What's With These Bar Chart Values?

Okay, It is Dave Parrish at Knack Builders. Let’s dive in. This week I ran into something interesting while working with a client’s data, and I figured it’s worth sharing. It’s one of those things that seems confusing at first glance but makes more sense once you dig into it. If you've ever wrestled with charts, pivot tables, or lead source data—this one’s for you.

The Mysterious Chart Values

So, I was reviewing a bar chart that was supposed to display lead sources for a client—simple enough, right? It had the usual suspects: "Walk-in," "Yard Sign," "Yelp"… and then suddenly, these numbers: 30, 31, 32. My first reaction? What are these values?! They didn’t match anything we were tracking.

Turns out, the chart was pulling in unexpected values that didn’t reflect actual lead sources. Right next to this chart was a pivot table doing the exact same thing—but with correct and familiar labels like "Drive By Walk-in," "Valpak Direct," and even "Valpak Wyoming." So why the discrepancy?

The Real Culprit: Missing Data in the Source Field

Here’s what I found: the multiple-choice field that populates the chart didn’t include those "missing" options anymore. My client had removed them from the form field. So, when the chart tried to visualize the data, it couldn’t find those entries—and instead of defaulting to text values (like a pivot table would), it left us with these weird placeholder numbers.

The fix? You’ve got two options:

1. Reintroduce the missing choices in the multiple-choice field, so the system recognizes them again.

2. Consolidate them under a broader category—like combining all “Valpak” sources into a generic “Valpak” option.

   
   

Testing It in Knack's Next-Gen

Now I wanted to see how Next-Gen handles the same scenario. So I switched to the Next-Gen interface, and here’s what happened.

First off, Next-Gen doesn’t support pivot tables (yet). So instead of a pivot, it automatically created a chart to display the data. I also tried manually recreating the chart, and both versions behaved the same way.

But something odd came up…

The “Others” Grouping Mystery

In the Next-Gen chart, I noticed that it starts listing lead sources from somewhere in the middle—"Fire Starter" to be exact. Everything before that is missing, and everything after a certain point is grouped under “Others.” That was confusing.

It seems like there’s some internal limit to how many categories the chart will display before it lumps the rest together. I dug through the chart settings—layout, data display, everything—and I couldn’t find any controls related to this behavior. I even checked if it was tied to the chart’s height. Still no luck.

I’ve submitted a support ticket to Mac about this, so I’ll keep you posted.

What’s Up with the Sorting?

Another quirk: the lead sources weren’t in alphabetical order.

I toggled the group settings, changed the sort from A-Z and back, saved it multiple times—nothing worked. It’s supposed to sort alphabetically, but the chart just doesn’t respond. Again, I’ve flagged this one to Knack's support as well.

It’s a small example, but it highlights how even basic charts can become tricky when your data source changes. Hopefully, this helps someone out there who's scratching their head at their dashboard. I’ll report back once I hear from Knack on the open issues.

Thanks for sticking around!

Interested in my Knack database services? ... Book a call with me here: https://calendly.com/daveparrish/callwithdave 

For more on Knack's charts and reporting, see: https://learn.knack.com/article/6g6sck6aam-reporting-dashboards