Advanced visualizations

This advanced visualisation tutorial shows you how to go beyond templates in Count. Switch to the Custom tab to layer marks, use facets/subplots, pivot measures, and add table calculations.

Tutorial summary

Custom visuals give you deep control over layout, marks, channels, and styling. Start from a template visual (recommended), then switch to the Custom tab when you need more control.

What you will learn

Layer multiple marks (e.g., bar + line) to enrich a single visual.
Configure subplots to build a grid of related charts.
Facet a chart to repeat it across values (e.g., per country).
Encode channels (x/y, colour, size, shape, text, detail) and styling.
Use secondary axes, control stacking, and fine‑tune formatting.

Marks (the building blocks)

Marks are the core elements of a visual — bars, lines, circles, areas, etc.

Add or duplicate marks to layer quickly
Change type at any time (e.g., area → bar → line).
Independent settings for each mark: field, colour, axis, stacking.
Layer order matters: the order in the design panel = front‑to‑back on the chart (drag to reorder).
For different scales, put a mark on a secondary axis (via the field’s Display options).

Channels & tooltips

You have access to the full set of encodings.

X / Y: primary quantitative/temporal/category encodings.
Colour / Size / Shape / Text: reinforce categories, magnitude, or labels.
Detail: add extra fields to the tooltip without drawing them on the canvas.
Use Display options to rename axes/legends and format numbers/currencies.

Facets repeat the same visual across groups using shared axes/scales.

In this example: facet by Region to compare identical charts per region.
Best for like‑for‑like comparisons where scales should match.

Subplots place charts on separate axes within one visual using subplot x/y coordinates.

By default a chart sits at x=1, y=1. Access these settings in the ... menu next to the mark type.
Set x=2 to place a chart to the right, y=2 to place one below.
Subplots can share one common axis, while the other axes are independent and fully customisable (ranges, formats).
Use when charts need different scales or encodings but should live together.

Pivoting (compare measures with one mark)

Pivoting reshapes multiple columns into Measure Names and Measure Values.

After pivoting, map Measure Values → Y and Measure Names → Colour to compare measures with a single mark (e.g., multi‑line or stacked bars).
For bars, toggle stacking in the mark options; disable to show bars side‑by‑side.

Aggregations & bins

Find these in the Logic tab of a field’s ... menu.

Switch between aggregations (sum, avg, min, max, etc.).
Bin numeric fields to create buckets; adjust bin size.
Swap a binned field from continuous → discrete to present a classic histogram.

Table calculations

Apply transformations after the visual has aggregated data.

Examples: Percent of total, Percentile, Rank.
Choose the context (e.g., Table for all cells, Table down by column).

Custom expressions & functions

Create new metrics or categories within the visual.

Edit expression to define logic (e.g., Profit / Sales)
Use functions and conditions (e.g., CASE WHEN, AVG).