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# Style a dashboard chart: labels, target lines and captions

> Set colours, number formats, data labels and axis ranges on Mammoth dashboard charts, add target lines and event markers, and write a caveat or source caption.

Each chart's edit panel has options for its colour, number format, labels, axes and annotations, plus a caption line under the chart. Click a chart in the dashboard editor to open its edit panel; the options sit under the headings **Data**, **Style**, **Labels**, **Axes** and **Annotations**. Anyone who can edit the dashboard can change them, and each chart type shows only the options it can draw.

## Options that most chart types share

These options appear on most chart types. Most have an **i** tooltip that explains them.

| Option | Group | Choices (default) | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Color** | Style | **Auto** (the dashboard theme) or a swatch | Overrides the chart colour. Part-to-whole and stacked charts show palettes instead of a single colour. |
| **Number format** | Style | **Prefix**, **Suffix**, **Decimals** (**Auto**, **0**, **1**, **2**), **Abbreviate** (on) | How numbers read. **Abbreviate** shows 1.2k instead of 1,200. |
| **Data labels** | Labels | **Smart** (default), **Show**, **Hide** | "Smart shows the value on each bar while the chart has room for it. Show always draws them, Hide never does — the value stays on hover either way." |
| **Y-axis range** | Axes | **Min**, **Max** (blank = fit to the data) | "Raising the minimum zooms in on small differences." |
| **Sort** | Data | **High → low** (default), **Low → high**, **A → Z**, **Z → A** | Category order, and which rows a Top N keeps. |
| **Display as** | Data | **By rank** (default), **A → Z**, **Z → A** | Display order of the kept rows. |
| **Reference line** | Annotations | **Value**, **Label** | "Draw a dashed line at a value — e.g. a target or average — with an optional label." |

## Options for each chart type

Each chart type adds its own options. "Shared options" are the ones in the table above.

| Chart | Shared options | Its own options (default) |
|---|---|---|
| Bar, Bar (H) | Color, Number format, Data labels, Y-axis range, Sort, Display as, Reference line | **Corner radius** 0–12 (3); **Annotation** (a text callout on the highlighted point); **Bar spacing** 0–60% (26%) |
| Ranking (dots) | Color, Number format, Sort, Display as, Y-axis range | None |
| Pareto | Color, Number format, Data labels, Y-axis range | **80% line** (off); **Bar spacing**; **Corner radius** |
| Diverging | Number format, Sort | **Positive color**, **Negative color**; **Bar spacing**; **Corner radius** |
| Waterfall | Number format, Y-axis range | **Positive color**, **Negative color**; **Bar spacing**; **Corner radius** |
| Line | Color, Number format, Y-axis range, Reference line, Data labels, Sort, Display as | **Smooth curve** (on); **Fill under line** (on); **Show points** (off); **Annotation** |
| Area | Color, Number format, Y-axis range, Reference line, Data labels, Sort, Display as | **Smooth curve** (on) |
| Stacked area | Palette, Number format | None |
| Combo | Number format, Y-axis range | None (set measures in **Measures**) |
| Sparkline | Color, Number format | **End label** (on) |
| Bump | Number format | **Rank labels** (on) |
| Slope | Number format | **Left label**, **Right label** |
| Donut | Palette, Number format, Sort, Display as | **Ring thickness** 15–60% (32%); **Slice gap** 0–10 (2); **Slice corners** 0–8 (0); **Slice labels** **Off** / **Percent** / **Value** (Off); **Center total** (on); **Center label** |
| Stacked bar | Palette, Number format, Sort, Data labels | **Normalize to 100%** (off); **Corner radius**; **Bar spacing** |
| 100% stacked | Palette, Number format, Sort | **Corner radius**; **Bar spacing** |
| Grouped bar | Number format, Y-axis range, Sort, Data labels, Reference line | **Corner radius**; **Bar spacing** |
| Marimekko, Sunburst, Sankey | Palette, Number format | None |
| Composition | Palette, Number format, Data labels, Sort, Display as | None |
| Treemap | Palette, Number format, Sort, Display as | **Tile gap** 0–6 (1); **Corner radius** 0–16 (5, outer corners only) |
| Funnel | Palette, Number format | **Stage height** 30–70 px (46); **Corner radius** |
| Radar | Number format | **Max value** |
| Heatmap | Number format, Data labels | **Color scale** (darker cells are higher values) |
| Dumbbell | Number format | None |
| Scatter | Color, Number format, Y-axis range | **Point size** 2–12 (6); **X-axis title**; **Y-axis title**; **Trend line** (off; a best-fit line) |
| Bubble | Palette, Number format, Y-axis range | **X-axis title**; **Y-axis title** |
| Histogram | Number format, Y-axis range | **Bins** (blank = automatic) |
| Box plot | Number format, Y-axis range | None |
| Beeswarm | Number format, Y-axis range | **Median tick** (on) |
| Gauge | Color, Number format | **Max value**; **Caption**; **Threshold zones** (off; red, amber and green bands with a needle) |
| Bullet | Color, Number format | **Max value**; **Target**; **Label** |
| KPI | Color, Number format | **Label** |
| Big number | Color, Number format | **Label**; **Change caption** (for example "vs Q1"); **Good direction** **Up is good** / **Down is good** (Up is good) |
| Icon stat | Color, Number format | **Icon** (**Auto** or a named icon); **Unit word**; **Label**; **Change caption**; **Good direction** |
| Pictograph | Color, Number format, Sort, Display as | **Icon**; **Unit word** (for example "people"); **Each icon is** (blank = a round amount that keeps each row to 20 icons or fewer) |
| Candlestick | Number format, Y-axis range | None |
| Calendar heatmap | Number format | **Cell size** 8–20 (14); **Color scale** |
| Gantt | Palette | **Corner radius** |
| Network | Palette | None |
| Map | Number format | **Projection**; **Color scale**; **Binning**. See [Map chart](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/charts/#map-chart-of-countries-or-us-states). |

Tables have their own **Edit table** panel. See [Tables, KPI cards, insights and text](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/tables-kpis-text/).

## Add a target line or event marker to a chart

The **Annotations** section pins a labelled line at a value (a target or an average), or a labelled marker on one point of the x-axis (a launch, a price change). It's on **Bar**, **Bar (H)**, **Line**, **Area**, **Grouped bar**, **Combo**, **Stacked bar** and **Stacked area** charts.

| Button | Adds | Fields |
|---|---|---|
| **+ Reference line** | A **Reference** row: a horizontal line | **Value** (a number) and **Label** |
| **+ Event** | An **Event** row: a marker on one x-axis point | A point (**Pick a date**) and a **Label** |

- The event's point list holds the labels on the chart's own x-axis, so an event can only sit on a point the chart shows. **+ Event** is disabled when the chart has no x-axis labels.
- Every row has a **Color**: **Default**, **Brand**, **Positive**, **Negative**, **Warning** or **Info**. The colours follow the dashboard theme.
- **×** removes a row.
- On a chart with more than one axis, each row also asks "Which axis this value belongs to".

The line and label redraw as you type.

Example: to mark a sales target of 50,000:

1. Click **+ Reference line**.
2. Set **Value** to 50000.
3. Set **Label** to "Target".
4. Set **Color** to **Positive**.



## Add a caveat or source caption under a chart

A caption is one or two lines of text under a single chart. It says what the chart leaves out or where its numbers come from.

1. Near the bottom of the panel, tick **Add a caption**.
2. Pick the kind: **Caveat** ("A limit on what the numbers cover", the default) or **Source** ("Where the data came from").
3. Type the text (placeholder "Excludes Head Office…").

**Bold**, **Italic** and **Link** buttons format it: "One or two lines, under the chart. **bold**, _italic_ and [links](url) are supported."

### Insert values that stay current in a caption

The **{ }** button ("Insert something the board fills in") adds a value the dashboard keeps current. It appears when the dashboard has these facts:

| Value | What it shows |
|---|---|
| `{updated}` | When this board was last built |
| `{rows}` | How many rows it covers |
| `{range}` | The period the data covers |
| `{dataset}` | The dataset this board reads |
| `{filters}` | What the reader has filtered to |

Untick **Add a caption** to delete the caption. For notes about the whole dashboard rather than one chart, use a text block. See [Tables, KPI cards, insights and text](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/tables-kpis-text/#add-a-note-caveat-or-source-text-block).

## Troubleshooting chart options

| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| "Couldn't load the settings for this chart." | Click **Try again**. |
| "No adjustable settings for this chart." | This chart has nothing to adjust. Change its fields instead in [Set up a chart](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/edit-a-chart/). |
| **+ Event** is disabled | The chart has no x-axis labels to pin an event to. |

## Related

- [Set up a chart](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/edit-a-chart/): fields, Top N, multiple measures and two axes.
- [Add and change charts](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/charts/): what each chart type is for.
- [What readers can do with a chart](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/chart-reader-actions/): the **Readers can** section.
- [Themes](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/themes/): the colours **Auto** follows.
- [Tables, KPI cards, insights and text](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/tables-kpis-text/): live tokens in text blocks.

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Source: https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/chart-options.md · Updated: 2026-11-08