Chart interactions in a data visualization

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Chart interactions in a data visualization

    Chart interactions enable you to define what happens when a user interacts with elements of a data visualization in ServiceNow, such as selecting a bar or segment of a chart. These interactions enhance dashboard usability by allowing navigation to URLs, opening other visualizations, or filtering dashboard content based on the selected chart value. Configurations are made within the Chart interaction section of the data visualization’s configuration panel, where you set the "on-click behavior."

    Show full answer Show less

    Note that chart interactions cannot be configured on technical dashboards or UI Builder pages except toggling drilldowns on or off. For such cases, drilldown event handlers must be configured separately.

    Key Features

    • Go to data view: Opens a data view relevant to the data type; this is the default interaction for most data sources except Usage Insights.
    • Go to URL: Opens a specified URL, either internal or external, with an optional tooltip page name. This is the default for Usage Insights data sources.
    • Apply as filter: Filters all compatible visualizations on the dashboard by the selected chart value. Available only for Horizontal/Vertical Bar and Pie/Donut charts using table or indicator data sources. Not supported on UI Builder or when grouping by time duration.
    • Drill down to chart: Opens another chart filtered by the selected data point. Configurable per metric and only available in Visualization Designer for table data sources. Not supported on certain visualization types like Calendar, Geomap, or Indicator scorecard.

    Support and Limitations

    The availability of these interactions depends on the visualization type and data source. For example, "Apply as filter" is limited to certain chart types and data sources, and "Drill down to chart" is not available in inline dashboard editors or some visualization types.

    Detailed support matrix:

    • Go to data view: Supported on all visualizations and data sources except Usage Insights.
    • Go to URL: Supported on all except Geomap and Indicator scorecard visualizations.
    • Apply as filter: Supported only on Horizontal/Vertical Bar, Pie, and Donut charts with table and indicator data sources in inline dashboard editor.
    • Drill down to chart: Supported on all except Calendar, Indicator scorecard, List, and Geomap visualizations, and only for table data sources in Visualization Designer.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    By configuring chart interactions, you can create more dynamic and interactive dashboards that improve user experience and data exploration. For instance, enabling "Apply as filter" lets users filter multiple visualizations by clicking a chart segment, while "Drill down to chart" supports detailed data analysis by opening related visualizations. Understanding the data source and visualization type compatibility is essential to effectively apply these interactions.

    To configure these interactions, use the Chart interaction section in the visualization’s settings. For technical dashboards, use drilldown event handlers instead. This functionality empowers you to tailor your dashboards for intuitive data navigation and actionable insights.

    You can set what occurs when a user interacts with a chart, 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 chart 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 turn chart interactions on or off with the Enable drilldowns toggle, but you cannot otherwise change them. Instead, you have to configure handlers for on-click events. For information about configuring drilldowns 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. Usage Insights data is not supported.
    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 chart interactions support different data sources and data visualization types. The following table shows the matrix of support.
    Table 1. Chart interaction support
    Action Supported data visualizations Supported data sources
    Go to data view All All that the visualization supports except Usage Insights
    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