Spider Charts

Spider charts (or radar charts) are two-dimensional charts designed to plot a series of values over multiple common quantitative variables by providing an axis for each variable, arranged as spokes around a central point. The values for adjacent variables in a single series are connected by lines. Frequently the shape created by these lines is filled in with color.

In Jaspersoft Studio, the spider charts are separate from the rest of the charts available in the Community Project, because they are a separate component in the JasperReports Library. But you use them just as other JFree Charts.

To create the report for the chart

1.

Open a new, blank report using a landscape template and the Sugar CRM database. Use the following query:

select * from orders

Click Next.

2.

Move all the fields into the right box. Click Next and Finish.

3.

Delete all bands except Title and Summary.

4.

Drag a Static Text element into the title bar, and name your report something like “Employee Orders by Month and Country”.

5.

Enlarge the Summary band to 350 pixels by changing the Height entry in the Band Properties view.

To create a spider chart

1.

Drag the Spider Chart element from the Palette into your report.

Figure 226: Spider Chart

2.

Select the report in the Outline view, and in the Properties view, click the Edit query, filter, and sort options button. The Dataset and Query dialog opens.

Figure 227: Increment Expression for Spider Chart

To filter your data in a Spider Chart, you must filter it in the Dataset and Query dialog.

3.

To filter data for a more readable chart, click the Increment Expression tab and enter the expression below with no manual line breaks, then click OK.

( $F{shipcountry}.startsWith("N") || $F{shipcountry}.startsWith("M") || $F{shipcountry}.startsWith ("U") || $F{shipcountry}.startsWith ("I") ) || $F{shipcountry}.startsWith("A") && ( $F{shipname}.startsWith( "M" ) || $F{shipname}.startsWith( "A" ) || $F{shipname}.startsWith( "G" ) )

4.

Double-click the chart to display the Chart Data Configuration dialog.

5.

Click the Series button and create the series $F{employeeid}.

6.

Click the Value button and create the value MONTH($F{orderdate}).

7.

Click the Category button and create the category $F{shipcountry}.

8.

Click Finish.

To customize the look of your chart

1.

Single-click your chart, and click the Properties tab.

2.

Click the Legend category and select True in the Show Legend dropdown menu.

3.

Use the Position dropdown, to move the legend to the left.

4.

Drag a Static Text element just to the left and above the legend. Label the legend Employee Number.

5.

Save your report. The Design tab should look like the following figure.

Figure 228: Spider Chart Design

6.

Preview your report. It should look like the following:

Figure 229: Spider Chart Preview