One of the biggest improvements in 9.2 is undoubtedly in the area of interactive charting. We’ve hugely extended the capabilities of Small Multiples through a new charting engine which brings rich interactive Visual Analytics to Excel (and web, and mobile…).
The ‘Small Multiple’ concept of many charts with a shared axis is very powerful, but in some cases users just need a single interactive chart and 9.2 caters for both scenarios. We have added zoom controls, sliders and a play axis to help users quickly focus in on and further explore specific areas of interest within the chart.
Zoom controls are available through the chart properties – right-click on anywhere in the chart and select Properties > Animation.
Let’s look at the Animation Zoom options in a bit more detail.
Initially you can select an area to zoom in on directly on the chart, however, you can also use the Zoom mode setting to select either a Slider or a Mini Chart.
Selecting a Slider adds a control to the bottom of the chart:
You can use the slider to narrow the display area, and then slide it across the range of data. This can be particularly useful in comparing relative trends across multiple charts.
Mini charts are another option available within Zoom mode – this shows a smaller version of the chart beneath the x axis and allows you to select an area to focus in on, while retaining the smaller chart to retain the overall perspective.
A Play control allows the user to see how values change over time. To enable that open the Task Pane and add the required time hierarchy into the Animate chart by container.
Select the time periods you want to cycle through and click Play on the control beneath the x axis – it’s that easy! You can now step back through the periods one at a time, or replay the sequence as needed.
We hope you’ve found this blog useful and you’re inspired to visually explore your data with these new features!
As always, we value your feedback and any suggestions on how you would like to see our interactive charting extended further.