Aligning Chart Axes on a Page

A story page is more visually appealing when the chart axes are all aligned vertically and horizontally.

Context

You can manually control the position of the axis – including the axis on variance charts – to create a visually appealing story with nicely aligned visualizations. You can select either the vertical or horizontal axis and drag it to a new position.

When you are moving the axis to a position that is almost aligned with an adjacent chart, snap lines appear. When you release the cursor, the axis snaps to that aligned axis.

Tip

The axis alignment behavior aligns all charts in a row or column with the vertical or horizontal axis that is closest to the middle of the chart.

If the chart axes aren't aligning as expected, review the following items and adjust your charts:

  • Your browser should be at 100% zoom.

  • Make sure the chart axis is not locked.

  • If chart axes are aligned vertically, make sure the width of the charts in the row are equal.

  • If chart axes are aligned horizontally, make sure the length of the charts in the column are equal.

  • For charts that you don't want to include in the axis alignment, avoid overlapping the chart tiles.

Th axis alignment functionality is available for the following chart types:
  • Bar
  • Column
  • Line
  • Combination bar or column and line
  • Combination stacked bar or column and line
  • Stacked bar or column
  • Area
  • Bubble
  • Histogram
  • Marimekko
  • Scatterplot
  • Waterfall

Procedure

  1. In your story, select a chart that has adjacent charts.
  2. Select the axis (the axis changes color when the cursor is in the correct spot).
  3. Move the axis to a new location.

    As the axis comes closer to alignment with an adjacent chart axis, a dotted line appears on the chart. When you release the cursor, the axis will snap to align with that adjacent chart axis.

Results

The two adjacent charts will now be aligned on one axis. You can repeat the process for other adjacent charts.

If you change your mind, select the axis that you just moved and then select (reset axis spacing).