Widget Types Reference

clariBI offers 24+ widget types for dashboard visualization. This reference covers each type with its use case and configuration options.

Simple Widgets

Lightweight widgets best for displaying single values or progress indicators.

Metric Card

Displays a single numeric value with optional comparison to a previous period. Use for KPIs like total revenue, active users, or conversion rate.

• Best for: single headline numbers
• Configuration: metric field, aggregation, format (number/currency/percentage), comparison period
• Example: "Total Revenue: $142,500 (+12.3% vs last month)"

Gauge

A circular dial showing a value relative to a target or range. Use for progress tracking, capacity monitoring, or satisfaction scores.

• Best for: progress toward a target
• Configuration: current value, min/max range, target value, color zones (green/yellow/red)
• Example: NPS score at 72 out of 100, with green zone above 60

Bullet Chart

A compact bar showing actual value vs. target with qualitative ranges. A space-efficient alternative to gauges.

• Best for: comparing actual performance to targets in a compact space
• Configuration: actual value, target value, range thresholds (poor/satisfactory/good)

Standard Charts

The workhorses of most dashboards.

Bar Chart

Vertical or horizontal bars comparing values across categories. The most common chart type for categorical comparisons.

• Best for: comparing values across categories (products, regions, time periods)
• Variants: vertical, horizontal, stacked, grouped
• Configuration: category axis, value axis, aggregation, sort, color scheme

Pie Chart

Circular chart showing proportions of a whole. Best limited to 5-7 slices.

• Best for: showing composition or market share
• Variants: standard pie, donut
• Limitation: hard to read with more than 7 categories. Use a bar chart instead for many categories.

Line Chart

Connected data points showing trends over time. Best for time series data.

• Best for: trends over time (daily, weekly, monthly)
• Variants: single line, multi-line (series comparison), with/without data points
• Configuration: time axis, value axis, line smoothing, fill area option

Area Chart

Like a line chart but with the area below the line filled in. Good for showing volume over time.

• Best for: volume or cumulative trends
• Variants: standard, stacked (shows composition over time)

Funnel Chart

Tapering bars showing stages of a process with progressive reduction. Classic for sales/conversion funnels.

• Best for: conversion funnels, pipeline stages
• Configuration: stage labels, values, show percentages between stages

Histogram

Bars showing frequency distribution of a numeric variable.

• Best for: understanding the distribution of values (order sizes, response times)
• Configuration: value field, bin count or bin width

Radar Chart

Multi-axis chart showing values across several dimensions. Good for comparing profiles.

• Best for: multi-dimensional comparison (skill assessments, product feature ratings)
• Configuration: dimension fields (3-8 recommended), value field, fill opacity

Waterfall Chart

Shows how a value builds up or breaks down through positive and negative contributions.

• Best for: financial breakdowns (revenue - costs = profit), variance analysis
• Configuration: categories, positive/negative values, starting value, total bar

Advanced Charts

For more specialized analysis needs.

Scatter Plot

Data points plotted on X/Y axes showing relationships between two variables.

• Best for: correlation analysis, identifying outliers
• Configuration: X field, Y field, optional size field, optional color field, trend line

Bubble Chart

Like a scatter plot but with a third dimension represented by bubble size.

• Best for: three-variable comparison (e.g., revenue vs. growth vs. market size)

Treemap

Nested rectangles showing hierarchical data as proportional areas.

• Best for: hierarchical composition (category > subcategory with values)

Box Plot

Statistical visualization showing median, quartiles, and outliers.

• Best for: comparing distributions across groups (salary ranges by department)

Violin Plot

Like a box plot but shows the full distribution shape using kernel density.

• Best for: detailed distribution comparison when box plots lack detail

Candlestick Chart

Shows open/high/low/close values for time periods. Traditional financial chart.

• Best for: financial/stock data, price movement analysis

Complex Widgets

Complex widgets that provide powerful data visualization.

Heatmap

Color-coded matrix showing values across two dimensions.

• Best for: identifying patterns in two-dimensional data (day of week vs. hour, product vs. region)
• Configuration: row dimension, column dimension, value field, color gradient

Table

Tabular data display with sorting, filtering, and pagination.

• Best for: detailed data exploration, when exact values matter more than visual patterns
• Configuration: columns, sort order, pagination (10/25/50/100 rows), conditional formatting

Sunburst Chart

Multi-level pie chart showing hierarchical data from center outward.

• Best for: multi-level hierarchical composition (region > country > city)

Sankey Diagram

Flow diagram showing how values move between stages or categories.

• Best for: flow analysis (traffic sources > pages > conversions, budget allocation)

Network Graph

Nodes and edges showing relationships between entities.

• Best for: relationship mapping, dependency visualization

Parallel Coordinates

Multiple vertical axes with lines connecting data points across dimensions.

• Best for: comparing many variables simultaneously, identifying clusters

Choropleth Map

Geographic map with regions colored by data values.

• Best for: geographic data (sales by state, users by country)

Choosing the Right Widget

Quick decision guide:

You Want To Show	Use This Widget
A single headline number	Metric Card
Progress toward a goal	Gauge or Bullet Chart
Compare categories	Bar Chart
Trend over time	Line or Area Chart
Proportions of a whole	Pie Chart (under 7 items) or Treemap
Conversion pipeline	Funnel Chart
Correlation between variables	Scatter Plot
Exact data values	Table
Geographic distribution	Choropleth Map
Flow between stages	Sankey Diagram

Related

• Dashboard Builder
• AI Chart Recommendations
• Dashboard Templates