How to Create a Dot Plot Chart

What is a Dot Plot Chart

Bars in Bar Charts can be represented as well by pictogram icons, waffles, or matrix dots. Dot Plot Charts are like Bar Charts with vertical columns represented by bubble dots. The dots may be replaced by other standard marker shapes, such as squares, diamonds, triangles or stars.

There is a fixed number of maximum dot per column (15 by default), that can be adjusted.

1. Dot Plot Charts – single-series and single-color by default.
2. Stacked Dot Plot Charts – multi-series and multi-color by default.
3. Full Stacked Dot Plot Charts – Stacked Dot Plot Charts extended to 100% height all.

Steps to Create a Dot Plot 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. Set one or more numeric columns as Matrix Charts – Dot Plot.
3. Adjust eventually the maximum number of dots per column.
4. Select an optional column as Label.

Dot Plot Demo Query

Look for the ready-to-use Dot Plot Chart 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.

Stacked Dot Plot Demo Query

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

Unlike the single-series Dot Plot Charts, Stacked Dot Plot Charts are based on more than one data column and can be extended to Full Stacked Dot Plot Charts with one single toolbar button click.

Customize your Dot Plot Chart

1. Adjust the maximum number of dots per column.
2. Change the default shape marker.
3. Show data labels, as values or percents (when Full Stacked).
4. Hide vertical axis labels and plot lines.
5. Show as multi-color.
6. Hide some columns with mouse clicks on the related legend items.

Conclusion

• Creating Dot Plot Charts in Data Xtractor or Visual Xtractor is fast and easy: set one or more numeric column as Dot Plot, with an optional Label.
• Single-series Dot Plot Charts are linked to a single data column, while multi-series Stacked and Full Stacked Dot Plot Charts have multiple Dot Plot selections.
• 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.