# Chord Plume: 9 use cases for readable chord diagrams

> Excel matrix, many names, arrows per direction, arc order, play axis, two half circles, net balance, groups and highlight: the Chord Plume recipes.

- Language: English
- Web page: https://plumevisuals.com/en/tutorials/chord-plume-cas-pratiques
- Published: 2026-10-21
- Visual: Chord Plume, technical reference: https://plumevisuals.com/ai/visuals/chord.md
- If an option name in this tutorial differs from the technical reference, the reference is right (it is generated from the visual's code).

These recipes reuse the `Moves` table and the `People moving` measure from the [getting started](/en/tutorials/chord-plume-prise-en-main) page. Recipes marked ★ use a premium feature: it works without a key, with the "Premium preview" watermark.

## How do I use a matrix (one column per destination)?

Your data comes from Excel as a crosstab: one row per team, one column per destination team.

1. Keep the table as it is: `Team`, `To Sales`, `To Marketing`, `To Product`…
2. Create one measure per column, **named after the destination**: `Sales = SUM ( 'Shared work'[To Sales] )`, `Marketing = SUM ( 'Shared work'[To Marketing] )`…
3. Drop `Team` into **From**, leave **To** empty and drop all the measures into **Value**.

Result: each measure becomes a destination; a team and a measure with the same name form a single arc.

## How do I keep a diagram readable with many names?

Beyond about fifteen names, ribbons tangle.

1. **Format › Layout › Names shown at most (the rest in « Others »)**: 10. The names that exchange the least (sent + received) are merged into the gray "Others" arc.
2. On a wide visual, **Format › Category labels › Placement**: *Horizontal, with a leader line*.
3. ★ To go further: **Format › Ribbons › Hide ribbons below (% of total) ★**: 1 or 2, and **Format › Layout › Arc order**: *Fewer crossings (partners side by side) ★*.

Result: an "Others" arc, labels lined up on the left and right; with the ★ settings, fewer ribbons and partners side by side.

## How do I show each direction with a ribbon and an arrow?

By default, one ribbon carries both directions (each end = what it sends). For a "who goes where" reading:

1. **Format › Layout › Flow direction**: *One ribbon per direction, with an arrow*.
2. Set **Format › Ribbons › Arrow length (px)** (10 by default).
3. **Format › Ribbons › Ribbon color**: *Origin* (each ribbon takes the color of the sender).

Result: two ribbons per pair, the arrow points to the destination; the arc measures what the name sends **and** receives.

> **Note:** With *Automatic*, the visual picks arrows by itself when a name only receives (otherwise it would have no arc).

## How do I set the order of the arcs?

1. **Format › Layout › Arc order**: *Custom (list)*.
2. **Custom order (separated by ;)**: `Île-de-France; Hauts-de-France; Grand Est; Brittany`. Case and accents are ignored; names missing from the list follow, largest first.
3. To follow a sort column of your model: *Data order (Sort by column)*.
4. **Start angle** (0 = top) and **Clockwise** place the first arc.

## How do I replay the years with the play axis ★?

1. Drop `Year` (or a month) into **Play axis ★**.
2. Use the play bar: ▶ / pause, slider, speed, loop; with the keyboard, the play bar answers the arrow keys and the space bar.
3. Arcs keep their place and color over all periods (order and Others computed on the whole data): only the widths move.

Result: you see flows grow or shrink from one period to the next; the tooltip gives the period and the change since the previous period.

## How do I put exporters and importers face to face ★?

When origins and destinations are different lists (exporting countries, importing continents; channels and products).

1. **Format › Layout › Shape**: *Two half circles (From on the left, To on the right) ★*.
2. **Arc order**: *Fewer crossings ★*.
3. For arrows, **Flow direction**: *One ribbon per direction, with an arrow*.

Result: origins on the left, destinations on the right, with no empty arc for a name that only sends or only receives.

## How do I see who gains and who loses ★?

1. **Format › Indicator ring › Ring around the arcs**: *Net balance (received − sent) ★*.
2. **Format › Layout › Arc order**: *Net balance (gainers first) ★*.
3. **Write the values (▲ ▼)**: on.

Result: a bar around each arc, ▲ in the style's favorable color when the name receives more than it sends, ▼ in the unfavorable color otherwise; a legend under the circle. Variant: *Sent and received* shows the share of each direction.

## How do I compare with a reference year ★?

1. With a field in **Play axis ★**, pick **Format › Indicator ring › Ring around the arcs**: *Change since the reference period ★*.
2. **Reference period**: *The previous period* or *The first period*.

Result: a ▲ ▼ bar around each arc gives the gap with the reference; the tooltip gives it in % too.

## How do I group countries by continent ★?

1. Add the origin continent and the destination continent to your data.
2. Drop them into **From group ★** and **To group ★**.
3. In **Format › Groups (hierarchy) ★**: **Space between groups (degrees)**, **Group color, shades for its names**, text size.

Result: the countries of a continent stay together, under an outer arc named after the continent.

> **Tip:** To isolate one or two names in a printed report, **Format › Ribbons › Highlight ★**: "China; India". The other ribbons step back, in PDF exports too.