Overview
A Line Chart renders dataset values as points along a connecting line. It is the standard visualization for trends over an ordered Dimension, typically time series, but also applicable to any meaningfully sequenced data. Line Charts share most of their configuration with the Bar Chart; two properties are Line-specific: Line Style (the visual shape of the line between points) and Markers (the points themselves).
Line Charts are authored from Lens → Design → Chart Designer → Visualization → Line Chart. This page documents the two Line-specific property groups; everything else inherits from the Bar Chart and is cross-referenced. Marker configuration on this page is also the reference for Area Charts, which inherit Marker behavior from Line Chart.
When to use it
- Trends over time — daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly progression of a measure.
- Comparing multiple measures on the same ordered axis where each measure becomes its own line.
- Detecting inflection points, peaks, troughs, and rate-of-change patterns.
- Sparse data where the continuous fill of an Area Chart would imply more density than exists.
Line-specific properties
| Line Style | Smooth (curved line interpolated between points), Line (straight segments), Step (stepped — holds value horizontally between points, then jumps). |
| Markers | Visible toggle (on/off); marker size; Fill Markers toggle (filled vs. outlined rendering). |
Properties shared with Bar Chart
All other Properties and Columns customization is inherited from the Bar Chart. The Line Chart article does not re-document those settings.
| Properties tab (other than Line Style and Markers) | Title, Legend Position, Zooming and Panning, Tooltip Options, X-Axis, Y-Axis, Multi-Axis, Background, Label Position, Padding, Cumulative Data, Randomized Color, Miscellaneous (Adhoc Report). | Bar Chart PD → Properties tab |
| Columns tab | Header, Display Name, Content Properties, Sorting & Filter, Image, Tooltip Options, Type, Drilldown, Heat Map, Aggregate, Column Settings, plus the Bar-specific Tool Tip, Outline, Gradient, Label Rotation. | Bar Chart PD → Columns tab |
Key behaviors
Line Style is a visual choice, not a data transformation. Smooth, Line, and Step all render the same underlying data and they differ only in how the connecting line is drawn between points. The data positions themselves don’t change.
Markers and line work independently. Markers can be on or off regardless of Line Style. A Line Chart can show only lines. The most common configuration is line plus markers for dense data, or line only for very dense data where markers would overlap.
Use Step for state-change data. Step style is intended for data where a value persists until it changes like server status over time, account tier across months, on/off signals. Smooth and Line would visually imply continuous transition, which Step explicitly avoids.
Designed for ordered Dimensions. Line Charts assume the Dimension axis is meaningfully ordered, typically a time series. Plotting an unordered categorical Dimension produces a connecting line across categories that has no implicit meaning.
Multiple Measures render as separate lines. Each Measure becomes its own line on the same X-axis with its own color. Use Multi-Axis (inherited from Bar Chart) when the Measures have very different scales.
Marker configuration is shared with Area Chart. The Markers property group on the Line Chart is the reference for Area Charts as well. Area Charts inherit Marker visibility, size, and Fill Markers from Line Chart’s configuration model.