What this book covers

Chapter 1, Introducing FusionCharts, introduces you to FusionCharts Suite and teaches you how to build your first chart in under 15 minutes. You will learn the XML and JSON data formats that FusionCharts Suite supports, and apply it to build different types of charts.

Chapter 2, Customizing your Chart, brings to you the wide spectrum of customization options you have with FusionCharts Suite, both aesthetically and functionally. You will learn how to customize the chart background and font, control how numbers appear on the chart, and add more context to charts using trendlines.

Chapter 3, JavaScript Capabilities, familiarizes you with the JavaScript programmability of FusionCharts Suite. Using them, you will be able to develop rich and interactive features around your charts and also learn ways to integrate FusionCharts with your web applications.

Chapter 4, Enabling Drill-down on Charts, introduces you to the concept of drill-down in charts, which helps you drill down from a macroscopic view to a more detailed one.

Chapter 5, Exporting Charts, introduces the capability of FusionCharts Suite to be exported as images and PDF documents for use in e-mails and presentations.

Chapter 6, Integrating with Server-side Scripts, explains how to power FusionCharts using server-side technologies such as ASP.NET, PHP, and Java, and drive them through databases.

Chapter 7, Creating Maps for your Applications, introduces you to the interactive maps present in FusionMaps, a part of the FusionCharts Suite. After downloading and setting up FusionMaps, you will be able to create a simple US map and then add drill-down to go from the US map to individual states.

Chapter 8, Selecting the Right Visualization for your Data, takes a step-by-step approach to selecting the right visualization for business dashboards. You start by understanding your dashboard's audience, identify the metrics they need to see, move on to the kind of analysis the metric will need, and finally come to the chart best suited for the case in question. You will also take a closer look at at specialized charts such as gauges and Gantt charts.

Chapter 9, Increasing the Usability of your Charts, rounds up the experience by introducing simple tips and techniques that can make your charts more usable. From obvious tips such as having descriptive captions, to less obvious ones such as removing excess detail from data, these tips will go a long way in making your dashboards more usable.