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Google Chart Tools

Visualization: Bar Chart

  1. Overview
  2. Example
  3. Loading
  4. Data Format
  5. Configuration Options
  6. Methods
  7. Events
  8. Data Policy

Overview

A horizontal bar chart that is rendered within the browser using SVG or VML. Displays tips when hovering over bars. For a vertical version of this chart, see the Column Chart.

By: Google

This is the new version of the bar chart.
For tips on how to migrate to the new charts, please see the release notes page.
If you need to access the older version, you can find the documentation here.

Example

Code it yourself on the Visualization Playground

<html>
  <head>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.google.com/jsapi"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript">
      google.load("visualization", "1", {packages:["corechart"]});
      google.setOnLoadCallback(drawChart);
      function drawChart() {
        var data = new google.visualization.DataTable();
        data.addColumn('string', 'Year');
        data.addColumn('number', 'Sales');
        data.addColumn('number', 'Expenses');
        data.addRows([
          ['2004', 1000, 400],
          ['2005', 1170, 460],
          ['2006', 660, 1120],
          ['2007', 1030, 540]
        ]);

        var options = {
          width: 400, height: 240,
          title: 'Company Performance',
          vAxis: {title: 'Year',  titleTextStyle: {color: 'red'}}
        };

        var chart = new google.visualization.BarChart(document.getElementById('chart_div'));
        chart.draw(data, options);
      }
    </script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="chart_div"></div>
  </body>
</html>

Loading

The google.load package name is "corechart" 

  google.load("visualization", "1", {packages: ["corechart"]});

The visualization's class name is google.visualization.BarChart 

  var visualization = new google.visualization.BarChart(container);

Warning: You cannot load both barchart and corechart packages at the same time on the same page.

Data Format

Rows: Each row in the table represents a group of bars.

Columns:

  Column 0 Column 1 ... Column N
Purpose: X-axis group labels Bar 1 values in this group ... Bar N values in this group
Data Type: string number ... number
Role: domain data ... data
Optional column roles:

None

 ...

 

Configuration Options

Name Type Default Description
animation.duration number 0 The duration of the animation, in milliseconds. For details, see the animation documentation.
animation.easing string 'linear' The easing function applied to the animation. The following options are available:
  • 'linear' - Constant speed.
  • 'in' - Ease in - Start slow and speed up.
  • 'out' - Ease out - Start fast and slow down.
  • 'inAndOut' - Ease in and out - Start slow, speed up, then slow down.
axisTitlesPosition string 'out'

Where to place the axis titles, compared to the chart area. Supported values:

  • in - Draw the axis titles inside the the chart area.
  • out - Draw the axis titles outside the chart area.
  • none - Omit the axis titles.
backgroundColor string or object 'white' The background color for the main area of the chart. Can be either a simple HTML color string, for example: 'red' or '#00cc00', or an object with the following properties.
backgroundColor.stroke string '#666' The color of the chart border, as an HTML color string.
backgroundColor.strokeWidth number 0 The border width, in pixels.
backgroundColor.fill string 'white' The chart fill color, as an HTML color string.
chartArea Object null An object with members to configure the placement and size of the chart area (where the chart itself is drawn, excluding axis and legends). Two formats are supported: a number, or a number followed by %. A simple number is a value in pixels; a number followed by % is a percentage. Example: chartArea:{left:20,top:0,width:"50%",height:"75%"}
chartArea.left number or string auto How far to draw the chart from the left border.
chartArea.top number or string auto How far to draw the chart from the top border.
chartArea.width number or string auto Chart area width.
chartArea.height number or string auto Chart area height.
colors Array of strings default colors The colors to use for the chart elements. An array of strings, where each element is an HTML color string, for example: colors:['red','#004411'].
enableInteractivity boolean true Whether the chart throws user-based events or reacts to user interaction. If false, the chart will not throw 'select' or other interaction-based events (but will throw ready or error events), and will not display hovertext or otherwise change depending on user input.
focusTarget string 'datum'

The type of the entity that receives focus on mouse hover. Also affects which entity is selected by mouse click, and which data table element is associated with events. Can be one of the following:

  • 'datum' - Focus on a single data point. Correlates to a cell in the data table.
  • 'category' - Focus on a grouping of all data points along the major axis. Correlates to a row in the data table.

In focusTarget 'category' the tooltip displays all the category values. This may be useful for comparing values of different series.
fontSize number automatic The default font size, in pixels, of all text in the chart. You can override this using properties for specific chart elements.
fontName string 'Arial' The default font face for all text in the chart. You can override this using properties for specific chart elements.
hAxes Array of object, or object with child objects null

Specifies properties for individual horizontal axes, if the chart has multiple horizontal axes. Each child object is a hAxis object, and can contain all the properties supported by hAxis. These property values override any global settings for the same property.

To specify a chart with multiple horizontal axes, first define a new axis using series.targetAxisIndex, then configure the axis using hAxes. The following example assigns series 1 to the bottom axis and specifies a custom title and text style for it:

series:{1:{targetAxisIndex:1}}, hAxes:{1:{title:'Losses',textStyle:{color: 'red'}}}

This property can be either an object or an array: the object is a collection of objects, each with a numeric label that specifies the axis that it defines--this is the format shown above; the array is an array of objects, one per axis. For example, the following array-style notation is identical to the hAxis object shown above:

hAxes:[
{}, // Nothing specified for axis 0
{title:'Losses',textStyle:{color: 'red'}} // Axis 1
]
hAxis Object null

An object with members to configure various horizontal axis elements. To specify properties of this object, you can use object literal notation, as shown here:

 {title: 'Hello',  titleTextStyle: {color: '#FF0000'}}
hAxis.baseline number automatic The baseline for the horizontal axis.
hAxis.baselineColor number 'black' The color of the baseline for the horizontal axis. Can be any HTML color string, for example: 'red' or '#00cc00'.
hAxis.direction 1 or -1 1 The direction in which the values along the horizontal axis grow. Specify -1 to reverse the order of the values.
hAxis.format string auto A format string for numeric axis labels. This is a subset of the ICU pattern set. For instance, {format:'#,###%'} will display values "1,000%", "750%", and "50%" for values 10, 7.5, and 0.5.

The actual formatting applied to the label is derived from the locale the API has been loaded with. For more details, see loading charts with a specific locale.
vAxis.gridlines Object null

An object with members to configure the gridlines on the vertical axis. To specify properties of this object, you can use object literal notation, as shown here:

 {color: '#333', count: 4}
vAxis.gridlines.color string '#CCC' The color of the vertical gridlines inside the chart area. Specify a valid HTML color string.
vAxis.gridlines.count number 5 The number of vertical gridlines inside the chart area. Minimum value is 2.
hAxis.logScale boolean false hAxis property that makes the horizontal axis a logarithmic scale (requires all values to be positive). Set to true for yes.
hAxis.textStyle Object {color: 'black', fontName: <global-font-name>, fontSize: <global-font-size>}

An object that specifies the horizontal axis text style. The object has this format:

 {color: <string>, fontName: <string>, fontSize: <number>}

The color can be any HTML color string, for example: 'red' or '#00cc00'. Also see fontName and fontSize.
hAxis.textPosition string 'out'

Position of the horizontal axis text, relative to the chart area. Supported values: 'out', 'in', 'none'.
hAxis.title string null hAxis property that specifies the title of the horizontal axis.
hAxis.titleTextStyle Object {color: 'black', fontName: <global-font-name>, fontSize: <global-font-size>}

An object that specifies the horizontal axis title text style. The object has this format:

 {color: <string>, fontName: <string>, fontSize: <number>}

The color can be any HTML color string, for example: 'red' or '#00cc00'. Also see fontName and fontSize.
hAxis.maxValue number automatic hAxis property that specifies the highest horizontal axis grid line. The actual grid line will be the greater of two values: the maxValue option value, or the highest data value, rounded up to the next higher grid mark.
hAxis.minValue number automatic hAxis property that specifies the lowest horizontal axis grid line. The actual grid line will be the lower of two values: the minValue option value, or the lowest data value, rounded down to the next lower grid mark.
hAxis.viewWindowMode string 'pretty' if hAxis.viewWindow is null, 'explicit' otherwise

Specifies how to scale the horizontal axis to render the values within the chart area. The following string values are supported:

  • 'pretty' - Scale the horizontal values so that the maximum and minimum data values are rendered a bit inside the left and right of the chart area.
  • 'maximized' - Scale the horizontal values so that the maximum and minimum data values touch the left and right of the chart area.
  • 'explicit' - Specify the left and right scale values of the chart area. Data values outside these values will be cropped. You must specify an hAxis.viewWindow object describing the maximum and minimum values to show.
hAxis.viewWindow Object null Specifies the cropping range of the horizontal axis.
hAxis.viewWindow.max number auto The maximum horizontal data value to render. Has an effect only if hAxis.viewWindowMode='explicit'.
hAxis.viewWindow.min number auto The minimum horizontal data value to render. Has an effect only if hAxis.viewWindowMode='explicit'.
height number height of the containing element Height of the chart, in pixels.
isStacked boolean false If set to true, series elements are stacked.
legend Object null

An object with members to configure various aspects of the legend. To specify properties of this object, you can use object literal notation, as shown here:

{position: 'top', textStyle: {color: 'blue', fontSize: 16}}
legend.position string 'right' Position of the legend. Can be one of the following:
  • 'right' - To the right of the chart. Incompatible with the vAxes option.
  • 'top' - Above the chart.
  • 'bottom' - Below the chart.
  • 'in' - Inside the chart, by the top left corner.
  • 'none' - No legend is displayed.
legend.textStyle Object {color: 'black', fontName: <global-font-name>, fontSize: <global-font-size>}

An object that specifies the legend text style. The object has this format:

 {color: <string>, fontName: <string>, fontSize: <number>}

The color can be any HTML color string, for example: 'red' or '#00cc00'. Also see fontName and fontSize.
reverseCategories boolean false If set to true, will draw series from bottom to top. The default is to draw top-to-bottom.
series Array of objects, or object with nested objects {}

An array of objects, each describing the format of the corresponding series in the chart. To use default values for a series, specify an empty object {}. If a series or a value is not specified, the global value will be used. Each object supports the following properties:

  • color - The color to use for this series. Specify a valid HTML color string.
  • targetAxisIndex - Which axis to assign this series to, where 0 is the default axis, and 1 is the opposite axis. Default value is 0; set to 1 to define a chart where different series are rendered against different axes. At least one series much be allocated to the default axis. You can define a different scale for different axes.
  • visibleInLegend - A boolean value, where true means that the series should have a legend entry, and false means that it should not. Default is true.

You can specify either an array of objects, each of which applies to the series in the order given, or you can specify an object where each child has a numeric key indicating which series it applies to. For example, the following two declarations are identical, and declare the first series as black and absent from the legend, and the fourth as red and absent from the legend:

series: [{color: 'black', visibleInLegend: false},{}, {}, {color: 'red', visibleInLegend: false}]
series: {0:{color: 'black', visibleInLegend: false}, 3:{color: 'red', visibleInLegend: false}}
theme string null A theme is a set of predefined option values that work together to achieve a specific chart behavior or visual effect. Currently only one theme is available:
  • 'maximized' - Maximizes the area of the chart, and draws the legend and all of the labels inside the chart area. Sets the following options: 
    chartArea: {width: '100%', height: '100%'},
legend: {position: 'in'},
titlePosition: 'in', axisTitlesPosition: 'in',
hAxis: {textPosition: 'in'}, vAxis: {textPosition: 'in'}
title string no title Text to display above the chart.
titlePosition string 'out'

Where to place the chart title, compared to the chart area. Supported values:

  • in - Draw the title inside the chart area.
  • out - Draw the title outside the chart area.
  • none - Omit the title.
titleTextStyle Object {color: 'black', fontName: <global-font-name>, fontSize: <global-font-size>}

An object that specifies the title text style. The object has this format:

 {color: <string>, fontName: <string>, fontSize: <number>}

The color can be any HTML color string, for example: 'red' or '#00cc00'. Also see fontName and fontSize.
tooltip Object null

An object with members to configure various tooltip elements. To specify properties of this object, you can use object literal notation, as shown here:

 {textStyle: {color: '#FF0000'}, showColorCode: true}
tooltip.showColorCode boolean automatic If true, show colored squares next to the series information in the tooltip. The default is true when focusTarget is set to 'category', otherwise the default is false.
tooltip.textStyle Object {color: 'black', fontName: <global-font-name>, fontSize: <global-font-size>}

An object that specifies the tooltip text style. The object has this format:

 {color: <string>, fontName: <string>, fontSize: <number>}

The color can be any HTML color string, for example: 'red' or '#00cc00'. Also see fontName and fontSize.
tooltip.trigger string 'hover'

The user interaction that causes the tooltip to be displayed:

  • 'hover' - The tooltip will be displayed when the user hovers over an element.
  • 'none' - The tooltip will not be displayed.
vAxis Object null

An object with members to configure various vertical axis elements. To specify properties of this object, you can use object literal notation, as shown here:

 {title: 'Hello', titleTextStyle: {color: '#FF0000'}}
vAxis.direction 1 or -1 1 The direction in which the values along the vertical axis grow. Specify -1 to reverse the order of the values.
vAxis.textPosition string 'out'

Position of the vertical axis text, relative to the chart area. Supported values: 'out', 'in', 'none'.
vAxis.textStyle Object {color: 'black', fontName: <global-font-name>, fontSize: <global-font-size>}

An object that specifies the vertical axis text style. The object has this format:

 {color: <string>, fontName: <string>, fontSize: <number>}

The color can be any HTML color string, for example: 'red' or '#00cc00'. Also see fontName and fontSize.
vAxis.title string no title vAxis property that specifies a title for the vertical axis.
vAxis.titleTextStyle Object {color: 'black', fontName: <global-font-name>, fontSize: <global-font-size>}

An object that specifies the vertical axis title text style. The object has this format:

 {color: <string>, fontName: <string>, fontSize: <number>}

The color can be any HTML color string, for example: 'red' or '#00cc00'. Also see fontName and fontSize.
vAxis.viewWindow Object null Specifies the cropping range of the vertical axis.
vAxis.viewWindow.max number auto The zero-based row index where the cropping window ends. Data points at this index and higher will be cropped out. In conjunction with vAxis.viewWindowMode.min, it defines a half-opened range [min, max) that denotes the element indices to display. In other words, every index such that min <= index < max will be displayed.
vAxis.viewWindow.min number auto The zero-based row index where the cropping window begins. Data points at indices lower than this will be cropped out. In conjunction with vAxis.viewWindowMode.max, it defines a half-opened range [min, max) that denotes the element indices to display. In other words, every index such that min <= index < max will be displayed.
width number width of the containing element Width of the chart, in pixels.

Methods

Method Return Type Description
draw(data, options) none Draws the chart. The chart accepts further method calls only after the ready event is fired. Extended description.
getSelection() Array of selection elements Returns an array of the selected chart entities. Selectable entities are bars, legend entries and categories. A bar correlates to a cell in the data table, a legend entry to a column (row index is null), and a category to a row (column index is null). For this chart, only one entity can be selected at any given moment. Extended description.
setSelection() none Selects the specified chart entities. Cancels any previous selection. Selectable entities are bars, legend entries and categories. A bar correlates to a cell in the data table, a legend entry to a column (row index is null), and a category to a row (column index is null). For this chart, only one entity can be selected at a time. Extended description.
clearChart() none Clears the chart, and releases all of its allocated resources.

Events

Name Description Properties
animationfinish Fired when transition animation is complete. None
error Fired when an error occurs when attempting to render the chart. id, message
onmouseover Fired when the user mouses over a visual entity. Passes back the row and column indices of the corresponding data table element. A bar correlates to a cell in the data table, a legend entry to a column (row index is null), and a category to a row (column index is null). row, column
onmouseout Fired when the user mouses away from a visual entity. Passes back the row and column indices of the corresponding data table element. A bar correlates to a cell in the data table, a legend entry to a column (row index is null), and a category to a row (column index is null). row, column
ready The chart is ready for external method calls. If you want to interact with the chart, and call methods after you draw it, you should set up a listener for this event before you call the draw method, and call them only after the event was fired. None
select Fired when the user clicks a visual entity. To learn what has been selected, call getSelection(). None

Data Policy

All code and data are processed and rendered in the browser. No data is sent to any server.