Skip to main content
Version Pentaho
Hitachi Vantara Lumada and Pentaho Documentation

Choose the Right Chart Type

  1. Last updated
  2. Save as PDF

There are 17 JFreeChart chart types built into Report Designer, with some of them changing significantly based on which data collector you choose.

If you want to show the strength of a trend for a single value over time, the best chart types are:

  • Line
  • Area
  • XY StepArea
  • XY Step
  • XY Line

If you are directly comparing two or more related values, the best chart types to choose are:

  • Pie
  • Ring
  • Bar
  • Line
  • Area
  • Radar

If you want to show how one set of values directly affects another, the best chart types are:

  • Bar line combination
  • Waterfall

If you are comparing a large number of data points, the best chart types are:

  • XY Difference
  • XY Dot (Scatter plot)
  • Bubble
  • Pie Grid (Multi-Pie)

If you need to show a trend among a small number of related numerical data points, a sparkline chart may be appropriate. However, sparkline charts require comma-separated values for input, so if your data is not in that format, you must create a function to pull it from your data source and put commas between each data point.