Chart types and chart configurations

To choose a chart type, consider what you want the chart to illustrate. Different chart types and configurations emphasize different things.

Table 1. Types of charts and chart configurations and their purposes
Purpose	Chart type or configuration
Show contributions of parts to a whole	Bar Charts Pie Charts Stacked Charts, when you want to display measures of the whole, as well as the parts 100 Percent Stacked Charts
Show trends in time or contrast values across different categories	Line Charts Area Charts Bar Charts Column Charts Always place time in the horizontal axis.
Compare groups of related information against actual values	Bar Charts Radar Charts
Compare different kinds of quantitative information	Combination Charts
Rank values in descending or ascending order	Bar Charts Column Charts
Show correlation between two sets of measures	Point Charts
Show key performance indicators in an executive dashboard	Gauge Charts Bullet Charts