Additional content

Many charts are easy to understand, and even complex charts become clearer with a legend. However, some charts require additional content. In this guide, we’ll focus on textual content and scenarios when it’s necessary. In charts, text is used to:

Heading

A good heading, or title, is essential and should clearly communicate what your chart is about. Avoid lengthy headings; your title should explain what your audience can expect from the chart. Where applicable, include the variables being visualized and the year the data was collected. Now, let’s add a heading.

  1. In the Additional Content section, check the box next to Heading.

  2. At the top of the chart, click the heading field.

  3. Enter the heading.

    Charts let you format the heading text. You can make the entire title—or just part of it—bold or italic, turn it into a hyperlink, and adjust the size and alignment. Advanced heading settings are available in the theme editor. Check out our [theme guide] for full details.

Subheading

The heading, unlike footnotes, supports two font sizes: normal and large. You can use a smaller size for the normal heading, ideal for an introductory paragraph, and the large size for the main chart title.

Override heading level

If you want to use a different size for the heading title, select the Override heading level checkbox and choose one of the available heading options from the dropdown.

Footnote

Footnotes provide additional information, such as sources, bibliographical details, explanations, expansions on a specific idea, or background context. Keep in mind that footnotes are typically smaller and lighter in text, so avoid making them too long, as they can become hard to read.

  1. In the Additional Content section, check the box next to Footnote.

  2. At the bottom of the chart, click the footnote field.

  3. Enter the footnote.

    Charts let you format the footnote text. You can make the entire title—or just part of it—bold or italic, turn it into a hyperlink, and adjust the alignment. Advanced heading settings are available in the theme editor. Check out our [theme guide] for full details.

Overlay screen

Writing a title and an introductory sentence isn’t always enough to explain your chart. Overlay text, as the name suggests, appears on a screen over the chart. You can use it to provide additional information, general tips, or guidance to help readers navigate the chart. There are two types available:

Help

The Help overlay is triggered when a user clicks the help icon at the top of the chart. Here’s how to set up a Help overlay screen.

  1. In the Additional Content section, select the checkbox for Include overlay screen to enable the overlay.

  2. From the Type of overlay dropdown, select Help.

  3. In the chart preview, click the help icon .

  4. Click the Overlay text field and enter the text you want to display.

  5. Click X to apply the changes and return to your chart.

Intro screen

The intro screen is automatically displayed when your chart is loaded.

  1. In the Additional Content section, select the checkbox for Include overlay screen to enable the overlay.

  2. From the Type of overlay dropdown, select Intro screen.

  3. In the chart preview, click the help icon .

  4. Click the Overlay text field and enter the text you want to display.

  5. Click X to apply the changes and return to your chart.

Intro screen is displayed when the chart loads. You can reopen it by clicking the help icon at the top of the chart.

Alternative text

Adding alternative text to your chart is an important aspect of web accessibility. Screen readers used by visually impaired audiences rely on this text to understand the context and message of your chart. It is also displayed if the chart fails to load in the browser. Let’s take a look at how to add alternative text to your chart:

  1. In the Additional Content section, locate the Alternative text section.

  2. Type the text into the alt text field.

  3. Click away to apply the changes.

Accessible title

Adding accessible yitle to your charts helps screen readers to identify the chart and improve accessibility. If left empty, the chart name will be used by default. Let’s take a look at how to add accessible title to your chart:

  1. In the Additional Content section, locate the Accessible title section.

  2. Enter a title in the accessible title field.

  3. Click away to apply the changes.