Scatter
Updated 6 years ago to v4.4.2 by Flourish team
How to use this template
Scatter
A template for creating two-dimensional scatter plots, ideal for showing correlation, trends and outliers. Extra information can be encoded using colour, shape and size, and data can be divided (or “faceted”) into multiple smaller datasets using the “Grid of charts” feature.
Data requirements
To make a simple scatter chart, all you need is two columns of data: one for the x (horizontal) axis and one for the y (vertical) axis. Each row is plotted as a “dot”, and the spread of dots on the chart shows the relationship between the two metrics. Addition columns can be used to set the colour, size and shape of the dots, or to create interactive controls and custom popups.
Showing change over time
If your data has a column with years or dates, you can create an animated scatter showing change over time, as popularised by Hans Rosling’s famous TED talks. Select a “Time” column to create a slider and choose one or more “Name” columns so the template knows which rows represent the same thing. Rows with the same name will be animated through time and also joined together with lines (which can styled or turned off in the settings panel).
Tips
- Overwhelmed by the number of points? Choose a “Filter” column to create a menu to switch between subsets of the data.
- Want to compare subsets alongside each other? Select a “Grid of charts” column to create an array of mini charts.
- Want to show a custom popup? You can include as many “Info” columns as you like, and advanced users can even use HTML and CSS to pull in pictures from a column of image URLs.
- Try making a Flourish story to guide an audience through different views of your scatter visualisation.
API information
This section documents API usage specific to this template, so for an introduction we suggest you refer to the generic API documentation instead.
template: @flourish/scatter
version: 4
Template data
There are three different formats in which you can supply data to this template. The most convenient for you to use likely depends on the source of your data, as described below.
1. Array of arrays, and a bindings object
You can supply arrays of arrays to opts.data, which might look
like:
{
data: {
data: [
[ "DataColumn1Value1", "DataColumn2Value1",
[ "DataColumn1Value2", "DataColumn2Value2",
[ "DataColumn1Value3", "DataColumn2Value3",
...
]
}
}
where each array of arrays represents the rows in a data sheet.
To tell the API how the values from each column should be
associated with the keys that the template is expecting, you must also supply
an object attached to opts.bindings. (The meanings of the
keys in the bindings object are documented
below.) The minimal bindings you can
supply for this template are as shown in this example:
{
template: "@flourish/scatter",
version: "4",
bindings: {
data: {
x: 0, // index of a column in your data
y: 1, // index of a column in your data
}
},
data: {
data: [
[ "DataColumn1Value1", "DataColumn2Value1",
[ "DataColumn1Value2", "DataColumn2Value2",
[ "DataColumn1Value3", "DataColumn2Value3",
...
]
}
}
All possible bindings that you can supply are shown in this example:
{
template: "@flourish/scatter",
version: "4",
bindings: {
data: {
x: 0, // index of a column in your data
y: 1, // index of a column in your data
name: [2, 3, ...], // index(es) of column(s) in your data
color: 4, // index of a column in your data
size: 5, // index of a column in your data
shape: 6, // index of a column in your data
facet: 7, // index of a column in your data
slider: 8, // index of a column in your data
series: 9, // index of a column in your data
filter: 10, // index of a column in your data
metadata: [11, 12, ...], // index(es) of column(s) in your data
}
},
data: {
data: [
[ "DataColumn1Value1", "DataColumn2Value1",
[ "DataColumn1Value2", "DataColumn2Value2",
[ "DataColumn1Value3", "DataColumn2Value3",
...
]
}
}
2. Array of objects with arbitrary keys, and a bindings object
This format is most likely useful when you have data from an external source,
such as CSV data loaded from d3-dsv.
You should supply this attached to the opts.data, which might look
like:
{
data: [
{ "DataHeader1": ..., "DataHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "DataHeader1": ..., "DataHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "DataHeader1": ..., "DataHeader2": ..., ... },
...
]
}
... but with the keys being the column headers from your
source data instead. You must also supply an object attached to
opts.bindings. The minimal bindings you can
supply for this template are as shown in this example:
{
template: "@flourish/scatter",
version: "4",
bindings: {
data: {
x: "DataHeader1",
y: "DataHeader2",
}
},
data: {
data: [
{ "DataHeader1": ..., "DataHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "DataHeader1": ..., "DataHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "DataHeader1": ..., "DataHeader2": ..., ... },
...
]
}
}
All possible bindings that you can supply are shown in this example:
{
template: "@flourish/scatter",
version: "4",
bindings: {
data: {
x: "DataHeader1",
y: "DataHeader2",
name: ["DataHeader3", "DataHeader4", ...],
color: "DataHeader5",
size: "DataHeader6",
shape: "DataHeader7",
facet: "DataHeader8",
slider: "DataHeader9",
series: "DataHeader10",
filter: "DataHeader11",
metadata: ["DataHeader12", "DataHeader13", ...],
}
},
data: {
data: [
{ "DataHeader1": ..., "DataHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "DataHeader1": ..., "DataHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "DataHeader1": ..., "DataHeader2": ..., ... },
...
]
}
}
(As before, the keys containing "Header" would be replaced by column names from your data source.)
3. Array of objects with template-defined keys
There is an alternative format you can use, which is likely to be easier to
use if your data is not from a spreadsheet source. With this alternative format
you supply your data to the template as
an array of objects, attached to opts.data, where the keys must
be those used by the template, as documented below. In this case
there is no need to supply a bindings object, since the key names are already
those expected by the template. The required properties in the data
object are as follows (scroll down for a
description of what each property is):
{
template: "@flourish/scatter",
version: "4",
data: {
data: [
{
x: ...,
y: ...,
name: [...],
metadata: [...]
},
...
]
},
...
}
And the full list of all possible properties is as follows:
{
template: "@flourish/scatter",
version: "4",
data: {
data: [
{
x: ...,
y: ...,
name: [...],
color: ...,
size: ...,
shape: ...,
facet: ...,
slider: ...,
series: ...,
filter: ...,
metadata: [...]
},
...
]
},
...
}
Meanings of the template data keys:
- data.x: x
- data.y: y
- data.name: Select multiple columns if required to make a unique name.
- data.color: Colours the dots based on numbers or categories
- data.size: Sizes the dots based on numbers or categories
- data.shape: Sets the shape of the dots based on numbers or categories
- data.facet: Creates a mini chart for each value in the selected column
- data.slider: Creates a time slider and connects/animates dots with the same name
- data.series: Group dots into series based on the contents of a column
- data.filter: Creates a control based on the contents of any column
- data.metadata: Makes additional columns (text, emoji, image URLs, etc) available in custom popups
Template settings
Options for opts.state.
Dots
color_type string
Data type. Allowed values:
default_color color
Default colour. Used when Colour column is unspecified or empty
data_point_default_size number
Default size. In pixel area. Only used when Size column is unspecified or empty. Subject to scaling with the chart size (see seeing below). Min: 1
default_shape string
Default shape. Used when Shape column is unspecified or empty Allowed values:
color.palette colors
Palette.
color.extend boolean
Auto-extend. Automatically generate additional colours when needed to avoid the palette colours being used more than once. Added colours are based on the average lightness and chroma values of the palette. This works best if the palette’s colours do not have very high or low saturation.
color.advanced boolean
Fine tune. Fine tune how additional colours are added to the palette.
color.hue_rotation_angle number
Hue rotation for added colours. Angle, in degrees in HCL colourspace, between one generated colour and the next. The default value, ~360/(Golden ratio), ensures adjacent hues are not too similar. Max: 360
color.custom_palette text
Custom overrides. Type the name of the entity whose colour you want to set, a colon and then a colour (using a name, hex-code or rgb declaration). Multiple colours can be set using multiple lines. For example:
Party 1: red
Party 2: #4455AA
Party 3: rgb(30,168,26)
spectrum string
Palette when shading by a number column. Ignored unless the selected “Colour” column is numerical. These schemes are drawn from D3 and ColorBrewer. Allowed values:
fill_opacity number
Dot opacity. Max: 1
stroke_opacity number
Outline opacity. Max: 1
stroke_width number
Outline width.
data_point_min_size number
Min size. In pixel area. Used when you have a Size column selected. Subject to scaling with the chart size. Min: 1
data_point_max_size number
Max size. In pixel area. Used when you have a Size column selected. Subject to scaling with the chart size. Min: 1
responsive_dots boolean
Scale dots based on chart size. Makes the dots get bigger or smaller relative to the chart size. Turn off to specify a fixed sizes regardless of chart size.
Sizing
layout_mode string
Sizing mode. In “Fill space” mode the graphic will fill the container (which by default will be the the standard Flourish responsive chart size). In “Aspect ratio” mode you set the aspect ratio of the plot and the container will be updated to acommodate it (not supported when embedded in a simple fixed-height iframe). Allowed values:
facet_height_percentage number
Chart height (as % of chart width). Height as percent of width. Ignored if embedded at fixed height.
facet_fixed_cols boolean
Grid mode: fix columns. Turn on to specify the number of columns in the charts grid.
facet_cols number
Number of columns in charts grid. How many columns of charts there should be in the grid. Min: 1
facet_min_w number
Min chart width in charts grid. Determines how many columns of charts there are in the grid.
facet_title_color color
Chart name colour.
margin_top number
Top.
margin_right number
Right.
margin_bottom number
Bottom.
margin_left number
Left.
Legend
legend_position string
Legend position. Allowed values:
text_legend string
Allowed values:
- auto (Auto)
- custom (Custom)
- off (Off)
text_legend_title boolean
Title.
text_legend_subtitle boolean
Subtitle.
text_legend_bold boolean
Bold. If checked, always use bold for coloured items
Lines & arrows
lines_show boolean
Shows lines.
line_width_responsive boolean
Line width. Allowed values:
line_width_min number
Min size.
line_width_max number
Max size.
line_width number
Line width.
line_curve string
Line style. Allowed values:
line_opacity number
Line opacity. Max: 1
line_color_mode string
Line color. When set to “Match dots” the lines will be the same as the first dot in the line Allowed values:
line_color color
Colour.
line_arrows boolean
Arrow heads on lines.
line_arrow_size number
Size.
line_arrow_color_mode string
Colour mode. Allowed values:
line_arrow_color color
Colour.
X axis
x_type string
Data type. Allowed values:
x_axis_sort_categories boolean
Sort axis when showing categories.
x_axis_label string
X axis label.
x_axis_min number
X min.
x_axis_max number
X max.
x_axis_matching boolean
Matching X axis across charts grid.
x_axis_log boolean
Log scale. Ignored if axis is showing categories rather than numbers
x_axis_show boolean
Show x axis.
x_axis_padding_left number
X axis padding. Horizontal space between the y and x axes
x_axis_show_domain boolean
Line at bottom.
x_axis_num_ticks number
Number of tick marks. Approximate. The actual number will depend on the range of values, chart size, etc.
x_axis_tick_dashed number
Tick dash size. Zero for a solid line, bigger numbers for bigger dashes
x_axis_color color
Text colour.
x_axis_tick_color color
Tick colour.
x_axis_tick_font_size number
Text size.
x_axis_tick_angle string
Text angle. Allowed values:
x_axis_tall_ticks boolean
Tick marks full height.
x_axis_ticks_inline boolean
Tick labels next to line.
x_formatting.prefix string
Prefix. Text to place in front of number
x_formatting.suffix string
Suffix. Text to place after number
x_formatting.n_dec number
Decimal places. Use negative integers to round to positive powers of ten (eg -2 rounds to the nearest 100) Min: -10 Max: 10
x_formatting.strip_zeros boolean
Remove trailing zeros.
x_formatting.strip_separator boolean
Hide thousands separator below 10,000. Turn off if you want four-digit numbers to include a separator, e.g. “1,234” rather than “1234”.
x_formatting.transform_labels boolean
Multiply/divide values.
x_formatting.transform string
Allowed values:
- multiply (Multiply by)
- divide (Divide by)
- exponentiate (×10 to the power of)
x_formatting.multiply_divide_constant number
x_formatting.exponentiate_constant number
Y axis
y_type string
Data type. Allowed values:
y_axis_sort_categories boolean
Sort axis when showing categories.
y_axis_label string
Y label.
y_axis_min number
Y min.
y_axis_max number
Y max.
y_axis_matching boolean
Matching Y axis across charts grid.
y_axis_log boolean
Log scale. Ignored if axis is showing categories rather than numbers
y_axis_show boolean
Show y axis.
y_axis_show_domain boolean
Line at edge.
y_axis_num_ticks number
Number of tick marks. Approximate. The actual number will depend on the range of values, chart size, etc.
y_axis_tick_dashed number
Tick dash size. Zero for a solid line, bigger numbers for bigger dashes
y_axis_color color
Text colour.
y_axis_tick_color color
Tick colour.
y_axis_tick_font_size number
Text size.
y_axis_wide_ticks boolean
Tick marks full width.
y_axis_ticks_inline boolean
Tick labels above line.
y_formatting.prefix string
Prefix. Text to place in front of number
y_formatting.suffix string
Suffix. Text to place after number
y_formatting.n_dec number
Decimal places. Use negative integers to round to positive powers of ten (eg -2 rounds to the nearest 100) Min: -10 Max: 10
y_formatting.strip_zeros boolean
Remove trailing zeros.
y_formatting.strip_separator boolean
Hide thousands separator below 10,000. Turn off if you want four-digit numbers to include a separator, e.g. “1,234” rather than “1234”.
y_formatting.transform_labels boolean
Multiply/divide values.
y_formatting.transform string
Allowed values:
- multiply (Multiply by)
- divide (Divide by)
- exponentiate (×10 to the power of)
y_formatting.multiply_divide_constant number
y_formatting.exponentiate_constant number
Labels
labels_show boolean
Show labels on points. Labels only show up if you have designated a “Name” column in the data tab
labels_selective boolean
Labels to show. To show labels selectively, turn on this option and then make a story. In the story editor click on dots to hide/show the labels. Allowed values:
label_color_type string
Label colour. Allowed values:
label_color color
Fixed.
labels_responsive boolean
Scale label with chart.
label_font_size number
Font size.
label_font_size_min number
Min font size.
label_font_size_max number
Max font size.
label_bg_size number
Shadow size. As percent of font size
label_align string
Allowed values:
- auto (Auto)
- start (fa-align-left)
- middle (fa-align-center)
- end (fa-align-right)
Popups
popup.show_popups boolean
Popups. Allowed values:
popup.is_custom boolean
Popup contents. Allowed values:
popup.custom_template text
Popup content. The text to appear in the popup. You can use {{column_name}} to add a value from your data. It must be in a selected column, but you can add columns to “Metadata” if you just want to include them for use in the popup. Advanced users can include HTML to apply layouts, formatting, images, etc.
popup.show_pointer boolean
Pointer.
popup.show_shadow boolean
Shadow.
popup.style_popups boolean
Custom styling.
popup.text_color color
Text colour.
popup.align string
Alignment. Allowed values:
popup.font_size number
Font size. Min: 1
popup.fill_color color
Fill colour.
popup.opacity number
Fill opacity. Max: 1
popup.padding number
Padding.
popup.border_radius number
Radius. Corner radius of popup
color_popup_headings boolean
Color popup headings.
Filter
filter.type string
Data type. Allowed values:
filter.temporal_format string
Date/time format in data. The date/time format in your data sheet. Used only to sort the data, if required. If your format isn’t in the list, you can enter a custom format using d3-time-format syntax. See npmjs.com/package/d3-time-format for details. Predefined values:
filter.sort boolean
Sort menu.
filter.control string
Control. Allowed values:
filter.width number
Menu width. Min: 150
filter.play_button boolean
Include play button.
filter.step_time number
Time between steps when playing. Measured in seconds, positive values move the slider left to right, negative values move the slider right to left.
filter.loop boolean
Loop on play.
filter.restart_pause number
Pause before loop restarts. Measured in seconds and in addition to the regular step time displayed above.
filter.dropdown_icon_color color
Icon color.
filter.slider_handle_color color
Handle and button color.
filter.slider_track_color color
Track and label color.
filter_updates_axes boolean
Update axes when filtering.
Time slider
slider.type string
Data type. Allowed values:
slider.temporal_format string
Date/time format in data. The date/time format in your data sheet. Used only to sort the data, if required. If your format isn’t in the list, you can enter a custom format using d3-time-format syntax. See npmjs.com/package/d3-time-format for details. Predefined values:
slider.sort boolean
Sort menu.
slider.control string
Control. Allowed values:
slider.width number
Menu width. Min: 150
slider.play_button boolean
Include play button.
slider.step_time number
Time between steps when playing. Measured in seconds, positive values move the slider left to right, negative values move the slider right to left.
slider.loop boolean
Loop on play.
slider.restart_pause number
Pause before loop restarts. Measured in seconds and in addition to the regular step time displayed above.
slider.dropdown_icon_color color
Icon color.
slider.slider_handle_color color
Handle and button color.
slider.slider_track_color color
Track and label color.
slider_updates_axes boolean
Update axes when using slider.
time_label_show boolean
Show time label.
time_label_color color
Colour.
time_label_opacity number
Opacity.
time_label_font_size number
Size. As a percent of the default size; the actual size scales with the chart
Trend lines
fit_type string
Lines to show. Allowed values:
fit_force_origin boolean
Force line through origin.
fit_line_width number
Width.
fit_line_dash number
Dash.
fit_line_color color
Colour.
Box plot
box_plot boolean
Show box plot when plotting one numerical and one categorical axis.
box_color color
Box colour.
box_opacity number
Box opacity. Max: 1
box_line_color color
Line colour.
box_line_width number
Line width.
box_whisker_type string
Whisker type. Allowed values:
box_whisker_multiplier number
Max whisker length (number of IQR's). Maximum distance whiskers should extend out from the box as a multiple of the interquartile range. 1.5 is John Tukey's classsic value
Annotations
anno_x_enabled boolean
Show highlights on the x axis.
anno_x_lines text
One per line, in format “Thing :: 28000”.
anno_x_line_color color
Colour.
anno_x_line_width number
Width.
anno_x_line_dash number
Dash.
anno_x_areas text
One per line, in format “Thing :: 20000 >> 24000”.
anno_x_fill_color color
Area.
anno_x_label_color color
Text.
anno_x_fill_opacity number
Area opacity.
anno_x_label_align string
Labels. Allowed values:
anno_y_enabled boolean
Show highlights on the y axis.
anno_y_lines text
One per line, in format “Thing :: 6”.
anno_y_line_color color
Colour.
anno_y_line_width number
Width.
anno_y_line_dash number
Dash.
anno_y_areas text
One per line, in format “Thing :: 7 >> 9”.
anno_y_fill_color color
Area.
anno_y_label_color color
Text.
anno_y_fill_opacity number
Area opacity.
anno_y_label_align string
Labels. Allowed values:
Animations
animation_duration number
Animation duration. The duration of the animation for each dot or axis, in seconds
animation_stagger number
Animation stagger. The delay between each dot starting to move, in seconds; set to 0 to have all dots move simultaneously
line_animate_on_load boolean
Animate lines on load. Whether to “animate in” lines when the graphic first loads
Number styles
localization.input_decimal_separator string
Decimal separator in data sheet. Used for interpreting your data. Only change if data is not displaying on the chart as expected. Allowed values:
localization.output_separators string
Number format to display. How the numbers should appear on chart labels Allowed values:
Layout
layout.body_font font
Font.
layout.max_width number
Maximum width. Leave blank to stretch to container width Min: 50
layout.margin number
Margin.
layout.background_color_enabled boolean
Color. Allowed values:
layout.background_image_enabled boolean
Image. Allowed values:
layout.background_color color
Color.
layout.background_image_src url
Image URL.
layout.background_image_size string
Size. Allowed values:
layout.background_image_position string
Position. Allowed values:
layout.layout_order string
Layout order. Allowed values:
layout.space_between_sections string
Space between sections. Allowed values:
layout.space_between_sections_custom number
Custom. Max: 100
Header
layout.header_align string
Alignment. Allowed values:
layout.title string
layout.title_styling boolean
Change title styles.
layout.title_size string
Size. Allowed values:
layout.title_size_custom number
Custom. Specify a custom responsive font size. Best results will be with values between 1.2 and 3
layout.title_weight string
Weight. Allowed values:
layout.title_color color
Color.
layout.title_line_height number
Line height. Max: 3
layout.subtitle string
layout.subtitle_styling boolean
Change subtitle styles.
layout.subtitle_size string
Size. Allowed values:
layout.subtitle_size_custom number
Custom. Specify a custom responsive font size. Best results will be with values between 1.2 and 3
layout.subtitle_weight string
Weight. Allowed values:
layout.subtitle_color color
Color.
layout.subtitle_line_height number
Line height. Max: 3
layout.subtitle_space_above string
Space above. Allowed values:
layout.subtitle_space_above_custom number
Custom. Max: 100
layout.text string
layout.text_styling boolean
Change text styles.
layout.text_size string
Size. Allowed values:
layout.text_size_custom number
Custom. Specify a custom responsive font size. Best results will be with values between 1.2 and 3
layout.text_weight string
Weight. Allowed values:
layout.text_color color
Color.
layout.text_line_height number
Line height. Max: 3
layout.text_space_above string
Space above. Allowed values:
layout.text_space_above_custom number
Custom. Max: 100
Footer
layout.source_name string
Source name.
layout.source_url string
Source url.
layout.multiple_sources boolean
Multiple sources.
layout.source_name_2 string
Source name.
layout.source_url_2 string
Source url.
layout.source_name_3 string
Source name.
layout.source_url_3 string
Source url.
layout.source_label string
Source label.
layout.note string
Note.
layout.size number
Size.
layout.color color
Color.
layout.footer_align string
Alignment. Allowed values:
layout.logo_url url
Image.
layout.logo_link_url string
Link.
layout.logo_height number
Height.
layout.logo_margin number
Margin.
layout.logo_order string
Position. Allowed values:
layout.footer_align_vertical string
V. align. Allowed values:
