The Notion charting function, which I had wished for for many years, is finally here. I'm sure many of you have been eagerly awaiting it, just like me.
This charting function has finally been released as an official feature called "Notion Charts"!
In this article, we'll give you an early look at this new "Notion Charts" feature. We'll thoroughly explain the types of charts you can create, how to create them, and even detailed settings like color changes!
🎬 Director: Rei
✍🏻 Writer: Minokurumi
1. What are Notion Charts?
The newly released charting function, "Notion Charts," is a new feature that allows you to graph databases directly within Notion.
Previously, you could only create charts using external services like "ChartBase," which we introduced before, but now it's finally been added as an official Notion feature!
Our article explaining ChartBase is still popular, so we believe this new charting function will be very welcome to Notion users.
🔗 Click here for the article about "ChartBase" that we previously introduced.
From here, we'll go into detail about the types of charts you can create, how to make them, and how to set up detailed options!
2. Chart Types and Use Cases
There are four types of charts you can create, from top left: vertical bar chart, horizontal bar chart, line chart, and donut chart.
This time, based on this household budget template, I actually created each chart!
2-1. Vertical Bar Chart
A simple vertical bar chart is useful for identifying items with high or low values.
As an example, I charted monthly expenditures by categories such as "rent" and "food expenses." It's very easy to see at a glance which categories money is being spent on.
2-2. Horizontal Bar Chart
Next, I've created a horizontal bar chart with the same information. Horizontal bar charts are useful for comparing values by arranging them in ascending or descending order.
2-3. Line Chart
Line charts are useful for viewing changes in values over time. This time, I charted the total annual expenditure using a line chart.
2-4. Donut Chart
Donut charts are useful for comparing the breakdown and composition ratio of a whole. It's easy to see how much each item contributes to the total.
3. How to create charts and the customizable settings
Next, we'll introduce how to create charts and the customizable settings, such as color changes and label visibility.
3-1. How to create charts
Since "Notion Charts" has been added as a view option, you can create charts from the view change screen.
1. Select "Chart" from the "..." in the top right corner of the database you want to chart.
2. Select the desired chart type.
Alternatively, you can create a chart from scratch by selecting "Chart" from the "+". In this case, you can either select an existing database or create a new one to generate the chart.
🔗 For more information about "Views," click here!
3-2. Customizable settings
Here, we will introduce the detailed customizable settings.
X-axis and Y-axis settings
For vertical bar, horizontal bar, and line charts, you can set database properties for the X and Y axes. Open the options from the "..." in the top right corner of the chart, and configure them under the "Data" section.
Sorting and excluding zero values
You can sort the items in the chart alphabetically, by numerical order, and so on. You can also turn on "Exclude zero values" to simplify the appearance.
Apply filters
"Notion Chart" is a view of a database, so you can also apply filters. This is useful, for example, when you want to narrow down annual data to only the current month.
Changing colors
All chart colors can be changed. You can choose from 10 colors, including colorful, gray, blue, yellow, and green.
Colors other than "Colorful" will be displayed as gradients based on that color. Also, if "Select" or "Status" is chosen for the X-axis or Y-axis data, the color of each tag will be reflected.
Adjustable chart height (size) and label visibility
From "Other style options," you can choose the chart height from small, medium, large, and extra-large. This allows you to use it according to the page, such as small for a compact display or extra-large for a full-screen display.
Also from "Other style options," you can choose to show or hide grid lines, axis labels, and data labels. The settings are almost identical to those for charts in Excel and PowerPoint, making it very user-friendly.
Charts can be saved as images.
Another great feature is the ability to copy and save charts. From the "Save chart" option in the menu, you can copy or save just the chart as an image.
You can also choose a background color when saving, and when I saved it with a gradient background, it looked like this. This expands its usability, as it can now be attached to presentations like PowerPoint.
Free plans are limited to one chart, paid plans have unlimited charts.
Regarding the limitations for each pricing plan, as of August 2024, the free plan is limited to one chart, while paid plans (Plus plan and above) allow unlimited charts.
If you're on the free plan, you'll likely need to be creative and strategic, perhaps limiting yourself to the single most important chart or making extensive use of image saving.
Summary
That concludes the explanation of Notion's eagerly awaited new feature, "Notion Charts"!
A long-awaited feature has finally arrived! Although it's a bit disappointing that there are some limitations depending on the plan, please do try it out!
Notion's ultimate task management template, "Todotion", is here!
A two-hour "Notion Master Course" video series for learning Notion from scratch is now available!
The book "Notion Life Hacks," which introduces 36 ways to use Notion, is also on sale now!
