Pie

Overview

• Type: One-dimensional circular chart showing proportions
• Dimensions: Single measure split by categories (no traditional axes)
• Use cases: Show percentage distribution, compare parts of a whole, display market share or composition
• Special features: Each slice size represents percentage of total. 50% of total = 50% of circle area
• Visual: Circular chart with colored slices proportional to values

The image shows a pie chart displaying revenue distribution by customer group, with each slice representing the proportion of total revenue for that group.

Quickstart

To create a Pie chart, initialize the graph, add an axis, and use addGraphData with chart_type: "pie".

$olap.addGraph('3','Part - Customer group','[Company]:[customer_group]',"")
$olap.addGraphAxis("3","1","Amount","")
$olap.addGraphData('3','1','1','[customer_group]:[customer]','sum([invoiced_amount_dcur])','pie',"","","")
$olap.setGraphSize("3","XS12","SM3","MD3","LG3")

Start here

Replace:

• '3' with your graph ID
• '[Company]:[customer_group]' with your split element (for filtering)
• '[customer_group]:[customer]' with your series (what to split by)
• 'sum([invoiced_amount_dcur])' with your measure

This produces a pie chart where each slice represents a customer group’s share of total revenue, with drill-down capability to customer level.

Series setup

Pie charts don’t use traditional X/Y axes. Instead, the series column determines the slices.

Required setup:

$olap.addGraphAxis('graph_id', 'axis_id', 'Label', '')
$olap.addGraphData('graph_id', 'axis_id', 'label', 'series', 'measure', 'pie', '', '', '')

Key points:

• The series column creates the slices (one slice per unique value)
• The measure determines slice size (proportional to total)
• Use colon-separated series for drill-down: "[level1]:[level2]"

Example with drill-down:

$olap.addGraphData('3','1','Revenue','[customer_group]:[customer]','sum([amount])','pie',"","","")

This creates a pie where clicking a customer group slice drills down to show customers within that group.

Note

The split element in addGraph enables filtering but doesn’t create slices. Only the series column in addGraphData creates pie slices.

Data series

Add data using addGraphData with chart_type: "pie". The series column determines slices.

Syntax:

$olap.addGraphData(
    "graph_id",
    "axis_id",
    "dataseries_label",
    "series",
    "measure",
    "pie",
    "",
    "filter",
    "limit",
    "orderby"
)

Parameters:

Parameter	Required	Description	Example
graph_id	Yes	Unique graph identifier	"3"
axis_id	Yes	The axis ID	"1"
dataseries_label	Yes	Label (usually "1" or "-")	"1"
series	Yes	Column(s) for slices. Use : for drill-down	"[category]" or "[group]:[item]"
measure	Yes	Value to calculate (determines slice size)	"sum([amount])"
chart_type	Yes	Must be "pie"	"pie"
aggregation	No	Not used for pie (use "")	""
filter	No	Additional filter	"[status] = 1"
limit	No	Limit number of slices shown	"10"
orderby	No	Sort slices. "M" for largest first	"M"

Example - Simple pie:

$olap.addGraphData('3','1','1','[customer_group]','sum([invoiced_amount_dcur])','pie',"","","")

Example - With drill-down:

$olap.addGraphData('3','1','Revenue','[customer_group]:[customer]','sum([amount])','pie',"","","")

Example - Top 5 only:

$olap.addGraphData('3','1','1','[product]','sum([sales])','pie',"","","5","M")

Size and layout

Pie charts work well at smaller sizes. Use setGraphSize for responsive layout.

$olap.setGraphSize("graph_id", "XS12", "SM3", "MD3", "LG3")

Recommended sizes:

• Small: "XS12", "SM3", "MD3", "LG3" (quarter width)
• Medium: "XS12", "SM4", "MD4", "LG4" (third width)
• Large: "XS12", "SM6", "MD6", "LG6" (half width)

Tip

Pie charts are often used in dashboards alongside other charts. Smaller sizes (SM3/MD3) work well for side-by-side display.

Common patterns

Simple distribution

Show percentage breakdown of a single dimension:

$olap.addGraph("1", "Sales by Region", "[region]", "","0");
$olap.addGraphAxis("1","1","Amount","")
$olap.addGraphData("1","1","1","[region]","sum([sales])","pie","","","")

Drill-down pie

Enable clicking to drill into details:

$olap.addGraph("1", "Revenue Breakdown", "[division]:[product_group]", "","0");
$olap.addGraphData("1","1","Revenue","[division]:[product_group]","sum([revenue])","pie","","","")

Top N slices

Show only largest categories:

$olap.addGraphData("1","1","1","[product]","sum([sales])","pie","","","5","M")

Percent of total labels

Calculate percentages in measure (if needed for display):

$olap.addGraphData("1","1","%","[category]","sum([amount]) / sum(sum([amount])) * 100","pie","","","")

Multiple pie charts

Create separate graphs for different breakdowns:

// Pie 1: By region
$olap.addGraph("1", "By Region", "[region]", "","0");
$olap.addGraphData("1","1","1","[region]","sum([sales])","pie","","","")

// Pie 2: By product
$olap.addGraph("2", "By Product", "[product]", "","0");
$olap.addGraphData("2","1","1","[product]","sum([sales])","pie","","","")

Troubleshooting

Pie not showing

• Check: Ensure chart_type is exactly "pie" (lowercase)
• Check: Verify series column has valid values (not all NULL)
• Check: Confirm measure returns numeric values

Slices too small to see

• Issue: Many small slices make chart unreadable
• Fix: Use limit to show only top N slices:

  $olap.addGraphData("1","1","1","[category]","sum([amount])","pie","","","10","M")

Wrong proportions

• Issue: Slices don’t match expected percentages
• Check: Verify measure calculation (sum vs count vs avg)
• Check: Ensure filter doesn’t exclude part of data
• Check: NULL values in measure may be excluded

Drill-down not working

• Issue: Clicking slice doesn’t show details
• Check: Series must use colon format: "[level1]:[level2]"
• Check: Both levels must exist in split element: "[level1]:[level2]" in addGraph
• Check: Ensure data exists for drill-down level

Too many slices

• Issue: Chart cluttered with many small slices
• Fix: Use limit parameter to restrict number
• Fix: Group categories before charting (create calculated column)
• Fix: Filter to relevant subset

Caution

Pie charts become hard to read with more than 7-10 slices. Always use limit or grouping for many categories.

FAQ

Q: Can I show percentages on slices?
A: The chart automatically calculates proportions. For explicit percentage labels, you may need to calculate in the measure, but typically the visual size is sufficient.

Q: What’s the difference between pie and donut charts?
A: In this system, both use chart_type: "pie". The visual difference (if any) is handled by styling.

Q: Can I have multiple pie charts in one graph?
A: No, each graph shows one pie. Create separate graphs if you need multiple pies.

Q: How do I sort slices?
A: Use orderby: "M" to sort by measure (largest first). Without it, slices appear in data order.

Q: Can I filter which slices appear?
A: Yes, use the filter parameter in addGraphData or filter in the addGraph method.

Q: What if I have NULL values in series?
A: NULL values may create an “Unknown” slice or be excluded. Filter them out if not desired:

$olap.addGraph("1", "Title", "[category]", "[category] IS NOT NULL","0")

Q: How do I show “Other” for small slices?
A: Group small categories in a calculated column before charting, or use limit and accept that small slices won’t appear.

Q: Can I customize slice colors?
A: Yes, use setGraphColors to define a custom color palette for the pie slices.

Related

• Graph Method Overview - Complete reference for all graph methods
• TreeMap - Alternative area-based proportional visualization
• Column - Stacked columns as alternative to pie
• Bar - Horizontal bars for comparing categories