Understanding Highcharts

To understand how Highcharts works, it is important to understand the various parts, or concepts, of a chart.

The image below describes the main concepts in a chart.

Title

Text that describes the chart. Usually located at the top of the chart.

See Title and subtitle for more information.

Series

One or more series of data presented on the chart.

See Series for more information.

Tooltip

When hovering over a series or a point on the chart, you can get a tooltip that describes the values in that particular part of the chart.

See Tooltip for more information.

Legend

The legend shows the data series in the chart and allows you to enable and disable one or more series.

See Legend for more information.

Axes

Most charts, like the typical cartesian line chart and the column chart, have two axes to measure and categorize data: a vertical axis (y-axis) and a horizontal axis (x-axis). 3D charts have a third axis, a depth axis (z-axis). Polar charts, also known as radar charts, only have one axis that spans around the perimeter of the chart. Gauge charts, also known as speedometer charts, can even have a single value axis. Pie charts, however, have no axes.

See Axes for more information.