Bullet Gauges

Bullet gauges are based on a single metric. The metric is mapped against a background bar that shows value ranges using color. A metric scale is also shown. Finally, a small vertical bar represents a marker for the target value of the metric. Bullet gauges are supported by all Composer data connectors.

This topic describes:

• Configure Settings for a Specific Bullet Gauge
• Adjust the Bullet Gauge Value Range
• Configure Colors for a Specific Bullet Gauge
• Understand Visual Color Condition Thresholds

Configure Settings for a Specific Bullet Gauge

Change the settings for a specific bullet gauge

1. Edit the bullet gauge you want to modify. See Edit Visuals.

2. If you are editing the visual in a dashboard, select Settings from the visual drop-down menu. The sidebar menu for the visual appears.

   If you are editing the visual from the Visual Gallery, the sidebar appears to the right of the visual.

3. Select on the sidebar menu. The Bullet Gauge Settings sidebar for the visual appears.

   

4. Alter the settings as needed:

   Setting	Description
   Orientation	Select an orientation (horizontal or vertical) for the bullet gauge.
   Target Value	Slide the Target Value slider on (to the right) to show the target value bar on the gauge.
   Show label description	Slide the Show label description slider on (to the right) to show label description on the gauge. The label description includes the metric value and maximum value in addition to the metric name. For example, when this slider is on, if the Planned Sales metric value is 15,000 and its maximum value is 32,000, the label description would read "Planned Sales 15,000 of 32,000". When this slider is off, only "Planned Sales" would show. Note: When Show Values As is set to Relative and Show label description is on, the percentage of the metric value in relation to the maximum value is also shown.
   Show Values As	Select how values should be shown on the gauge. Select Absolute to show raw data values. Select Relative to show percentages.

5. Select to save the dashboard and the visual with its updated settings.

Adjust the Bullet Gauge Value Range

Configure minimum and maximum values for a specific bullet gauge

1. Edit the visual you want to modify. See Edit Visuals.

2. Select on the visual sidebar. The Rulers sidebar for the visual appears.

   

3. In the Metric section of the sidebar, configure the settings as described below.

   Setting	Description
   Min	Specify the minimum value for the gauge. Select the Auto checkbox to have Composer automatically determine the minimum value from the data for the bullet gauge metric.
   Max	If the Static maximum value switch is on, specify the maximum value for the gauge. Select the Auto checkbox to have Composer automatically determine the maximum value from the data for the bullet gauge metric. If the Static maximum value switch is off, select a second metric to use for the maximum value of the gauge. For example, if the bullet gauge metric was the number of apples, you might select a second metric representing the total number of fruit. In this way, the bullet gauge would plot the total number of apples as it relates to the total number of fruit.
   Static maximum value	This switch allows you to plot the bullet gauge metric as it relates to a second metric. By default, this switch is on. When it is on, the maximum value of the bullet gauge is determined by the Max setting for the bullet gauge metric or the maximum value of the data for the selected bullet gauge metric. Only the values of the selected bullet gauge metric are used. You can select and format the numeric attribute used for this field. See Configure Number Formatting for Visuals. Slide the Static maximum value switch off (to the left) to select a second metric to use for the maximum value of the gauge.
   Set Target As	Select how the target value for the bullet gauge metric is set. Select Value if a raw data value should be used. Select Percent of Maximum if a percentage of the maximum value should be used.
   Target Value	Specify a target value for the bullet gauge metric. If Set Target As is set to Percent of Maximum, this field name changes to Target Value (%). In this case, remember to specify the target value as a percentage of the maximum value for the gauge.

4. Select Apply. The changes are made to the bullet gauge.

5. Select the Save icon () to save the visual.

Configure Colors for a Specific Bullet Gauge

Specify the color settings for a specific bullet gauge using the Color sidebar

1. Edit the visual you want to modify. See Edit Visuals.

2. If you are editing the visual in a dashboard, select Settings from the chart drop-down menu. The sidebar menu for the visual appears. If you are editing the visual from the Visual Gallery, the sidebar appears to the right of the visual.

   Select on the sidebar menu. The Color sidebar for the visual appears.

   

3. Configure the color settings as described below. As you change the color settings, the legend at the top of the Color sidebar shows how the legend will appear on the visual. Supported color specifications are described in Specify Colors.

   Setting	Description
   Legend	Enable or disable to display a dynamic legend in this visual. Dynamic legends allow you to temporarily add or remove data shown in the visual. For distinct color styles, select a data point in the legend to turn it off and on in the visual. For gradient color styles, use the legend’s gradient slider to show and hide your data. If available, enable or disable a static legend for this visual.
   Bar Color	Select the bar color for the gauge. If Inherit from Theme is selected, the color palette is determined by the theme selected for the Composer UI. You cannot select the color in this field to access the color dialog.
   Target Color	Select the color for the target bar. If Inherit from Theme is selected, the color palette is determined by the theme selected for the Composer UI. You cannot select the color in this field to access the color dialog.
   Color Metric	Select the metric that affects the segment color in the visual. You can also define the default aggregation function used for the metric values: SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN, or (for some data sources) LAST VALUE. See Metric Aggregation Functions.
   Color Palette	If Inherit from Theme is selected, the color palette is determined by the theme selected for the Composers UI. To override the palette selected by the theme, clear the Inherit from Theme checkbox and select a different color palette.
   Color Mode	Select Distinct Colors or Gradient to identify the way colors are used on the screen. Either specific distinct colors will be used or a gradient of colors will be used.
   Threshold Mode	If you selected the Gradient color mode, this setting cannot be changed. If you selected the Distinct Colors color mode, select either Auto or Manual from the drop-down list. Auto will automatically assign thresholds and colors for the visual. Manual allows you to change the thresholds and colors used on the visual.
   Number of colors	Specify the number of colors to use for the visual.
   Color Rules	Color rules allow you to change the colors for each color used for the visual. In addition, if you specified a Manual threshold mode, you can select the thresholds used for color settings in the visual. See Understand Visual Color Condition Thresholds.

4. Close the Color sidebar and the color settings are dynamically applied to the visual.

5. Select to save the dashboard and the visual with its updated settings.

Understand Visual Color Condition Thresholds

You can set threshold color conditions for metric-based visuals. At least two color settings are required. In addition, thresholds are specified between each color setting. (So three color settings require two threshold settings; four color settings require three threshold settings, etc.)

• The color for Color 1 is used when the value of the color metric is less than the first threshold value.

• The color for Color 2 is used when the value of the color metric falls between the first and second threshold values.

• If only three colors are used for the visual, the color for Color 3 is used when the value of the color metric is greater than or equal to the second threshold value.

  If more than three colors are used, the color for Color 3 is used when the value of the color metric falls between the second and third threshold values.

  When more than three colors are used, the colors continue to be applied in this pattern for all threshold settings; any color metric values greater than the last threshold setting have the final color applied.

You can have Composer automatically set the thresholds or you can manually set them.

For information about the color encoding supported by Composer, see Specify Colors.