Creating a chart

I have questions

I want to create a chart using 2 columns. The first column is task area, the second column is status. I want the bar graph to illustrate the status of each task area so I can add it to my dashboard.

Genevieve P.

Hi @I have questions

Smartsheet Charts require numerical data in order to map it to a graph (see: Compare Data with a Chart). This means that if your status is set in text then the chart won't be able to identify what that text means in terms of how high a bar should be displayed.

What I would do is set up a third column that puts a numerical value associated with each status, for example:

0 = Not Started

1 = First Stage

2 = Second Stage... etc

You can have this helper column auto-populate with the correct number by using a Change Cell workflow to update the cell when a new status is input.

Then in your Dashboard, have a legend on the side which explains what each of the numbers represents, like so:

If I've misunderstood and you're looking to see a count of how many different tasks are in each respective status, then in this case you could create a Report and using the Grouping and Summary feature to automatically created these calculations. Then you can use the Summary rows from this Report as the source for your Chart.

Cheers,

Genevieve