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What you can do with charts

When you open a model input in a scenario, you can now see it as a chart as well as a table. Charts let you:
  • Check your inputs at a glance. Spot a missing year, a gap, or a value that’s out by an order of magnitude without scanning rows.
  • Compare your values with the defaults. Plot your data and the model defaults together to see exactly where they differ.
  • Break the data down. Split the chart by technology, node or any other column to compare them side by side.
  • See edits straight away. The chart updates as you change values in the table, before you save.
  • Explore large inputs in full. Zoom into hourly profiles and other busy inputs without any of the data being cut off.

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Choosing a view

Use the Table / Split / Chart toggle on the left of the table toolbar.
  • Table shows the input table on its own.
  • Split shows the table and the chart side by side. Drag the divider between them to change how much space each gets.
  • Chart shows the chart on its own. Any filters you set on the table still apply.
On narrow screens the toggle shows icons only. Hover over an icon to see its name. Scenario Builder remembers the view you chose, and where you left the divider, the next time you open an input.

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Setting up the chart

The controls along the top of the chart panel set what is plotted and how. Choose between bar, horizontal bar, line and area. Hover over each icon for a short description.
  • Default plots the default data that comes with the model.
  • User plots the values you have entered. Rows where you haven’t entered a value are left out.
  • Both plots default and user data next to each other in the same chart, so you can see where your values differ from the defaults.
Select Axes to choose what goes where.
OptionWhat it does
ColumnsThe column to plot along the category axis, for example year or technology.
Group by (optional)Splits each chart into separate series, for example one per technology. On bar and area charts, groups are stacked.
Facet (optional)Splits the view into one chart per value, for example one chart per node.
AggregationHow rows that share a category are combined into one value: Average, Sum, Minimum or Maximum.
You can’t use the same column for more than one of Columns, Group by and Facet. To clear Group by or Facet, remove the selection. To go back to the starting options for this input, select Reset in the Axes panel.

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How the chart follows the table

  • Filters: the chart only includes the rows that match the table’s current filters.
  • Sort: the order along the category axis follows the table’s sort.
  • Unsaved edits: when you edit a value in the table, the chart updates straight away. You don’t need to save first.
  • Units: values in different units are never plotted on the same axis. If an input has more than one unit (for example MWh and USD), you’ll see a separate chart for each.

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Zooming in on busy charts

Some inputs have hundreds or thousands of categories, for example hourly profiles. Rather than cutting the data short, the chart shows all of it and lets you zoom in.
  • Click and drag across the chart to zoom in on that area.
  • Hover over the chart to show the zoom buttons.
  • Scrolling over a chart scrolls the page. It doesn’t zoom.
Charts with lots of categories also show a navigator: a small overview strip under the chart that you can drag to move around. Horizontal bar charts don’t have a navigator.

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Comparing facets

When you facet a chart, the charts are set up so you can compare them by eye.
  • Every chart shows the same categories in the same order. If a facet has no data for a category, it shows a gap.
  • Charts in the same unit share the same value range, so bars of the same height mean the same value.
  • Charts in the same unit zoom together. Zoom into one and the others follow.
If a chart scrolls into view after you’ve zoomed, it opens zoomed out. Zoom again and it’ll catch up with the others. To keep the page responsive, the chart panel shows at most 40 charts and [12 or 100 – TBC] groups per chart. If your choice would create more than that, the first ones are shown and a notice tells you some were left out. To see the rest, filter the table to narrow down the rows, or pick a column with fewer values.

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Hourly inputs: Time series

Hourly inputs store time in two columns: a year part (such as jan01) and a day part (such as 00h30-00h45-utc). For these inputs, Columns offers a Time series option, which combines the two and plots the data on a real time axis.
  • If your data covers more than one year, each year is kept separate.
  • Coarser periods, such as a whole year, a range like mar-may or a named part of the day, are shown in order as named periods.

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Resetting filters and sorting

When a filter or sort is active on the table, a [Reset – check label] button appears on the toolbar. Select it to clear every filter and sort in one go. The button only appears when something is filtered or sorted, so it’s also a quick way to tell that the table isn’t showing every row. This works whether or not you’re using the chart.