Configure charts and metrics

Editorial illustration of abstract charts and a metric tile.

Charts explain a breakdown or trend. Metrics show one summary value. Use both when a dashboard needs an at-a-glance result and the context behind it.

Who this is for

Agency team members who build reporting dashboards or operational summaries. Requires View Layouts and Edit Layouts.

Before you begin

Create a view and add a section. See Create a view.
Decide whether the result needs a category breakdown, a trend, or one summary value.
Identify the data source, calculation, grouping field, and filters that define the result.

Configure a chart

Open the view in the builder from Settings, then Views ( /settings/views (opens in new tab) ).
Drag a chart from Data into a section. Available chart blocks are Bar, Line, Pie, Donut, Area, and Scatter Plot.
Select the chart and expand General.
Enter Chart Title, confirm Chart Type, and choose Data Source.
Expand Data.
Under Data Series, select Add Series when the chart needs another calculation or subset.
Choose Group By (Categories) for the category axis.
Configure Sort Order, Data Limit, filters, and optional date filtering.
Under Style, configure chart height, palette, legend, labels, stacking, axes, and number formatting as needed.
Select Save Draft.

Bar Chart Data properties with Add Series, Group By, date filtering, sort order, data limit, and filter builder — View full size

For a count by status, use a count series and group by the status field. For a trend, use a line or area chart with an appropriate date grouping.

Configure a metric

Drag a metric from Data into a section. Available metric blocks are Count, Sum, Average, Percentage, and Custom Metric.
Select the metric and expand General.
Enter Metric Title.
Choose Data Source.
Choose Calculation Type and any field required by that calculation.
Add filters to define which records contribute to the value.
Configure Date Filtering when the metric should follow the view picker.
Turn on Apply additional calculation only when the base result needs a static adjustment or second metric.
Select Save Draft.

Count Metric properties with Clients as the data source, Count Records calculation, relationship aggregate, filters, and date filtering — View full size

Arrange a dashboard

A useful operational dashboard often follows this order:

Metrics for the most important totals or rates.
One or two charts that explain the breakdown.
A filtered table or Kanban board for the underlying records.

Keep each block focused. A metric named Overdue tasks should filter to overdue tasks; a chart named Tasks by stage should group tasks by the stage field.

Expected result

Charts render the selected calculation grouped and sorted as configured.
Metrics show one value calculated from the matching records.
Dashboard blocks that follow the view picker update for its selected date range.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
Chart has no categories	Group By (Categories) is empty	Choose a grouping field
Chart or metric is empty	Data source, filters, or required calculation field is incomplete	Review General and Data from top to bottom
Metric is unexpectedly high	Filters are too broad	Add conditions that match the metric title
Dashboard date picker changes some blocks only	Other blocks do not follow the picker or lack a date field	Configure Date Filtering on each intended block
Labels are hard to read	Chart style does not fit the data	Adjust height, label rotation, legend, data limit, or chart type