How to Create a Bar Mekko Chart

What is a Bar Mekko Chart

Columns in Bar charts vary in height according to the Bar values. But they all have the same width, arbitrarily determined (as it does not matter). A Bar Mekko or Bar Marimekko chart is just a regular single-series vertical Bar chart, but with an additional Size that determines the width of each bar.

One particular case of a Bar Mekko is the Proportional Area Chart, in which you pass the same values for both the height and width of each bar. Each bar will still be rendered as a rectangle (not square!), but the width / height ratio for each bar or area is the same.

Steps to Create a Bar Mekko Chart

Start Visual Xtractor or Data Xtractor. Connect to a database. Create or design a SQL query. Run the query and check the results.

1. Display and enable the Chart query builder.
2. Select the numeric column for each height as Bar Charts – Bar.
3. Select the numeric column for each width as Size.
4. Pass the exact same values as for Bar to Size, for a Proportional Area Chart.
5. Select an optional column as Label.

Bar Mekko Chart Demo Query

Look for the ready-to-use Bar Mekko generated query under the Queries > Demo Queries > Charts > Bar Charts folder. Click on the “add demo queries” command link, if not there.

Generated demo queries must work for any database, with no restriction. They use constant values generated on-the-fly and your database SQL engine, but do not depend on data from your tables, and never alter your database in any way.

Proportional Area Chart Demo Query

Look for the ready-to-use Proportional Area generated query under the Queries > Demo Queries > Charts > Bar Charts folder. Click on the “add demo queries” command link, if not there.

Both Bar and Size columns provide the exact same data values. For the underlying SQL query, they may replicate the exact same field.

Customize your Bar Mekko Chart

1. Change the display style.
2. Show data labels.
3. Hide some bars using the legend items.
4. You may also display markers and make it single-color.

Conclusion

• Creating Bar Mekko Charts in Data Xtractor or Visual Xtractor is fast and easy: set your numeric column for heights to Bar, your other numeric column for widths to Size, and an optional column as Label.
• When each pair of Bar and Size has the same values, we have a Proportional Area Chart.
• All builtin powerful features of these chart type are common to most other charts: filtering series through the legend items, interactivity, monochrome or grayscale colors, rich axis and data label selections etc.
• Switch to another builtin chart theme, or customize your own, for any possible color or other styles.