> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://datalab-docs.datacamp.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://datalab-docs.datacamp.com/work/chart-cell/configuring-your-chart.md).

# Configuring your chart

The first step to configure your chart is to select which category and series you want to display.

## Category

In the context of charts, a **category** refers to a grouping used to organize data. Categories are often represented on the horizontal axis (x-axis). For bar charts and column charts, you can choose which axis the category should be represented on. Categories define the different sections or groups within the data being displayed. For example, in a sales report chart, categories might represent different products or time periods.

In the dropdown, you will see all of the columns from your data source. That's because all data types are valid categories! Typically though, `strings`and `dates`are the most commonly chosen data types for a chart category.

## Series

The **series** define which numerical data is plotted on the chart for each data point on the category. As opposed to categories, only a handful of data types can be selected as a series. These data types are the following:

* `number`
* `integer`
* `float`
* `boolean` 
  * Boolean values will be considered numbers — 0 and 1.

## Aggregate

The chart tool panel allows you to aggregate your data without needing to write SQL or code yourself! The available aggregate functions are:

* Sum
* First
* Last
* Min
* Max
* Count
* Average

## Chart types

Heading over to the *Chart* tab in the tool panel, this is where you can choose which chart type you would like to use. There are many options available, like bar, pie, line, and scatter charts. Box plots and histograms can be found under the *Statistical* section. Be aware that some chart types will change the available options in the *Set Up* tab! For example, when creating a box plot, a new option will appear where you can change its direction (horizontal/vertical).

<figure><img src="/files/MVmRTfHVJAAyfSM6lCNS" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>


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