Use Rulers

Rulers can be used to customize the markers used on the metric axis. You can change the (metric) axis range in a visual along with the markers along the axis. Customizing this range may help you focus your data exploration to specific data points. You can set minimum and maximum values for your axis, define the steps, enable the gridlines, and use a logarithmic scale.

Rulers’ functionality is available only for bar charts, line charts, and waterfall visuals. Controls for rulers are provided using the interactivity sidebar.

Rulers can be customized for a visual using the Rulers sidebar.

The Rulers Sidebar

To access the Rulers sidebar:

1. Select the visual in the Visual Gallery or on a dashboard.
2. Select Settings on the visual drop-down menu to access the sidebar menu for the visual. Then select on the sidebar menu. The Rulers sidebar opens.

The sidebar consists of two sections: the (metric) ruler settings and, possibly, reference lines. If the visual does not support reference lines, this section is not available.

Arc gauges use the Rulers sidebar to control some different settings than are used by most visuals.

3. Select Apply to apply any changes you make.

Enable and Disable Ruler Grid Lines

To enable grid lines:

1. Access the Rulers sidebar for the visual.
2. In the X Gridlines section of the sidebar, select (check) the X Axis checkbox to enable vertical rulers on the visual.
3. In the Y Gridlines section of the sidebar, select (check)the Y Axis checkbox to enable horizontal rulers on the visual. By default, the Y Axis checkbox is selected.

On a combo chart, four y-axis checkboxes are available: Y1 Axis, Y2 Axis, Y3 Axis, and Y4 Axis. By default, only the Y1 Axis checkbox is selected.

4. You can specify the minimum (Min) and maximum (Max) values of the metrics that are plotted. Also specify the value used between grid lines (the Step) shown on the chart. In all cases, you can select the Auto checkbox to have Insights automatically select the minimum, maximum, and step values automatically, based on the data.

On a combo chart, you can specify minimum, maximum, and step values for all four y-axes.

5. Select the Log Scale checkbox for any metric to change the axis based on orders of magnitude of the metric selected for that axis.

6. Select Apply to apply the ruler settings to the visual.

To disable grid lines:

1. Access the Rulers sidebar for the visual.
2. In the Rulers section of the sidebar, clear the X Axis checkbox to disable vertical rulers on the visual. Clear the Y Axis checkbox to disable horizontal rulers on the visual.

On a combo chart, four axis checkboxes are available: Y1 Axis, Y2 Axis, Y3 Axis, and Y4 Axis. Clear the appropriate checkboxes to disable horizontal rulers for the appropriate combo chart dependent variables.

3. Select Apply to apply the ruler settings to the visual.

Configure the Ruler Y-Axis Range

The y-axis range settings on the Ruler sidebar control the minimum and maximum values for the metric shown in the visual. You can configure the default values for Min, Max, and Step. When the Rulers sidebar is initially opened, these settings are set to Auto.

To customize the range, clear the Auto checkbox next to the Min and Max boxes and then enter your custom value ranges in the boxes. Customizing the axis in this way can create a view into your data that drills into specific information, explores anomalies, and otherwise explores more relevant information.

You can further this exploration by clearing the Auto checkbox next to Step and specifying the interval for the tick marks along the y-axis. Steps can be specified down to the tenth place, or one decimal point. For example, you can step the tick marks by .5 tenths. If you specify a step that cannot be displayed on the axis, the default minimal step value is applied.

Use the Ruler Log Scale Function

The log scale function changes the axis based on orders of magnitude of the metric selected for that axis. A log scale is nonlinear and best used when there is a large range in quantity. Log scales can only be used for positive values. Negative values are displayed as ‘1’ in the metric axis. In addition, when this option is selected, the Auto option is enabled for Min, Max, and Step.

The scale is built for whole the data range.

To enable the log scale function for the visual, select the Log Scale checkbox to enable. To disable, clear the checkbox.

The Log Scale function is not available for arc gauges. Arc gauges use the Rulers sidebar to control some different settings than are used by most visuals.

Also see the article about Using Reference Lines.