Standard column charts are ideal for showing a single measure per category so you can easily compare each of the categories with the rest. However, if you have larger number of categories (>10) in a column chart it is possible the chart itself becomes “heavy” because large part of the surface of the chart will be filled with the bar color(s).

To avoid this clutter one can use the Lollipop Column Chart as an alternative to the standard column chart. It shows a marker (mostly a dot) per category at the corresponding measure value for each category. The marker is connected to the measure-axis origin by a subtle line. The marker combined with the line make it a Lollipop Chart.

Key features of the Lollipop Chart are:

Format the objects: Each of the data point objects (dot and line) can be formatted by selecting a color and size. Additional, the line can be switched on/off and for the dot one can switch on/off the fill color. You can even change the marker icon into a number of different shapes;

The Axis formatting options are in line with the options you know from the Power BI Clustered Column Chart, so no need to learn a new interface;

Selection & Highlighting: Like in standard Power BI Charts you can make use of the Selection & (Partial) Highlighting functions within the Lollipop Chart;

Context menu: Like in standard Power BI Charts you have access to the context menu to Include/Exclude data points;

Full tooltip support: Besides the default Tooltip behaviour (show the value of the element you hover) you can also add additional fields to the tooltip. You can even use another report page as a tooltip;

Support for Datalabels Datalabels can be added and formatted;

Conditional formatting The markers and lines support conditional formatting to change their appearance based on data and rules;

Analytics lines Reference lines can be added to the Lollipop Column Chart by configuring them in the Analytics pane;

All functionality of the Lollipop Column Chart is available for free to try within Power BI Desktop. A licensed version is available for production usage and sharing the reports with your colleagues in Power BI Service. A license can be purchased on our website. Need more information? Visit our site at: https://visuals.novasilva.com

Lollipop Column Chart

by Nova Silva