Charting tips, tricks, and troubleshooting
Chart doesn’t look as expected
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Verify that data is sorted in the current layout and unwanted records are omitted from the found set before creating a chart.
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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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Individual data points must be numeric so they can be plotted directly on the chart.
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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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If your chart displays too few data points when data is sorted, in the Chart inspector, click Data Source and select Individual record data.
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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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A chart can display up to 2048 data points. If your data set contains more than 2048 records, FileMaker Pro charts a subset of the available data representing a uniform spread of the larger data set.
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Charts created in Layout mode appear differently in the Chart Setup dialog box preview than in Browse mode depending on the layout part in which they are placed. See Placing your chart in the appropriate layout part.
Troubleshooting calculated titles and data series
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When you use a calculation to specify a title in a chart created in Layout mode, the result is based on the layout part in which the chart is located. See Placing your chart in the appropriate layout part.
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A calculated x-axis data series must return a result:
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as text in a column, stacked column, positive/negative, pie (category label), line, or area chart
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as number in a bar, stacked bar, scatter, or bubble chart
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When you chart data in a found set or in related records, a calculated y-axis data series must return a result:
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as number in a column, stacked column, positive/negative, pie (slice data), line, area, scatter, or bubble chart
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as text in a bar or stacked bar
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When you chart delimited data in the current record, a calculated y-axis data series (slice data in pie charts) must return the result in a text field.
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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there are restricted records in the database that you do not have access to chart
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the file contains invalid calculations that are returning the question mark character (?)
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.
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