How to create an Area chart

In this blog, we will learn how to create an Area chart in the Open Source BI product Helical Insight and understand the difference between the Chart and Grid Chart categories.

Area Chart created using “Chart” category

To create an Area chart, you need only one dimension and one measure.

For example:

  • Drag the dimension booking_platform into the Rows or Columns section.
  • Drag the measure sum_travel_cost into the opposite axis.
  • Click on the Area option under the Chart section in the Visualization panel.

Once selected, the Area chart displays a filled region under a line, showing how total travel cost changes across booking platforms.

How to create an Area chart

After creating the basic Area chart, add the dimension Branch to the Color option under the Marks section.

How to create an Area chart

Once Branch is added to Color, the single filled area automatically converts into a stacked area chart. Each colored region now represents a different branch (Delhi_North, Chennai_Central, Bangalore_East, Mumbai_Main, Pune_West).

The X-axis displays the Channel (IMPS, UPI, NEFT, ATM), while the Y-axis represents sum_Principal. Each colored layer shows how much principal amount is contributed by a particular branch across different channels.

Limitations of Area Chart created using “Chart” Category:

The Area chart created using the Chart section supports only:

  • One dimension
  • One measure

If additional dimensions/measures are added, it will not support multi-level grouping. Therefore, it is best suited for simple trend analysis.

Area Chart created using “Grid” chart category

The Grid Chart Area option provides more flexibility and supports multiple dimensions. An area chart created using Grid chart category is highly flexible. It can allow users to drag any number of dimensions in both rows and columns, and accordingly it creates a sort of matrix within which the donut chart gets populated. Thus it is much more flexible.

In this example, an additional dimension meeting_purpose is added along with booking_platform, while sum_travel_cost remains as the measure. This creates a grid-style Area chart.

Each grid panel represents a booking platform, and within each panel, the Area chart shows how travel cost varies across different meeting purposes. This allows multi-dimensional analysis in a structured layout.

How to create an Area chart

For advanced reporting and sub-chart creation, the Grid Chart Area option should be used.

When to Use an Area Chart

Area charts are best used to communicate overall trends rather than individual values. They work especially well when visualizing progression across categories or time.

There are three main types of Area charts:

  • Standard Area Chart: Used to compare quantitative progression over time or categories. Suitable when displaying one or multiple data series.

  • Stacked Area Chart: Used to show part-to-whole relationships, highlighting how each category contributes to the total.

  • 100% Stacked Area Chart: Best for showing percentage distribution across categories, where the total value is not the focus but proportional contribution is.

Helical Insight provides built-in Area chart options. You can connect to a database, drag and drop columns, apply filters, and visualize the data directly in the browser. Further customizations can be done using CSS, HTML, and JavaScript, such as modifying colors, hover effects, gridlines, axis labels, headers, and more.

This created stacked Area chart can be converted into Grouped area chart (wherein each color instead of stacking with each other will be present next to each other) you can refer to this blog. We have also explained how to convert this stacked area chart into 100% stacked area chart.: https://www.helicalinsight.com/selecting-the-type-of-bar-charts-in-helical-insight-5-0/

There are a lot of other customizations like color palette, data format, caching, axis, drill down, drill through etc which can also be used. You can refer to our other blogs to learn about the same.

Reach out on support@helicalinsight.com in case of any more questions.

You May Also Like

Leave a Reply

Helical Insight’s self-service capabilities is one to reckon with. It allows you to simply drag and drop columns, add filters, apply aggregate functions if required, and create reports and dashboards on the fly. For advanced users, the self-service component has ability to add javascript, HTML, HTML5, CSS, CSS3 and AJAX. These customizations allow you to create dynamic reports and dashboards. You can also add new charts inside the self-service component, add new kind of aggregate functions and customize it using our APIs.
Helical Insight’s self-service capabilities is one to reckon with. It allows you to simply drag and drop columns, add filters, apply aggregate functions if required, and create reports and dashboards on the fly. For advanced users, the self-service component has ability to add javascript, HTML, HTML5, CSS, CSS3 and AJAX. These customizations allow you to create dynamic reports and dashboards. You can also add new charts inside the self-service component, add new kind of aggregate functions and customize it using our APIs.
Helical Insight, via simple browser based interface of Canned Reporting module, also allows to create pixel perfect printer friendly document kind of reports also like Invoice, P&L Statement, Balance sheet etc.
Helical Insight, via simple browser based interface of Canned Reporting module, also allows to create pixel perfect printer friendly document kind of reports also like Invoice, P&L Statement, Balance sheet etc.
If you have a product, built on any platform like Dot Net or Java or PHP or Ruby, you can easily embed Helical Insight within it using iFrames or webservices, for quick value add through instant visualization of data.
If you have a product, built on any platform like Dot Net or Java or PHP or Ruby, you can easily embed Helical Insight within it using iFrames or webservices, for quick value add through instant visualization of data.
Being a 100% browser-based BI tool, you can connect with your database and analyse across any location and device. There is no need to download or install heavy memory-consuming developer tools – All you need is a Browser application! We are battle-tested on most of the commonly used browsers.
Being a 100% browser-based BI tool, you can connect with your database and analyse across any location and device. There is no need to download or install heavy memory-consuming developer tools – All you need is a Browser application! We are battle-tested on most of the commonly used browsers.
We have organization level security where the Superadmin can create, delete and modify roles. Dashboards and reports can be added to that organization. This ensures multitenancy.
We have organization level security where the Superadmin can create, delete and modify roles. Dashboards and reports can be added to that organization. This ensures multitenancy.
We have organization level security where the Superadmin can create, delete and modify roles. Dashboards and reports can be added to that organization. This ensures multitenancy.
We have organization level security where the Superadmin can create, delete and modify roles. Dashboards and reports can be added to that organization. This ensures multitenancy.
A first-of-its-kind Open-Source BI framework, Helical Insight is completely API-driven. This allows you to add functionalities, including but not limited to adding a new exporting type, new datasource type, core functionality expansion, new charting in adhoc etc., at any place whenever you wish, using your own in-house developers.
A first-of-its-kind Open-Source BI framework, Helical Insight is completely API-driven. This allows you to add functionalities, including but not limited to adding a new exporting type, new datasource type, core functionality expansion, new charting in adhoc etc., at any place whenever you wish, using your own in-house developers.
It handles huge volumes of data effectively. Caching, Pagination, Load-Balancing and In-Memory not only provides you with amazing experience, but also and does not burden the database server more than required. Further effective use of computing power gives best performance and complex calculations even on the big data even with smaller machines for your personal use. Filtering, Sorting, Cube Analysis, Inter Panel Communication on the dashboards all at lightning speed. Thereby, making best open-source Business Intelligence solution in the market.
It handles huge volumes of data effectively. Caching, Pagination, Load-Balancing and In-Memory not only provides you with amazing experience, but also and does not burden the database server more than required. Further effective use of computing power gives best performance and complex calculations even on the big data even with smaller machines for your personal use. Filtering, Sorting, Cube Analysis, Inter Panel Communication on the dashboards all at lightning speed. Thereby, making best open-source Business Intelligence solution in the market.
With advance NLP algorithm, business users simply ask questions like, “show me sales of last quarter”, “average monthly sales of my products”. Let the application give the power to users without knowledge of query language or underlying data architecture
With advance NLP algorithm, business users simply ask questions like, “show me sales of last quarter”, “average monthly sales of my products”. Let the application give the power to users without knowledge of query language or underlying data architecture
Our application is compatible with almost all databases, be it RDBMS, or columnar database, or even flat files like spreadsheets or csv files. You can even connect to your own custom database via JDBC connection. Further, our database connection can be switched dynamically based on logged in users or its organization or other parameters. So, all your clients can use the same reports and dashboards without worrying about any data security breech.
Our application is compatible with almost all databases, be it RDBMS, or columnar database, or even flat files like spreadsheets or csv files. You can even connect to your own custom database via JDBC connection. Further, our database connection can be switched dynamically based on logged in users or its organization or other parameters. So, all your clients can use the same reports and dashboards without worrying about any data security breech.
Our application can be installed on an in-house server where you have full control of your data and its security. Or on cloud where it is accessible to larger audience without overheads and maintenance of the servers. One solution that works for all.
Our application can be installed on an in-house server where you have full control of your data and its security. Or on cloud where it is accessible to larger audience without overheads and maintenance of the servers. One solution that works for all.
Different companies have different business processes that the existing BI tools do not encompass. Helical Insight permits you to design your own workflows and specify what functional module of BI gets triggered
Different companies have different business processes that the existing BI tools do not encompass. Helical Insight permits you to design your own workflows and specify what functional module of BI gets triggered