Configuring Multi-Line Timeline Pivot Charts

Use the Pivot chart Line visualization to create multi-line timeline charts that compare trends across categories or multiple metrics over time. Line charts display data points connected by lines to show changes over time, helping you identify patterns, trends, and anomalies in your asset data.

The Line visualization supports two configuration modes:

• Dimension-based segmentation - Create one line per dimension value to compare trends across categories such as OS type, asset status, or location.
• Multi-measure comparison - Display multiple metrics on the same time axis to compare different measurements.

📘

Note

You can segment by dimension or use multiple measures, but not both at the same time.

Configuring a Multi-Line Chart by Multiple Dimensions

Use dimension segmentation to compare how different asset categories trend over time. For example, track device counts by operating system type or vulnerability severity levels over the past 30 days.

To configure a dimension-segmented timeline chart:

1. On any editable dashboard, click Add Chart or edit an existing chart.

2. In the Name field, enter a descriptive name for the chart.

3. From the Widget list, select Pivot Chart.

4. Under Visualization, select Line.

5. Under Data, select an asset module and the query that will define which assets to include.

6. Under Schema, select whether to use current or historical data:

   • Latest data - Use data from the latest fetch.
   • Data over time (snapshots) - Use data from historical snapshots.

7. Under Dimension Column, select the time field that determines the x-axis:

   • For Latest data, select a date field such as Last Seen or Created.
   • For Data over time (snapshots), the system automatically sets this to Data over time.
   • Click (Edit) to configure display options, such as time aggregation (Day, Week, Month, Quarter, or Year).

     • In Aggregate by, select an aggregation time period: Day, Week, Month Quarter, or Year. Query results for weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly time periods are aggregated based on the average values for the selected time period. Each data point for weekly aggregation is the average of all daily values since the last weekly period. And each data point for the monthly aggregation is the average of all daily values since the last monthly period. You can choose to exclude date ranges from the displayed range. The legend reflects the time period selected.

       📘

       Note:

       On the daily aggregation chart, you can click through to the asset list.

       
       

8. Under Dimension Row, select the field that will create separate lines. Each unique value creates one line on the chart. Up to 20 lines can be displayed. When you segment by a field that has more 20 values, only see top 20 are displayed.

   • Example: Select OS: Type to create one line per operating system.
   • Example: Select Status to create one line per status value.

9. Under Metrics, select the field whose value is measured and the calculation function:

   • Count - Count the number of assets
   • Sum - Total sum of values
   • Average - Calculate the average value
   • Median - Calculate the median value

10. Under Calculation, configure these options:

    • Use historical data - See Using Historical Data.
    • Include entities with no value - Enable to include assets without a value for the selected dimension.

11. Under Presentation, configure these options:

    • Y-axis settings - Set minimum and maximum values for the y-axis.
    • Show title - Enable to display the chart title.

12. Click Save.

📘

Note

When a dimension has more than 20 unique values, the chart displays only the top 20 segments based on aggregated metric values. A message appears: "Only top 20 lines/values will be presented."

Configuring a Multi-Line Chart by Multiple Measures

Use multi-measure charts to compare different metrics on the same timeline. For example, compare the total device count, active devices, and devices that need updates over the same time period.

To configure a multi-measure timeline chart:

1. On any editable dashboard, click Add Chart or edit an existing chart.

2. In the Name field, enter a descriptive name for the chart.

3. From the Widget list, select Pivot Chart.

4. Under Visualization, select Line.

5. Under Data, select an asset module and the query that will define which assets to include.

6. Under Schema, select whether to use current or historical data.

   • Latest data - Use data from the latest fetch.
   • Data over time (snapshots) - Use data from historical snapshots.

7. Under Dimension Column, select the time field that determines the x-axis.

8. Leave Dimension Row empty. Multi-measure charts don't support dimension segmentation.

9. Under Metrics, add multiple measures:

   • Click + Add to add additional measures.
   • Select different fields to compare, such as asset counts, vulnerability scores, or software installation counts.
   • Select a calculation function for each measure.
   • Assign a color to each measure by clicking the color picker.

10. Configure Calculation and Presentation settings as described above.

11. Click Save.

Working with Timeline Charts

Once you create the chart:

• Hover over data points - View detailed information about each data point in a tooltip.
• Click on data points - Open the relevant asset page showing the assets represented by that data point.
• Export to CSV - Select Export to CSV from the chart menu to export the timeline data.

📘

Note

Timeline charts may show partial data if historical snapshots are disabled. See Configuring Retention Settings for more information.

Setting Y-axis Min/Max Values

To control the scale of the y-axis:

1. Under Presentation, and Y-axis settings.

2. For the minimum value:

   • Enable Min and enter a value to set a fixed minimum.
   • Disable Min to automatically calculate the minimum based on data.

3. For the maximum value:

   • Enable Max and enter a value to set a fixed maximum.
   • Disable Max to automatically calculate the maximum based on data.

Setting fixed y-axis values makes it easier to compare charts with similar data ranges.

Example: Tracking Devices by Operating System

This example shows how to create a multi-line chart that tracks the number of devices for each operating system type over the past 30 days.

1. Click Add Chart and enter "Devices by OS Type - 30 Days" as the name.

2. Select Pivot Chart as the widget and Line as the visualization.

3. Under Data, select Devices as the module and choose your query.

4. Under Schema, select Latest data.

5. Under Dimension Column, select Last Seen and configure time aggregation to Day.

6. Under Dimension Row, select OS: Type.

7. Under Metrics, select Assets with the Count function.

8. Configure Presentation settings and click Save.

The chart displays one line for each operating system type, showing how device counts change over time.