Es5 getting started in EJ2 JavaScript Chart control

3 Nov 202324 minutes to read

This section explains you the steps required to create a simple chart and demonstrate the basic usage of the chart control.

Dependencies

Below is the list of minimum dependencies required to use the Chart.

|-- @syncfusion/ej2-charts
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-base
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-data
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-pdf-export
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-file-utils
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-compression
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-svg-base

Setup for local environment

Refer the following steps for setup your local environment.

Step 1: Create a root folder myapp for your application.

Step 2: Create myapp/resources folder to store local scripts and styles files.

Step 3: Create myapp/index.js and myapp/index.html files for initializing Essential JS 2 Chart control.

Adding Syncfusion resources

The Essential JS 2 Chart control can be initialized by using either of the following ways.

  • Using local script.
  • Using CDN link for script.

Using local script

You can get the global scripts and styles from the Essential Studio JavaScript (Essential JS 2) build installed location.

After installing the Essential JS 2 product build, you can copy the chart and its dependencies scripts and style file into the resources/scripts and resources/styles folder.

Refer the below code to find location chart’s script and style file.

Syntax:

Dependency script: **(installed location)**/Syncfusion/Essential Studio/{RELEASE_VERSION}/Essential JS 2/{DEPENDENCY_PACKAGE_NAME}/dist/global/{DEPENDENCY_PACKAGE_NAME}.min.js

Script: **(installed location)**/Syncfusion/Essential Studio/{RELEASE_VERSION}/Essential JS 2/{PACKAGE_NAME}/dist/global/{PACKAGE_NAME}.min.js

Example:

Dependency script: C:/Program Files (x86)/Syncfusion/Essential Studio/15.4.30/Essential JS 2/ej2-base/dist/global/ej2-base.min.js

Script: C:/Program Files (x86)/Syncfusion/Essential Studio/15.4.30/Essential JS 2/ej2-charts/dist/global/ej2-charts.min.js

After copying the files, then you can refer the chart’s scripts into the index.html file.The below html code example shows the minimal dependency of chart.


<!DOCTYPE html>
  <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
       <head>
            <title>Essential JS 2 Chart</title>

            <!-- Essential JS 2 Chart's dependent scripts -->
            <script src="resources/scripts/ej2-base.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
            <script src="resources/scripts/ej2-data.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
            <script src="resources/scripts/ej2-svg-base.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

            <!-- Essential JS 2 Chart's global script -->
            <script src="resources/scripts/ej2-charts.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
       </head>
       <body>
       </body>
  </html>

Using CDN link, you can directly refer the chart control’s script into the index.html.

Refer the chart’s CDN links as below

Syntax:

Script: http://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/{PACKAGE_NAME}/dist/global/{PACKAGE_NAME}.min.js

Example:

Script: http://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/ej2-charts/dist/global/ej2-charts.min.js

The below html code example shows the minimal dependency of chart.

<!DOCTYPE html>
  <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
       <head>
            <title>Essential JS 2 Chart</title>
            <!-- Essential JS 2 Chart's global script -->
            <script src="http://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/ej2-charts/dist/global/ej2-charts.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
       </head>
       <body>
       </body>
  </html>

Adding Chart control

Now, you can start adding Chart control in the application. For getting started, add a div element for Chart control in index.html. Then refer the index.js file into the index.html file.

In this document context we are going to use ej2.min.js which includes all the Essential JS 2 components and its dependent scripts.

<!DOCTYPE html>
  <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
       <head>
            <title>Essential JS 2 Chart</title>
            <!-- Essential JS 2 all script -->
            <script src="http://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
       </head>
       <body>
           <!-- Add the HTML <div> element for chart  -->
             <div id="element"></div>
             <script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
       </body>
  </html>

Place the following chart code in the index.js.

var chart = new ej.charts.Chart();
chart.appendTo('#element');

The below example shows a basic Chart.

var chart = new ej.charts.Chart();
chart.appendTo('#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Populate Chart With Data

This section explains how to plot below JSON data to the chart.

var chartData = [
      { month: 'Jan', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Feb', sales: 28 },
      { month: 'Mar', sales: 34 }, { month: 'Apr', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'May', sales: 40 }, { month: 'Jun', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'Jul', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Aug', sales: 55 },
      { month: 'Sep', sales: 38 }, { month: 'Oct', sales: 30 },
      { month: 'Nov', sales: 25 }, { month: 'Dec', sales: 32 }
];

Add a series object to the chart by using series property. Now map the field names month and sales in the JSON data to the xName and yName properties of the series, then set the JSON data to
dataSource property.

Since the JSON contains category data, set the valueType for horizontal axis to Category. By default, the axis valueType is Numeric.

var chartData = [
      { month: 'Jan', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Feb', sales: 28 },
      { month: 'Mar', sales: 34 }, { month: 'Apr', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'May', sales: 40 }, { month: 'Jun', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'Jul', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Aug', sales: 55 },
      { month: 'Sep', sales: 38 }, { month: 'Oct', sales: 30 },
      { month: 'Nov', sales: 25 }, { month: 'Dec', sales: 32 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category'
    },
    series:[{
        // dataSource for chart series
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'month',
        yName: 'sales',
        type: 'Line'
    }]
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

The sales data are in thousands, so format the vertical axis label by adding $ as a prefix and K as a suffix to each label. This can be achieved by setting the ${value}K to the labelFormat property of axis. Here, {value} act as a placeholder for each axis label.

var chartData = [
      { month: 'Jan', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Feb', sales: 28 },
      { month: 'Mar', sales: 34 }, { month: 'Apr', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'May', sales: 40 }, { month: 'Jun', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'Jul', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Aug', sales: 55 },
      { month: 'Sep', sales: 38 }, { month: 'Oct', sales: 30 },
      { month: 'Nov', sales: 25 }, { month: 'Dec', sales: 32 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category',
    },
    primaryYAxis: {
        // label format for axis
        labelFormat: '${value}K'
    },
    series:[{
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'month',
        yName: 'sales',
        type: 'Line'
    }]
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Add Chart Title

You can add a title using title property to the chart to provide quick information to the user about the data plotted in the chart.

var chartData = [
      { month: 'Jan', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Feb', sales: 28 },
      { month: 'Mar', sales: 34 }, { month: 'Apr', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'May', sales: 40 }, { month: 'Jun', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'Jul', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Aug', sales: 55 },
      { month: 'Sep', sales: 38 }, { month: 'Oct', sales: 30 },
      { month: 'Nov', sales: 25 }, { month: 'Dec', sales: 32 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    // Title for chart
    title: 'Sales Analysis',
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category',
        title: 'Month'
    },
    primaryYAxis: {
        labelFormat: '${value}K'
    },
    series:[{
        dataSource: chartData,
        name:'Sales',
        xName: 'month',
        yName: 'sales',
        type: 'Line'
    }],
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Enable Legend

You can use legend for the chart by setting the visible property to true in legendSettings object.

var chartData = [
      { month: 'Jan', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Feb', sales: 28 },
      { month: 'Mar', sales: 34 }, { month: 'Apr', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'May', sales: 40 }, { month: 'Jun', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'Jul', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Aug', sales: 55 },
      { month: 'Sep', sales: 38 }, { month: 'Oct', sales: 30 },
      { month: 'Nov', sales: 25 }, { month: 'Dec', sales: 32 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    // Legend for chart
    legendSettings: {
        visible: true
    },
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category',
    },
    primaryYAxis: {
        labelFormat: '${value}K'
    },
    series:[{
        dataSource: chartData,
        name:'Sales',
        xName: 'month',
        yName: 'sales',
        type: 'Line'
    }],
    title: 'Sales Analysis'
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Add Data Label

You can add data labels to improve the readability of the chart. This can be achieved by setting the visible property to true in the dataLabel object. Now, the data labels are arranged smartly based on series.

var chartData = [
      { month: 'Jan', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Feb', sales: 28 },
      { month: 'Mar', sales: 34 }, { month: 'Apr', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'May', sales: 40 }, { month: 'Jun', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'Jul', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Aug', sales: 55 },
      { month: 'Sep', sales: 38 }, { month: 'Oct', sales: 30 },
      { month: 'Nov', sales: 25 }, { month: 'Dec', sales: 32 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category',
    },
    primaryYAxis: {
        labelFormat: '${value}K'
    },
    series:[{
        dataSource: chartData,
        xName: 'month',
        name:'Sales',
        yName: 'sales',
        type: 'Line',
        marker: {
            // Data label for chart series
            dataLabel: {
                visible: true
            }
        }
    }],
    legendSettings: {visible: true},
    title: 'Sales Analysis'
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Enable Tooltip

The tooltip is useful when you cannot display information by using the data labels due to space constraints. You can enable tooltip by setting the enable property as true in tooltip object.

var chartData = [
      { month: 'Jan', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Feb', sales: 28 },
      { month: 'Mar', sales: 34 }, { month: 'Apr', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'May', sales: 40 }, { month: 'Jun', sales: 32 },
      { month: 'Jul', sales: 35 }, { month: 'Aug', sales: 55 },
      { month: 'Sep', sales: 38 }, { month: 'Oct', sales: 30 },
      { month: 'Nov', sales: 25 }, { month: 'Dec', sales: 32 }
];
var chart = new ej.charts.Chart({
    // Tooltip for chart
    tooltip: {
        enable: true
    },
    primaryXAxis: {
        valueType: 'Category',
    },
    primaryYAxis: {
        labelFormat: '${value}K'
    },
   series:[{
        dataSource: chartData,
        name:'Sales',
        xName: 'month',
        yName: 'sales',
        type: 'Line',
        marker: {
            // Data label for chart series
            dataLabel: {
                visible: true
            }
        }
    }],
    legendSettings: {visible: true},
    title: 'Sales Analysis'
}, '#element');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Animation</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="element"></div>
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>