Charting tips, tricks, and troubleshooting
Chart doesn’t look as expected
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Are you comparing individual data points (the price of each product in a category) or summarized data points (the sum of all products in a category)?
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Summarized data points can be text or number field type. You can count data in a text field and you can perform a variety of mathematical operations on number data (sum, average, and so on).
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When you create a quick chart, FileMaker Pro includes axis labels based on the field you selected and the current state of the file. When FileMaker Pro can’t determine appropriate labels, it leaves labels blank. For example, if you chart individual data points such as soccer scores, FileMaker Pro labels the appropriate axis Scores. However, the labels on the opposite axis are blank if FileMaker Pro can’t determine you want to plot by player first names, last names, the team name, or the game date. If axis labels are missing, you can add them in the Chart inspector.
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If summary data looks unexpected, check the summary type FileMaker Pro applied. You can use the Summary setting in the Chart inspector to verify and the change the summary type.
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Troubleshooting calculated titles and data series
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I received a parsing error when charting delimited data
When you chart delimited data, you must enter numerical data, dates, and times in the format of the current locale. Otherwise, FileMaker Pro displays an error.
Blank records appear in chart
If data points for unexpected blank records appear in your chart, it’s possible:
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To remove zero data points from your chart, perform a find and omit the invalid records by entering only the = operator in the appropriate fields. If the problem persists, check and correct calculations. See Finding records except those matching criteria.
Charting missing data values
If your x-axis data series contains missing values (no data), a data label is displayed on the x-axis for most chart types, but no corresponding data point is displayed. Line and area charts display a missing data point as a zero.
Tick marks display differently in the chart preview and Layout mode
FileMaker Pro automatically adjusts chart scale and tick marks depending on the size of the chart. Therefore, tick marks and scales might look different when viewed in the chart preview and Layout mode.
Charting repeating fields
FileMaker Pro does not recognize individual values in repeating fields as a data series. To chart data in repeating fields, use the List function to combine repeating data in a delimited format, then choose Current Record (delimited data) for Chart Data.