Slope – an overview

What is it for?

With our Flourish slope chart template, you can create engaging and easily digestible charts that track how different values have changed over time. 

Excellent for big-picture metrics, slope charts are especially useful for comparing the difference in values such as population, income, or wealth.

1

The first thing you need is a CSV or Excel file of your data in the correct format. This chart type uses a  wide data structure. Meaning, that you would have your labels/series in a single column, and separate value columns for your various periods of time. 

You can then bind all  value columns to the Value setting in the editor.

Country	1975	2000	2012
United Kingdom	16	22	40
Australia	14	24	39
Russia	7	28	40.5

2

First, we upload our dataset.

And we proceed to bind the columns to the data bindings.

You can add an optional column for Filter, Category or Grid of charts. In the example above, these are the different continents.

3

In the Slopes settings, a host of customization options are available. You can set the circle radius, slope width, and also different styling options for the line curves - straight, curved, or step.

Moreover, you can highlight certain slopes by writing their name in a separate line in the Highlight slopes text box.

4

Chart mode defines the type of ordering used in the slope chart:  Ranks, Scores or Percentage change.

The Scores mode shows the exact values.

 You can also choose between a descending or ascending sort mode. 

The ranks value mode can show how a category compares to others, depending on their before and after values.

 In case there is a tie, you can choose between different tie modes.

The % change value mode calculates the difference in percentages - quite useful in cases where entries in your dataset occupy a wide value spectrum.

5

The Labels settings offer powerful options for accommodating labels, especially when screen real estate comes at a premium.

With Slope name mode, you can choose if the labels should be displayed outside of the chart, inline or none at all. With Slope name position, you can choose on what size the slope name should be displayed.

NOTE: On smaller screens, Both will display at the start instead.

If you have opted for Slope highlights, you can show only them by turning on Only show highlighted options.

Max label width allows you to set the maximum label width, while Overlaps empowers you to either hide overlapping labels, spread them out or do nothing.

Distance sets the space between the slope and the label in rems.

Through the Text options, you can change the color, size, outline, weight, and outline width of the labels. To accommodate different label sizes, it is possible to change the line height as well as the maximum number of lines for each label.

It is also possible to opt for Connector lines, connecting the slopes with their labels. You can choose between a straight or step line, and set the width, length and padding.

 

In addition, under the  Chart settings, you can choose which categories should be highlighted by default.  

6

In the Animations settings, you can set the duration of the animation, in milliseconds, between slope transitions in a story.