Scatter
Updated 5 years ago to v3.4.2 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: 3
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: "3",
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: "3",
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: "3",
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: "3",
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: "3",
data: {
data: [
{
x: ...,
y: ...,
name: [...],
metadata: [...]
},
...
]
},
...
}
And the full list of all possible properties is as follows:
{
template: "@flourish/scatter",
version: "3",
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.
Header
header.title string
Title.
header.subtitle string
Subtitle.
header.color color
Color.
header.align string
Alignment. Allowed values:
header.margin number
Margin.
header.margin_advanced boolean
Advanced margin settings.
header.margin_top number
Top.
header.margin_right number
Right.
header.margin_bottom number
Bottom.
header.margin_left number
Left.
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
Legend
legend_show boolean
Show legend. Ignored in grid mode if colouring by chart
Page design
bg_color color
Background colour.
facet_title_color color
Chart name. Only used in grid mode
Dots
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:<br /><hr />Party 1: red<br />Party 2: #4455AA<br />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.
Layout
max_width number
Maximum width. Leave blank to stretch to container width
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.
Margins
margin_top number
Top.
margin_right number
Right.
margin_bottom number
Bottom.
margin_left number
Left.
Line styles
lines_show boolean
Shows lines. Enables lines drawn between dots with the same name
line_width number
Line width.
line_opacity number
Line opacity. Max: 1
line_curve string
Line style. Allowed values:
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.
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_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_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
Filter control type. Only used when a filter column is specified. "Auto" creates a button group if there is enough space, or a dropdown if there is not. Allowed values:
filter_updates_axes boolean
Updates axes when filtering.
Time slider
slider_updates_axes boolean
Updates axes when sliding.
slider_play boolean
Show play button.
slider_step_time number
Time per step. In seconds; in general it’s best to avoid setting this to be shorter than the animation duration
slider_buttons_color color
Handle color.
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 miliseconds
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
Animation lines on load. Whether to “animate in” lines when the graphic first loads
Footer
footer.source_name string
Source name.
footer.source_url string
Source url.
footer.multiple_sources boolean
Multiple sources.
footer.source_name_2 string
Source name.
footer.source_url_2 string
Source url.
footer.source_name_3 string
Source name.
footer.source_url_3 string
Source url.
footer.source_label string
Source label.
footer.note string
Note.
footer.size number
Size.
footer.color color
Color.
footer.align string
Alignment. Allowed values:
footer.margin number
Overall.
footer.margin_top number
Top.
footer.margin_right number
Right.
footer.margin_bottom number
Bottom.
footer.margin_left number
Left.
footer.margin_advanced boolean
Advanced.
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: