Your First Chart in jQuery using FusionCharts

FusionCharts is a JavaScript charting library that enables you to create interactive charts, gauges, maps and dashboards in JavaScript. In this page, we'll see how to render charts using FusionCharts and the jquery-fusioncharts plugin.

We'll start with simple examples of creating a chart , then a gauge and a map .

Before going through this article, please install the jquery-fusioncharts plugin, if you haven’t installed it already.

Create your first chart

In this section, we will create a chart using jquery-fusioncharts. We will create a Column 2D chart, which has the column2d chart alias in FusionCharts. We have 95+ chart types with their respective aliases for you to explore. Find the complete list of chart types here .

Let's start with a simple example of "Countries With Most Oil Reserves" chart, which we will plot in a Column 2D chart as shown below:

FusionCharts will load here..

The data for this chart is represented in the table below:

Country No. of Oil Reserves
Venezuela 290
Saudi 260
Canada 180
Iran 140
Russia 115
UAE 100
US 30
China 30

Convert tabular data into JSON format

FusionCharts accepts data in JSON or XML format. In this section, we will convert the tabular data into JSON format. The converted format is shown below:

There are different formats of JSON for different groups of charts in FusionCharts - e.g., single-series , multi-series , combination , etc.

{
    // Chart Configuration
    "chart": {
        "caption": "Countries With Most Oil Reserves [2017-18]",
        "subCaption": "In MMbbl = One Million barrels",
        "xAxisName": "Country",
        "yAxisName": "Reserves (MMbbl)",
        "numberSuffix": "K",
        "theme": "fusion",
    },
    // Chart Data
    "data": [{
        "label": "Venezuela",
        "value": "290"
    }, {
        "label": "Saudi",
        "value": "260"
    }, {
        "label": "Canada",
        "value": "180"
    }, {
        "label": "Iran",
        "value": "140"
    }, {
        "label": "Russia",
        "value": "115"
    }, {
        "label": "UAE",
        "value": "100"
    }, {
        "label": "US",
        "value": "30"
    }, {
        "label": "China",
        "value": "30"
    }]
}

In the above JSON, we have:

  • Created the chart object to define the elements of the chart.
  • Then, each row of the tabular data is present within the data array to specify the labels and their corresponding values.

Both the chart object and the data array contain a set of key-value pairs known as attributes. These attributes are used to set the functional and cosmetic properties of the chart as defined below:

Functional Attributes

Functional attributes let you control a variety of functional elements on the chart. For example, you can opt to show/hide data labels or data values. You can also set chart limits and extended properties. The functional attributes used in the above JSON are:

  • caption sets the caption of the chart.
  • subcaption sets the sub-caption of the chart.
  • xAxisName sets the name of the x-axis, whereas yAxisName sets the name of the y-axis.
  • numberPrefix adds a prefix to all the numbers visible on the chart.
  • Please note, we have used the theme attribute in the chart's JSON data and provided fusion theme as the value of it. Using themes, you can centralize cosmetic and functional properties across various charts in your web application.

Cosmetics Attributes

Cosmetic attributes let you configure chart cosmetics like color, transparency, font size, etc. Since we are using the fusion theme to customize the chart's look and feel no cosmetic attributes are used in this sample. For the detailed list of attributes, click here .

Create an instance of the chart

In this step, we will create an instance of the chart type as column2d, set the width and height (in pixels or %), and finally specify the JSON data for the chart as a string.

The code to render a chart using require is given below:

jQuery('document').ready(function() {
    // Render the chart using `insertFusionCharts` method
    jQuery('#chart-container').insertFusionCharts({
        type: 'column2d',
        width: '700',
        height: '400',
        dataFormat: 'json',
        dataSource: {
            // Chart Configuration
            "chart": {
                "caption": "Countries With Most Oil Reserves [2017-18]",
                "subCaption": "In MMbbl = One Million barrels",
                "xAxisName": "Country",
                "yAxisName": "Reserves (MMbbl)",
                "numberSuffix": "K",
                "theme": "fusion",
            },
            // Chart Data
            "data": [{
                "label": "Venezuela",
                "value": "290"
            }, {
                "label": "Saudi",
                "value": "260"
            }, {
                "label": "Canada",
                "value": "180"
            }, {
                "label": "Iran",
                "value": "140"
            }, {
                "label": "Russia",
                "value": "115"
            }, {
                "label": "UAE",
                "value": "100"
            }, {
                "label": "US",
                "value": "30"
            }, {
                "label": "China",
                "value": "30"
            }]
        }
    });
});

In the above code:

  • We have created an instance of the Column2d chart. Each chart type in FusionCharts Suite XT has a unique alias, which you can use to create an instance of that chart.
  • To specify the data format as JSON, we have set the dataFormat parameter to json. You can also provide the data in XML format.

The HTML code for the above sample is:

<html>
<head>
    <title>My First Chart using FusionCharts Suite XT</title>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.3.1.min.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://static.fusioncharts.com/code/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://static.fusioncharts.com/code/latest/fusioncharts.jqueryplugin.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://static.fusioncharts.com/code/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        $(document).ready(function() {
            $('#chart-container').insertFusionCharts({
                type: 'column2d',
                width: '700',
                height: '400',
                dataFormat: 'json',
                dataSource: {
                    // Chart Configuration
                    "chart": {
                        "caption": "Countries With Most Oil Reserves [2017-18]",
                        "subCaption": "In MMbbl = One Million barrels",
                        "xAxisName": "Country",
                        "yAxisName": "Reserves (MMbbl)",
                        "numberSuffix": "K",
                        "theme": "fusion",
                    },
                    // Chart Data
                    "data": [{
                        "label": "Venezuela",
                        "value": "290"
                    }, {
                        "label": "Saudi",
                        "value": "260"
                    }, {
                        "label": "Canada",
                        "value": "180"
                    }, {
                        "label": "Iran",
                        "value": "140"
                    }, {
                        "label": "Russia",
                        "value": "115"
                    }, {
                        "label": "UAE",
                        "value": "100"
                    }, {
                        "label": "US",
                        "value": "30"
                    }, {
                        "label": "China",
                        "value": "30"
                    }]
                }
            });
        });
    </script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="chart-container">FusionMaps XT will load chart here!</div>
</body>
</html>

That's it! When you run this HTML page now, you should see a chart representing your data.

See the complete list of all possible attributes (the keys in the dataSource object) for a Column 2D chart.

Now, go on and explore other 95+ chart types that we have at FusionCharts , or explore the configuration attributes for different charts.

Create your first gauge

Gauges are powerful tools that can showcase information using a radial scale to display data, and a dial to indicate the value. In this section, we will create an Angular Gauge.

To start with, we'll build a simple "Nordstorm Customer Satisfaction Index" gauge as shown below:

FusionCharts will load here..

The thresholds for his customer satisfaction score has been defined using the following range.

Range Color Hex Code
0-50 Red #F2726F
50-75 Yellow #FFC533
75-100 Green #62B58F

So, any score less than 50 is bad and is red. Any score between 50 and 75 is average and is yellow. Any score above 75 means good and is green.

Convert tabular data into JSON format

Now that you have the tabular data ready, it's time to convert it into JSON format, as FusionCharts accepts data in JSON or XML format. The converted format will look as shown below:

{
    // Chart Configuration
    "chart": {
        "caption": "Nordstorm's Customer Satisfaction Score for 2017",
        "lowerLimit": "0",
        "upperLimit": "100",
        "showValue": "1",
        "numberSuffix": "%",
        "theme": "fusion",
        "showToolTip": "0"
    },
    // Chart Data
    "colorRange": {
        "color": [{
            "minValue": "0",
            "maxValue": "50",
            "code": "#F2726F"
        }, {
            "minValue": "50",
            "maxValue": "75",
            "code": "#FFC533"
        }, {
            "minValue": "75",
            "maxValue": "100",
            "code": "#62B58F"
        }]
    },
    "dials": {
        "dial": [{
            "value": "81"
        }]
    }
}

Create an instance of the gauge

In this step, we will create an instance of the chart type as angulargauge, set the width and height (in pixels or %), and finally specify the JSON data for the chart as string.

The code to render a chart using require is given below:

jQuery('document').ready(function() {
    // Render the chart using `insertFusionCharts` method
    jQuery('#chart-container').insertFusionCharts({
        type: 'angulargauge',
        width: '450',
        height: '250',
        dataFormat: 'json',
        dataSource: {
            // Chart Configuration
            "chart": {
                "caption": "Nordstorm's Customer Satisfaction Score for 2017",
                "lowerLimit": "0",
                "upperLimit": "100",
                "showValue": "1",
                "numberSuffix": "%",
                "theme": "fusion",
                "showToolTip": "0"
            },
            // Chart Data
            "colorRange": {
                "color": [{
                    "minValue": "0",
                    "maxValue": "50",
                    "code": "#F2726F"
                }, {
                    "minValue": "50",
                    "maxValue": "75",
                    "code": "#FFC533"
                }, {
                    "minValue": "75",
                    "maxValue": "100",
                    "code": "#62B58F"
                }]
            },
            "dials": {
                "dial": [{
                    "value": "81"
                }]
            }
        }
    });
});

The HTML code for the above sample is:

<html>
<head>
    <title>My First Gauge using FusionCharts Suite XT</title>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.3.1.min.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://static.fusioncharts.com/code/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://static.fusioncharts.com/code/latest/fusioncharts.jqueryplugin.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://static.fusioncharts.com/code/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        $(document).ready(function() {
            $('#chart-container').insertFusionCharts({
                type: 'angulargauge',
                width: '450',
                height: '250',
                dataFormat: 'json',
                dataSource: {
                    // Chart Configuration
                    "chart": {
                        "caption": "Nordstorm's Customer Satisfaction Score for 2017",
                        "lowerLimit": "0",
                        "upperLimit": "100",
                        "showValue": "1",
                        "numberSuffix": "%",
                        "theme": "fusion",
                        "showToolTip": "0"
                    },
                    // Chart Data
                    "colorRange": {
                        "color": [{
                            "minValue": "0",
                            "maxValue": "50",
                            "code": "#F2726F"
                        }, {
                            "minValue": "50",
                            "maxValue": "75",
                            "code": "#FFC533"
                        }, {
                            "minValue": "75",
                            "maxValue": "100",
                            "code": "#62B58F"
                        }]
                    },
                    "dials": {
                        "dial": [{
                            "value": "81"
                        }]
                    }
                }
            });
        });
    </script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="chart-container">FusionMaps XT will load gauge here!</div>
</body>
</html>

See the complete list of all possible attributes for an angular gauge.

Create your first map

In this section, we will create a visualization using the map of WORLD. Take a look at the map shown below:

FusionCharts will load here..

The data for this chart is represented in the table below:

State Entity Name Value
North America NA 82
South America SA 2.04
Asia AS 1.78
Europe EU 40
Africa AF 2.58
Australia AU 1.30

In the above table, the column Entity Name represents the geographical entities represented in the map, whose full names are given in the State column.

However, when you convert the data into a format supported by FusionCharts, the entities are denoted by the id key in the data object (see the code snippet of the next section).

For any map visualization, it is important to provide the correct value for the id keys. For example, if you want to denote Africa, the value for the corresponding id must be AF and not AFR.

We have a detailed Map Specification Sheets for all the maps that can be rendered using FusionCharts, where you can find the correct id of the maps you want to create.

Convert tabular data into JSON format

Now that you have the tabular data ready, it's time to convert it into JSON format, as FusionCharts accepts data in JSON or XML format. The converted format will look as shown below:

{
    // Map Configuration
    "chart": {
        "caption": "Average Annual Population Growth",
        "subcaption": " 1955-2015",
        "numbersuffix": "%",
        "includevalueinlabels": "1",
        "labelsepchar": ": ",
        "entityFillHoverColor": "#FFF9C4",
        "theme": "fusion"
    },
    // Aesthetics; ranges synced with the slider
    "colorrange": {
        "minvalue": "0",
        "code": "#FFE0B2",
        "gradient": "1",
        "color": [{
            "minvalue": "0.5",
            "maxvalue": "1.0",
            "color": "#FFD74D"
        }, {
            "minvalue": "1.0",
            "maxvalue": "2.0",
            "color": "#FB8C00"
        }, {
            "minvalue": "2.0",
            "maxvalue": "3.0",
            "color": "#E65100"
        }]
    },
    // Source data as JSON --> id represents countries of world.
    "data": [{
        "id": "NA",
        "value": ".82",
        "showLabel": "1"
    }, {
        "id": "SA",
        "value": "2.04",
        "showLabel": "1"
    }, {
        "id": "AS",
        "value": "1.78",
        "showLabel": "1"
    }, {
        "id": "EU",
        "value": ".40",
        "showLabel": "1"
    }, {
        "id": "AF",
        "value": "2.58",
        "showLabel": "1"
    }, {
        "id": "AU",
        "value": "1.30",
        "showLabel": "1"
    }]
}

Create an instance of the map

In this step, we will create an instance of the map type as world, set the width and height (in pixels or %), and finally specify the JSON data for the chart as a string.

The code to render a chart using require is given below:

jQuery('document').ready(function() {
    // Render the chart using `insertFusionCharts` method
    jQuery('#chart-container').insertFusionCharts({
        type: 'world',
        width: '800',
        height: '550',
        dataFormat: 'json',
        dataSource: {
            // Map Configuration
            "chart": {
                "caption": "Average Annual Population Growth",
                "subcaption": " 1955-2015",
                "numbersuffix": "%",
                "includevalueinlabels": "1",
                "labelsepchar": ": ",
                "entityFillHoverColor": "#FFF9C4",
                "theme": "fusion"
            },
            // Aesthetics; ranges synced with the slider
            "colorrange": {
                "minvalue": "0",
                "code": "#FFE0B2",
                "gradient": "1",
                "color": [{
                    "minvalue": "0.5",
                    "maxvalue": "1.0",
                    "color": "#FFD74D"
                }, {
                    "minvalue": "1.0",
                    "maxvalue": "2.0",
                    "color": "#FB8C00"
                }, {
                    "minvalue": "2.0",
                    "maxvalue": "3.0",
                    "color": "#E65100"
                }]
            },
            // Source data as JSON --> id represents countries of world.
            "data": [{
                "id": "NA",
                "value": ".82",
                "showLabel": "1"
            }, {
                "id": "SA",
                "value": "2.04",
                "showLabel": "1"
            }, {
                "id": "AS",
                "value": "1.78",
                "showLabel": "1"
            }, {
                "id": "EU",
                "value": ".40",
                "showLabel": "1"
            }, {
                "id": "AF",
                "value": "2.58",
                "showLabel": "1"
            }, {
                "id": "AU",
                "value": "1.30",
                "showLabel": "1"
            }]
        }
    });
});

The HTML code for the above sample is:

<html>
<head>
    <title>My First Map using FusionCharts Suite XT</title>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.3.1.min.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://static.fusioncharts.com/code/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://static.fusioncharts.com/code/latest/fusioncharts.jqueryplugin.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://static.fusioncharts.com/code/latest/fusioncharts.maps.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://static.fusioncharts.com/code/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        $(document).ready(function() {
            $('#chart-container').insertFusionCharts({
                "type": "maps/World",
                // "renderAt": "chart-container",
                "width": "800",
                "height": "550",
                "dataFormat": "json",
                "dataSource": {
                    // Map Configuration
                    "chart": {
                        "caption": "Average Annual Population Growth",
                        "subcaption": " 1955-2015",
                        "numbersuffix": "%",
                        "includevalueinlabels": "1",
                        "labelsepchar": ": ",
                        "entityFillHoverColor": "#FFF9C4",
                        "theme": "fusion"
                    },
                    // Aesthetics; ranges synced with the slider
                    "colorrange": {
                        "minvalue": "0",
                        "code": "#FFE0B2",
                        "gradient": "1",
                        "color": [{
                            "minvalue": "0.5",
                            "maxvalue": "1.0",
                            "color": "#FFD74D"
                        }, {
                            "minvalue": "1.0",
                            "maxvalue": "2.0",
                            "color": "#FB8C00"
                        }, {
                            "minvalue": "2.0",
                            "maxvalue": "3.0",
                            "color": "#E65100"
                        }]
                    },
                    // Source data as JSON --> id represents countries of world.
                    "data": [{
                        "id": "NA",
                        "value": ".82",
                        "showLabel": "1"
                    }, {
                        "id": "SA",
                        "value": "2.04",
                        "showLabel": "1"
                    }, {
                        "id": "AS",
                        "value": "1.78",
                        "showLabel": "1"
                    }, {
                        "id": "EU",
                        "value": ".40",
                        "showLabel": "1"
                    }, {
                        "id": "AF",
                        "value": "2.58",
                        "showLabel": "1"
                    }, {
                        "id": "AU",
                        "value": "1.30",
                        "showLabel": "1"
                    }]
                }
            });
        });
    </script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="chart-container">FusionMaps XT will load map here!</div>
</body>
</html>

See the complete list of all possible attributes (the keys in the dataSource object) for the Map of World. A list of countries of World, and their respective ids, can be found here .

Problem rendering the chart?

In case there is an error and you are unable to see the chart, check for the following:

  • If you don't see the chart rendered on your browser, it might be because some browsers do not allow JavaScript files to be loaded and run from the local file system. In such cases, either try a different browser, or create a local/remote server and provide the webpages containing the charts from the server.

  • If you are getting a JavaScript error on your page, check your browser console for the exact error and fix accordingly.

  • If the chart does not show up, but there are no JavaScript errors, check if the FusionCharts Suite XT JavaScript library has loaded correctly. You can use developer tools within your browser to see if fusioncharts.js was loaded. Check if the path to fusioncharts.js file is correct and whether the file exists in that location.

  • If you get a Loading Data or Error in Loading Data message, check whether your JSON data structure is correct, or if there are conflicts related to quotation marks in your code.

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