Create a Gauge Using ASP in FusionCharts

Overview

FusionCharts is a JavaScript charting library that enables you to create interactive charts, gauges, maps and dashboards in JavaScript. We have built a simple server-side ASP.NET wrapper for FusionCharts. The FusionCharts server-side ASP.NET wrapper lets you easily add rich and interactive gauges to any ASP.NET project. Using the wrapper, you can create gauges in your browsers, without writing any JavaScript code.

In this page, we'll see how to install FusionCharts and render a gauge using the FusionCharts server-side ASP.NET wrapper.

Installation

In this section, we will show you how to install FusionCharts Suite XT and the FusionCharts ASP.NET wrapper and all the other dependencies on your system.

The FusionCharts ASP.NET server-side wrapper requires .NET Framework 3.5 or higher.

  • Include the FusionCharts JavaScript files, which can be downloaded from here .

  • Copy the FusionCharts.cs or FusionCharts.vb class (C#/VB) file from integrations > asp.net-cs > fusioncharts-wrapper-source (for C#) or integration > asp.net-vb > fusioncharts-wrapper-source (for VB) to App_Code folder inside your project.

  • Include the FusionCharts theme file to apply the style to the gauges.

The consolidated code is shown below:


// Include FusionCharts core file
<script type="text/javascript" src=" http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script> 

// Include FusionCharts Theme file
<script type="text/javascript" src=" http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script> 


// Include FusionCharts core file
<script type="text/javascript" src="path/to/local/fusioncharts.js"></script>

// Include FusionCharts Theme file
<script type="text/javascript" src="path/to/local/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>

That completes the installation of FusionCharts Suite and the asp-net-wrapper.

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 gauge showcasing Nordstrom's Customer Satisfaction Score as shown below:

FusionCharts will load here..

The thresholds for the above sample have 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/XML Format

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

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

In the above JSON:

  • Create the chart object to define the elements of the gauge.

  • Create the colorRange array to set the color associated with the specific range of values.

  • Specify minValue and maxValue within the color array under the colorRange array.

  • Specify the hex code of the color within the color array.

  • Create the dials object to represent the customer satisfaction score.

  • Create the dial object under dials object to set the value of the dial in an array.

The chart object and the respective arrays contain a set of key-value pairs known as attributes. These attributes are used to set the functional and cosmetic properties of the gauge.

Now that you have converted the tabular data to JSON format, let's learn how to render the gauge.

Render the Gauge

To render the chart, follow the steps below:

  1. Include the FusionCharts asp-net-wrapper (for C#) OR FusionCharts vb-net-wrapper (for VB) in your project.

  2. Include the fusioncharts library.

  3. Include the FusionCharts theme file to apply the style to the charts.

  4. Store label-value pairs in an object.

  5. Store the chart configurations in an object.

  6. Convert the final chart configuration to JSON string.

  7. Create the chart instance and set the following:

    • Set the chart type as angulargauge. Each chart type is represented with a unique chart alias. For Angular Gauge, the alias is angulargauge. Find the complete list of chart types with their respective alias here .

    • Set the gauge id.

    • Set the width and height (in pixels).

    • Set the container for the gauge.

    • Set the dataFormat as JSON.

    • Embed the json data as the value of the dataSource.

  8. Finally, use a container using <div> to render the gauge.

The consolidated code is shown below:


    using System;
    using System.Collections.Generic;
    using System.Text;
    using FusionCharts.Charts;

    namespace asp_test {
        public partial class gauge: System.Web.UI.Page {
            class ColorRange {
                public int Min {
                    get;
                    set;
                }
                public int Max {
                    get;
                    set;
                }
                public string ColorCode {
                    get;
                    set;
                }

                public ColorRange(int min, int max, string code) {
                    Min = min;
                    Max = max;
                    ColorCode = code;
                }
            }
            protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) {
                // store chart config name-config value pair

                Dictionary < string, string > chartConfig = new Dictionary < string, string > ();
                chartConfig.Add("caption", "Nordstrom\'s Customer Satisfaction Score for 2017");
                chartConfig.Add("lowerLimit", "0");
                chartConfig.Add("upperLimit", "100");
                chartConfig.Add("showValue", "1");
                chartConfig.Add("numberSuffix", "%");
                chartConfig.Add("theme", "fusion");
                chartConfig.Add("showToolTip", "0");

                List < ColorRange > color = new List < ColorRange > ();
                color.Add(new ColorRange(0, 50, "#F2726F"));
                color.Add(new ColorRange(50, 75, "#FFC533"));
                color.Add(new ColorRange(75, 100, "#62B58F"));

                //store dial configuration

                var dial = new List < KeyValuePair < string,
                    string >> ();
                dial.Add(new KeyValuePair < string, string > ("value", "81"));

                // json data to use as chart data source
                StringBuilder jsonData = new StringBuilder();
                //build chart config object
                jsonData.Append("{'chart':{");
                foreach(var config in chartConfig) {
                    jsonData.AppendFormat("'{0}':'{1}',", config.Key, config.Value);
                }
                jsonData.Replace(",", "},", jsonData.Length - 1, 1);

                StringBuilder range = new StringBuilder();
                //build colorRange object
                range.Append("'colorRange':{");
                range.Append("'color':[");
                foreach(ColorRange clr in color) {
                    range.AppendFormat("{{'minValue':'{0}','maxValue':'{1}','code':'{2}'}},", clr.Min, clr.Max, clr.ColorCode);
                }
                range.Replace(",", "]},", range.Length - 1, 1);
                //build dials object
                StringBuilder dials = new StringBuilder();
                dials.Append("'dials':{");
                dials.Append("'dial':[");
                foreach(var dialCnf in dial) {
                    dials.AppendFormat("{{'{0}':'{1}'}},", dialCnf.Key, dialCnf.Value);
                }
                dials.Replace(",", "]}", dials.Length - 1, 1);

                jsonData.Append(range.ToString());
                jsonData.Append(dials.ToString());
                jsonData.Append("}");

                //Create gauge instance
                // charttype, chartID, width, height, data format, data

                Chart MyFirstGauge = new Chart("angulargauge", "first_gauge", "400", "350", "json", jsonData.ToString());
                //render gauge
                Literal1.Text = MyFirstGauge.Render();
            }
        }
    }


    Imports FusionCharts.Charts
    Partial Class first_chart
    Inherits System.Web.UI.Page
    Protected Sub Page_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load 'store label-value pair
    Dim dataValuePair As New Dictionary(Of String, Double)
    dataValuePair.Add("Venezuela", 290)
    dataValuePair.Add("Saudi", 260)
    dataValuePair.Add("Canada", 180)
    dataValuePair.Add("Iran", 140)
    dataValuePair.Add("Russia", 115)
    dataValuePair.Add("UAE", 100)
    dataValuePair.Add("US", 30)
    dataValuePair.Add("China", 30)

    Dim jsonData As New StringBuilder
    Dim data As New StringBuilder

        'store chart config name-config value pair
    Dim chartConfig As New Dictionary(Of String, String)
    chartConfig.Add("caption", "Countries With Most Oil Reserves [2017-18]")
    chartConfig.Add("subCaption", "In MMbbl = One Million barrels")
    chartConfig.Add("xAxisName", "Country")
    chartConfig.Add("yAxisName", "Reserves (MMbbl)")
    chartConfig.Add("numberSuffix", "k")
    chartConfig.Add("theme", "fusion")

    ' json data to use as chart data source
    jsonData.Append("{'chart':{")
    For Each config In chartConfig
    jsonData.AppendFormat("'{0}':'{1}',", config.Key, config.Value)
    Next
    jsonData.Replace(",", "},", jsonData.Length - 1, 1)

    ' build  data object from label-value pair
    data.Append("'data':[")

    For Each pair In dataValuePair
    data.AppendFormat("{{'label':'{0}','value':'{1}'}},", pair.Key, pair.Value)
    Next

    data.Replace(",", "]", data.Length - 1, 1)

    jsonData.Append(data.ToString())
    jsonData.Append("}")
    ' Create chart instance
    ' charttype, chartID, width, height, data format, data
    Dim MyFirstChart As New Chart("column2d", "first_chart", "600", "350", "json", jsonData.ToString())
    Literal1.Text = MyFirstChart.Render()
    End Sub
    End Class

The HTML template is shown below:


    <%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeBehind="index.aspx.cs" Inherits="asp_test.index" %>

    <!DOCTYPE html>

    <html xmlns="  http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >

    <head runat="server">
        <title>fusioncharts</title>
    </head>

    <body>
        <script type="text/javascript" src=" http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script >
        <script type="text/javascript" src=" http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script >
        <div style="text-align:center">
            <asp:Literal ID="Literal1" runat="server"></asp:Literal>
        </div>
    </body>

    </html>


    <%@ Page Language="VB" AutoEventWireup="false" CodeFile="index.aspx.vb" Inherits="index" %>
    <!DOCTYPE html>
    <html xmlns="  http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
    <head runat="server">
        <title>fusioncharts</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <script type="text/javascript" src=" http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script >
        <script type="text/javascript" src=" http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script >
        <form id="form1" runat="server">
            <div>
                <asp:Literal ID="Literal1" runat="server"></asp:Literal>
            </div>
        </form>
    </body>
    </html>

That's it! Your first gauge using the FusionCharts ASP.NET wrapper is ready.

Problem rendering the chart?

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

  • If you are getting a JavaScript error on your page, check your browser console for the exact error and fix accordingly. If you're unable to solve it, click here to get in touch with our support team.

  • If the chart does not show up at all, 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.

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

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