Use chart widgets

Learn how to create and modify chart widgets, using AI or manually. Customize chart types, titles, axes, series data, legends, and widget behavior.

Who can use this?

Plans:

  • Smartsheet
  • Pro
  • Business
  • Enterprise

Permissions:

  • Owner
  • Admin

Find out if this capability is included in Smartsheet Regions or Smartsheet Gov.

Charts pull data from a single sheet or reports. 

Chart types

You can choose from the following chart types:

  • Line
  • Smooth line
  • Stepped line
  • Bar
  • Stacked bar
  • Column
  • Stacked column
  • Pie
  • Donut
  • Scatter

Pie and donut charts don't display zero values

Prepare your data

The chart widget plots data as it appears, so consider structuring your data correctly before you start:

  • Add labels to the top row and left column. These become your axis labels and legend entries. Without top-row text labels, the widget defaults to column names.
  • Use supported column types: Text/Number, Dropdown list, Auto-Number/System-generated column and Symbols.The widget skips any cells containing text, symbols, or non-integer values.

Create and edit a chart widget

You can create a chart widget manually or using Smartsheet AI tools.

AI tools are only available for Trial and Enterprise plans.

Create an AI chart

  1. From the Widgets panel, select the AI chart (Beta) widget.

The AI Chart Builder opens. 

  1. Select a sheet to use as your data source

    AI Charts only support sheets as data source. 

  2. Describe the chart you'd like to create in your own words, or pick from the suggested prompts
  3. Chart previews are displayed.

AI outputs provide a short explanation of how it generated the chart.

  1. Select Add widget to add it to your dashboard.
AI Chart

Edit your AI chart

  1. Select an existing AI-powered chart to reopen the conversational editor.
  2. Type a refinement prompt to refine the chart. For example: Group by region or Switch to a bar chart.

Existing charts on dashboards created with the analyze data AI tool aren’t editable yet. We are woking to make it available soon.

Create a chart manually

  1. On the right rail, select the + icon > Chart. Or select Edit > Add Widget.
  2. Before you can select your chart, you must first select your data. Select Add Data in the Data & Chart Type section.
  3. On the left side of the form, select the sheet or report that contains the table you want to chart. Then select the range of cells on the right side.
  4. Once you have your data, select OK.

If you need to change your data range later, edit the widget and select Edit Data to reselect the data range. Once you've selected your data, select a chart type and formatting.

  1. Select your desired chart type. Here's some guidance to help you choose:

Data you want to compare

Recommended chart

How numbers have changed over time

line, smooth line, stepped line

Directly compare numbers against each other

column, bar, stacked column, stacked bar

Show how individual numbers relate to the whole of your data set

pie, donut

  1. Set up your chart (refer to the Edit a chart section below)
  2. Select Done.

Edit a chart

To do thisFollow these steps

Chart only certain columns from the selected range

Select Columns Included and select only the columns you want to display.

Ignore the text labels in the cells of your table.

Toggle on Use column names as category labels.

Use the top row of your sheet as labels

Toggle off Use first column as series labels.

Switch how columns and rows are plotted on your chart.

Toggle on/off Switch rows/columns.

Change the chart type.

Use the dropdown to select the Chart type you want to use

Add a title to your chart.

Expand the Title section and enter your title.

  • When adding a title, make sure the Show Title toggle is on.
  • To change the format of a title, use the Title styling options.

Configure the horizontal/vertical axis of your chart.

Expand the Horizontal Axis or Vertical Axis section and enter the Axis title. Use the Title styling and Axis labels styling options to format the title and labels.

Add gridlines to your chart (except pie charts).

Expand the Horizontal Axis or Vertical Axis sections and toggle on or off Show tick mark lines.

Edit series data.

Expand the Series section. Select which series to edit in the Apply to field. Select the desired Color.

You can Toggle on or off the Always show value label and Fill line options.

Change the colors of the data or add labels to the data plotted in your chart.

Expand the Series section, select the series to edit the color in the Apply to field.

By default, white text appears on a dark background, and black text appears on light backgrounds.

Label slices of a pie chart with a percentage of the whole or actual values.

Expand the Pie Chart or Donut Chart section, and use the dropdown under Value Labels to select one of the following:

  • Hide
  • Percentage (%)
  • Amount

You can change the colors for each section of the pie chart and toggle on/off the option to display it as a semicircle.

Add or move a legend on your chart.

Expand the Legend section and select the Legend position.

Use the Legend styling options to format the it.

Select how viewers see the widget

Expand the Viewer mode section. Select from:

  • Last widget editor
  • Their own perspective

Hover over What’s the difference? For details. 

Edit the widget's interaction (what happens when you select the widget).

Select Widget Behavior and choose one of the interaction options:

  • Take no action
  • Open the data source
  • Open another site...
  • Open a Smartsheet item...

Pie and Donut charts: display as a half-pie or half-donut

Expand the Pie Chart & Series section and enable the Display as semicircle toggle.

Use the Analyze data AI tool

Smartsheet's analyze data AI tool offers an intelligent way to generate charts directly from your sheet. Instead of manually selecting data ranges and chart types, you can simply ask a question to create the chart widget you want.

Refer to Use analyze data to generate charts and metrics for more details. 

Frequently Asked Questions

I want to use the data in the top row of my table as labels, but the chart is using my column names instead. How do I fix this?

When values are in the top row of your data, the charts widget assumes these values are meant to be plotted and uses the column names as labels instead. To force the top row of your table to be used as labels, uncheck Use column names as category labels.

Can a chart be created from data in more than one sheet?

Currently, charts can only be created against data in a single sheet or report. If your source data is on multiple sheets, create a report to collect the information, or use cell links or a formula that references data from another sheet to collect your data into one sheet. More information on these options can be found in the following help center articles:

My custom color configuration doesn’t display on an existing chart. How do I save a custom color configuration to a series in a chart?

When a chart uses a row-based grouping and summary report, and only one column is selected under Columns Included in the chart widget Editor, you can't save a custom color configuration for the charted series.

If you change the series colors from the default, the system reverts them to the default colors when you save.

To fix this:

  1. Edit the chart widget. For more information on how to edit a chart, see Customize the format of your chart.
  2. Under Columns Included, select the primary column to name the series.
  3. Select Series, then select each value to update color choices. Once you save, the custom color configuration displays on the chart and persists.

My chart labels disappear. What should I do?

Smartsheet occasionally hides labels to highlight the chart and improve legibility. To showcase the label, either lower the font size or resize the widget.