Stacked Area Charts

This article applies to TrackVia’s current UI. For information about this article in the new UI, go HERE

Stacked Area Charts are best used to show changes in composition over time.

When to Use a Stacked Area Chart

• Use Stacked Area Charts to show how parts contribute to a whole
• When you want to track not only the total value, but also want to understand the breakdown of that total by groups
• To compare the proportions of different categories against the total value
• To show how multiple variables contribute to the total value while still showing the overall trend.

When to Avoid Using a Stacked Area Chart

• If you need an exact comparison
• If you have more than 3-5 categories
• If you want to compare how one category is overtaking another, consider using a line chart instead.

Example Use Cases for Stacked Area Charts

1. Visualizing revenue shares by product line over a period of time.
2. Show how sales in different regions contribute to total sales.

Set-up Instructions

Below are the chart settings used to create the example Bubble chart shown above. 

1. Select which fields to include in the chart: 

2. Under the "Format" tab, choose the fields to plot on the x and y axes.
In this example Quarter and Sales Territory are selected for the x-axis with each having the "Group by this field" checkbox checked, and Quarter is sorted in ascending order to be displayed from Q1-Q4, and Total Sales is selected for the y-axis: 

3. If you want to change the colors of your chart, you can do so by navigating to the chart view, then clicking on the View Menu and selecting "Change Colors":

Related articles: 
Charts Overview
Non-Stacked Area Charts
Stepped Area Charts