The FusionCharts Blog

A tip a day - Archive

We shared a charting tip a day all of June on our Twitter handle. The tips covered topics like chart selection, usability guidelines and how to make the most out of FusionCharts. In case you missed out, here are our words of wisdom put together:

1. Tip 1: Use a column/bar chart for comparing individual values and line/area for overall trend. http://bit.ly/da5bLv
   
   
2. Tip 2: <chart useRoundEdges='1'...> gives your plain 2D columns a round-edged glass-fill effect. http://bit.ly/brMqbs
   
   
3. Tip 3: Avoid unnecessary axis labels like “Month” & “Name” when you your data labels are Jan/Feb/.. or Adam/Steve/...
4. Tip 4: Convert your input data in secs to mins, hours & days for easier reading using number scaling. http://bit.ly/c4Qcz1
   
   
5. Tip 5: Visually build your XML data & HTML code for the charts using the XML Builder. http://bit.ly/d86ujy
   
   
6. Tip 6: Highlight imp data sets by changing their bg/border, or anchor shape in line charts. http://bit.ly/b3L2vz
   
   
7. Tip 7: Composition of data (part of a whole) is best shown using the pie and stacked charts. http://bit.ly/da5bLv
   
   
8. Tip 8: Slanted data labels occupy lesser space & are easier to read than rotated labels. http://bit.ly/cTjRrv
   
   
9. Tip 9: To highlight a data item in a pie chart, slice it out. http://bit.ly/9sXTJF
   
   
10. Tip 10: In a dashboard, place your most important chart at the top-left corner. http://bit.ly/amMMB2
    
    
11. Tip 11: Open drill-down charts in a new window by prefixing the destination URL with n-. http://bit.ly/buXonk
    
    
12. Tip 12: Show who created the charts by adding your website URL to the chart's context menu. http://bit.ly/9Df2zN
    
    
13. Tip 13: Plot discontinuous data by specifying just the data label without a value. http://bit.ly/9An5y2
    
    
14. Tip 14: Make your charts crisp by delegating detailed info on to the tooltips. http://bit.ly/bRgFiL
    
    
15. Tip 15: For seeing ups/downs in company profit and store inventory, use the waterfall chart. http://bit.ly/97aIs5
    
    
16. Tip 16: Need fade-in, translation & scaling animation effects for your chart elements? Use Styles: http://bit.ly/cstbyM
    
    
17. Tip 17: For irregular data (Oct 2009-Mar 2010), put a vline at the end of 2009 for clarity. http://bit.ly/abiA4Y
    
    
18. Tip 18: Always enable chart exporting in your dashboards to allow users to save it for email/PPTs. http://bit.ly/axhVMH
    
    
19. Tip 19: If your chart is not displaying as intended, use the debug mode to find out why. http://bit.ly/c7YX3W
    
    
20. Tip 20: Dashboards should allow viz at 3 levels: summarized, multi-dimensional & detailed. http://bit.ly/ccApTs
    
    
21. Tip 21: Call JavaScript funcs on clicking a bar in a bar chart/slice in pie/.. using the j- method. http://bit.ly/bgygBd
    
    
22. Tip 22: Use descriptive captions to explain what your chart does. Example: Monthly revenue for 2009 (USD)
    
23. Tip 23: For hierarchical relationships (analytics/HR mgmt), use the multi-level pie chart. http://bit.ly/bBtbdK
    
    
24. Tip 24: For displaying rankings (like in sports), use an inverted axis. http://bit.ly/agZ9ua
    
    
25. Tip 25: Export all charts in a page with a single click using FusionCharts batch export. http://bit.ly/axhVMH
    
    
26. Tip 26: You can create charts using <fusioncharts></fusioncharts> with FusionCharts DOM. http://bit.ly/9tYGTm
    
    
27. Tip 27: Less space, lots of data? Use compact charts like Bullet graphs & Sparklines. http://bit.ly/a4Zfs5
    
    
28. Tip 28: For multi-line tooltips/captions, use {br} for line breaks. http://bit.ly/azSQDC
    
    
29. Tip 29: To execute jQuery codes directly from chart's link attribute, append your code with .foo http://bit.ly/aCOBRg
    
    
30. Tip 30: For comparing 3 parameters for every data set (ex: investments), use the bubble chart. http://bit.ly/bOyRaz
    
    

Useful? Handy? Random blurb put together? Let us know what you think of it.

FIFA World Cup 2010 Infographic – Winners, Highest Scores, Betting Odds and more

With the FIFA World Cup around the corner and everyone else talking about it, we felt very “uncool.” Being the brave resilient boys that we are (did you know that?), we decided to do something about it. But there's only one thing we do well – make great charts.

So we researched a lot on FIFA World Cup stats (read: spent precisely 23 minutes at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup), did some quick mockups, fired up our charts and made our first infographic ever.

Take a look. (Click for a bigger clearer picture)

What's your pick? Whom are you betting on?

30 days, 30 tips and a better world

Data is everywhere. It is converting it into powerful actionable information that really makes the difference.

In an endeavor to help you offer a powerful reporting experience to your users, we wanted to do our bit too. Come June, we will be tweeting a tip a day for the entire month. These tips would be on topics varying from chart selection to usability guidelines for your chart to things about FusionCharts you will absolutely want to have in your next chart. It will be an enriching experience, we tell you.

A sample

Here's a basic sample if you need to be convinced further:

"When you have data that is not time-based (ex: sales by executive), arranging it numerically makes it easier to analyze."

Profound wisdom in 120 characters, don't you agree? 30 of these info-rich tips coming up for you all of June. So what are you waiting for? Follow us on Twitter and get to know everything you need to change the world. Or to offer a better charting experience at least.

Oh, and if you have wonderful tips you would like to share, please leave them in the comments. We will include the most helpful ones in our list, and thank you enough for it.

ARTIO FusionCharts Free for Joomla released

Good news for all Joomla folks! You can now add exciting Flash charts to your Joomla 1.5x sites with the latest product from our stable -- ARTIO FusionCharts Free for Joomla.

The product has been developed in partnership with ARTIO, our technology partners, and uses the popular FusionCharts Free to give you stunning charts without writing a line of code. And yes, as the name suggests, it's totally free.

What's special about it?

1. Animated charts make you look wow: The charts in FusionCharts Free have captivating animation effects and make you look wow to your visitors.
   
   
2. Covers your basic charting needs completely: With all standard chart types like Column, Line and Pie charts provided, all your basic charting needs will totally be taken care of.
   
   
   
   
   



3. Intuitive GUI makes your work a breeze: It comes with a very easy-to-use GUI using which you can set up your charts quickly and then insert them into your articles. Seriously, how tough can click, type, click be?
   
   
   
   
   



4. Advanced features like tooltips and hotspots for powerful reporting: ARTIO FusionCharts Free for Joomla comes packed with powerful features like interactive tooltips, hotspots, number formatting features, scaling options and a lot more so that make your charts never miss a trick.


5. Integrated Preview for comprehensive customization: Every pixel you change in the chart is instantly reflected in the chart preview. So you know exactly how your charts looks after every change you make, and you know it quickly too.
   
   
   
   

There are a whole lot of other power-packed features in ARTIO FusionCharts Free for Joomla as well. See the complete set of product features to see what it can do for you.

Why is it free?

ARTIO FusionCharts Free for Joomla integrates FusionCharts Free with Joomla’s native work environment. FusionCharts Free is the world's leading free and open source Flash charting solution which is used by more than 100,000 developers all over the world. We wanted to bring the power and fluid beauty of Flash charting to all Joomla users. And we gave birth to ARTIO FusionCharts Free for Joomla.

Where can I get it from?

You can get your hands now on ARTIO FusionCharts Free for Joomla at www.fusioncharts.com/joomla and get instructions on installation & usage in the documentation.

So where are you looking to use it? Is there something you particularly like about it? Or something we could improve? We would love to know.

CeBIT -- The Complete Roundup

Yes. We have been talking about CeBIT non-stop for quite some time now. This will be the last time we will talk about it, for some time at least. We promise.

We reached Hannover on March 1st and straightway went to check out our booth. It was almost ready when we reached there, with powerful men and machine at work.




We played around with a number of things here and there to make our booth both usable and FusionCharts-ish. And finally when CeBIT opened at 9 am on March 2nd, we had a lovely booth to show to the world.



We were right opposite Google who decided to be at CeBIT at the 11th hour. They were getting their cars spray painted on Day 1 with very talented people from an art academy and were attracting a lot of people to the booth.



It was great to showcase oomfo for the first time, which clearly impressed everyone with the stunning animation and interactivity in seconds.





Boy, did the jaw drops when we said it is for free! Almost everyone wanted to know what our business model was and why we were spending so much money at CeBIT. We told them that FusionCharts takes cares of the bills and additionally we'll have a pro version of oomfo later this year.

We met a lot of FusionCharts customers as well, most of them very happy and some of them not-so-happy. Well, they think that v4 has been coming for too long a time and we very much agree. But be rest assured, we are working hard on it and when it does come out later this year, it will be unlike any charting you have ever seen before.

All in all, great fun. We loved the energy in the place and the enormity of the event. Great to know so many people knew about us or liked what they saw. Thank you one and all for coming and making us feel so good about ourselves.




We took pictures of every bird flying and every limb moving. You can check them all out on our Facebook page.

We learnt a lot of things during the fair as well. So why not share them with you?

1. Always reach the show a day before the event with 5-6 working hours in hand. There are always small changes here and there that are needed to make the booth perfectly suited for you. You don't want them done when people are pouring into your booth.


2. Have a plan for everything but build in a little flexibility too. We started the event with 4 columns (call them tills is you so want to), 1 table and 4 chairs. On the second day, we added another table and 2 brochure stands which helped us a lot to distribute the visitors coming in and attend to everyone.


3. Utility box. A small box (or a big one depending on what is utility enough for you) with a pair of scissors, cello-tapes, staplers, pins, a small notepad and a couple of pens is ever so useful.


4. Name badges. Yes you belong to a company and your company t-shirt says so. But at the end of the day, you are a person. People like talking to people, not companies. Have your name put clearly on a badge. Visitors see it and address you directly by name without the need for introductions. Saves time too. And who knows, if you are popular enough on the Internet, someone will recognize you from your name.


5. Have a video screen. The people walking by might not be interested enough to join a demo on one of your computers. But they will see the video when they are passing through, and if they like it, they will surely come over. Since ours is a visual product, it worked very well for us. (We decided to have a video screen at the 11th hour and since we could not find a player of any sorts, we connected it to a phone and kept on replaying our 2 min 30 seconds video manually all day. We found a better alternative later though – we copied the video back to back to make it 2 hrs 30 mins long, and then replayed it manually)


6. Love thy neighbors. Make friends with them. More often that not, they are wonderful people. If you are exhibiting in a land alien to you, then there is a lot about the place and mannerisms that you can learn from them. And you make great friends for life as well.


7. Take photographs. Yes it is obvious but in the heat of a trade show, chances that your camera will just be idling at the back are very high. And when you come back, you will have nothing to show to your colleagues, nothing to cherish and more importantly, nothing to show on your blog and Facebook page. After you are done with your demo and your visitors seem happy, ask them if they mind a photograph. With smiles and all. Nobody minds but being polite here is good. And then after you come back, show the smiles and the happy visitors to the world. Smiles say so much more than words.


8. Push. When pull doesn't work, push. No matter how excellent your pre-event marketing is or how stunning your booth, you will have dry spells. Google, which was right in front of us, did. To make the most of these times, step out of the booth, interact with people passing by, hand out brochures, say interesting things (“Do you want to see something good?” is something we used) and get people to come to your booth.


9. People want to see what other people are seeing. So if your booth is empty, probably you are not worth checking out. But if you have 3-4 people checking out your stuff (or even better, waiting) then you are hot property. Everyone wants to check you out. So get that initial lot of people in. Push them in if needed.


10. Do not make assumptions. See a media person around covering a bigger booth? Reach out to him, tell him what you have to offer and how you are the best thing since sliced bread. The worst thing that can happen is he will say no. But what if he says yes? In our case, there were a lot of people coming to cover Google. We went up to them, told them about what we have to offer and got covered on German National TV. And a couple of other places too.


11. Have a trade show checklist. Works wonders.


12. Party. When it is all over, party hard. It takes a lot of effort to showcase yourself at a trade show. You deserve some serious fun after that.

So what do you think? Do you agree with us? Do you think we put up a good show?

Preparation for CeBIT in full swing

Booth, brochures, CDs, flyers, visiting cards, visas, tickets, t-shirts, business suits and lots more....our preparations for CeBIT 2010 are in full swing. Here's something to show for our hard work:

What our booth should look similar to

One of the brochures we will be giving out at CeBIT

And the CDs...

Money :)

When in Rome, do as the Romans do -- Germany dos and dont's

To check out the complete preparation in pictures, check out the complete Facebook album.

Also, we released oomfo (FusionCharts for PowerPoint) a fortnight back and released oomfo beta 0.9.1 with the addition of waterfall and drag node chart earlier today. To keep yourself updated on oomfo, follow it on Twitter. We will be showcasing oomfo at CeBIT – so if you want to see more of it, discuss the new features coming up or request your own feature set, you know where to be.

Oh and if you are looking for free eTickets for CeBIT, look no further. We are into our last 50 – so get your tickets now.

See you in Hannover!

Comment to win free passes to CeBIT 2010, Hannover

We are exhibiting at CeBIT 2010, Hannover this March 2nd - 6th. We would love to have you and your colleagues visit us. And to make things easier, we are giving out free eTickets too.

Just leave a comment below telling us how many tickets you need and why would you like to visit us. It is not too much of a question really – we just like feeling important once in a while :)

Here's what to expect from us at CeBIT (and some reasons you could pick from for the comment):

• We will be showcasing oomfo, our soon-to-come charting tool for PowerPoint. In case you haven't heard of it, get a glimpse. [Update: oomfo public beta now out]
• We are working on a new version of FusionCharts and your ideas and suggestions can go a long way in shaping it up.
• We will be showcasing demos made specifically for the event, and new products coming soon from our stable -- FusionCharts for Joomla, FusionCharts for jQuery, FusionMaps for Flex and FusionCharts Pro for FileMaker v3.
• We will have lots of gifts to give out.

And yes, some rules:

• Please enter your correct email addresses when posting the comment – that is the only way we can reach you.
• We will give out a maximum of 5 passes per person (including your own)
• We have a total of 400 tickets left, so they will be on a first-come-first-serve basis.

So what are you waiting for? Get typing now.

Showcasing the usage of FusionCharts in SeeTheStats

We have always wanted to showcase innovative uses of FusionCharts. Firstly, to get you all excited about our product (and increase our sales) and secondly, to inspire you to explore the power of FusionCharts (and increase our sales).

We started off with the new Case Studies section on the website for this purpose, and now we would like to do this on the blog as well. In this post, we will check out the usage of FusionCharts in a newly launched web service called SeeTheStats. It is a service that makes Google Analytics stats available to the public in a fast, simple and free way.

The idea behind SeeTheStats

“There are two shortcomings in Google Analytics,” says Krzysztof Jurczyk, co-owner of the service, when asked why he decided to come up with SeeTheStats. “If you want to share your stats in Google Analytics with someone, the other person must have a Google account. More importantly, you will have to share all the stats. If you want to share only the number of unique visitors, but do not want to show your best keywords, you just cannot do that with Google Analytics. So when you need to show selected stats to potential customers and advertisers and get their attention, SeeTheStats is the way to go.”

The FusionCharts advantage

“Reporting plays a crucial role in a service dealing with analytics. So we spent quite some time looking for charting solutions but finally decided to go with FusionCharts because of the excellent look and feel. All the other solutions look simple plain boring compared to it,”  adds Jurczyk.

Apart from the look and feel, the SeeTheStats team were pleased with the included PHP and JavaScript classes, which they have used extensively. “Import from database (addDataFromDatabase), generation of XML files based on defined chart parameters (getXML), export to JPG files on server side (FC_Rendered together with a customized myCallBackFunction found on FusionCharts forum) -- all these are included by default in FusionCharts classes and saved us a lot of time during development.”

Another unique feature of the reporting is the Zoom feature that they have incorporated using Scroll Charts.  The scroll charts are fed with the same data as the normal chart, but with the scroll chart users can see stats for a particular date range in more details.

Concluding remarks

“The FusionCharts Forum was the most valuable source of technical information about FusionCharts. Whether we had a problem with JavaScript, chart attributes or with UTF-8 characters, we found quick and efficient solutions in the forum.”

SeeTheStats development team is looking at enhancing the reporting functionalities in the future. “We are looking to add trend lines to make data visualization even more meaningful, and also allow comparison of several sites on a single chart (as Alexa does).” We at FusionCharts will definitely be keeping an eye out for that.

The wow factor coming soon to PowerPoint

All the animation and interactivity that you love about FusionCharts is coming soon to your PowerPoint presentations. And we are calling it oomfo. Here's a glimpse:

So what do you think? Where do you see yourself using it? Is there any special feature that will make your life a lot easier? Anything at all, just let us know -- we are all ears.

Oh and if you want to be the first to know when oomfo is out, just fill up this form.

We had great fun in our day-long outing

We had been working pretty hard of late, or so we convinced ourselves. And to take a well-deserved break, we decided to have a day-long picnic on the outskirts of Kolkata.

Last Monday, the entire team headed out to one of our team member's farmhouse 12 kms outside Kolkata. Away from the daily hustle-bustle of the city, it was a very quiet and calming place. But that was only for the first 5 minutes of us being there. As soon as we familiarized ourselves with the place, it was a riot out there.

While we could go on and on about everything we did, we will keep it short and let the pictures do the talking. To sum it up in one line: We ate lots of good food, played cricket with a club, sang till we were hoarse, mimicked everyone in sight, treasure-hunted in near-darkness and thoroughly enjoyed being out with the whole team.

Here go the pictures: