adjust the size.

Change the color and opacity of ellipses and rectangles

Expand the Fill section of the Configuration panel.

• To change the fill color, enter a color hexadecimal code, such as #FFFF00. You can also choose a default color from the color palette.
• Adjust the opacity by specifying a percentage in the Opacity (%) field.

Change the border of ellipses and rectangles

You can customize the color, thickness, and dash style of ellipses and rectangles. You can also round the corners of rectangles by changing the border radius.

Expand the Border section of the Configuration panel.

• Change the border Color by entering a hexadecimal code such as #FFFF00. You can also choose a color from the color palette.
• Adjust the border Opacity by specifying an opacity percentage. The higher the percentage, the less opaque (darker) the border becomes.
• Adjust the border Thickness by specifying a number in pixels.
• Adjust the Radius to change the corner curvature percentage of a rectangle. You can specify a number from 0-100. All corners are affected by this setting.
• Adjust the border Dash style by specifying a number representing the length of the dashes as well as the spaces between them in pixels. For example, specifying a 4 will result in a border composed of dashes 4 pixels long and spaces of 4 pixels.

Format lines and use them to connect objects

Add a line using the shapes button (). A blue dot appears on the ends of the line when it is selected.

• To change the color and opacity of the line, expand the Stroke section.
  To change the stroke color, enter a hexadecimal code such as #FFFF00. You can also choose a color from the color palette.
• Change the opacity by specifying a percentage in the Opacity field.
• Change the line thickness by specifying a number in pixels in the Thickness field.
• Change the style of the line by specifying a number in the Line Dash Style field.
  The number of pixels you specify is the length of the dashes, as well as the spaces between them.
• Hide or show arrows at either end of the line by expanding the Arrows section of the Configuration panel.
• To change the length of a line, select the line, click the blue circle, and drag the end of the line to the position you want.
• You can also snap to arbitrary points or objects.
  When you hover over the blue circle of a line, a four-sided arrow appears. Use this arrow to snap the line to one of the plus (+) symbols placed in convenient areas on the canvas or to an object, such as a chart, visualization, shape, or icon.

Lines are unlike the other visualizations because they have anchoring options in the layout instead of just positions. When you anchor a line to a plus (+) symbol of an object, the layout position structure for the line position is the first letter of the cardinal coordinates using the position.from.port and position.to.port fields. For example, the following layout snippet shows a line that is anchored to the northern side of one visualization, and the western of another visualization:

{
	"item": "viz_aVKLvBZJ",
	"type": "line",
	"position": {
		"from": {
			"item": "viz_mOyNaOqn",
			"port": "n"
		},
		"to": {
			"item": "viz_wwVMhJey",
			"port": "w"
		}
	}

The following shows a complete dashboard definition that uses one line connecting two objects with cardinal coordinates and one line that is not attached to an object. The unattached line is positioned by pixel placement.

Dashboard definition example

Source code

Expand the box to view the complete definition. You can copy/paste the code into your own instance to see the connected options.

{
	"visualizations": {
		"viz_wwVMhJey": {
			"type": "splunk.rectangle"
		},
		"viz_aVKLvBZJ": {
			"type": "abslayout.line"
		},
		"viz_khzp2MP7": {
			"type": "abslayout.line",
			"options": {
				"fromArrow": true,
				"toArrow": true
			}
		},
		"viz_mOyNaOqn": {
			"type": "splunk.rectangle"
		}
	},
	"dataSources": {},
	"inputs": {},
	"layout": {
		"type": "absolute",
		"options": {},
		"structure": [
			{
				"item": "viz_wwVMhJey",
				"type": "block",
				"position": {
					"x": 440,
					"y": 50,
					"w": 150,
					"h": 150
				}
			},
			{
				"item": "viz_aVKLvBZJ",
				"type": "line",
				"position": {
					"from": {
						"item": "viz_mOyNaOqn",
						"port": "n"
					},
					"to": {
						"item": "viz_wwVMhJey",
						"port": "w"
					}
				}
			},
			{
				"item": "viz_khzp2MP7",
				"type": "line",
				"position": {
					"from": {
						"x": 695,
						"y": 134
					},
					"to": {
						"x": 799,
						"y": 70
					}
				}
			},
			{
				"item": "viz_mOyNaOqn",
				"type": "block",
				"position": {
					"x": 130,
					"y": 50,
					"w": 150,
					"h": 150
				}
			}
		]
	},
	"description": "",
	"title": "Line connected objects"
}

Access visualization source code in the visual editor

You can modify the source code of a visualization or data source in the visual editor by selecting the visualization or search and opening the code window in the Configuration panel. The changes you make will instantly affect the visualization or data source you're working with. For example:

Configure thresholding

Configure thresholding on filler gauges, marker gauges, and shapes to determine the color of the value or background of the visualization, which indicates the current status of the value being measured.

Thresholding allows you to configure the colors you want for various numerical value ranges or strings resulting from a dynamic search or static test data. The color is meant to indicate the current value and will change when it enters different ranges.

For visualizations of the type splunk.<visualization>, see the formatting section of the specific visualization. For example, to view how to apply dynamic coloring to a table, see Table configuration panel options.

Apply thresholding

This capability is supported by all visualizations of type splunk.<visualization> that support thresholding.

1. In edit mode, select the single value visualization for which you want to configure thresholds.
2. In the Configuration panel, expand Threshold Settings.
3. Toggle Thresholds to enable thresholding for the visualization.

The following are the default values and their associated colors:

• If the value is below 20, the visualization is blue.
• If the value is greater than or equal to 20 or below 40, the visualization is green.
• If the value is greater than or equal to 40 or below 60, the visualization is yellow.
• If the value is greater than or equal to 60 or below 80, the visualization is orange.
• If the value is greater than or equal to 80 or below 100, the visualization is dark orange.
• If the value is greater than or equal to 100 and above, the visualization is red.

You can change the colors by clicking the color box and either selecting from the options in the panel or by entering a hexadecimal color code. For more details, see Change visualization colors based on data.

Use drilldown to connect a visualization to a URL

You can drilldown from either a visualization or a shape to a custom URL. The URL can be relative, such as coming from a local site, or absolute, such as coming from an external site. Adding drilldown to an object allows a user to click on the object to be directed to the URL you specify.

To add drilldown to an object complete the following steps:

1. Select the object you want to drill down from.
2. In the Configuration panel, click +Add Drilldown.
3. For On Click, choose Link to custom URL.
4. Provide a relative or absolute URL.

   If you do not provide an http:// address, the generated URL is considered internal to Splunk Enterprise and uses a localhost URL, such as localhost:8000//. If you provide an http:// prefix, such as http://splunk.com, the drilldown directs to that external URL.

5. (Optional) Select Open in new tab so the drilldown link opens in a new tab.
6. Click Save.

When drilling down from a visualization with data, you must click the actual value in the visualization, not just anywhere in the visualization, in order to go to the link.

Select multiple visualizations at once

To select multiple visualizations at one time, click and drag the blue editing frame until it covers a part of every visualization you want to select.

An Align panel will open in the Configuration panel where you can choose from different layouts. You can also move and perform some editing on all of the objects at the same time using your mouse. Only the editing options available for all of the objects selected will be available.

Change a visualization using the visualization picker

If your data is formatted correctly, you can change one visualization into another by performing the following steps:

1. In the visual editor select the visualization that you would like to change.
2. Open the Configuration panel.
3. Select the visualization tab.
4. Use the Visualization dropdown menu to select the new visualization.

Use keyboard shortcuts to edit your dashboard

The following is a list of keyboard shortcuts that you can use in the editor.

Function	Keyboard shortcut
Select multiple objects	Hold command/control and use your mouse to select the visualizations.
Cancel object selection	Press esc to cancel the selection of a visualization.
Change the size of an object	Select one or more visualizations and hold the alt or option key while using the arrow keys to change the size of the visualization(s).
Move an object 1 pixel	Select an object and hold down shift while using the arrow keys to move it one pixel in the desired direction.
Move an object 10 pixels at once	Select an object and use the arrow keys to move it 10 pixels in the desired direction.
Copy an object	Select an object and use command/control + C to copy it.
Paste an object	After copying an object, use command/control + V to paste it.
Delete an object	Select an object and click delete.

Source options for shapes

While most of these options are available using the visual editor, some must be added to the visualization stanza in the source editor in the options field. The general anatomy of a shape visualization is similar to the following:

"viz_65TNIqLF": {
			"type": "splunk.rectangle",
			"options": {
				"fillColor": "#0000FF"
			},
			"dataSources": {
				"primary": "ds_gcEN4c7Q"
			}
		} 

Ellipses

The following options are available for editing an ellipse:

Property	Type	Default	Description
fillColor	string	> themes.defaultFillColor	Specify the fill color. You may use a dataSource to apply the color. The hex value format should be "#FFFFFF". The default for enterprise light is "#C3CBD4". The default for enterprise dark is "#31373E". The default for prisma dark is "#0B0C0E".
fillOpacity	number	1	Specify the opacity of the fill. Choose a number in the range of 0 - 1 (inclusive). You can also express the value as a percentage. For example, "0.80" in source or "80%" in UI.
strokeColor	string	> themes.defaultStrokeColor	Specify the stroke color. You may use a dataSource to apply the color. The hex value format should be "#FFFFFF". The default for enterprise light is "#3C444D". The default for enterprise dark is "#C3CBD4". The default for prisma dark is "#ACACAD".
strokeDashStyle	number	0	Specify the size, in pixels, of dashes and spaces used to create a custom stitched outline. The value you specify applies to both the dashes and the spaces between them.
strokeOpacity	number	1	Specify the opacity of the stroke. Choose a number in the range of 0 - 1 (inclusive). You can also express the value as a percentage. For example, "0.80" in source or "80%" in UI.
strokeWidth	number	1	Specify the width of the stroke, in pixels, in the range of 1 - 25 (inclusive).

Line shape

The following options are available for editing a line:

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.
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, [ 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	string ("off" | "all" | "minmax")	off	Specify whether chart should display no labels, all labels, or only the min and max labels.
legendDisplay	string ("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"].
legendMode	string ("standard" | "seriesCompare")	standard	Specify visual and behavioral settings for the tooltip and legend. "seriesCompare" is useful when comparing series.
legendTruncation	string ("ellipsisEnd" | "ellipsisMiddle" | "ellipsisStart" | "ellipsisOff")	ellipsisEnd	Specify how to display legend labels when they overflow the layout boundaries by replacing overflow text with an ellipsis.
lineDashStyle	string ("solid" | "shortDash" | "shortDot" | "shortDashDot" | "shortDashDotDot" | "dot" | "dash" | "longDash" | "dashDot" | "longDashDot" | "longDashDotDot")	solid	Specify a dash style for all line series in the chart.
lineDashStylesByField	object	N/A	Specify a dash style to use for each field. For example, {"count": "longDashDot", "percent": "longDashDotDot"}." Valid values: "solid", "shortDash", "shortDot", "shortDashDot", "shortDashDotDot", "dot", "dash", "longDash", "dashDot", "longDashDot", "longDashDotDot".
lineWidth	number	2	Specify the line width, in pixels, for all line series.
markerDisplay	string ("off" | "filled" | "outlined")	off	Specify the marker display style for data points.
nullValueDisplay	string ("gaps" | "zero" | "connect")	gaps	Specify how area and line charts handle null values.
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"}.
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.
xAxisLabelRotation	number	0	Specify the rotation of the x-axis label in degrees.
xAxisLabelVisibility	string ("auto" | "show" | "hide")	auto	Specify whether to show or hide labels on the x-axis.
yAxisLabelVisibility	string ("auto" | "show" | "hide")	auto	Specify whether to show or hide labels on the y-axis.
y2AxisLabelVisibility	string ("auto" | "show" | "hide")	auto	Specify whether to show or hide labels on the y2-axis.
xAxisLineVisibility	string ("show" | "hide")	hide	Specify whether to show or hide the x-axis line.
yAxisLineVisibility	string ("show" | "hide")	hide	Specify whether to show or hide the y-axis line.
y2AxisLineVisibility	string ("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	string ("auto" | "show" | "hide")	auto	Specify whether to show or hide major tick marks on the x-axis.
yAxisMajorTickVisibility	string ("auto" | "show" | "hide")	auto	Specify whether to show or hide major tick marks on the y-axis.
y2AxisMajorTickVisibility	string ("auto" | "show" | "hide")	auto	Specify whether to show or hide major tick marks on the y2-axis.
yAxisMinorTickVisibility	string ("auto" | "show" | "hide")	auto	Specify whether to show or hide minor tick marks on the y-axis.
y2AxisMinorTickVisibility	string ("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).
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	string ("show" | "hide")	show	Specify whether to show or hide the title of the x-axis.
yAxisTitleVisibility	string ("show" | "hide")	show	Specify whether to show or hide the title of the y-axis.
y2AxisTitleVisibility	string ("show" | "hide")	show	Specify whether to show or hide the title of the y2-axis.
yAxisAbbreviation	string ("off" | "auto")	auto	Specify whether to abbreviate large y-axis values with the closest SI prefix.
y2AxisAbbreviation	string ("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	(number | string)	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.
yAxisScale	string ("linear" | "log")	linear	Specify the type of scale that applies to a numerical y-axis.
y2AxisScale	string ("linear" | "log")	linear	Specify the type of scale that applies to a numerical y2-axis.
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.
y2Fields	(array | string)	> y2 | getField()	Specify field(s) that should be mapped to a second y-axis.

Rectangles

The following options are available for editing a rectangle:

Property	Type	Default	Description
fillColor	string	> themes.defaultFillColor	Specify the fill color. You may use a dataSource to apply the color. The hex value format should be "#FFFFFF". The default for enterprise light mode is "#C3CBD4". The default for enterprise dark mode is "#31373E". The default for prisma dark mode is "#0B0C0E".
fillOpacity	number	1	Specify the opacity of the fill. Choose a number in the range of 0 - 1 (inclusive). You can also express the value as a percentage. For example, "0.80" in source or "80%" in UI.
rx	number	0	Specify the curvature of the horizontal corner (or border) radius with an integer or a percent greater than or equal to zero.
ry	number	> rx	Specify the curvature of the vertical corner (or border) radius with an integer or a percent greater than or equal to zero.
strokeColor	string	> themes.defaultStrokeColor	Specify the stroke color. You may use a dataSource to apply the color. The hex value format should be "#FFFFFF". The default for enterprise light mode is "#3C444D". The default for enterprise dark mode is "#C3CBD4". The default for prisma dark mode is "#ACACAD".
strokeDashStyle	number	0	Specify the size, in pixels, of dashes and spaces used to create a custom stitched outline. The value you specify applies to both the dashes and the spaces between them.
strokeJoinStyle	("arcs" | "bevel" | "miter" | "miter-clip" | "round")	miter	Specifies the shape to be used at the corners of paths when they are joined.
strokeOpacity	number	1	Specify the opacity of the stroke. Choose a number in the range of 0 - 1 (inclusive). You can also express the value as a percentage. For example, "0.80" in source or "80%" in UI.
strokeWidth	number	1	Specify the width of the stroke, in pixels, in the range of 1 - 25 (inclusive).