Chart interactions in a data visualization

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Chart interactions in a data visualization

    Chart interactions enable you to define specific behaviors when users interact with segments of a data visualization, such as selecting a bar or pie segment. These interactions enhance dashboard usability by allowing navigation to URLs, opening related visualizations, or applying filters based on the selected data. Configuration is done within the visualization’s Chart interaction settings, where you specify the “on-click behavior” for user interactions.

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    Note that chart interactions cannot be configured on technical dashboards or UI Builder pages, except for enabling or disabling custom on-click events. For technical dashboards, drilldown event configuration is handled separately.

    Key Features

    • Go to data view: Opens a detailed data view appropriate to the data source type; this is the default interaction for most data sources.
    • Go to URL: Opens a specified URL, which can be internal or external, with an optional page name tooltip; it is the default for Usage Insights data sources.
    • Apply as filter: Filters all applicable visualizations on the dashboard by the selected value. This is available only for Horizontal and Vertical Bar and Pie/Donut visualizations using table or indicator data sources. It is not supported in UI Builder and cannot be used when grouping by time duration.
    • Drill down to chart: Opens another filtered data visualization based on the selected data. Multiple drill-downs can be configured per metric. This feature is limited to table data sources and is only configurable in the Visualization Designer, not the inline dashboard editor. It is not supported on Calendar, Geomap, Indicator scorecard, or List visualizations.

    Supported Visualizations and Data Sources

    Different interaction types support varying visualization types and data sources:

    • Go to data view: Supported on all visualization types and data sources compatible with the visualization.
    • Go to URL: Supported on all visualization types except Geomap and Indicator Scorecard, across all compatible data sources.
    • Apply as filter: Limited to Horizontal/Vertical Bar, Pie, and Donut visualizations using table or indicator data sources; only available in the inline dashboard editor.
    • Drill down to chart: Supported on all visualizations except Calendar, Indicator scorecard, List, and Geomap; limited to table data sources and configured only in Visualization Designer.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    By configuring chart interactions, ServiceNow customers can create more dynamic and interactive dashboards that allow users to explore data in context. For example, clicking a chart segment can automatically filter other dashboard visualizations or navigate to detailed data views, improving insight discovery and decision-making efficiency.

    Understanding the limitations and supported configurations ensures you design interactions that function correctly within your environment—especially distinguishing between inline dashboard editor, Visualization Designer, and technical dashboard capabilities.

    You can set what occurs when a user interacts with a visualization, such as by selecting a bar column. Possibilities include navigating to a URL, opening another data visualization, and filtering all visualizations on the dashboard by the selected value.

    The configuration panel of a data visualization includes a section labeled Chart interaction. In this section, you set what is called "on-click behavior." This term refers to what happens when a user interacts with a segment of the visualization that represents a value. Examples include selecting a point on a time series or a segment of a pie or donut. You can also disable chart interactions for the visualization.

    Important:
    You cannot configure chart interactions for data visualizations on technical dashboards or other UI Builder pages. You can only enable and configure custom on-click events. Turn on-click events on or off with the Enable drilldowns toggle, then configure handlers for them. For information about configuring on-click events from data visualizations on a technical dashboard, see Add a drilldown event to a data visualization on a technical dashboard.

    The following actions are available for a chart interaction:

    Go to data view
    Opens a view of the data appropriate to the data type. For information about the views for each data source, see Data views for different data sources.
    Note:
    Go to data view is the default interaction for all supported data sources.
    Go to URL
    Opens the URL you specify. This URL can be on the instance or external to it. Where relevant, you can specify the name of the page that is opened in a tooltip. Go to URL is the default interaction for Usage Insights data sources.
    Apply as filter
    Filters all applicable data visualizations on the dashboard by the value of the selected segment. Does not apply when the Group by field is a time duration. Available only for Horizontal and Vertical Bar and Pie/Donut visualizations, and only for table and indicator data sources. Not available on UI Builder. For more information, see Make a data visualization act as a filter.
    Drill down to chart
    Opens a different data visualization that is filtered by the selected data. You can add a drill-down visualization for each metric on the parent visualization. You configure this new drill-down visualization seamlessly as part of the process of configuring the chart interaction.
    Note:
    Drill down to chart has the following limitations:
    • You cannot configure Drill down to chart in the inline dashboard editor, only in the Visualization Designer.
    • Drill down to chart is available only for table data sources.
    • You cannot set drill down to chart from the Calendar, Geomap, Indicator scorecard, or List visualizations. However, you can drill down from supported visualizations to any visualization that can display table data.
    Different visualization interactions support different data sources and data visualization types. The following table shows the matrix of support.
    Table 1. Interaction support
    Action Supported data visualizations Supported data sources
    Go to data view All All that the visualization supports
    Go to URL All except Geomap and Indicator Scorecard All that the visualization supports
    Apply as filter (Available only in inline dashboard editor)
    • Horizontal and Vertical Bar
    • Pie and Donut
    Table and indicator
    Drill down to chart (Available only in Visualization Designer) All except Calendar, Indicator scorecard, List, and Geomap Table