Views Chart Tools

Maintainer's note

It is very important when updating this module that you update Google Charts as well, at least during this stage in development. This module is still in its infancy, so features are being added frequently. Some dashboard configurations may not be stable enough for production sites, but enhancements and bug fixes will continue to be committed frequently. It is important that users get involved in promoting the stability of Views Chart Tools by taking the time to contribute with bug reports and feature requests.

Tutorials

We are currently developing tutorials on the various intermediate and advanced features of Views Chart Tools. Check back frequently for new documentation and tutorials.

• Building quarterly reports with grouping, aggregation, and modifiers
• Creating and populating a Google Map from custom fields

Overview

This module was originally developed for Blankstyle.com as a simple API for generating image charts from database data, but during development it grew in scope, eventually integrating the interactive HTML5 charts of the Google Chart Tools API with Views. It aims to seamlessly integrate the advanced features of Google's API with the query building abilities of Views, using view results to render interactive visualizations containing multiple charts and controls.

Goals

Views Chart Tools was developed to provide site builders a tool to develop complex interactive charts in a recognizable interface. The concept of charting with Views is a young one and can be often confusing. This is why one of our biggest goals is to provide tools to help users better understand how to create and configure dashboards through both the interface and external documentation. We realize that database structures can often conflict with business charting requirements - "create a chart of the average number of sales for a product per day for each of the last four quarters" - and Views frequently fails to support such needs, so we hope to provide additional tools to assist in generating data to meet these needs.

Features

Views Chart Tools integrates the most advanced features of the Google Visualization API with the essential Views module. The module is still young and under development, so we have yet to see the possibilities afforded by the features within. See the Google Chart Tools documentation for more information on available features.
Note: this module is still under active development. Some features may not yet be available or complete.

• Generate several beautiful HTML 5 charts from your Views data output.
• Render multiple charts in a single view in a Visualization API dashboard. Charts and controls that are displayed in the dashboard are all linked to the same data table - generated from the view output.
• Add interactive string, category, and range filters to your dashboard.
• Access extensive options for any element, each of which has its own unique configuration form (similar to fields).
• Complete control over the output data types and roles.
• Group data into month, quarter, and year.
• Use additional data fields to add advanced annotations to your charts with roles.
• Visualize data in your table using advanced formatting of output (under development).
• Visual representations of the data requirements of each separate chart as well as all charts in the dashboard combined.
• Rearrange element positions within your visualization directly in the Views UI, similar to the way fields and filters can be rearranged.
• Configure your dashboard in a manner consistent with the Views UI by handling charts in the same way that Views handles fields.
• Developer API for adding support for additional charts or options.

Charts currently supported

Annotated timeline, Area chart, Bar chart, Bubble chart, Column chart, Combo chart, Line chart, Google map, Organizational chart, Pie chart, Scatter chart, Stepped area chart, and Table.

Known issues

• Charts cannot be drawn in a dashboard without at least one control being present.
• In certain instances, dashboards may not render properly in the view preview.
• Several misconfigurations can cause a variety of errors in the dashboard. We hope to curb the module's propensity for errors by further automating the selection of data table properties like column types and roles and by limiting the types of charts that are made available to a given configuration.
• The current filtering of available charts, data types, and column roles can be confusing without sufficient explanation/education in the user interface.

Dependencies

• Views
• Google Chart Tools API

Documentation

Check out the new documentation and tutorials on building dynamic charts with Views Chart Tools. We hope to continue providing more in depth documentation of the module's advanced features in the coming weeks.

Development and maintenance of this module is sponsored by Blankstyle