Highcharts 6 (and its siblings Highstock and Highmaps) is out, offering web and mobile developers an expanded collection of charts, client-side analytics, annotations, and a massive performance boost.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n Highcharts 5 represented a major upgrade, when it was\u00a0released\u00a0<\/a>a year ago. With version 6, our growing engineering team has churned out yet a monumental release, building on, and extending past improvements.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Vast, expanding chart collection<\/b><\/p>\n Highcharts 6<\/i>\u00a0boasts 15 new series types, which are available to Highstock customers as well. By popular request these include:\u00a0Sankey diagram<\/a>,\u00a0Stream graph<\/a>,\u00a0Sunburst<\/a>,\u00a0Variwide Charts<\/a>,\u00a0Parallel coordinates<\/a>,\u00a0Variable radius pie<\/a>,\u00a0Vector plot<\/a>,\u00a0Wind-barbs<\/a>,\u00a0X-range<\/a>, and more. Additional chart types, including Venn diagram and Marimekko charts, will be released over the next few months.<\/p>\n Annotations are standard, legacy support is optional<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n We have further streamlined our codebase by separating support for Internet Explorer 6 through 8 into an optional module. Modern appointments, such as our redesigned\u00a0annotations module<\/a>, is now part of the Highcharts and Highstock core. With annotations, developers may describe charts or data points by drawing simple shapes and text anywhere on the canvas or tethered to specific data points. It is also straightforward to extend the module with new annotation types and capabilities.<\/p>\n Our unique approach to responsive design continues with the addition of\u00a0responsive series labels<\/i>, which positions annotations next to the data they are describing. It uses an advanced algorithm to find the most legible label position, giving the chart an organic feel as if a designer placed the annotations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n New Boost Module<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n nvas to WebGL, thereby leveraging GPU acceleration when available. A typical modern computer.<\/p>\n Maintaining accessibility leadership<\/b><\/p>\n In partnership with browser manufacturers, publishers, academia, and accessibility trade groups, our leading approach to accessible SVG has continued to evolve. The Highcharts\u00a0Accessibility module<\/a>\u00a0enables users of screen reader technologies to explore charts via intuitive keyboard navigation, with data and labels vocalized via voice synthesis. The module also auto-generates an information-region with key statistics and information about the chart, allowing visually impaired users to better understand the nature and scope of the data. Chart creators may also customize descriptions for specific chart elements.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Highstock<\/b><\/p>\n Highstock is getting a significant capability upgrade with the introduction of\u00a0client side analytics<\/i>, making it easy to create Numerous usability enhancements have been made, such as the ability to manipulate the\u00a0panes\u2019 proportions<\/a>\u00a0inside a chart by simple drag-and-drop. We have extended the functionality of the\u00a0navigator<\/i><\/a>, improved placement options for the\u00a0range selector<\/i>,<\/a>\u00a0as well as implemented\u00a0unlimited panning<\/i>\u00a0capabilities. Also included is support for\u00a0overscroll<\/i>, which lets you add space between your last point and the chart boundary, a useful feature for when you have real-time data that auto-updates. Highstock also includes the aforementioned\u00a0annotations module.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Highmaps<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Version 6 of the Highcharts suite of products are now available for\u00a0download\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0purchase<\/a>.<\/p>\n You may also explore live demos of\u00a0Highcharts<\/a>,\u00a0Highstock<\/a>, and\u00a0Highmaps<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-assets.highcharts.com\/www-highcharts-com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/06111907\/rocket.png\")
Big data analytics call for modern approaches to dealing with large datasets in the browser. To this end we have rewrittenour\u00a0Boost module<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0render a million points in a record half-a-second f<\/i>or supported chart types, which include\u00a0line series<\/i>,\u00a0<\/i>scatter<\/i><\/a>, bubble,\u00a0<\/i>column<\/i>,\u00a0<\/i>bar<\/i>,\u00a0<\/i>treemap<\/i>,\u00a0<\/i>heatmap<\/i>,\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0area<\/i>. The boost module works in tandem with the standard SVG renderer, so that when zooming in, the SVG renderer takes over when it makes sense for it to do so.<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
Additional enhancements to Highstock and Highmaps<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-assets.highcharts.com\/www-highcharts-com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/06112032\/webserver.png\")
<\/a>browser-based financial data visualization applications with less work. Out of the box, 20 popular\u00a0technical indicators<\/i><\/a>\u00a0are supported, including\u00a0SMA, MACD, CCI, RSI, Stochastic, Bollinger Bands, Pivot Points, PSAR, and Ichimoku Kinko Hy<\/i>o. Developers may create their own custom indicators with minimal effort.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-assets.highcharts.com\/www-highcharts-com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/06112135\/highmap.png\")
<\/a>Highmaps sports the new\u00a0Tilemap<\/i><\/a>\u00a0chart type, where maps are \u201cpixelated\u201d by\u00a0hexagon<\/a>,\u00a0circle<\/a>,\u00a0square<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0diamond<\/a>\u00a0shapes. A Tilemap lets the chart creator represent things like city, state or country in uniformly sized \u201ctiles\u201d. Equalizing the relative size difference between geographical regions allows for easier navigational access to smaller geographical areas, whilst removing visual bias of proportionally sized regions. This new chat type is complemented with a WYSIWYG Tilemap generator application, which allows developers to transform maps from the Highmaps collection into custom Tilemaps. You may also generate custom Tileshapes and Tilemaps manually, as exemplified\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n