Configuring a timeline chart widget
Timeline chart widgets are one of the types of Dynamic Widget available. They operate similarly to the chart type, but are designed to track values over a period of time.
This widget type can fulfil a range purposes. For example, you can show a chart based on the number of records (e.g. quotes, sales orders) that match a given set of filters e.g.
the number of opportunities won every month for the last year
the number of cases raised every week for the last three months
Alternatively, you can pull numerical values (e.g. profit, case ratings) from a report and use the sum, average, maximum, or minimum value as the basis for your chart data. For example, you could generate:
a column chart to show average case ratings for every month for the last year
a line chart tracking the total weekly estimated profit of won opportunities over the last month
Check the previous section for instructions on adding a new dynamic widget.
Configuring the widget
Once you've added a new dynamic widget of table type, you can click on the cog icon to customise it.
By default, all of these settings will apply only to your current dashboard, although they will persist while it remains on the dashboard. They will not be permanently saved against the widget, though we will discuss later how specific configurations can be saved and provided to other users.
For a timeline chart widget, the settings are as follows:
Title
You can override the previously-defined title here.
Timespan Type
You can change from the default month value to day, week, quarter, or year.
Initial Offset
You can choose to view a past or future period instead of defaulting to the current one.
Initial Span
This enables timespans of multiple days, weeks etc. instead of just one.
Chart Type
Choose between:
Column (bar) chart
Grid view
Line chart
Pie chart
X-Axis (Group By Column)
For a column or line chart, this will determine which report field will be represented by the X-axis.
Only date values can be selected.
Exclude Null/Empty Values
This determines what happens with report lines where the selected X-axis column is blank. For example, if a chart is showing case owners, what happens if the case has no owner?
Include Empty Values - This will group such lines together and include them in the chart.
Exclude Empty Values - Such lines will be not be included at all.
For timeline chart widgets, it is unlikely that you will want to use the Include option.
Fill Empty Dates
This option affects presentation of date labels:
Fill Empty Dates - removes repeated month and year
Fill Normal Dates - shows full date label for each entry
You can see below how the first option can reduce clutter, especially for widgets with a narrower display.
Y-Axis
This determines what the Y-axis will represent. For example, case counts, total opportunity profits, or average case ratings.
Aggregate
Your selection will depend on what you need the widget to do. It determines the operation that will be performed on the Y-axis values that you pull from the report data. The options are average, min, max, count, and sum.
X-Axis Display Text
This lets you change the X-axis label from the default.
Y-Axis Display Text
This lets you change the Y-axis label from the default.
Filters
By default, all lines in the report will be included in the widget's results. In some cases, this will be sufficient.
However, by adding filters you can unlock the potential of dynamic widgets by including only information that matches certain conditions, e.g. suppliers, customers, statuses.