Heatmap+

Overview

Heatmap+ displays values in a two-dimensional color grid to reveal patterns across time and data sources.

When to use it

Use this symbol when you need to:

• Compare many signals or categories across a time range.
• Identify clusters, gaps, and high or low operating regions.

Before you begin

• Prepare numeric data sources with comparable meaning.
• Choose an aggregation interval appropriate for the display range.

Add and set up the symbol

1. Select the symbol in the PI Vision symbol gallery.
2. Add the required data sources or asset context to the display.
3. Right-click the symbol and open its configuration pane.
4. Configure the minimum data, range, and display settings for a useful result.
5. Confirm that the symbol shows the expected data.

Use the symbol

Hover over a cell to inspect its source, time, and value. Use enabled time controls to focus on a smaller region.

Time bar

The Time Bar lets you control the heatmap's time range independently of the display's global time setting.

The time bar lets you quickly shift or resize the active time range without affecting the rest of the display. The following options are available:

• Enabled: Turns the time bar on or off.
• Ignore Display Time: When enabled, the symbol maintains its own time range and does not respond to global display time changes. This setting can also be toggled using the lock icon in the time bar toolbar.
• Duration: Defines preset time range options (e.g., 1h, 8h, 24h) that appear in the dropdown between the navigation arrows.
• Style: Sets the text color, background color, border color, and font size of the time bar.

Configure the symbol

Overview and behavior

The Heatmap+ is a two-dimensional data visualization that encodes magnitude as color. Each cell in the grid represents a value - the color of the cell indicates where that value falls within the configured color range, making patterns and outliers immediately visible.

Configure heatmap

Use the Configuration pane to customize the Heatmap+ symbol. Options cover title, style, coloring, legend, data labels, interactivity, and data retrieval.

1. Right-click the symbol and select Configure Heatmap to open the configuration pane.
2. Title section - configures the chart headings:

• Title: Sets the main title text and style.
• Sub Title: Sets the secondary title text and style.

1. Style section - controls the overall visual appearance of the chart:

• Foreground: Sets the text color for the chart.
• Background: Sets the background fill color of the chart.
• Sparkline: When enabled, hides all axis borders and labels for a minimal embedded view.
• Border Width / Color: Enables or disables the border, and sets its width and color.
• Font Size: Sets the font size for all heatmap text.
• Shadow: Enables or disables a drop shadow on the chart container.

1. Coloring section - sets the color strategy for heatmap cells. Three modes are available:

• Gradient

Maps cell values to a continuous color gradient. The min and max of the gradient range are set in the Range section. You can add any number of color stops to the gradient.

You can add an unlimited number of colors to the gradient.

• Ranges

Assigns cells to discrete named color bands. Each band has a Name, Color, Start Value, and End Value - with no gradient blending between bands.

• Multiple

Assigns a distinct base color to each data source. The magnitude of each value is represented by the opacity of that color.

In all coloring modes, you can choose between Custom Colors (user-defined) and multi-state colors (driven by configured multi-state limits) using the Type selector.

To use multi-state colors, right-click the chart and select Add multi-state first. The state thresholds and colors are then configured in the multi-state settings.

1. Legend section - available only when Color Mode is set to Ranges. Displays a color key for the configured range bands.

• Enabled: Toggles the legend on or off.
• Position: Sets the legend position: Top, Left, Bottom, or Right.
• Format: Controls whether the range name, range values, or both are shown in each legend entry.

1. Data Labels section - controls the labels displayed inside each heatmap cell, including font size and format.
2. Interactivity section - when enabled, clicking a heatmap cell applies its time range to the display time. For this to work correctly, configure a custom Start and End Time in the Data Retrieval settings to decouple the heatmap's time range from the display time.
3. Data Retrieval section - controls how data is loaded and the time range used.

• Mode:

• Start and End Times:

Configure axis Y

1. Type: Controls what the Y axis rows represent:

• data source: Creates one row label per configured attribute or tag.

• Time: Creates grouped time labels based on the selected Group Interval (Minute through Year). Data is bucketed along the Y axis by this interval.

1. Position: Places the Y axis on the left or right side of the chart.
2. Border / Ticks: Enables or disables axis lines and tick marks.

Configure axis X

• DateTime Format (Category axis only): Sets the date and time display format for X axis labels.
• Group: Groups timestamps into the configured time interval. For example, with Group set to Month and DateTime Format set to Day, each column represents one day within its month.

Troubleshooting and limitations

• Check: If cells are blank, check the retrieval interval, aggregation, time range, and source data.
• Check: Large grids can increase retrieval time and reduce label readability.