Bar Chart with narrow bars & small spaces?

[Walt1010]

I have limited space for a bar chart with 6 bars and all the values above 90%.  See image of data an "typical" bar chart. How do I create a bar chart with narrow bars, small spaces between the bars. This type of chart with values all close to 100% have a lot of wasted real estate as the focus is really only on the last 10%. Does anyone have any ideas on how to best show this graphically? Is this possible in Power BI with the standard visual or is deneb the better option?

[Anonymous]

Hi, @Walt1010 

You can try the following methods.

But as @lbendlin  said, for the sake of accuracy and preventing misleading visuals, a bar graph's Y-axis should always begin at zero. If the Y-axis starts at a higher value, it can exaggerate differences between bars, making them appear more significant than they are. You can choose the method that suits your situation.

Best Regards,

Community Support Team _Charlotte

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

[Ritaf1983 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Walt1010 

If we’re talking about tick mark spacing and essentially increasing the number of ticks (like the option we have in Excel), unfortunately, Power BI doesn’t offer this feature.

However, specifically in your data's case, it might not help much, as the values are relatively close together within a narrow range. What could help is to focus the graph reader on the differences within this small range.

Here are a few solutions:

1. You could add an average line to the chart, allowing the reader to compare bars from this line instead of the axis start (it could also be a minimum line or a fixed line you choose).
   
   

   

2. Since the focus is less on size comparison and more on the small gaps between business units, a dot plot that doesn’t start from zero can be effective. This way, the reader’s mind isn’t focused on comparing sizes but on the subtle differences between values. You should, of course, inform users that the chart doesn’t start from zero.

   

While this chart is less common than bar charts, it works excellently for scenarios like these, where the focus shifts from zero distance to the gaps between values.

The pbix with the examples is attached.

[Walt1010]

Thats very useful. Thanks for taking the time.

[Ritaf1983]

Happy to help 🙂

[lbendlin]

and an axis that starts at 0.95?

Design red flag.  Y axis should always start at 0.

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