Insights for ArcGIS - Create and use a line graph

Line graphs show information as a series of data points that are connected by straight line segments. Categories are shown along the x-axis, and statistics are shown along the y-axis. Unlike time series graphs, which only use date and time along the category axis, line graphs allow you to use string fields along the category axis.

Line graphs can answer questions about your data, such as: How are numeric values distributed or summarized by category?

Example

An environmental organization is tracking the drought conditions in Southern California and wants to compare precipitation levels across the region to determine which cities are most vulnerable. The organization uses a line graph to show the total precipitation for each city.

Line graph showing precipitation across Southern California cities

The line graph above shows how precipitation values fluctuate by city.

Create a line graph

To create a line graph, complete the following steps:

Steps:

Select one of the following data options:
- One or two string fields
- One or two string fields plus a number or rate/ratio field
Note:
If you do not select a number or rate/ratio field, your data will be aggregated and a count will be displayed.
Create the line graph using the following steps:
1. Drag the selected fields to a new card.
2. Hover over the Chart drop zone.
3. Drop the selected fields on Line Graph.

Tip:

Drag-N Drop Drag a matching string field from a second dataset onto your line graph to create a combo chart.

Tip:

You can also create charts using the Chart menu above the data pane or the Visualization type button on an existing card. For the Chart menu, only charts that are compatible with your data selection will be enabled. For the Visualization type menu, only compatible visualizations (including maps, charts, or tables) will be displayed.

Usage notes

By default, line graphs are symbolized using a single symbol. You can change the Chart Color using the Legend button Legend . You can add a string field to the Subgroup variable on the x-axis to change the line graph to Unique symbols. The Subgroup variable must be a string field and will be used to divide the line graph into subcategories. To change the color associated with a category, click the symbol and choose a color from the palette or enter a hex value.

The trends for the line graph can be symbolized as a count of features over time or as a number or rate/ratio field. If a field is used, the values in the trend line can be calculated as the sum, minimum, maximum, average, percentile, or median of values from the field for each point in time.

Note:

Median and percentile are not available for remote feature layers.

Use the Chart statistics button to display the mean, median, upper quartile, lower quartile, or a custom value.

Use the Sort button Sort to sort the categorical data either ascending or descending by the numeric variable, or alphabetically.

Use the Visualization type button to switch directly between a line graph and other visualizations, such as a unique values map, summary table, column chart, or bubble chart.

When you create a line graph, a result dataset Results with the string and number fields used to create the chart will be added to the data pane. The result dataset can be used to find answers with nonspatial analysis using the Action button Action .