How to Create a Ranking Plot (Bump Chart)

A Bump or Ranking chart shows the relative (rank) order of data values. They highlight how the relative sizes of data values differ from category to category. This chart type shows data ranked in order of size, with the largest value at the top rank 1. See the Reverse rankings section below for how to reverse the ranking by multiplying the values by -1.

This article describes how to go from a crosstab like this:

To a Ranking (Bump) chart like the one below:

Requirements

• A table containing at least two rows and at least one column.
• Note, if using a table created using R, be sure to set the statistic attribute (shown in the top left corner of the table). See How to Change Table Attributes in R Tables.

Method

To create a bump chart from an existing table:

1. Select the table.
2. In Properties , click Visualization > Exotic > Bump.
3. Confirm you like the order of the rankings or if you want to Reverse rankings as described in the section below.
4. [Optional] Change what NET/Total rows and columns are included in the chart using the Properties > Chart > Nets section. Show Column NET and Show Row NET are set to Exclude by default to hide the overall NET or Total from the table. Change to Include to add them back. Sub-nets/merged categories are automatically included, but can be excluded by changing the setting to Exclude all duplicate categories. Settings are Show Column NET Show Row NET
5. [Optional] Use the Chart tab in Properties to set general formatting such as background color, font, and minimum value for ranking. 
6. [Optional] To format series (colors and labeling) as well as the axes of the chart and the number of ranks shown, click on an element in the chart directly to modify its settings in Properties . 

Reverse rankings

There isn't a setting to reverse the ranking so that the smallest number is ranked 1. To achieve this, you can multiply the table values by -1 and use this to create the bump chart. More specifically:

1. From the toolbar or hover > '+' menu in the Report tree, select Calculation > Custom Code. If needed, click on the Page to place the new output.
2. With the cursor in the Code panel, insert a reference to the table. To do so, click on the name of the input table used, if on a Page, or on the left + on the table name in the Report tree.
3. Then type * -1 to multiply all the table values by -1 and thus reverse the rankings.
4. Use this table to make your bump chart.

Chart formatting options

To change the appearance of the chart, select/click the element on the chart you want to edit, and then change the relevant settings in Properties , under the Chart tab. 

The first click on a chart element will select all sub-elements, e.g., clicking the column headings will first select all of them. Clicking again on a specific column's heading will select only that heading.

The editable elements are as follows:

Entire Chart

Formatting

Font settings here will apply to the whole chart. If you change settings for individual elements, then those specific settings will override the settings in this section.

Background

Changing the Color here will change the color of the chart's background.

Nets

You can choose here whether to include or exclude NETs or Totals from your table's rows and columns using Show Column NET and Show Row NET. The default is Exclude. You can also hide sub-nets and merged categories by changing those to Exclude all duplicate categories. 

Ranking Statistic

Allows the selection of the numeric statistic from the underlying table you would like to use for the ranking.

Chart Elements

Plot Area

Clicking anywhere on the series/chart itself will show the options for the Plot Area. It contains font formatting settings, as well as the option Show values.

Show values

Defaults to No.

Selecting Yes - Right or Yes - Below here will show options to include the value in the label for all series in the chart positioned as selected in relation to the series label:

Value allows specifying which statistic from the underlying table to show in the label.

Value prefix and Value suffix allow the inclusion of characters before and after the value in the label, e.g. $ or % signs.

Decimals shown will increase or decrease the number of decimals included in the label.

Series

Clicking any of the series on the chart will open font and color options for that series. Note that it is not possible to edit labels individually for any given series.

Column Labels

Selecting all the column labels (first click on the column labels on the chart) will enable font formatting options.

Clicking a column label a second time will enable font formatting options for that specific column label.

Numbers (Y) Axis

These numbers represent the numeric rank of each series, and selecting them enables font formatting options. Settings here will apply to all numbers. It is not possible to format numbers individually.

Changing the number of rows/ranks shown

To change the number of rows/ranks shown in the chart, select the chart, click on the number rank axis (Y axis), then go to Chart > Numbers > Number of ranks and update the number shown.

If you wish to update specific rows in the chart, you will need to Hide unwanted rows in the input table.

Axis Titles

This option is available by clicking on the + in the upper right corner of the visualization. Ticking Axis Titles will show the X- and Y-axes titles. You can then click on the titles and format the font color, weight, style, size, etc.