Using Highcharts - Amazon QuickSight

Using Highcharts

Use Highcharts visuals to create custom chart types and visuals that use the Highcharts Core library. Highcharts visuals provide QuickSight authors direct access to the Highcharts API.

To configure a Highcharts visual, QuickSight authors need to add a Highcharts JSON schema to the visual in QuickSight. Authors can use QuickSight expressions to reference QuickSight fields, and formatting options in the JSON schema that they use to generate the Highcharts visual. The JSON Chart code editor provides contextual assistance for autocomplete and real time validation to ensure that the input JSON schemas are configured properly. To maintain security, the Highcharts visual editor does not accept CSS, JavaScript, or HTML code input.

For more information about Highcharts visuals in Amazon QuickSight, see the Highcharts Visual QuickStart Guide in DemoCentral.

The following image shows the Highcharts icon in QuickSight.

The following image shows a lipstick chart that is configured in the Chart code JSON editor of a Highcharts visual in QuickSight.

For more examples of visuals that you can create with the Highcharts visual in QuickSight, see Highcharts demos.

Considerations

Before you start creating Highcharts visuals in Amazon QuickSight, review the following limitations that apply to Highcharts visuals.

  • The following JSON values are not supported in the Highcharts Chart code JSON editor:

    • Functions

    • Dates

    • Undefined values

  • Links to GeoJSON files or other images are not supported for Highcharts visuals.

  • Field colors are not available for Highcharts visuals. Default theme colors are applied to all Highcharts visuals.

Creating a Highcharts visual

Use the following procedure to create a Highcharts visual in Amazon QuickSight.

  1. Open the QuickSight console.

  2. Open the QuickSight analysis that you want to add a Highcharts visual to.

  3. On the application bar, choose Add, and then choose Add visual.

  4. On the Visual types pane, choose the Highcharts visual icon. An empty visual appears on the analysis sheet and the Properties pane opens on the left.

  5. In the Properties pane, expand the Display settings section and perform the following actions:

    1. For Edit title, choose the paintbrush icon, enter the title that you want the visual to have, and then choose SAVE. Alternatively, choose the eyeball icon to hide the title.

    2. (Optional) For Edit subtitle, choose the paintbrush icon, enter the subtitle that you want the visual to have, and then choose SAVE. Alternatively, choose the eyeball icon to hide the subtitle.

    3. (Optional) For Alt text, add the alt text that you want the visual to have.

  6. Expand the Data point limit section. For Number of data points to show, enter the number of data points that you want the visual to show. Highcharts visuals can show up to 10,000 data points.

  7. Expand the Chart code section, shown in the following image.

  8. Enter a JSON schema into the Chart code JSON editor. The editor provides contextual assistance and real time validation to ensure that your input JSON is configured properly. Any errors that QuickSight identifies can be viewed in the Errors dropdown. The example below shows a JSON schema that creates a lipstick chart that shows current year sales by industry.

    { "xAxis": { "categories": ["getColumn", 0] }, "yAxis": { "min": 0, "title": { "text": "Amount ($)" } }, "tooltip": { "headerFormat": "<span style='font-size:10px'>{point.key}</span><table>", "pointFormat": "<tr><td style='color:{series.color};padding:0'>{series.name}: </td><td style='padding:0'><b>${point.y:,.0f}</b></td></tr>", "footerFormat": "</table>", "shared": true, "useHTML": true }, "plotOptions": { "column": { "borderWidth": 0, "grouping": false, "shadow": false } }, "series": [ { "type": "column", "name": "Current Year Sales", "color": "rgba(124,181,236,1)", "data": ["getColumn", 1], "pointPadding": 0.3, "pointPlacement": 0.0 } ] }
  9. Choose APPLY CODE. QuickSight converts the JSON schema into a visual that appears in the analysis. To make changes to the rendered visual, update the appropriate properties in the JSON schema and choose APPLY CODE. The image below shows the lipstick chart that is created with the JSON schema from the previous step.

  10. (Optional) Open the Reference dropdown to access links to helpful Highctarts reference material.

When you are happy with the rendered visual, close the properties pane. For more information about QuickSight specific expressions that can be used to configrue a Highcharts visual, see Amazon QuickSight JSON expression language for Highcharts visuals.