A chart is a graphical representation of data. Charts are particularly useful for summarizing numeric data and showing the relationship between sets of values called series. For example, a chart can show sales by region or profits by product line.
Because a chart presents a picture, it reveals trends that are not as apparent if a cross tab presents the same data. Figure 6-1 shows an example of a cross tab and a column chart displaying sales revenue data. The chart shows instantly the sales trend for the year without your having to look at the numbers.
In a cross tab that contains hierarchical data, use Data Analyzer to drill down to view the most detailed data. Then, display the cross-tab data as a chart. Data Analyzer supports editing the chart to display any hierarchy level you want to analyze. For example, after expanding the cross tab in Figure 6-1 to display the year, quarter, and month levels, you can display the data in a chart and edit the chart to display the summary values for 2004, quarterly values, or the detail values for the twelve months of 2004.
