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General Concepts

This section provides an overview of Chart-Tank's fundamental concepts and capabilities, helping you understand the core functionality before diving into specific features.

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Chart-Tank offers a wide range of chart types to suit different data visualization needs:

Bar Charts

  • Stacked bars chart

  • 100% Stacked bars

  • Cluster Bar

  • Floating Bars (Football field)

  • Waterfall chart

Line and Area Charts

  • Line charts

  • Area charts

  • 100% Area charts

Combination Charts

  • Bars and lines combinations

Mekko Charts

Radar Charts

  • Also known as Spider charts

Pie and Donut Charts

  • Standard pie charts

  • Donut variations

XY Charts

  • Bubble charts

  • Scatter plots

PowerPoint chart: Marimekko Chart
PowerPoint chars: Floating Bars chart with Axis Break
PowerPoint chart: Cluster Bar
PowerPoint chart: Pie Chart
Floating Bars and Football Field Chart (Horizontal Floating Bars)
PowerPoint charts: Radar Chart, Spider Chart
PowerPoint chart: Stacked Bar
Chart in PowerPoint: 100% Stacked Bar Chart
PowerPoint charts: Bubble Chart and Growth-Share Bubble charts

Chart Orientation

  • Vertical/Horizontal Options:
    Many chart types can be switched between vertical and horizontal orientations on the fly

  • Orientation Impact: Changing orientation adjusts the position of axes, labels, and other elements automatically

Vertical and Horizontam Marimekko Charts created in PowerPoint Charting Software Chart-Tank

Series Display Modes

For applicable chart types, series can be displayed as:

  • Bars 

  • Lines

  • Net lines

  • Data rows

Series types available in PowerPoint Charting Software

Data Rows and Columns

  • Data Rows: Display series values below the chart in tabular format

  • Data Columns: Show bar values on right of the chart in column format

  • Individual Formatting: Set number format individually for each row/column

Legend Configuration

  • Positioning Options: 

    • Right (default)

    • Top

    • Bottom

    • Left​

Legend options for chart created in PowerPoint charting software

  • Alignment Options:
    When the legend is shown on the right, align legend items with:

    • Last bar segments

    • Data columns

  • Customization:

    • Manual size and location adjustment

    • Font style customization

    • Control visibility of individual legend items

    • Reorder legend items as needed

Bar Segment (Bubble) Labels

Labels can display any combination of:

  • Series name

  • Value

  • Calculated percentage value

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Percentage values can be:

  • Calculated automatically

  • Based on user-selected series

  • providing 100% value for each bar

Mekko chart Segment display labes format created in

​Number Formatting

Format options for axis tick marks, bar totals, segment values, percentages, and more:

  • Decimal Points: Control the number of decimal places displayed

  • Positive Values: Option to show + sign for positive values

  • Negative Values: Option to display negative values in parentheses

  • Currency Symbols: Add appropriate currency indicators

  • Units: Display K, M, B for thousands, millions, billions

  • Percentage Scaling: Convert and display data as percentages

 

Bar and Series Sorting

  • Spreadsheet Order: Display in direct or reverse order from your data source

  • Value-Based Sorting:

    • Series based on value in the first bar

    • Bars based on total value

  • Manual Control:

    • Exclude specific series/bars from automatic sorting

    • Manually position series at top/bottom or bars at left/right

 

Data Lines and References

  • Growth Lines

  • Bar comparison lines

  • Segment comparison line

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Customizable labels showing absolute/relative change

Adjustable comparison direction

CAGR display option for growth lines

 

Reference Lines:

  • Value lines (with automatic average calculation option)

  • Vertical lines

  • Segment links (automatic and manual)

 

Axes Configuration

Value Axis

  • Position: Left (default) or right for vertical charts; top or bottom for horizontal charts

  • Title: Add and align title with tick mark labels

  • Scale: Set min/max values and tick mark intervals

  • Global Scaling: Apply multiplier of 10Ë£ to all values

  • Axis Breaks: Insert breaks to improve data visibility

  • Formatting: Custom number formats for tick mark labels

  • Visual Style: Color customization and visibility control for axis elements

Categorical Axis

  • Title: Add and format categorical axis title

  • Labels: Control tick marks and labels visibility

  • Spacing: Adjust bar gap width

  • Visual Style: Customize colors and control visibility of axis elements

 

Styling

Chart-Level Styling

  • Color Themes:

    • Apply predefined color schemes

    • Automatically adopt active PowerPoint presentation theme

  • Coloring Modes:

    • By series

    • By bars

    • By segments

Element-Level Styling

  • Colors: Custom colors for individual elements

  • Patterns: Bar segment patterns and borders

  • Lines: Style and width customization

  • Markers: Style and width options

Data Input Methods

  • Embedded Editor: Enter chart data using the built-in Excel-like data editor

  • External Linking: Link chart data to ranges in Excel files

Chart Type Conversion

  • Convert between compatible chart types after creation

    • Preserves data while changing visualization style

  • Allows experimentation with different presentation formats for the same data

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