3D charts have been the most long awaited and the most desired feature in Highcharts. A feature that has been in the subject of heated debate within the users' community. There are users who agree, and those that disagree with the use of 3D charts. The pro camp argue for the use of 3D charts, for example in sales and marketing reports or infographics posters. The con party argue that 3D charts are misleading in terms of accuracy in data visualization and comparison, so the development resources should be focused elsewhere. As for Highcharts, it takes the pro-choice direction.
This chapter focuses on the basics of 3D configuration and shows a gallery of charts presented in 3D, as well as several specific options in each supported series. In this chapter, we will learn:
- What a 3D chart in Highcharts is and isn't
- Experimenting with 3D chart orientation:
alpha,beta,depth, andviewDistance - Configuring the 3D chart background
- Plotting the column, pie, donut, and scatter series in 3D charts
- Navigating with 3D charts
At the time of writing, the 3D chart feature is to display the 2D charts in a real 3D presentation, that is, we can rotate and tilt the charts in different dimensions and adjust the view distance. The 3D feature is currently only available for the column, pie, and scatter series.
What 3D charts cannot do is to construct a real three dimensional, x, y, and z axes chart, except for the scatter plot; we will even see some shortcomings in the scatter plot later. As this is the first major release of 3D charts, this limitation may be short lived.