How to Create an Inline Bullet Chart

What is an Inline Bullet Chart

Stephen Few invented bar-based Bullet Charts to replace complex and rich dashboard meters. Inline Bullet Charts represent one Actual value by a horizontal bar, and one Goal value the Actual is being compared to with a small vertical line.

The background is divided into four equal areas, to better figure out how large the bar is. Bars may be displayed as thin lollipop sticks as well.

Steps to Create an Inline Bullet 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 Inline Chart query builder.
2. From any data column, select either Inline Nested Bars – Bullet.
3. A new empty added column with the setting may appear.
4. In the Edit Inline Chart Series popup, specify two other columns or constant values.

Inline Bullet Bars Demo Query

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

Bullet uses an actual and a goal numeric values, specified in the Edit Inline Chart Series popup. As that’s a multi-value based chart, you cannot assign it directly to an existing column data, but to an empty column, which may be generated if you selected it elsewhere.

Customize your Inline Bullet Chart

1. Show as black-and-white, with no colors.
2. Show as thin lollipop sticks.
3. Change the inline chart theme.

Conclusion

• Creating Inline Bullet Charts in Data Xtractor or Visual Xtractor is fast and simple: select a Bullet chart type, then specify the Actual and Goal numeric columns it is based on.
• Switch to another builtin inline chart theme, or customize your own, for any possible color or other styles.