Charts and visualizations
The chart types used across Metric Vault results, what each one is for, how to read the numbers on them, and what happens to a chart when you export or share.
Last updated 2026-08-12
Summary#
Metric Vault draws every chart from one shared system, so a bar chart in Backlink Profile looks and behaves exactly like a bar chart in Social Analytics. There are eight chart shapes plus two lighter visualizations, each chosen for a specific kind of question. This page explains what each shape is for, how to read it, and what happens to it when a report becomes a file or a public page.
Purpose#
Charts in analytics products go wrong in two ways. They multiply, until every tool has invented its own look and the reader has to relearn the rules on each screen. And they decorate, showing a shape where a number would have been clearer.
So the charts here come from one shared palette and one set of defaults, and each shape has a job. A trend line answers "which way is this going". A donut answers "what is this made of". A scatter answers "are these two things related". When the answer is just a number, you get a KPI tile instead of a chart.
Overview#
Charts appear in two places in a result. The headline chart sits in the summary, next to the KPI tiles, because it is the one that supports the verdict. Every other chart is filed under the Graphs tab, along with any section about trends, distributions, timelines or breakdowns. See Executive summaries and result tabs.
Charts draw themselves when they scroll into view rather than when the page loads, which is why a chart lower down animates as you reach it. That is deliberate: it means the animation happens where you can see it, and charts inside a tab you have not opened are not drawn until you open it.
Every chart follows the same conventions:
- Large numbers are abbreviated on axes and in tooltips:
1.2K,3.4M,2.1B. Hovering shows the same abbreviation, so an axis and its tooltip always agree. - Hovering a point, bar or segment opens a tooltip with the label and the value.
- Colors come from one shared palette and follow your light or dark theme, so a chart is readable in both.
- Series colors are consistent within a chart, and legends use the same color swatches as the marks.
How it works#
The chart types, and what each is for#
| Type | Looks like | Answers | Read it by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vertical bar | Upright bars along a category axis | How much per category | Comparing bar heights; the value axis starts at zero |
| Horizontal bar | Bars running left to right | Ranking of many named things | Reading top to bottom; long labels stay readable, so this is the usual choice for domain or keyword lists |
| Grouped bar | Two or more bars side by side per category | How two things compare, category by category | Comparing within a group first, then across groups. Used for you-versus-competitor views |
| Stacked bar | One bar split into colored segments | Composition and total at once | Reading total height for the total, segment height for the part |
| Line | One or more lines over time | Direction and rate of change | Following the slope, not the individual points. Several series share one axis, so a legend appears |
| Area | A line with the space beneath it filled | Direction of change for a single quantity | The same as a line; the fill emphasises magnitude rather than adding information |
| Donut | A ring split into segments | What a whole is made of | Reading the legend beside it rather than judging angles |
| Scatter | Points on two axes | Whether two measures move together | Looking for the shape of the cloud; both axes are labelled |
Two lighter visualizations appear inside cards rather than as full charts:
| Element | Looks like | Read it by |
|---|---|---|
| Trend card | A small sparkline with a headline number and a change indicator | The number is now; the indicator is the change, green for up, red for down, muted for flat. The dates at each end give the window |
| Meter row | A label, a horizontal bar and a value | The bar is the value as a proportion; the color is a judgement, with green good, amber caution and red poor |
Reading a donut#
Donuts are the one shape people misread, so they are drawn with help built in.
- Beside the ring is a legend with one row per segment: a color swatch, the label, the value, and its share as a percentage.
- The middle of the ring shows the total, with a caption underneath.
- When the values already add up to about 100, the chart treats them as percentages and drops the redundant percentage column and center total.
Read the legend, not the ring. The ring shows you that one segment dominates; the legend tells you by how much.
Color means state, not identity#
A color never encodes which tool you are in. Where color carries meaning it is about condition:
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green | Good, healthy, up |
| Amber | Caution, worth attention |
| Red | Poor, failing, down |
| Purple | The brand color, used for a neutral primary series |
In multi-series charts colors are simply series identifiers assigned in order, and the legend is authoritative.
What happens to a chart when a report leaves the app#
This is the part worth knowing before you send anything to a client.
| Destination | What happens to the chart |
|---|---|
| PDF, Excel, CSV | The chart is written out as its data: a table with a label column and one column per series. A spreadsheet cannot redraw a chart, and a picture of one is not much use in a PDF you may want to copy numbers out of |
| JSON | The underlying numbers are in the exported data |
| Public share link | The chart is preserved visually. Live charts are snapshotted as images or redrawn on the public page, so the reader sees the chart, not a table |
| A chart that never drew | It is dropped from a share capture along with its heading, so a shared report never contains an empty frame |
So: send a link when the visuals are the point, and export a file when the numbers are. See Exporting results and Sharing a result by link.
Charts and empty data#
A chart with nothing to draw is not filled with invented numbers. Depending on the tool you will see an honest empty state, a note explaining that only one data point exists so far, or the chart simply absent. Trend charts that depend on repeated measurement say so directly, because a single measurement cannot make a trend.
Examples#
Example: A Domain Overview shows a trend card reading 41.2K with a green change indicator, and a horizontal bar chart of top pages. The card answers "is traffic up", the bar chart answers "where does it come from". Neither needs the other.
Example: A backlink report shows a donut of anchor-text types. The ring makes it obvious that one type dominates; the legend beside it says branded, 62%, which is the number you quote.
Example: You export that same backlink report to Excel. The donut arrives as a two-column table of anchor type and count, which is what you needed for the model anyway.
Screenshots#
Tips#
- Hover before you conclude. Axis labels are abbreviated; the tooltip gives you the same value with its label attached.
- On a multi-series chart, click nothing and read the legend first; the colors mean nothing until you have.
- Let a chart finish drawing before creating a share link, especially one low on the page. A chart that had not drawn is dropped from the capture.
- If a chart matters to a client, send the link. If the numbers matter to you, export the file.
Common Mistakes#
- Judging a donut by eye. Segment angles are hard to compare; the legend gives you exact values.
- Reading a trend from two points. Trend charts that depend on repeated measurement say when they have only one point.
- Expecting charts in a spreadsheet. They arrive as data tables.
- Comparing bar heights across two different charts. Each chart scales its own axis to its own data.
Limitations#
- Charts are not interactive beyond tooltips. There is no zoom, no click-through, no series toggle and no date-range brush on a chart itself. Change the topbar range instead where the tool supports it.
- Chart type is chosen by the tool; you cannot switch a donut to a bar.
- Charts cannot be downloaded individually as images.
- Charts in downloaded files are tables, not pictures.
- The Report History activity chart is a summary of run volume, not of any report's contents. See Report history.
Troubleshooting#
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A chart area is blank | It has not scrolled into view yet, or it is inside a tab you have not opened | Scroll to it, or open its tab |
| A chart is missing from a share page | It had not drawn when the snapshot was taken, so it was dropped rather than published empty | Scroll it into view, let it finish, then create the link again |
| A chart is missing from a PDF | Charts export as data tables under their section heading | Look for the section name in the document body |
| A trend has only one point | Only one measurement exists so far | Repeat measurements accumulate; see the tool's own note |
| Colors look different from yesterday | You switched between light and dark theme | Both palettes are intentional. See Light and dark mode |
See also
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