Heatmap Plume: every field and setting of the heatmap

This page describes every field and every setting specific to Heatmap Plume. To learn step by step, start with the getting started guide; for recipes, see the use cases.

The visual's fields

Field	Required?	How many	What to drop	What it does	Example
Rows	No	1	A category column	One row of cells per value	Department, region, customer
Columns	No	1	A category column	One column of cells per value	Month, week, year
Date (calendar, day × hour)	No (yes without Rows and Columns)	1 (or a date hierarchy)	A date, a date-time or the date hierarchy	Alone: calendar, day × hour or year × month. With Rows: the columns	Sale date, timestamp
Value (color)	Yes (except with a Date)	1	A measure	The color and the written value of each cell	Revenue, number of calls
Size ★	No	1	A measure	The size of the cells (with Cells › Cell size › By the "Size" field)	Number of receipts
Reference ★	No	1	A measure	Colors the difference of each cell to this reference	Last year's revenue, target
Annotation ★	No	1	A measure or a text column	A marker in the cell and the text in the tooltip	Event, comment
Play axis ★	No	1	A year, a date or an ordered category	Animates the heatmap from one value to the next	Year
Small multiples ★	No	1	A category column	One small heatmap per value, same scale and order	Store
Tooltips	No	several	Measures	Extra lines in the tooltip	Average daily revenue
Dynamic format	No	several	Measures named card.setting	Drives a setting with DAX	title.text

Rows and Columns. Rows follow the model order (with Power BI's Sort by column); numbers and dates are sorted in ascending order. With only one of the two fields, the heatmap has a single column (or a single row).

Date. The heatmap type is chosen automatically (Format › Layout › Type › Automatic):

• days: a calendar;
• date-times (hours other than midnight): a day of week × hour grid;
• dates on the 1st of each month (or a hierarchy without the day): a year × month grid;
• with Rows: one column per day, month or year. With a Play axis ★ as well, monthly dates give the 12 months of the year.

The Power BI date hierarchy (Year, Quarter, Month, Day) is recognized: no need to switch to "Date".

Value (color). With a Date but no measure, each cell counts its rows (orders per day and hour, for example). Several rows in the same cell (calendar from date-times, day × hour) are combined by Format › Layout › Several values in a cell: sum, average, minimum, maximum or count of rows.

Blank cells. A cell without a value is hatched (grayed in the calendar) and called "Blank" in the legend and the tooltip: it is never mistaken for a zero.

Tooltips and Dynamic format: see the Plume basics.

The Format pane settings

The cards shared by every Plume visual (Plume Studio License, Style, Tooltips, Title, Source note, Frame, Language and numbers) and the two basic settings of the Interactions card are described in the common basics. Here are the cards specific to Heatmap Plume, in the order of the pane. Color and text settings have the fx button: a measure or a rule can drive them.

Layout

The heatmap type and how cells that group several rows are calculated (formerly the "Heatmap" card: existing reports keep their settings).

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Type	Automatic: Rows / Columns give a grid; a Date alone gives a calendar (days), a day × hour grid (date-times) or a year × month grid (months).	Automatic (from the fields) · Grid: rows × columns · Calendar (a Date field) · Day of week × hour (date-time)
Shape	Radial: the columns (hours, months) go around the circle and the rows become rings.	Grid · Radial (columns around a circle) ★
Center hole (% of the radius)	Size of the hole in the middle of the radial heatmap. (shown when Shape = Radial (columns around a circle))	28 (0 to 80)
Several values in a cell	Day × hour and calendar: how the rows of the same cell are combined (sum of sales, average temperature…).	Sum · Average · Minimum · Maximum · Count of rows

Color scale

Cell colors: gradient, midpoint, classes, scale and range. The palettes themselves are chosen in Style › Custom colors › Gradient palette.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Gradient	The palettes (Viridis, Magma, Blues…) and the start / middle / end colors are chosen in Style › Custom colors.	Automatic (single hue, or the style palette) · Single hue: light to dark · Gradient palette (Style card) · Diverging: two hues and a midpoint ★
Hue (empty = style color)	Base color of the single-hue gradient; empty = color of the style palette. (shown when Gradient = Automatic (single hue, or the style palette) or Single hue: light to dark)	color; empty
Scale midpoint	Value that takes the neutral middle color (diverging scale). (shown when Gradient = Diverging: two hues and a midpoint)	Zero · Average · Median · Center of the range · Fixed value
Midpoint value	Midpoint typed by hand (e.g. 100 for an index, 0.5 for a rate). (shown when Gradient = Diverging: two hues and a midpoint)	0
Empty cells	A blank value is never shown as zero: a zero takes the color of the scale.	Automatic (hatched; grayed in the calendar) · Hatched · Grayed · Hidden
Color distribution	Continuous: each value its own shade. Classes: a few distinct colors, easier to compare.	Continuous · Equal classes · Quantiles (same number of cells per class) ★ · Custom thresholds ★
Number of classes	Number of colors of the equal classes or quantiles. (shown when Color distribution = Equal classes or Quantiles (same number of cells per class))	5 (2 to 12)
Thresholds (separated by ;)	Class bounds, in the unit of the measure (e.g. 10; 50; 100 gives 4 classes). (shown when Color distribution = Custom thresholds)	text; empty
Class colors (empty = gradient)	Like the Rules of the native conditional formatting: one color per class, from the lowest to the highest, separated by ; (#RRGGBB or a color name). Missing colors come from the gradient. (shown when Color distribution ≠ Continuous)	text; empty
Scale	Square root and logarithmic scales spread out small values when a few cells are very large.	Linear · Square root ★ · Logarithmic ★
Scale computed over	Per row: each row has its own lightest and darkest cell (rows with different units or sizes).	All cells · Each row ★ · Each column ★
Minimum	Value of the lightest color; below it, same color. Empty = smallest value.	text; empty
Maximum	Value of the darkest color; above it, same color. Empty = largest value.	text; empty
Ignore extreme values (2% on each side) ★	The colors are spread between the 2nd and 98th percentiles: one huge cell no longer flattens all the others.	off

Cells

Shape, spacing and size of the cells.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Cell shape	Shape of each cell.	Square · Rounded corners · Circles
Corner radius (px)	Corner radius (reduced automatically on small cells). (shown when Cell shape = Rounded corners)	3 (0 to 20)
Spacing (px)	Space between two cells.	2 (0 to 20)
Square cells in the grid	The calendar always uses square cells.	off
Minimum size before scrolling (px)	Large grids scroll instead of shrinking below this size.	14 (2 to 80)
Maximum size (px, 0 = fill)	Cells do not grow beyond it; 0 = they fill the visual.	0 (0 to 400)
Cell size	The color shows the value, the size shows how much data is behind it (or the value itself).	All full · By value ★ · By the "Size" field ★
Outline	Line around each cell.	off
Outline color (empty = grid)	Color of the cell outline. (shown when Outline = on)	color; empty
Outline width (px)	(shown when Outline = on)	1 (0.5 to 6)

Data labels

The values written in the cells.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Show	Values are written in the cells that are large enough.	on
Content	What is written in the cells.	Value · % of row ★ · % of column ★ · % of total ★ · Day number (calendar)
Text size	Size of the text in the cells.	10 (6 to 32)
Color (empty = automatic)	Automatic: white or dark text depending on each cell.	color; empty
Bold	Bold text in the cells.	off
Hide the labels when they do not all fit	All or nothing: never a grid with labels in some cells only. Off: each label that fits is written.	on
Display units	Thousands, millions, billions or automatic.	Auto · None · Thousands · Millions · Billions
Decimals (-1 = auto)	Number of decimals; -1 = automatic.	-1 (-1 to 6)
Prefix	Text before the value.	text; empty
Suffix (e.g. €)	Text after the value.	text; empty

Row labels

Row names, to the left of the cells.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Show	Row names to the left of the cells.	on
Text size	Size of the row names.	9 (6 to 24)
Color (empty = text)	Color of the row names.	color; empty
Bold	Bold row names.	off
Maximum room (% of the visual)	Beyond it, long names are cut (…).	30 (5 to 60)
Row title	Name of the Rows field, written vertically.	off
Title text	Row title (empty = field name). (shown when Row title = on)	text; empty

Column labels

Column names, above or below the cells.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Show	Column names above or below the cells.	on
Position	At the top or bottom of the cells.	Top · Bottom
Text size	Size of the column names.	9 (6 to 24)
Color (empty = secondary)	Color of the column names.	color; empty
Bold	Bold column names.	off
Long labels	What to do when names do not fit in the width of a column.	Automatic · Two lines · Tilted (45°) · Vertical · Truncated (…)
Maximum room (% of the visual)	Maximum height of tilted names.	30 (5 to 60)
Column title	Name of the Columns field, above the names.	off
Title text	Column title (empty = field name). (shown when Column title = on)	text; empty

Legend

The legend of the gradient or classes.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Show	Gradient or classes, with the smallest and largest value.	on
Position	Where the legend sits around the heatmap.	Top · Bottom · Right · Left
Alignment	Alignment of the legend at the top or bottom. (shown when Position = Top or Bottom)	Start · Center · End
Legend title	Writes the measure name before the legend.	off
Title text	Legend title (empty = measure name). (shown when Legend title = on)	text; empty
Text size	Size of the legend text.	9 (6 to 24)
Color (empty = secondary)	Color of the legend text.	color; empty
Gradient length (px)	Length of the gradient bar.	160 (60 to 600)
Click a class = highlight its cells	With classes: clicking a class dims the other cells (without filtering the page).	on

Sort

The order of rows and columns.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Sort rows by	Similarity: rows that look alike are placed side by side (hierarchical clustering, computed in the visual).	Model order (as in Power BI) · Name · Row total · Value in a column · Similarity (clustering) ★
Order	Direction of the row sort. (shown when Sort rows by = Name or Row total or Value in a column)	Largest first (names A to Z) · Smallest first (names Z to A)
Column name	Empty: the last column. (shown when Sort rows by = Value in a column)	text; empty
Show the first N rows (0 = all)	Keeps the N rows with the largest total.	0 (0 to 5000)
Sort columns by	Column order; Similarity ★ groups the columns that look alike.	Model order (as in Power BI) · Name · Column total · Similarity (clustering) ★
Order	Direction of the column sort. (shown when Sort columns by = Name or Column total)	Largest first (names A to Z) · Smallest first (names Z to A)
Draw the clustering tree	With a similarity sort: the tree shows which rows (columns) are closest.	on
Tree size (px)	Width (or height) of the dendrogram. (shown when Draw the clustering tree = on)	40 (16 to 160)

Margin totals ★

The total of each row and column (grids only).

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Row totals (right)	Total of each row, to the right of the cells.	None · Values ★ · Bars ★ · Bars and values ★
Column totals	Drawn on the side opposite the column labels.	None · Values ★ · Bars ★ · Bars and values ★
Calculation	How the cells of a row or column are totaled.	Sum · Average · Maximum · Minimum
Bar room (% of the visual)	Room of the marginal bars ★.	12 (5 to 40)
Bar color (empty = scale color)	Color of the marginal bars.	color; empty
Text size	Size of the written totals.	9 (6 to 24)

Calendar and hours

The calendar and the day × hour grid.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
First day of the week	First day of the weeks in the calendar and the day × hour grid.	From the language (Sunday in US English) · Monday · Sunday · Saturday
Day names	Day names to the left of the calendar.	Every other day · All · None
Mark weekends	Saturday and Sunday names in the accent color.	off
Layout	Weeks as columns (one strip per year) or a small calendar per month.	Weeks as columns (GitHub style) · One block per month
Period shown	Whole years or only the days between the first and last date.	Whole years · From the first to the last day of the data
Separate the months	Each month starts a new column, with a space between months.	on
Month names	Month names above the weeks.	on
Years	Year to the left of each strip.	on
Maximum number of years (most recent)	Beyond it, only the most recent years are drawn (message in edit mode).	10 (1 to 50)
Public holidays	Computed in the visual (Easter included), outlined in the calendar and named in the tooltip.	None · France ★ · Belgium ★ · Switzerland (federal) ★ · Canada (federal) ★ · Germany (national) ★ · United Kingdom (England) ★ · United States (federal) ★
Marker color (empty = accent)	Color of the public holiday outline.	color; empty
First hour	First hour of the day × hour grid.	0 (0 to 23)
Last hour	Last hour of the day × hour grid.	23 (0 to 23)
Hour format	0 to 23, or 12 AM to 11 PM.	From the language · 24-hour (0 to 23) · 12-hour (AM / PM)

Comparison ★

Shown when the Reference ★ field is filled.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Color by	With a measure in "Reference": each cell is colored by its gap to the reference (last year, target, average), on a diverging scale centered on zero.	Difference (value − reference) · Difference in % of the reference
A decrease is favorable	A decrease takes the favorable color (costs, delays, absences).	off
▲▼ arrows in the labels	▲ increase, ▼ decrease: the direction reads without color.	on

Annotations ★

Shown when the Annotation ★ field is filled.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Marker	Cells with a text in the "Annotation" field get a marker; the text is in the tooltip.	Cell corner · Dot · Outline
Color (empty = accent)	Color of the annotation markers.	color; empty

Small multiples ★

Shown when the Small multiples ★ field is filled.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Columns (0 = automatic)	Number of charts per row; 0 = from the minimum width.	0 (0 to 12)
Minimum chart width (px)	Minimum width of each small chart.	220 (80 to 800)
Spacing (px)	Space between the small charts.	14 (0 to 60)
Title size	Size of the name above each chart.	10 (6 to 24)
Frame around each chart	Frame around each small chart.	off

Playback ★

Shown when the Play axis ★ field is filled. Player shared by all Plume visuals.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Frame shown on opening	Frame shown when the report opens.	The last one (most recent) · The first one
Duration of a frame (ms)	At speed ×1; the speed button of the play bar multiplies it (×0.5 to ×4) for the session.	1000 (100 to 10000)
Loop	Starts again after the last frame.	off
Play automatically on opening	Once, from the first frame. Not when animations are reduced (Style › Animations or the system) nor on a dashboard tile.	off
Animated transitions	Values, positions and colors move smoothly from one frame to the next.	on
Play bar	Bar with play, slider and speed.	on
Bar position	At the top or bottom of the visual. (shown when Play bar = on)	Bottom · Top
Tick marks	Marks on the slider. (shown when Play bar = on)	Automatic · Every frame · None
Tick labels	Values written under the slider. (shown when Play bar = on)	on
Start and end buttons	⏮ and ⏭ buttons. (shown when Play bar = on)	on
Speed button	×0.5 / ×1 / ×2 / ×4 button. (shown when Play bar = on)	on
Current value in large type	Current frame written in large faint type over the heatmap.	on
Large value size	Size of the large value. (shown when Current value in large type = on)	44 (12 to 160)
Large value position	Corner where the large value is written. (shown when Current value in large type = on)	Bottom right · Top right · Top left · Bottom left · Center
Same scale for every frame	The colors keep the same meaning from one frame to the next (recommended). Off: each frame uses its own lightest and darkest cell.	on

Interactions

Hover, selection and dimming.

Setting	What it does	Options (default in bold)
Highlight on hover	Outline of the hovered cell.	on
Dimmed items opacity (%)	Opacity of cells that are not selected or highlighted.	25 (5 to 80)
Hover: emphasize the row and the column	The row and column names of the hovered cell turn to the accent color.	on
Click a name = select the row or the column	Also month, day and year names in the calendar.	on

Premium features ★

Feature	Where to set it
Play axis (animation over time)	Play axis ★ field, Playback ★ card
Diverging gradient (adjustable midpoint)	Color scale › Gradient
Quantiles, custom thresholds	Color scale › Color distribution
Square root and logarithmic scales	Color scale › Scale
Ignore extreme values	Color scale › Ignore extreme values
Scale per row or per column	Color scale › Scale computed over
Radial heatmap	Layout › Shape
Cell size by value or by a field	Cells › Cell size (and the Size ★ field)
Similarity (clustering) and dendrogram	Sort › Sort rows by / Sort columns by
Labels in % of row, column or total	Data labels › Content
Margin totals (values) and marginal bars	Margin totals ★
Public holidays	Calendar and hours › Public holidays
Annotations	Annotation ★ field, Annotations ★ card
Comparison with a reference	Reference ★ field, Comparison ★ card
Small multiples	Small multiples ★ field, Small multiples ★ card
Paid styles, palettes and JSON theme	Style card

Without a key, these features work with a "Premium preview" watermark; a key entered in Plume Studio License removes it.