Add Lines and Arrows to Data Charts

A growth arrow displays the growth between two data points.

To add a growth arrow, choose the option Growth Arrow (Figure 2, “Option Growth Arrow”).

A menu opens.

You can now insert a growth arrow by choosing the start and end point of the arrow. To do so, first select the start point end then the end point.

Alternatively, you can set the start and end point via the open menu. To do so, click on the pen symbol (Figure 3, “Define Start And End Point for Growth Arrow”).

Then, first choose your start point and then choose your end point. To do so, tick the corresponding checkboxes.

The growth arrow is inserted into your chart (Figure 4, “Growth Arrow in Chart”).

You can add as many growth arrows as you need.

In the open menu, you can make changes to each growth arrow individually. To do so, select the growth arrow you want to edit and make changes.

You can decide which label type you want to use (Figure 5, “Define Label Type for Growth Arrow”).

If you have chosen to display a percentage as a label, you can decide how many decimal places you want to display.

To do so, either type in a value or use the arrow symbols to increase or decrease the value (Figure 6, “Set Decimal Spaces for Growth Arrow Label”).

If you have chosen to display a value as a label, you can decide which number format you want to use.

To do so, expand the drop-down menu under Number Format and choose your preferred option (Figure 7, “Set Number Format for Growth Arrow Label”).

If you want to display an ellipse, switch the toggle button for Display Ellipse to On (Figure 8, “Display Ellipse for Growth Arrow”).

An ellipse is displayed in the growth arrow (Figure 9, “Growth Arrow with Ellipse”).

This ellipse can also be colored.

To reverse the direction of the growth arrow, click on the button next to Reverse Arrow Direction (Figure 10, “Reverse Arrow Direction for Growth Arrow”).

You can move the horizontal line according to your needs. To do so, hover over this line.

A bilateral arrow appears. Now, drag and drop the line to your preferred position.

As a result, two overarching growth arrows can also be fused into each other (Figure 11, “Merged Growth Arrows”).

If you want to reset this change, click on the button next to Reset Position in the open menu (Figure 12, “Reset Growth Arrow Position”).

To exit the growth arrow settings, either close the menu or press ESC.

A CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) arrow displays the annual average growth rate of the time period between two data points.

To add a CAGR arrow, choose the option CAGR Arrow (Figure 13, “Option CAGR Arrow”).

A menu opens.

You can now insert a CAGR arrow by choosing the start and end point of the arrow. To do so, first select the start point end then the end point.

Alternatively, you can set the start and end point via the open menu. To do so, click on the pen symbol (Figure 14, “Define Start and End Point for CAGR Arrow”).

Then, first choose your start point and then choose your end point. To do so, tick the corresponding checkboxes.

The CAGR arrow is inserted into your chart (Figure 15, “CAGR Arrow in Chart”).

You can add as many CAGR arrows as you need.

In the open menu, you can make changes to each CAGR arrow individually. To do so, select the CAGR arrow you want to edit and make changes.

You can decide which label type you want to use (Figure 16, “Define Label Type for CAGR Arrow”).

If you have chosen to display a percentage as a label, you can decide how many decimal places you want to display.

To do so, either type in a value or use the arrow symbols to increase or decrease the value (Figure 17, “Set Decimal Spaces for CAGR Arrow Label”).

If you have chosen to display a value as a label, you can decide which number format you want to use.

To do so, expand the drop-down menu under Number Format and choose your preferred option (Figure 18, “Set Number Format for CAGR Arrow Label”).

If you want to display an ellipse, switch the toggle button for Display Ellipse to On (Figure 19, “Display Ellipse for CAGR Arrow”).

An ellipse is displayed in the CAGR arrow (Figure 20, “CAGR Arrow with Ellipse”).

This ellipse can also be colored.

To reverse the direction of the CAGR arrow, click on the button next to Reverse Arrow Direction (Figure 21, “Reverse Arrow Direction for CAGR Arrow”).

You can move the arrow according to your needs. To do so, hover over the CAGR arrow.

A bilateral arrow appears. Now, drag and drop the CAGR arrow to your preferred position.

If you want to reset this change, click on the button next to Reset Position in the open menu (Figure 22, “Reset CAGR Arrow Position”).

In addition, you can display connector lines for the CAGR arrow and respective the data points.

To do so, switch the toggle button for Show Connector Lines to On (Figure 23, “Show Connector Lines for CAGR Arrow”).

Connector lines are then inserted between the CAGR arrow and its data points (Figure 24, “CAGR Arrow with Connector Lines”).

To exit the CAGR arrow settings, either close the menu or press ESC.

The delta line shows the percentage or absolute difference between two data points.

To add a delta line, choose the option Delta Line (Figure 25, “Option Delta Line”).

A menu opens.

You can now insert a delta line by choosing the start and end point of the line. To do so, first select the start point end then the end point.

Alternatively, you can set the start and end point via the open menu. To do so, click on the pen symbol (Figure 26, “Define Start And End Point for Delta Line”).

Then, first choose your start point and then choose your end point. To do so, tick the corresponding checkboxes.

The delta line is inserted into your chart (Figure 27, “Delta Line in Chart”).

You can add as many delta lines as you need.

The delta line aligns with the axis delta between two points, also in waterfall charts.

In the open menu, you can make changes to each delta line individually. To do so, select the delta line you want to edit and make changes.

You can decide which label type you want to use (Figure 28, “Define Label Type for Delta Line”).

If you have chosen to display a percentage as a label, you can decide how many decimal places you want to display.

To do so, either type in a value or use the arrow symbols to increase or decrease the value (Figure 29, “Set Decimal Spaces for Delta Line Label”).

If you have chosen to display a value as a label, you can decide which number format you want to use.

To do so, expand the drop-down menu under Number Format and choose your preferred option (Figure 30, “Set Number Format for Delta Line Label”).

If you want to display an ellipse, switch the toggle button for Display Ellipse to On (Figure 31, “Display Ellipse for Delta Line”).

An ellipse is displayed in the delta line (Figure 32, “Delta Line with Ellipse”).

This ellipse can also be colored.

To reverse the direction of the delta line, click on the button next to Reverse Arrow Direction (Figure 33, “Reverse Arrow Direction for Delta Line”).

You can move the line according to your needs. To do so, hover over the vertical part of the delta line.

A bilateral arrow appears. Now, drag and drop the delta line to your preferred position.

If you want to reset this change, click on the button next to Reset Position in the open menu (Figure 34, “Reset Delta Line Position”).

In addition, you can decide if you want to display the value on the axis side or on the other side of the line.

To display the value line on the axis side, switch the toggle button for Display on Axis Side to On (Figure 35, “Display Delta Line Value on Axis Side”).

To exit the delta line settings, either close the menu or press  ESC.

A value line can be used to mark a specific value in your chart.

To add a value line, choose the option Value Line (Figure 36, “Option Value Line”).

The line is inserted into your chart and a menu opens.

Here, you can specify the value that the value line should mark (Figure 37, “Value Settings for Value Line”).

To do so, either type in a value into the input field or tick the checkbox for Average.

If you choose the option Average, the average is automatically calculated and the value line is inserted accordingly.

You can also decide not to show the value in the value line label.

If you have chosen to display the value, you can decide which number format you want to use.

To do so, expand the drop-down menu under Number Format and choose your preferred option (Figure 38, “Set Number Format for Value Line Label”).

In addition, you can type in a custom label for the value line (Figure 39, “Define Custom Label”).

If you want to display an ellipse, switch the toggle button for Display Ellipse to On (Figure 40, “Display Ellipse for Value Line”).

An ellipse is displayed in the value line (Figure 41, “Value Line with Ellipse”).

This ellipse can also be colored.

In addition, you can decide if you want to display the value on the axis side or on the other side of the line.

To display the value line on the axis side, switch the toggle button for Display on Axis Side to On (Figure 42, “Display Value Line Value on Axis Side”).

If you want to reset the position of the label, click on the button next to Reset Position in the open menu (Figure 43, “Reset Value Line Label Position”).

To exit the value line settings, either close the menu or press ESC.

In scatter and bubble charts, you can add free lines.

A free line can be used to mark individual areas in your chart.

To add a free line, choose the option Free Line (Figure 44, “Option Free Line”).

A menu opens.

In this menu, you can choose if you want to draw a free line or use a trend line (Figure 45, “Choose Line Type”).

The free line is selected by default.

To draw a free line, click into the chart to define the start point for the line and then click again to define the end point.

Alternatively, click on the pen symbol in the menu and then enter the coordinates for start and end point into the input fields (Figure 46, “Define Start And End Point for Free Line”).

By default, the free line sticks to the coordinate system (Figure 47, “Draw a Free Line”).

To draw the line angle-guided, press Shift while drawing the line.

Doing so, you can also draw vertical or horizontal lines.

To draw a line without sticking to the coordinate system, press Ctrl while drawing the line.

To insert a trend line, choose the option Trend Line.

Now, you can define which series the trend line should refer to. To do so, choose the respective option from the drop-down menu (Figure 48, “Define Reference for Trend Line” (1)).

Then, you can define if you want the trend line to refer to all data or only the average of the x or y axis. To do so, choose the respective option from the drop-down menu (Figure 48, “Define Reference for Trend Line” (2)).

To change the position of a free line, click on the middle of the line and move it via Drag & Drop.

If you move a line outside of the chart, the line jumps back to a position where the full line can be displayed.

The line keeps its length and gradient.

To move the start or end point of the line, hold the start or end point and adapt the size via Drag & Drop (Figure 49, “Start and End Point for Trend Line”).

Doing so, you can shrink and enlarge the line or change its gradient.

To move the line or its start and end point freely, press Ctrl while moving the line or the start and end point.

To move the line or the start and end point angle-guided, press Shift while moving the line or the start and end point.

To exit the free line settings, either close the menu or press ESC.

Breaks allow you to truncate data segments, e.g. to be able to better display smaller columns.

Sometimes, you may use data in a chart that differs strongly in size. This may result in columns with lower values to be displayed next to columns with a high value which can result in a confusing chart. Breaks can help to maintain readability.

You can either insert value axis breaks and/or category axis breaks, depending on the chart type in use.

If there are two value axes, breaks can be set in the primary axis as well as in the secondary axis.

For bubble and scatter charts, you can insert y-axis and x-axis breaks.

To insert breaks on the value axis, choose the option Value Axis Breaks (Figure 50, “Option Value Axis Breaks”).

If there are two axes, the options are named Primary Axis Breaks and Secondary Axis Breaks.

For bubble and scatter charts, the options are named Y-Axis Breaks and X-Axis Breaks.

A dialog box opens.

In this dialog box, you can decide if you want to calculate the breaks automatically, insert breaks manually or delete all breaks from the chart.

To delete all existing breaks from the chart, choose the option None.

If you have chosen the automatic calculation, tick the checkboxes for the series that you want to include in your calculation (Figure 51, “Automatic Value Axis Breaks”).

empower^® calculates the size of a break so that the expressiveness of the chart is optimally balanced.

If the automatic calculation result does not contain breaks, a notification bar is displayed (Figure 52, “Notification Bar – No Breaks”).

If you have chosen to insert breaks manually, click on the plus symbol to add a new break (Figure 53, “Manual Value Axis Breaks” (1)).

Then, type in the start and end value for your break (Figure 53, “Manual Value Axis Breaks” (2)).

To delete a break, select it from the list and then click on the X symbol (Figure 53, “Manual Value Axis Breaks” (3)).

If you have finished, click on the button OK.

The defined breaks will be inserted into your chart (Figure 54, “Value Axis Breaks in Chart”).

To insert breaks on the category axis, choose the option Category Breaks (Figure 55, “Option Category Breaks”).

A menu opens.

Here, tick the checkboxes for the categories for which you want to insert a break (Figure 56, “Category Breaks Menu”).

Then, click on the button OK.

The defined breaks will be inserted into your chart (Figure 57, “Category Breaks in Chart”).

For chart types such as bar or column charts, data points can be connected via connector lines.

For waterfall charts, connector lines are inserted automatically (Figure 58, “Automatic Connector Lines in Waterfall Chart”) but can also be drawn freely. They can also be deleted if required.

To insert new connector lines in a waterfall chart, choose the option Connector Lines (Figure 59, “Option Connector Lines for Waterfall Charts”).

Then, select the start and end point of the connector line subsequently to create a new connector line.

Hold down the key Ctrl to draw multiple connector lines.

To show all connector lines in bar and column charts, switch the toggle button for Show Connector Lines to On (Figure 60, “Option Show Connector Lines”).

Connector lines are inserted between the data points (Figure 61, “Connector Lines in Chart”). In this case, they cannot be deleted individually.

However, you can disable the connector lines globally for the chart by switching the toggle button to Off again.

To exit the connector line settings, press ESC.

For most charts, you can enable and disable horizontal and vertical gridlines.

For radar charts, you can only set horizontal gridlines.

To enable horizontal gridlines, switch the toggle button for Show Horizontal Gridlines to On (Figure 62, “Option Show Horizontal Gridlines”).

To enable vertical gridlines, switch the toggle button for Show Vertical Gridlines to On (Figure 63, “Option Show Vertical Gridlines”).

The gridlines are inserted into your chart (Figure 64, “Horizontal and Vertical Gridlines in Chart”).

Editing the gridlines is only possible in manual edit mode. If the manual edit mode is enabled, all settings of the lines, such as color or width, can be set manually.

When you exit manual edit mode, all settings are applied.

However, if the gridlines are disabled and reenabled, the settings are reset to default.