Bead graphs are great for visualizing lots of data on different scales. Each column of data is plotted along a set scale.
Bead graphs are only available to view on screen. Use these in online stories and dashboards.
A bead graph (also known as a Cleveland dot chart) is an alternative to bar charts and looks somewhat like a horizontal bar chart where dots replace the bars.
- Each dot (or bead) plots a value.
- The line shows the range or scale, for example, from 0 to 100%.
- A bead graph can display separate lines for different categories, and the range or scale of each line can be different.
Being like a horizontal bar chart, the labels are easy to read. The benefit of the bead graph becomes clear when comparing multiple values across several categories. They are particularly useful when your categories have relatively long labels and you have several values spread across a range within each category. They can highlight clustering and gaps and show outliers. Bead charts also reduce clutter and focus more on individual values.
Bead graphs are only available to view on screen. If you export to PowerPoint it will only export as a table.
Default smart graph settings
| Dimension | Description |
| Horizontal/across (x-axis) |
|
| Legend: Vertical/down (y-axis) |
|
- Down-axis elements are displayed as the legend and beads. Across-axis elements display as the lines in the bead graph.