Exploring a chart

Read a chart closely: hover for values, use the legend, switch to a table, filter by clicking, drill in and download.

Charts in Halo are made to be read closely, and nothing you do here changes the report for anyone else. Try these on the small report below: hover a bar, pick a region, or click a bar to filter.

Hover for values

Hover over a mark to see its exact value and its group. Charts show shortened numbers on their axes, such as 1.2M, and full numbers on hover.

Use the legend

A chart with two or more series has a legend. Click an entry to hide or show that series, so the others are easier to compare. Dashed entries are trend lines and forecasts. Entries for color rules say what a colored bar means.

See the numbers as a table

Every chart has a table behind it, except a scorecard placed in a report. On a chart's own page, use the Chart and Table switch. In a report, open the chart's options menu (⋯) and choose Show as table, or Show as chart to go back. It's the way to get exact values, and the accessible way to read a chart. In a forecast, estimated rows are marked.

View larger in the same menu opens the chart at full size.

Zoom in

Some charts have a slider under the axis, if the author turned it on. Drag inside the plot to zoom into a range, or use the slider to move along it.

Click to filter

In a report, clicking a mark filters the page's other charts to that value. Clicking the West bar, for example, narrows the other charts on that page to West. The chart you clicked stays as it is. Clicking the same mark again lets it go.

The filters you set this way show above the report under Filtered by. Remove one with its ×, or choose Clear filters when there are several. They stay on their page. Authors can turn this off per chart.

Open a detail page

Some charts open a detail page when you click a mark, carrying the value you clicked. Back, or Back to and the page you came from, returns you to where you were. If a chart both filters and opens a page, a small menu asks: Filter this page, or Open and the page's name.

Swap what a chart shows

Authors can let you change a chart without editing it. If they have, small pickers appear on the chart:

  • Group by, to break it down by something else.

  • Measure, to show a different number.

  • Time grain, to switch between days, months or quarters, say.

The options menu also has Sort. When you've changed a chart, a dot marks the menu, and Show as the report has it puts it back.

Drill down in Halo Data

On a chart's own page in Halo Data, clicking a mark drills in instead. Dates move to a finer time grain, and other fields follow the dataset's drill paths, such as country to state to city. A breadcrumb above the chart shows where you are, and All goes back to the top. Drilling never changes the saved chart.

Share what you found

Your filter choices live in the report's address, so a link you share opens the report as you left it.

Take the data with you

Depending on your role and the report's settings, the options menu offers Export rows as CSV, Excel or JSON, and Download image (PNG). If the author turned on Readers can explore it, members can also choose Open in the explorer, to keep asking questions of the same data. In Halo Data, Ask Halo about this opens the Halo AI panel with the chart in hand. Right-click a chart for the same actions. See Exports.

On a public report, downloads appear only if its author allowed them.

If a chart looks wrong

  • A number differs from another report. Check the filters and date range on each. Row policies also mean two people can see different rows.

  • The data looks old. Reports and the explorer say how old their data is, such as "Updated 4 minutes ago", and Refresh asks again. See Live queries, extracts and caching.

  • A chart says it isn't available. It was deleted from the library, or it isn't shared with you. Ask the report's author.