pbPassingBI
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Visual analytics & charting intermediate 6 min

Dual axis and combination charts

Two measures, two axes, and the synchronisation that keeps it honest.

What you'll be able to do
  • Build a dual axis chart
  • Combine mark types
  • Know when to synchronise axes

Building one

Put the first measure on Rows. Drag the second to the opposite edge of the view until a black dashed line appears, or right-click the second pill and choose Dual Axis.

Each measure then gets its own Marks card, so one can be bars and the other a line — the standard actual-against-target chart.

Synchronise

Two independent scales can imply anything

With unsynchronised axes you can position two series to suggest almost any relationship, deliberately or not.

If both measures share a unit, right-click the secondary axis and Synchronise Axis. If they do not share a unit, keep them separate but label both axes clearly.

Where the measures share a unit and a similar range, a blended axis — dragging the second measure onto the first axis — is more honest still, because one shared scale removes the question entirely.

Combination marks

The per-measure Marks card is what makes combination charts possible:

  • Bars for actuals, line for target
  • Line for the trend, circles for the individual points
  • Area for volume, line for the rate

Select the Marks card for a measure and change its type independently.

Dual axis for shapes and maps

The technique is not only for two measures. Duplicating a measure and setting a dual axis lets you layer two mark types on the same data — circles behind bars for a lollipop chart, or symbols over a filled map.

For maps specifically, duplicating Latitude on Rows and setting a dual axis is how you put symbol marks on top of a filled map.

Key points
  • Each measure on a dual axis gets its own Marks card
  • Synchronise axes when both measures share a unit
  • Duplicating a measure with a dual axis layers two mark types
Check yourself