Bar chart

Configure a bar chart in Toucan AI to compare categories or rankings.

Target Audience: Non-technical users and builders configuring charts in the Library.

Overview

A bar chart compares a measure across categories. Each bar’s length reflects Bar height; categories come from Bar category (vertical: horizontal axis; horizontal: category axis for rankings).

• Dimension: Bar category plus optional Orientation (vertical or horizontal).

• Measure: Bar height — one query column, with optional Aggregation.

• Optional: Group bars for side-by-side bars, or a Line overlay (vertical orientation only).

In the Library, enable Manual Edit, set Type to Bars, and map columns under Data.

Shared fields (Title, Narrative, Data) are in Chart types.

When to use it

Good fit

• Compare values across categories (sales by region, headcount by team).

• Show rankings with horizontal bars and optional Show rank.

• Combine bars with a second metric as a line (vertical only).

Prefer another chart

• Trend over time → Line chart.

• Part-to-whole within each category → Stacked bar chart.

• Share of a total (few slices) → Circular chart.

• One big number → Value.

Examples: top products by revenue, department headcount, monthly sales with a target line.

Common setups

• Vertical bars: default orientation, Bar category + Bar height.

• Ranking: Horizontal + Show rank under More dimension options.

• Grouped bars: Group bars under More dimension options.

• Bar + line: vertical orientation, Line Y-Axis in the Line section.

Configuration options

Open the chart in the Library, turn on Manual Edit, select Data, then set Type to Bars. Panels: Dimension, Measure, and Line (vertical only). Advanced fields: More dimension options / More measure options.

Prerequisites: connected database, Manual Edit (how-to).

Dimension

Option	How it works
Orientation	Vertical (default) or Horizontal. Horizontal hides the Line section.
Bar category	Category axis (X when vertical, Y when horizontal).
Date granularity	When Bar category is a date: Year, Quarter, Month, Week, or Day.
Date format	How date labels appear on the category axis.
Order bars	More dimension options. Sort by a column, ascending or descending.
Group bars	More dimension options. Side-by-side bars per category value.
Show all labels	Only shown when Orientation is Vertical. More dimension options. Label under each bar.
Show rank	Only shown when Orientation is Horizontal. More dimension options. Rank numbers on the category axis.

Measure

Option	How it works
Bar height	Column for bar length. Often numeric; use Aggregation (e.g. Count rows) otherwise.
Aggregation	Reduces rows before plotting (see below).
Format number	Shown when the measure is numeric (after aggregation). Standard, Percent, Currency, decimals, Unit.
Show value on bar	More measure options. Values on bars (on by default).
Automatic y-axis scaling	More measure options. On by default; off for Min / Max.
Exclude 0 values	More measure options. Removes rows where the measure is 0, null, or empty.

Line (vertical orientation only)

Option	How it works
Line Y-Axis	Second metric as a line. Clear the column to remove the line.
Aggregation	Shown after Line Y-Axis is selected.
Show value on line	Values on line points.
Unify scales for bars and lines	On by default: bars and line share one scale.

Aggregations on Bar height and Line Y-Axis

Aggregation	Typical column types
Sum, Cumulated sum, Average	Integer, float
Minimum, Maximum	Integer, float, date
Count rows, Count distinct	All types
Standard deviation	Integer, float

The AI assistant can pre-fill these fields; use Manual Edit to adjust.

Suggested next steps: Chart types · Line chart · Customize a chart manually · Create a chart with AI