Data Markers

7 Jun 202324 minutes to read

Data markers are used to provide information about the data point to the user. You can add a shape and label to adorn each data point.

Add Shapes

You can add shapes to any chart types but they are often used with line, area and spline series to indicate each data point. It is highlighted when you hover the mouse on the shape.

Shapes can be added to the chart by enabling the visible option of the marker property. There are different shapes you can add to the chart by using the shape option such as rectangle, circle, diamond etc.

The following code example explains on how to enable series marker and add shapes,

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                // ...
                //Adding shapes to series	
                series: [{
                    // ....
                    marker: {
                        shape: 'Diamond',
                        visible: true
                    }
                },
                 {
                     // ... 
                     marker: {
                         shape: 'Triangle',
                         visible: true
                     }
                 },
                  {
                      // ...
                      marker: {
                          shape: 'Hexagon',
                          visible: true
                      }
                  }],
    
               // ....
        });

    Customizing marker

    You can give color and opacity for the marker using fill and opacity property.

    $("#container").ejChart({
            series :[{marker : { 
                fill : "green",
                opacity : 0.5 
                } 
            }]                  
    });
    

    Add image as marker

    Apart from the shapes, you can also add images to mark the data point by using the imageUrl option.

    The following code example illustrates this,

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                // ...      
                series: [{
                    // ...
                    marker: {
                     // Enable and customize the marker shape and size
                        visible: true,
                    // In order to set imageUrl, set shape as ‘image’ .
                        shape: "image",
                        imageUrl: "sun_annotation.png",
                        size: {width: 20, height: 20}
                    }
                }],
               // ...
        });

    Add labels

    Data label can be added to a chart series by enabling the visible property in the dataLabel option. The labels appear at the top of the data point, by default.

    The following code example shows how to enable data label and set its horizontalTextAlignment and vertical text alignment.

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                // ...      
                series: [{
                    // ...
                    marker: {
                            dataLabel: {
                          //Set text alignment to datalabel text	
                                visible: true,
                                horizontalTextAlignment: "center",
                                verticalTextAlignment: "far"
                            }
                        }
                }],
               // ...
        });

    Label content can be formatted by using the template option. Inside the template, you can add the placeholder text “point.x” and “point.y” to display corresponding data points x & y value.

    You can adorn the labels with background shapes by setting shape option.

    The color for the datalabel text is set by using the fill property.

    The following code example shows how to add background shapes and set template to data label.

    The border color and width for the marker is added by using the border property.

  • HTML
  • <div id="template">
         <div id="left">
    	<img src="../images/chart/icon_investments.png"/>
         </div>
         <div id="right">
              <div id="point">#point.y#%</div>
         </div>
    </div>
  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                // ...      
                series: [{
                   // ...
                   marker: {
    		            dataLabel: {
    			           visible: true,
                         //Set template to data label
                			template: 'template'
    		              }}		
                   }, {
    	           // ...
                   marker: {
    		             dataLabel: {
    			                visible: true,
                              //Add background shape to the data label
                                shape: 'Rectangle',
                                border: { width: 1, color: "red" }			     
                             }}
                        },{
                    // ...
                   marker: {
    		            dataLabel: {
    			           visible: true
    		             }}               
                  }],
    
               // ...
        });

    The appearance of the labels can be customized by using the font and offset options. The color, fontFamily, fontStyle, fontWeight, opacity and size of font can also be customized. The offset option is used to move the labels vertically. Also, labels can be rotated by using the angle option.

    The following code example shows how to rotate datalabel text and customize the font.

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                // ...      
                series: [{
                 // ...
                   marker: {
                            dataLabel: {
                                visible: true,
                               //Rotate data label and customize the font
                                angle: "300",    
                                offset: 15,
                                font: { color: "black", size:"13px" }
                             }
                        }		
                  }], 
               // ...
        });

    You can position the label to the top, center or bottom position of the segment by using the textPosition option for the chart types such as column, bar, stacked bar, stacked column, 100% stacked bar, 100% stacked column, candle and OHLC.

    The following code example shows how to set textPosition to display data label in the middle of the column rectangle.

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                // ... 
    	        series:[{
                      // ....
                       marker: {
                           dataLabel: {
                               visible: true,
                             // Place the datalabel text position in the center of the rectangle
                               textPosition: "middle"
                              // ...
                           } } 
                   }],            
    
    	    // .....
        });

    The label can be positioned inside or outside the perimeter of the series by using the labelPosition option for the chart types such as Pie and Doughnut, .

    The following code example shows how to set the labelPosition,

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                // ... 
    	        series:[{
                       points: [{ x: 'India', y: 24, text: 'India 24%' },
                                { x: 'Japan', y: 25, text: 'Japan 25%' },
                                { x: 'Australia', y: 20, text: 'Australia 20%' },
                                { x: 'USA', y: 35, text: 'USA 35%' },
                                { x: 'China', y: 23, text: 'China 23%' },
                                { x: 'Germany', y: 27, text: 'Germany 27%' },
                                { x: 'France', y: 22, text: 'France 22%' }],
    
                       marker: {
                           dataLabel: {
                               visible: true,
                               shape: 'rectangle',
                               font: {color: "white"}
                           }
                       },
                       type: 'doughnut',
                       //Display data label outside position 
                       labelPosition: 'outside'
                   }],            
    	    // ...
        });

    The following screenshot displays the labels when the labelPosition is set as inside position.

    The following screenshot displays the labels when the labelPosition is set as outsideExtended position.

    The label can be wrapped for pie, doughnut, funnel, and pyramid series by setting the enableWrap property. The maximum label width for data label can be specified using maximumLabelWidth property.

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
    
            // . . .   
    
        series:[
        {
                    //. . .
                marker: {
                     
                           dataLabel: {
                                     
                                 // enable the dataLabel
                              
                                 visible: true,
    
                                 // enable the wrapping option
    
                                 enableWrap: true,
               
                                 // set the maximumLabelWidth of the data label
    
                                 maximumLabelWidth: 32
                   
                                    //. . .
    
                          }
                   }
        
                 // . . .
    
            ]}
    
         // . . .
    
    });

    Binding label from the datasource

    You can bind the text value to the datalabel from the datasource and then you need to map the text value field with the textMappingName properties respectively.

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • //data source for chart with label 
    var chartData = [ 
              { month: 'Jan', sales: 35, Text: "January" },  
              { month: 'Feb', sales: 28, Text: "February" }, 
              //... 
    ]; 
    
    $("#container").ejChart({
        // ...      
            series: [{
                // ...
                marker: {
                    dataLabel: {
                        //Mapping the text name 
                        visible : true,
                        textMappingName : "Text",                            
                    }
                }
            }],
            // ...
    });

    Try it: JS Playground Sample

    Binding fill color to the points from the datasource

    You can bind the color value to the points from the datasource and then you need to map the color value field to the pointColorMappingName property respectively.

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • //data source for chart with fill color
    var chartData = [ 
              { month: 'Jan', sales: 35, color: "red" },  
              { month: 'Feb', sales: 28, color: "blue" }, 
              //... 
    ]; 
    
    $("#container").ejChart({
        // ...      
            series: [{
                // ...
                //Mapping the color values to the points
                pointColorMappingName:"color",                
            }],
        // ...
    });

    Try it: JS Playground Sample

    Contrast Color for the data label

    To change the contrast color for the data label, you can set the enableContrastColor as true in the dataLabel property of the chart series.

    When we enable this property, the data label text will be rendered in contrast color based on the segment on which it is placed.
    If the data label is placed inside the data points segment, then that particular point’s color is taken. Else the chart area or chart background color is considered for deriving the contrast color.

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                // ...      
                series: [{
                    // ...
                    marker: {
                            dataLabel: {
                          //Set the saturation color to datalabel text	
                                visible : true,
                                enableContrastColor : true,                            
                            }
                        }
                }],
               // ...
        });

    Show Edge labels

    The partially visible data labels can be displayed inside chart area using showEdgeLabels property.

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                series :[{
                    marker :{
                        dataLabel :{showEdgeLabels : true}
                    }
                }]            
        });

    DataLabel border

    The border color and width of the data label can be customized using border property.

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                    series :[{
                        marker :{
                            dataLabel :{
                                border : {
                                    color : "green",
                                    width : 2
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }]                 
            });

    Customize specific points

    By using the ejChart, you can also customize the individual/specific markers with different colors, shape and also with different images.

    There are two ways to achieve this based on how the data is fed to the series.

    The margin property is used for providing the space in the left,right,top and bottom directions.

    The required space for the datalabel text can also be customized by using the offset property. The horizontal and vertical offset of data label can be customized using x and y property.

    The opacity of the data label can be customized using opacity property.

    When the data is provided by using the points option, you can add marker for each data point or specific point by using the marker option as illustrated in the following code example. There are several options like angle, opacity, border color, width, connectorLine type, width, fill, font size, opacity, fontWeight, fontStyle, fontFamily, horizontalTextAlignment, margin left, right, top, bottom, shape, textPosition, verticalTextAlignment, visible, template and offset to customize the point data label.

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                // ...     
                series: [{
                        // ...
                        points: [  { x: 'Jan', y: 35 }, { x: 'Feb', y: 28 },   { x: 'Mar', y: 34 },
                          { x: 'Apr', y: 32 },{ x: 'May', y: 40 },  { x: 'Jun', y: 32 },
                          { x: 'Jul', y: 35 },  { x: 'Aug', y: 55,
                           marker: {
                             //Enable and customize the data label for a point
                                dataLabel: {
                                    visible: true,
                                    offset: -10,
                                    shape: "upArrow", font: { color: "white" , size: '11px' },
                                    margin: { left: 15, right: 15, top: 10, bottom: 10 },
                                    fill: "green"
                               } } },
    
                              { x: 'Sep', y: 38 },{ x: 'Oct', y: 30 },
                              { x: 'Nov', y: 25,
                                      marker: {
                                        //Enable and customize the data label for a point
                                         dataLabel: {
                                            visible: true,
                                            offset: -22,
                                            verticalTextAlignment: 'near',
                                            shape: "downArrow", font: { color: "white", size: '11px' },
                                            margin: { left: 15, right: 15, top: 10, bottom: 10 },                    
                                            fill: "red"
                               } } },  { x: 'Dec', y: 32 }],
    
                         }],
                     // ...
        });

    When the data is bound to the series by using the dataSource option, you can customize the points in the seriesRendering event as illustrated in the following code example,

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
               // ...
                series: [{
                             //Add datasource and set xName and yName 
                             dataSource: chartData, 
                              xName: "month", 
                              yName: "sales"
                }],
                
               //Fires on rendering the series
                seriesRendering: "onSeriesRender",
    
                 // ...
    
        });
    
        //Define the seriesRendering client side event
      
         function onSeriesRender(sender) {
     
            
            //Enable and customize the dataLabel for a point using event
    
                sender.data.series.points[7].marker = {
                   dataLabel: {
                        visible: true,
                        offset: -10,
                        shape: "upArrow", font: { color: "white", size: '11px' },
                        margin: { left: 15, right: 15, top: 10, bottom: 10 },                    
                        fill: "green"
                    }};
    
                sender.data.series.points[10].marker = {
                     //Enable and customize the dataLabel for a point using event
                    dataLabel: {
                            visible: true,
                            offset: -22,
                            verticalTextAlignment: 'near',
                            shape: "downArrow", font: { color: "white", size: '11px' },
                            margin: { left: 15, right: 15, top: 10, bottom: 10 },                    
                            fill: "red"
                    }};
            }

    Connect Line

    This feature is used to connect label and data point by using a line. It can be enabled only for Pie, Doughnut, Pyramid and Funnel chart types. Connector line types can be set as bezier or line by using the type option. The color and width of connector line can also be customized using connectorLine property.

    The following code example illustrates this,

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                // ...      
                series: [{
    		      // ...
    		       marker: {
                       dataLabel: {
                                 visible: true,
                                 // Set connector line type and customize the color,
                                 connectorLine: { type: 'bezier', color: 'black', width: 1 }
                                 // ...
                             }  },
                             // ...
                             labelPosition: 'outsideExtended',
                     }],
    
               // ...
        });

    Smart labels

    Overlapping of the labels can be avoided by enabling the enableSmartLabels property. The default value is true for accumulation type series and false for other series types.

    The following code example shows how to enable smart labels,

  • JAVASCRIPT
  • $("#container").ejChart({
                // ...      
                //Initializing Series	
                series: [{
                    points: [{ x: 'Other Personal', y: 94658, text: 'Other Personal, 88.47%' },
                                 { x: 'Medical care', y: 9090, text: 'Medical care, 8.49%' },
    		                     { x: 'Housing', y: 2577, text: 'Housing, 2.40%' },
                                 { x: 'Transportation', y: 473, text: 'Transportation, 0.44%' },
                                 { x: 'Education', y: 120, text: 'Education, 0.11%' },
                                 { x: 'Electronics', y: 70, text: 'Electronics, 0.06%' }],
               	    marker:{
    		              dataLabel:{
    				          visible: true,
    				          shape: 'none',
    				          connectorLine: { type: 'bezier', color: 'black' },
    				          font: { size: '14px' }
                           }},
                   	       border: { width: 2, color: 'white' },
    		               type: 'pie',
                           labelPosition: "outsideExtended",
                           //Display data label outside position and enable smartLabels
                           enableSmartLabels: true
                     }],
               // ...
        });