Work with Hierarchies in a Chart

In a chart with hierarchical data, you can change the hierarchical level or expand a hierarchy.

If you have hierarchical data in your chart, you can explore the data at different levels. Depending on the type of chart you have, you can do the following:

  • Chart with at least one hierarchical dimension: you can expand a hierarchy in your chart to display multiple levels of members at the same time, or you can drill up and down through the hierarchical dimensions.

  • Waterfall chart with hierarchical values: you can expand or collapse the chart to explore the data at different levels.

  • Time Series chart: you can change the hierarchy level to see the data aggregation at different granularity settings.

Expand a Hierarchy in a Chart

Note

Your chart must have at least one hierarchical dimension.

You can expand dimension hierarchies in a chart to view finer granularity of the data. You can also display more than one level of the hierarchy at the same time, similar to how expanded levels are displayed in a table.

The Drill dialog gives you control over which level of data is displayed as well as whether to include the parent levels.

The Expand/Collapse option within the chart expands or collapses data by one level each time you select it.

Tip

When you have a linked analysis set in your story and you expand or drill into a chart, all the charts with the same hierarchy level will be refreshed to show the new level.

Note

When you add a filter to the chart, the hierarchy level is reset to level 1. The drill level is now at level 1 relative to the filter.

How to Expand a Hierarchy in a Chart

  1. Select your chart.

  2. To display the hierarchy expansion dialog, do one of the following:

    • From the Builder, find your dimension and select (Drill).

    • In the chart subtitle area, select (Set Drill).

      If more than one dimension is listed, select the appropriate dimension.

  3. From the Drill dialog, select a level.

    • If you also select Include Parent Levels, the selected level and its parent levels are displayed in the chart.

    • Selecting Default removes the drill level.

    • Selecting Reset resets the drill level to level 1.

    • Selecting Set Hierarchy from the drill menu in the Builder lets you use a different hierarchy for the dimension or show a flat presentation instead. To hide parent members in the chart, select Show only leaves in widget.

Drill Through Hierarchical Data

If hierarchical dimensions are included in a chart, you can drill up or down through dimensions to explore the data at different levels.

If the chart contains more than one hierarchical dimension, you can select which dimension to drill into.

Note
Do the following to add a hierarchical dimension to a Numeric Point chart:
  1. In the builder panel, select Start of the navigation path (Add/Remove Chart Components) Next navigation step Add TrellisEnd of the navigation path.

  2. In the Trellis section, select Add Dimension and then select your hierarchical dimension.

How to Drill Through Hierarchical Data

  1. Select an area in the chart or a label on the axis.

    For example, you can select one or more bars in a bar chart.

    The selected area in the chart is highlighted.

  2. Right-click and select Drill Down or Drill Up, and then select the dimension to drill on.

    You can also show all levels of the hierarchy by choosing Expand/Collapse.

  3. To reset the drill option, in the title area for the chart select Start of the navigation path (Set Drill) Next navigation step  ResetEnd of the navigation path.

    Note

    Selecting Reset will reset the drill level to 1, not to any other level that you may have set.

Drill Through Waterfall Charts

If hierarchical values are included in a Waterfall chart, you can expand or collapse the chart to explore the data at different levels.

How to Drill Through Waterfall Charts

  1. Select an area in the chart or a label on the axis.

    The selected area in the chart is highlighted.

  2. In the menu that appears, do one of the following:

    • Chart has only one Account measure: select (Expand Account or Collapse Account).

    • Chart has a measure and one or more dimensions: select (Expand or Collapse) and from the list, select the measure or dimension.

    • Set one or more data points to be the intermediate or total sum: select ().

  3. To remove the drill option, in the title area for the chart select (Set Drill) and then choose (Reset).

Change the Hierarchical Level in a Time Series Chart

You can change the hierarchy level in a Time Series chart to see the data aggregation at different granularity settings.

In your story, you can change the hierarchy level of a Time Series chart to show Year, Quarter, Month, and so on. When you change from a more granular to a less granular interval such as from Month to Quarter, the new view displays an aggregated value for the interval.

How to Change the Hierarchical Level in a Time Series Chart

  1. In your story, select your Time Series chart.

  2. In the Chart Details area, select (Hierarchy) and select a different level of granularity.

  3. If the level of granularity that you want is not available, in the Builder, find the date dimension and then select Start of the navigation path Next navigation step Filter by RangeEnd of the navigation path.

    1. In the Set Date Range for Time dialog, select Hierarchy and choose your new option.

    2. (Optional) Change the Granularity and range values.

    3. When you have finished making changes, select OK.