What is a gauge chart?

A gauge chart shows a single number as a needle position on a dial, like a speedometer. It takes exactly one measure and no dimension at all - unlike a KPI card, which can optionally break a number down by a dimension for a trend line, a gauge always shows one static needle reading.

Why does the needle always seem to land in the middle of the dial?

By default, the dial's minimum is 0 and its maximum is set to twice the current value, so the needle always rests exactly at the midpoint regardless of what the number actually is. This is the same default convention used by Power BI, Tableau, Looker, and Qlik. It means the default dial range carries no real meaning about good or bad - it is a visual default, not a target range. Set Min and Max manually in Gauge Values if you want the needle position to reflect a real range, like 0 to a quota.

Can I show a target on the dial?

Yes. Gauge Values has a Target field that adds a second, thin marker on the same dial at the value you set. It renders independently of the main needle, so you can see both the current value and the target position at once without a separate chart.

Can a gauge chart be split by category, like region or product?

No. A gauge chart accepts no dimension field at all - only a single measure. A single needle cannot honestly represent a per-category breakdown. To compare a metric across categories, use a bar chart instead.

What do the dial's colors mean?

The dial's color band is drawn from your chart's color palette, split into even segments around the arc - for example, two colors render as two halves, three colors as three thirds. There is no built-in 'safe, warning, critical' logic tied to the data; the color zones are visual segments of the palette, not thresholds the system calculates for you. To approximate a warning-zone gauge, choose a palette ordered from your 'good' color to your 'bad' color and set Min and Max to the range that makes the zones meaningful.

How is the center number formatted?

Gauge Values controls the center value independently from the axis labels around the dial - each has its own Number Type, Display Unit, and Decimal Places. This means the center value can show as a rounded '4.2M' while the axis labels around the dial show plain thousands, or any other independent combination.

When should I use a KPI card instead of a gauge?

Use a KPI card when you want a trend line, a previous-value comparison, or the option to assign a dimension. Use a gauge when the question is specifically 'where does this number fall in a range' and a dial reads better than a number with a trend line - typically scores, utilization percentages, or progress toward a fixed target.

Gauge Chart | Edilitics Docs

Show a single number as a needle on a dial, optionally with a target marker. Best for one figure that needs to read as good, bad, or in-between.

A gauge chart shows a single number as a needle on a dial, the way a speedometer shows speed. Drop exactly one numeric field into Row. No dimension field is allowed - a gauge is a one-needle reading, not a per-category breakdown. Use it when a single figure needs to read instantly as low, mid, or high on some range, not just as a number on its own.

When to Use

A gauge chart answers "where does this number fall in a range" - capacity utilization, a score out of 100, progress toward a fixed target. The needle position and the optional color band do the communicating; the exact number is secondary, shown small in the center. This is a narrower job than a KPI card's: a gauge never shows a trend line or a dimension breakdown, only a single static reading.

The default dial range is not a target range. Without a manual Min and Max, the dial runs from 0 to twice the current value, so the needle always lands at the visual midpoint no matter what the number actually is. This matches the Power BI / Tableau / Looker / Qlik convention, but it means an unconfigured gauge tells you nothing about whether the number is good or bad - only a deliberately set Min and Max does that.

Switch to a different chart when:

You want a trend line or a previous-value comparison alongside the number - use a KPI Card
You need the same measure broken down by category - use Horizontal Bar
You need the exact figures in a list, not a dial reading - use Text Table

Scenario	Measure	Suggested Min / Max
Support ticket SLA compliance	% tickets resolved within SLA	0 to 100
Sales quota attainment this quarter	Revenue closed	0 to quota amount
Server capacity utilization	% CPU or storage used	0 to 100
NPS score	Net Promoter Score	-100 to 100
Budget consumed against allocation	Amount spent	0 to total budget

Required Inputs

Field	Type	Count
Dimension	Not allowed	0
Measure	Numeric	Exactly 1

For step-by-step build instructions, see Build Your First Chart.

Formatting Options

The Format tab unlocks after the measure field is assigned.

Style

Use the chart title to state what the gauge is measuring, since the dial itself shows only a number with no field name visible by default.

Control	What it does
Show Chart Title	Shows or hides the title.
Enter Chart Title	Title text. Maximum 50 characters.
Font family	Font applied to the title.
Font size	5 to 30.
Bold / Italic	Weight and style.
Alignment	Left, center, or right within the chart container.

Gauge Styles controls the two ring widths that make up the dial: the colored progress arc and the needle.

Control	What it does
Progress Width	1 to 30. Thickness of the colored arc that fills toward the needle's value.
Pointer Width	1 to 15. Thickness of the needle itself.

Gauge Values is where you set the dial's actual range and target, and style the center number and its title label.

Control	What it does
Min	Dial minimum. Blank auto-fits to 0. Setting a value fixes the dial start and stops it tracking the default.
Max	Dial maximum. Blank auto-fits to twice the current value, the default that puts the needle at the midpoint. Setting a value fixes the dial end against a real range, like a quota or 100%.
Target	Optional second marker on the dial at this value, independent of the main needle. Blank shows no target marker.
Number Type	Default or Decimal, for the center value.
Display Unit	Auto, None, Thousand, Million, or Billion, for the center value. Auto picks a unit based on the dial's max.
Decimal Places	0 to 6, for the center value.
Font Family / Color / Font size / Bold / Italic	Styling for the center number. Font size 10 to 40.
Show Title	Shows or hides a small label below the center value (separate from Chart Title above it).
Title Font Family / Color / Font size / Bold / Italic	Styling for that label. Font size 8 to 24.
Title text case	Uppercase, lowercase, or capitalize for the label text.

Center value formatting (Number Type, Display Unit, Decimal Places) is entirely independent from the axis label formatting in Gauge Axis Labels below it - the two can show different units at the same time, for example a rounded center value next to plain-number axis ticks.

Gauge Axis Labels controls the numbers printed around the dial's arc, and the tick marks alongside them - separately from the center value.

Control	What it does
Number Type	Default or Decimal, for the numbers around the arc.
Display Unit	Auto, None, Thousand, Million, or Billion, for the numbers around the arc.
Decimal Places	0 to 6, for the numbers around the arc.
Font Family / Color / Font size / Bold / Italic	Styling for the axis numbers. Font size 8 to 20.
Show Split Lines	Shows or hides the major tick lines around the arc.
Split Line style / color	Solid, dashed, or dotted, with its own color.
Show Minor Ticks	Shows or hides the smaller tick marks between major split lines.
Minor tick style / color	Solid, dashed, or dotted, with its own color.

The tooltip appears on hover over the dial, showing the measure's name and its exact value.

Control	What it does
Show Tooltip	Shows or hides the tooltip entirely.
Header / value text styling	Font, size, and color for the name and value lines shown in the tooltip.

Animation controls the needle's transition when the chart first renders or the value changes.

Control	What it does
Enable Animation	Turns the needle's transition animation on or off. Enabled by default.
Duration	0 to 3000ms. How long the needle takes to settle on its value. Defaults to 500ms.
Delay	0 to 2000ms. How long the needle waits before starting its transition.
Easing Function	The transition curve - Linear, or one of several In/Out/In-Out variants (Quad, Cubic, Sine, Exponential, Circular, Elastic, Back, Bounce). Defaults to Cubic Out.

Emphasis controls the dial's visual response on hover - a scale-up effect and a drop shadow. It has no effect until enabled; the dial does not react to hover by default.

Control	What it does
Show Emphasis	Turns hover effects on. Off by default.
Focus Type	Item, Series, or None. With only one needle on a gauge, this has little visible effect - it matters more on multi-series chart types.
Enable Scale	Scales the dial up slightly on hover. On by default once Emphasis is enabled.
Scale Size	1.0x to 2.0x. How much the dial enlarges on hover, when Enable Scale is on.
Shadow Blur	0 to 30px. Blur radius of the hover drop shadow.
Shadow Color	Color of the hover drop shadow.
Shadow Offset X / Y	-20 to 20px each. Position offset of the drop shadow.
Border Width	0 to 10px. Border added around the dial on hover.

Enable the Toolbox when viewers need to export the gauge or inspect its underlying data.

Control	What it does
Show Toolbox	Shows or hides the toolbox icon bar.
Save as Image	Adds a download icon that saves the gauge as a PNG.
Data View	Adds an icon that opens the underlying data table in a separate view.

Best Practices

Set Min and Max deliberately - the default tells you nothing. An unconfigured gauge always shows the needle at the midpoint because Max defaults to twice the current value. If the dial is meant to communicate "good" or "bad," set Min and Max to a real range (0 to 100 for a percentage, 0 to quota for a sales target) in Gauge Values.

Use Target only when there's a real fixed number to mark. The Target field adds a second marker on the dial - it's most useful for a specific number like a quota or SLA threshold, not as a substitute for setting Max correctly. A gauge with both a deliberate Max and a Target communicates more clearly than one relying on either alone.

Choose palette colors in the order they should appear around the arc. The dial's color band follows your configured palette order around the arc, split into even segments - there's no automatic red/yellow/green threshold logic. If you want a "danger to safe" reading, order the palette colors that way and set Min/Max to match.

Don't reach for a gauge when you need a trend. A gauge shows one static reading with no history. If "is this number moving in the right direction" is the real question, a KPI Card with a trend line answers it better than a gauge ever can.

Keep the title focused on what's being measured, not the range. Since the dial communicates range visually, use Chart Title for the metric name ("SLA Compliance") and let Min/Max and the optional Target communicate the range itself.

FAQs

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Gauge Chart