An ad hoc chart is a graphical visual representation of your data. It can be displayed in various forms including column chart, bar chart, line chart, gauge chart and various other visualization types.
In this article:
- Prerequisites
- Example: Create an ad hoc chart on your top 10 causes
- Visualization types
- Select the visualization type
- Customize the chart colors
- Export your ad hoc chart
- Save your ad hoc chart
Prerequisites
To assist with your learning, it is recommended to complete the following B-Hive article first:
- To learn about the basics of creating ad hoc views and reports check out Creating Ad Hoc Views and Reports.
Example: Create an ad hoc chart on your top 10 causes
In the following example, we will create an ad hoc chart on the top 10 causes based on the ad hoc view created in the previous article Creating Ad Hoc Views and Reports and display the output of the ad hoc as a graphical visualization.
If you haven’t reviewed Creating Ad Hoc Views and Reports, feel free to check out the article to learn how to create ad hoc views and reports. You can also create your own ad hoc and use the steps below to convert it to an ad hoc chart.
In the following steps, you’ll start by opening an existing ad hoc displayed by default as a crosstab and then convert the crosstab to a column chart.
Visualization types
In Benevity Reporting, ad hoc views are presented as a crosstab by default. However, you can adjust this display to create an ad hoc chart using a variety of visualization types.
Changing the standard crosstab view with columns and rows into a chart is a great way to present your information in a more consumable and visually appealing way.
Select the visualization type
1. Under the View dropdown in the menu bar, select Repository. Open the ad hoc view created during the previous article Creating Ad Hoc Views and Reports by navigating to the folder in which the ad hoc view was saved or use the search bar to find the ad hoc.
Alternatively, you can build a new ad hoc by going to the menu bar and selecting Create and then Ad Hoc View. If you create a new ad hoc view, choose the data set you want to use for the chart. In order for the chart to work, ensure you add at least one Measure into Columns.
2. Remove the Total Donation Amount column by right-clicking on the column header and selecting Remove from Crosstab or clicking the small X next to the field in the Columns.
3. When you have your crosstab set up, select the bar graph icon in the toolbar to Select Visualization Type.
4. From the list of visualization types, select the Column chart. Click Apply and Close.
5. If you are using the ad hoc created during the previous article, you will now see a Column chart displaying your top 10 causes ranked in order by total donation volume. If you are not seeing the chart, try moving the slider for the Rows in the Filter pane all the way to the right.
6. Your Column chart will now show in the preview editor. You can further edit the chart including changing the chart colors through the chart formatter.
Customize the chart colors
In Benevity Reporting, you can adjust the colors of the columns in the column chart to align to your organization’s brand colors.
1. To customize the colors, select the gear cogs icon and then Chart Format…
2. Go to the Appearance tab.
3. Under Series Colors you can choose your custom color.
4. Click Apply to preview what the custom color will look like on your chart.
5. When you’re happy with the new color, click OK. Your completed column chart will now show in the preview editor with your custom color added!
Export your ad hoc chart
You can export the contents of your ad hoc chart in a variety of formats such as PDF, PPTX and XLSX.
1. Click the Export icon, to the right of the Save icon.
2. Select the desired file format in which you would like the data to be exported.
After you select the format, a new browser tab will open and the export will download. If it doesn’t download, make sure your browser isn’t blocking the new tab from opening (as a blocked pop-up tab).
Save your ad hoc chart
1. With the ad hoc chart open, select the Save icon in the toolbar.
2. Choose between one of three save options:
-
- Save Ad Hoc View if it’s the first time you are saving the ad hoc view or if you are resaving an existing ad hoc.
- Save Ad Hoc View As... if you are editing an existing ad hoc view and want to save a copy to another location (this will duplicate the ad hoc view).
- Save Ad Hoc View and Create Report if you want to save the ad hoc view and create the report.
3. When the Save As screen opens, expand the folders to select your folder location and select Save.
Continue your learning—next article
To learn about navigating Benevity Reporting, check out the next article: Viewing Stock Reports