Selection in JavaScript Chart control

18 Nov 201824 minutes to read

The chart provides selection support for both series and individual data points when users interact with the chart using mouse clicks.

When a data point is clicked, the corresponding series legend item is also selected.

Multiple selection modes are available to help select and analyze chart data effectively. The supported selection modes are:

None
Point
Series
Cluster
DragXY
DragX
DragY

Point

A single data point can be selected by setting the selectionMode property to Point.

index.js
index.html
var chartData = [
      { country: "USA", gold: 50, silver: 70, bronze: 45 },
      { country: "China", gold: 40, silver: 60, bronze: 55 },
      { country: "Japan", gold: 70, silver: 60, bronze: 50 },
      { country: "Australia", gold: 60, silver: 56, bronze: 40 },
      { country: "France", gold: 50, silver: 45, bronze: 35 },
      { country: "Germany", gold: 40, silver: 30, bronze: 22 },
      { country: "Italy", gold: 40, silver: 35, bronze: 37 },
      { country: "Sweden", gold: 30, silver: 25, bronze: 27 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category',
        title: 'Countries'
    },
    primaryYAxis: {
        minimum: 0, maximum: 80,
        interval: 20, title: 'Medals'
    },
    series:[{
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'gold',
        name: 'Gold', type: 'Column'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'silver',
        name: 'Silver', type: 'Column'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'bronze',
        name: 'Bronze', type: 'Column'
    }],
    // selection mode as point
    selectionMode: 'Point',
    title: 'Olympic Medals'
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.1.29/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>
     <script id="Unemployment" type="text/x-template">
      <div id='templateWrap'>
     <table style="width:100%;  border: 1px solid black;">
     <tr><th colspan="2" bgcolor="#00FFFF">Unemployment</th></tr>
     <tr><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${x}:</td><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${y}</td></tr>
    </table>
    </div>
  </script>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Series

An entire series can be selected by setting the selectionMode property to Series.

index.js
index.html
var chartData = [
      { country: "USA", gold: 50, silver: 70, bronze: 45 },
      { country: "China", gold: 40, silver: 60, bronze: 55 },
      { country: "Japan", gold: 70, silver: 60, bronze: 50 },
      { country: "Australia", gold: 60, silver: 56, bronze: 40 },
      { country: "France", gold: 50, silver: 45, bronze: 35 },
      { country: "Germany", gold: 40, silver: 30, bronze: 22 },
      { country: "Italy", gold: 40, silver: 35, bronze: 37 },
      { country: "Sweden", gold: 30, silver: 25, bronze: 27 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category',
        title: 'Countries'
    },
    primaryYAxis: {
        minimum: 0, maximum: 80,
        interval: 20, title: 'Medals'
    },
    series:[{
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'gold',
        name: 'Gold', type: 'Column'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'silver',
        name: 'Silver', type: 'Column'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'bronze',
        name: 'Bronze', type: 'Column'
    }],
    // selection mode as series
    selectionMode: 'Series',
    title: 'Olympic Medals'
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.1.29/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>
     <script id="Unemployment" type="text/x-template">
      <div id='templateWrap'>
     <table style="width:100%;  border: 1px solid black;">
     <tr><th colspan="2" bgcolor="#00FFFF">Unemployment</th></tr>
     <tr><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${x}:</td><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${y}</td></tr>
    </table>
    </div>
  </script>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Cluster

Cluster selection allows selection of data points that share the same index across all series. This can be enabled by setting the selectionMode property to Cluster.

index.js
index.html
var chartData = [
      { country: "USA", gold: 50, silver: 70, bronze: 45 },
      { country: "China", gold: 40, silver: 60, bronze: 55 },
      { country: "Japan", gold: 70, silver: 60, bronze: 50 },
      { country: "Australia", gold: 60, silver: 56, bronze: 40 },
      { country: "France", gold: 50, silver: 45, bronze: 35 },
      { country: "Germany", gold: 40, silver: 30, bronze: 22 },
      { country: "Italy", gold: 40, silver: 35, bronze: 37 },
      { country: "Sweden", gold: 30, silver: 25, bronze: 27 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category',
        title: 'Countries'
    },
    primaryYAxis: {
        minimum: 0, maximum: 80,
        interval: 20, title: 'Medals'
    },
    series:[{
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'gold',
        name: 'Gold', type: 'Column'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'silver',
        name: 'Silver', type: 'Column'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'bronze',
        name: 'Bronze', type: 'Column'
    }],
    // selection mode as cluster
    selectionMode: 'Cluster',
    title: 'Olympic Medals'
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.1.29/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>
     <script id="Unemployment" type="text/x-template">
      <div id='templateWrap'>
     <table style="width:100%;  border: 1px solid black;">
     <tr><th colspan="2" bgcolor="#00FFFF">Unemployment</th></tr>
     <tr><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${x}:</td><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${y}</td></tr>
    </table>
    </div>
  </script>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Rectangular selection

DragXY, DragX and DragY

Rectangular selection enables users to select a group of data points within a defined region by setting the selectionMode property accordingly.

DragXY – Selects data points along both the horizontal and vertical axes.
DragX – Selects data points along the horizontal axis.
DragY – Selects data points along the vertical axis.

The selected data points are returned as an array collection through the dragComplete event.

index.js
index.html
var series1 = [];
var series2 = [];
var point1;
var value = 80;
var value1 = 70;
var i;
for (i = 1; i < 120; i++) {
    if (Math.random() > 0.5) {
        value += Math.random();
    } else {
        value -= Math.random();
    }
    value = value < 60 ? 60 : value > 90 ? 90 : value;
    point1 = { x: 120 + (i / 2), y: value.toFixed(1) };
    series1.push(point1);
}
for (i = 1; i < 120; i++) {
    if (Math.random() > 0.5) {
        value1 += Math.random();
    } else {
        value1 -= Math.random();
    }
    value1 = value1 < 60 ? 60 : value1 > 90 ? 90 : value1;
    point1 = { x: 120 + (i / 2), y: value1.toFixed(1) };
    series2.push(point1);
}

var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    primaryXAxis: {
        title: 'Height (cm)',
        minimum: 120, maximum: 180,
        edgeLabelPlacement: 'Shift',
        labelFormat: '{value}cm'
    },
    primaryYAxis:
    {
        title: 'Weight (kg)',
        minimum: 60, maximum: 90,
        labelFormat: '{value}kg',
        rangePadding: 'None'
    },
    series: [
        {
            type: 'Scatter',
            dataSource: series1, xName: 'x', yName: 'y',
            name: 'Male', opacity: 0.7,
            marker: { width: 10, height: 10 }
        }, {
            type: 'Scatter',
            dataSource: series2, xName: 'x', yName: 'y',
            name: 'Female', opacity: 0.7,
            marker: { width: 10, height: 10 }
        }
    ],
    // selection mode as dragxy
    selectionMode: 'DragXY',
    title: 'Height Vs Weight'
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.1.29/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>
     <script id="Unemployment" type="text/x-template">
      <div id='templateWrap'>
     <table style="width:100%;  border: 1px solid black;">
     <tr><th colspan="2" bgcolor="#00FFFF">Unemployment</th></tr>
     <tr><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${x}:</td><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${y}</td></tr>
    </table>
    </div>
  </script>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Selection type

Multiple data points or series can be selected simultaneously by enabling the isMultiSelect property.

index.js
index.html
var chartData = [
      { country: "USA", gold: 50, silver: 70, bronze: 45 },
      { country: "China", gold: 40, silver: 60, bronze: 55 },
      { country: "Japan", gold: 70, silver: 60, bronze: 50 },
      { country: "Australia", gold: 60, silver: 56, bronze: 40 },
      { country: "France", gold: 50, silver: 45, bronze: 35 },
      { country: "Germany", gold: 40, silver: 30, bronze: 22 },
      { country: "Italy", gold: 40, silver: 35, bronze: 37 },
      { country: "Sweden", gold: 30, silver: 25, bronze: 27 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category',
        title: 'Countries'
    },
    primaryYAxis: {
        minimum: 0, maximum: 80,
        interval: 20, title: 'Medals'
    },
    series:[{
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'gold',
        name: 'Gold', type: 'Column'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'silver',
        name: 'Silver', type: 'Column'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'bronze',
        name: 'Bronze', type: 'Column'
    }],
    selectionMode: 'Point',
    // multipselect forselection
    isMultiSelect: true,
    title: 'Olympic Medals'
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.1.29/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>
     <script id="Unemployment" type="text/x-template">
      <div id='templateWrap'>
     <table style="width:100%;  border: 1px solid black;">
     <tr><th colspan="2" bgcolor="#00FFFF">Unemployment</th></tr>
     <tr><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${x}:</td><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${y}</td></tr>
    </table>
    </div>
  </script>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Selection on load

Data points or series can be selected programmatically when the chart is loaded by using the selectedDataIndexes property.

index.js
index.html
var chartData = [
      { country: "USA", gold: 50, silver: 70, bronze: 45 },
      { country: "China", gold: 40, silver: 60, bronze: 55 },
      { country: "Japan", gold: 70, silver: 60, bronze: 50 },
      { country: "Australia", gold: 60, silver: 56, bronze: 40 },
      { country: "France", gold: 50, silver: 45, bronze: 35 },
      { country: "Germany", gold: 40, silver: 30, bronze: 22 },
      { country: "Italy", gold: 40, silver: 35, bronze: 37 },
      { country: "Sweden", gold: 30, silver: 25, bronze: 27 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category',
        title: 'Countries'
    },
    primaryYAxis: {
        minimum: 0, maximum: 80,
        interval: 20, title: 'Medals'
    },
    series:[{
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'gold',
        name: 'Gold', type: 'Column',
        animation: {enable: false},
        selectionStyle: 'chartSelection1'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'silver',
        name: 'Silver', type: 'Column',
        animation: {enable: false},
        selectionStyle: 'chartSelection2'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'bronze',
        name: 'Bronze', type: 'Column',
        animation: {enable: false},
        selectionStyle: 'chartSelection3'
    }],
    legendSettings: { visible: true, toggleVisibility: false, enableHighlight: true},
    // Selcted data indexes for chart series
    title: 'Olympic Medals'
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.1.29/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>
     <script id="Unemployment" type="text/x-template">
      <div id='templateWrap'>
     <table style="width:100%;  border: 1px solid black;">
     <tr><th colspan="2" bgcolor="#00FFFF">Unemployment</th></tr>
     <tr><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${x}:</td><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${y}</td></tr>
    </table>
    </div>
  </script>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Selection through on legend

Points or series can also be selected through the legend by enabling the toggleVisibility property.
To visually emphasize the selected series, use the enableHighlight property.

When highlightMode is set to Series, Cluster, or Point, legend highlighting occurs even if enableHighlight is set to false. In this case, highlightMode takes precedence, and hovering over legend items highlights the corresponding series.

index.js
index.html
var chartData = [
      { country: "USA", gold: 50, silver: 70, bronze: 45 },
      { country: "China", gold: 40, silver: 60, bronze: 55 },
      { country: "Japan", gold: 70, silver: 60, bronze: 50 },
      { country: "Australia", gold: 60, silver: 56, bronze: 40 },
      { country: "France", gold: 50, silver: 45, bronze: 35 },
      { country: "Germany", gold: 40, silver: 30, bronze: 22 },
      { country: "Italy", gold: 40, silver: 35, bronze: 37 },
      { country: "Sweden", gold: 30, silver: 25, bronze: 27 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category',
        title: 'Countries'
    },
    primaryYAxis: {
        minimum: 0, maximum: 80,
        interval: 20, title: 'Medals'
    },
    series:[{
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'gold',
        name: 'Gold', type: 'Column',
        animation: {enable: false},
        selectionStyle: 'chartSelection1'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'silver',
        name: 'Silver', type: 'Column',
        animation: {enable: false},
        selectionStyle: 'chartSelection2'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'bronze',
        name: 'Bronze', type: 'Column',
        animation: {enable: false},
        selectionStyle: 'chartSelection3'
    }],
    legendSettings: { visible: true, toggleVisibility: false, enableHighlight: true},
    // Selcted data indexes for chart series
    title: 'Olympic Medals'
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.1.29/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>
     <script id="Unemployment" type="text/x-template">
      <div id='templateWrap'>
     <table style="width:100%;  border: 1px solid black;">
     <tr><th colspan="2" bgcolor="#00FFFF">Unemployment</th></tr>
     <tr><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${x}:</td><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${y}</td></tr>
    </table>
    </div>
  </script>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Customization for selection

Custom styles can be applied to selected points or series by using the selectionStyle property.

index.js
index.html
var chartData = [
      { country: "USA", gold: 50, silver: 70, bronze: 45 },
      { country: "China", gold: 40, silver: 60, bronze: 55 },
      { country: "Japan", gold: 70, silver: 60, bronze: 50 },
      { country: "Australia", gold: 60, silver: 56, bronze: 40 },
      { country: "France", gold: 50, silver: 45, bronze: 35 },
      { country: "Germany", gold: 40, silver: 30, bronze: 22 },
      { country: "Italy", gold: 40, silver: 35, bronze: 37 },
      { country: "Sweden", gold: 30, silver: 25, bronze: 27 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category',
        title: 'Countries'
    },
    primaryYAxis: {
        minimum: 0, maximum: 80,
        interval: 20, title: 'Medals'
    },
    series:[{
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'gold',
        name: 'Gold', type: 'Column',
        //Selection style for chart series selection
        selectionStyle: 'chartSelection1'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'silver',
        name: 'Silver', type: 'Column',
        selectionStyle: 'chartSelection2'
    }, {
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'country', yName: 'bronze',
        name: 'Bronze', type: 'Column',
        selectionStyle: 'chartSelection3'
    }],
    selectionMode: 'Point',
    isMultiSelect: true,
    title: 'Olympic Medals'
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.1.29/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>
     <script id="Unemployment" type="text/x-template">
      <div id='templateWrap'>
     <table style="width:100%;  border: 1px solid black;">
     <tr><th colspan="2" bgcolor="#00FFFF">Unemployment</th></tr>
     <tr><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${x}:</td><td bgcolor="#00FFFF">${y}</td></tr>
    </table>
    </div>
  </script>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

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