Dual Axis Chart

Watch Video: Creating a Chart (Use Secondary Axis)

This video might show an earlier version of the feature or operation that differs in minor ways from the current version.

By default, when you add two or more measure fields on the Y-axis, the selected datasets are plotted on adjacent sets of axes, as shown below in the Chart Editor:

What is a measure?

A measure is generally used for aggregation, for example summation, averaging, correlation, etc., within a Crosstab, Chart, Text component, or Gauge. Adding a measure to the ‘Y’ region in a chart displays the computed aggregates by using locations on the Y-axis. Adding a measure to the ‘X’ region displays the computed aggregates by using locations on the X-axis. You can also display aggregates by using color, shape, size, or label.

two measures plotted on adjacent axes

In some cases, you may want to use dual Y-axes to represent these measures, as shown below:

dual Y-axes chart with two measures

To display a dataset on the right-side (secondary) Y-axis, follow the steps below:

If you are new to charting, see the following sections first:

Configure Your Data…​

The data source for the chart (data block or data model) should represent dimensions and measures as independent columns or fields, as shown below. See Prepare Your Data for information on how to manipulate your data, if it is not currently in this form. (Note: A properly designed data model will already have the correct structure.)

data source with dimensions and measures as columns

In some cases (e.g., Pie Chart), you may want your data to provide just a single measure. In other cases (e.g., Line Chart), you may want the data to supply multiple measures. If the data does not provide the correct number of measures, you may be able to alter the number of measures to suit the needs of the chart by “pivoting” or “unpivoting” the data. See Pivot Data in Prepare Your Data for more information about this procedure.

Open a Chart for Editing…​
Watch Video: Create a Chart (Open the Chart Editor)

This video might show an earlier version of the feature or operation that differs in minor ways from the current version.

Follow the steps below to get started with a new Chart. See Basic Charting Steps for more details.

  1. If necessary, create a new Dashboard. (See Create a New Dashboard.)

  2. From the Toolbox panel, drag a Chart component into the Dashboard.

    drag Chart component into Dashboard

  3. Resize the Chart as desired by dragging the handles.

    drag handles to resize Chart

  4. Press the ’Edit’ button in the center of the Chart or press the ‘Edit’ button Edit in the top-right corner.

    press Edit button on Chart

    This opens the same Visualization Recommender available for creating a new Dashboard. (See Create a New Dashboard.)

  5. To bypass the Recommender, press the ‘Full Editor’ button Full Editor at the top right to open the Chart Editor.

    press Full Editor to open Chart Editor

  1. Add multiple measures to the chart. (See Multiple Measure Chart for additional details.)

  2. Press the ‘Switch to Single Graph’ button Switch to Single Graph in the Chart Editor.

    press Switch to Single Graph button

    This places all measuress on the same Y-axis rather than on adjacent axes.

    To return to the multiple axis style, open the Chart Editor and press the ‘Switch to Separate Graph’ button Switch to Separate Graph.

    press Switch to Separate Graph button

  3. Press the ‘Edit Measure’ button Edit Measure next to the measure that you wish to display against the secondary Y-axis.

  4. Enable the ‘Secondary Axis’ option at the bottom of the panel.

    enable Secondary Axis option

  5. Press the ‘Apply’ button Apply to update the chart axes.

    chart updated with secondary Y-axis

  6. Press the ‘Finish’ button Finish to close the Editor.

You can proceed to edit the titles, legend, etc. See Basic Charting Steps and Chart Properties for more information. See Add Data Format for information on how to format text on a Chart.

Explore More…​

The sample Accounts Receivable Management Dashboard provides an example of a dual axis chart.

accounts receivable dual axis chart example

To explore this sample Dashboard, download and import the Accounts Receivable Management Dashboard into your environment. (This requires access to Enterprise Manager.) See Import and Export Assets for instructions on how to import.