Arc Gauges

Arc gauges are based on a single metric. They are supported by all Composer data connectors.

This topic describes:

• Configure Default Arc Gauge Settings for a Data Source
• Display Arc Gauge Label Description
• Adjust the Arc Gauge Value Range
• Adjust Arc Gauge Color Metric Value Range
• Display Arc Gauge Values as Percentages
• Configure Colors for a Specific Arc Gauge

Configure Default Arc Gauge Settings for a Data Source

To configure default arc gauge settings for a data source configuration:

1. Edit the appropriate data source configuration. See Edit a Data Source Configuration.

2. Select the Visuals tab in the data source configuration wizard.

3. On the Standard subtab of the Visuals tab, select Arc.

   If you want to be able to display the data collected by this data source configuration as an arc gauge, make sure the Arc checkbox is selected.

   Default arc gauge settings appear on the right side of the page.

4. Configure the default settings as described in the following table. For all settings, you can ydefine the default aggregation function used for the metric values: SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN, or (for some data sources) LAST VALUE. See Metric Aggregation Functions.

   Setting	Description
   Color Metric	Select the metric that affects the color of the arc gauge.
   Metric	Select the primary metric to show on the gauge.
   Metric Denominator	Select the metric used to determine the maximum arc gauge value.
   Color Metric Denominator	Select the metric used to determine the maximum color value for the arc gauge.

5. Select .

Display Arc Gauge Label Description

You can show a description of the arc gauge label. The label shows the value that is plotted, but the label description shows the calculation for the plotted value in the format <actual value>/<maximum value>. By default, the label description is not shown.

To display the arc gauge label description:

1. Edit the visual you want to modify. See Edit Visuals.

2. Select on the visual sidebar. The Rulers sidebar for the visual appears.

   

3. Slide the Show label description switch on (to the right).

4. Select . The changes are made to the arc gauge and the label description is shown.

5. Select to save the visual.

Adjust the Arc Gauge Value Range

To configure minimum and maximum arc gauge values for a specific arc gauge:

1. Edit the visual you want to modify. See Edit Visuals.

2. Select on the visual sidebar. The Rulers sidebar for the visual appears.

3. In the Metric section of the sidebar, configure the settings as described below.

   Setting	Description
   Min	Specify the minimum value for the gauge. Select the Auto checkbox to have Composer automatically determine the minimum value from the data for the arc gauge metric.
   Max	If the Static maximum value switch is on, specify the maximum value for the gauge. Select the Auto checkbox to have Composer automatically determine the maximum value from the data for the arc gauge metric. If the Static maximum value switch is off, select a second metric to use for the maximum value of the gauge. For example, if the arc metric was the number of apples, you might select a second metric representing the total number of fruit. In this way, the arc gauge would plot the total number of apples as it relates to the total number of fruit.
   Static maximum value	This switch allows you to plot the arc gauge metric as it relates to a second metric. By default, this switch is on. When it is on, the maximum value of the arc gauge is determined by the Max setting for the arc metric or the maximum value of the data for the selected arc metric. Only the values of the selected arc metric are used. Slide the Static maximum value switch off (to the left) to select a second metric to use for the maximum value of the gauge.
   Show as percentage	This switch allows you to show the values as a percentage of the maximum value of the gauge. Slide the Show as percentage switch on (to the right) to use percentages. Otherwise, raw values are shown.

4. Select . The changes are made to the arc gauge.

5. Select to save the visual.

Adjust Arc Gauge Color Metric Value Range

The color metric determines the color used by the arc gauge. Color settings are mostly specified on the Color sidebar for the arc gauge, but you can adjust the range for the color metric of an arc gauge using the Rulers sidebar.

To configure minimum and maximum values for the color metric selected for a specific arc gauge:

1. Edit the visual you want to modify. See Edit Visuals.

2. Select on the visual sidebar. The Rulers sidebar for the visual appears.

3. In the Color Metric section of the sidebar, configure the settings as described below.

   Setting	Description
   Min	Specify the minimum value for the color metric. Select the Auto checkbox to have Composer automatically determine the minimum value from the data for the color metric.
   Max	If the Static maximum value switch is on, specify the maximum value of the color metric used for the arc gauge. Select the Auto checkbox to have Composer automatically determine the maximum value from the color metric. If the Static maximum value switch is off, select a second metric to use for the maximum value of the color metric used for the arc gauge.
   Static maximum value	This switch allows you to set the color of the arc gauge as it relates to a second metric. By default, this switch is on. When it is on, the color range of the arc gauge is determined by the Max setting for the color metric or the maximum value of the data for the selected color metric. Only the values of the selected color metric are used. Slide the Static maximum value switch off (to the left) to select a different metric to use for the color of the gauge.
   Show as percentage	This switch allows you to show the color metric values as a percentage of the maximum value of the color metric. Slide the Show as percentage switch on (to the right) to use percentages. Otherwise, raw values are used.

4. Select . The changes are made to the arc gauge.

5. Select to save the visual.

Display Arc Gauge Values as Percentages

When you first create an arc gauge visual, the values shown on the gauge are the raw values of the plotted metric. You can alter this to show the values as a percentage of the maximum value of the gauge.

To display arc gauge values as percentages in an a specific arc gauge:

1. Edit the visual you want to modify. See Edit Visuals.

2. Select on the visual sidebar. The Rulers sidebar for the visual appears.

3. In the Metric section of the sidebar, slide the Show as percentage switch on (to the right).

4. Select . The changes are made to the arc gauge and percentages are shown.

5. Select to save the visual.

Configure Colors for a Specific Arc Gauge

To specify the color settings for a specific arc gauge using the Color sidebar:

1. Edit the visual you want to modify. See Edit Visuals.

2. Select on the visual sidebar. The Color sidebar for the visual appears.

   

3. Configure the color settings as described below. As you change the color settings, the legend at the top of the Color sidebar shows how the legend will appear on the visual. Supported color specifications are described in Specify Colors.

   Setting	Description
   Legend	Slide the bar to the right if you want the legend to be displayed on the visual or to the left to hide the legend.
   Label Color	Select a label color. Select the Inherit from theme checkbox to use the color palette specified by the theme.
   Label Description Color	Select a color for the label description. Select the Inherit from theme checkbox to use the color palette specified by the theme.
   Color Metric	Select the metric that affects the segment color in the visual. You can also define the default aggregation function used for the metric values: SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN, or (for some data sources) LAST VALUE. See Metric Aggregation Functions.
   Color Palette	If a color palette is specified for this visual type in the data source defaults, select the color palette for this specific visual. If a color range is selected for KPI visuals in the data source defaults, this setting is not available. Select the Inherit from theme checkbox to use the color palette specified by the theme.
   Color Mode	Select Distinct Colors or Gradient to identify the way colors are used on the screen. Either specific distinct colors will be used or a gradient of colors will be used. (This is equivalent to the Legend Type default settings on the visuals tab of the data source configuration.)
   Threshold Mode	If you selected the Gradient color mode, this setting cannot be changed. If you selected the Distinct Colors color mode, select either Auto or Manual from the drop-down list. Auto will automatically assign thresholds and colors for the visual. Manual allows you to change the thresholds and colors used on the visual.
   Number of colors	Specify the number of colors to use for the visual.
   Color Rules	Color rules allow you to change the colors for each color used for the visual. In addition, if you specified a Manual threshold mode, you can select the thresholds used for color settings in the visual. See Understand Visual Color Condition Thresholds.

4. Close the Color sidebar and the color settings are dynamically applied to the visual.

5. Select to save the dashboard and the visual with its updated settings.

Understand Visual Color Condition Thresholds

You can set threshold color conditions for metric-based visuals. At least two color settings are required. In addition, thresholds are specified between each color setting. (So three color settings require two threshold settings; four color settings require three threshold settings, etc.)

• The color for Color 1 is used when the value of the color metric is less than the first threshold value.

• The color for Color 2 is used when the value of the color metric falls between the first and second threshold values.

• If only three colors are used for the visual, the color for Color 3 is used when the value of the color metric is greater than or equal to the second threshold value.

  If more than three colors are used, the color for Color 3 is used when the value of the color metric falls between the second and third threshold values.

  When more than three colors are used, the colors continue to be applied in this pattern for all threshold settings; any color metric values greater than the last threshold setting have the final color applied.

You can have Composer automatically set the thresholds or you can manually set them.

For information about the color encoding supported by Composer, see Specify Colors.