Area Chart
Area Chart
What Is This Report Type?
An Area Chart is a line chart where the region between the line and the X-axis is filled with color or shading. It displays data points connected by straight line segments, with the filled area beneath emphasizing the volume or magnitude of the values over time.
Why Is It Used?
Area Charts are used when you want to emphasize the cumulative magnitude of a metric in addition to its trend. The filled area creates a strong visual impact that communicates scale—making it immediately clear how much total value exists at each point in time compared to a simple line.
Key Features and Characteristics
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Filled Region | The area between the data line and the X-axis is filled with color, emphasizing volume. |
| Trend | Simultaneously communicates the directional trend and the absolute scale of data. |
| Transparency Support | Semi-transparent fills allow overlapping areas in multi-series charts to remain visible. |
| Straight Line Segments | Data points are connected with straight lines (unlike the curved SP Line variant). |
| Baseline at Zero | The filled area anchors to the X-axis, making it easy to perceive how far values are from zero. |
When to Use It (Use Cases)
- Revenue Visualization: Showing monthly revenue where the filled area emphasizes growing sales volume.
- Bandwidth Monitoring: Displaying network bandwidth utilization over 24 hours with volume emphasis.
- Cumulative Sales: Tracking the cumulative number of units sold over a sales campaign period.
- Environmental Data: Visualizing rainfall or temperature volumes across seasons.
Real-Time Business Example
Scenario: A network operations manager needs to monitor server bandwidth consumption across a 24-hour period.
Visualization: An Area Chart plots hourly bandwidth usage (in Mbps) on the Y-axis against the 24-hour timeline on the X-axis. The filled area beneath the line clearly shows the peak traffic periods (noon and evening) as thick “mountains” of color, while off-peak hours appear as shallow valleys. This visual makes it easy to identify capacity planning needs.
Common Metrics Displayed
- Revenue Volumes: Monthly or quarterly revenue with visual emphasis on cumulative value.
- Traffic / Usage Volumes: Website visits, API calls, or bandwidth over time.
- Cumulative Totals: Running sum of transactions, sign-ups, or units produced.
- Resource Utilization: CPU, memory, or disk usage percentages over time.
User Interactions
| Interaction | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Filters | Adjust date range, granularity (hourly/daily/weekly), or category filters. |
| Hover / Tooltip | Hovering over the area reveals the exact value and date at the cursor position. |
| Click / Drill-Down | Clicking a specific point drills down into the detailed records for that time period. |
| Zoom / Pan | Drag to select a date range for zooming, or scroll to pan across the timeline. |
| Export | Export to Excell. |
Creation Steps
- Select Area Chart as the report type.
- Group By: Drag a Date/Time column (e.g., Order Date).
- Metrics: Drag the numeric value to track (e.g., Revenue).