Advanced Text Object Extension for Qlik Sense: What is a Text Object?
A text object is any text added to a data visualisation to make the data more easily understood. Text elements, such as labels, legends or tooltips, should enhance the visualisation.
Since us humans are visual creatures, we’re able to process visual data quicker. In fact, 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. That’s why it’s best to avoid overloading your visualisation with too much text or row after row of numbers.
Any text that you choose to include should provide context to the data story. And text and visual objects should work as a team. Together, they should make the visualisation easier to understand. And, lead the audience to the right conclusion about your data.
Here are a few ways text can complement your data visualisation:
- Understanding: Text objects such as headers or footnotes, can help the audience understand the visualisation at a glance.
- Labelling: Text labels add vital information and make visualisations more easily understood.
- Explaining: Text that clarifies or provides insightful descriptions often otherwise hidden behind the metrics, like a tooltip.
- Highlighting: Text that highlights important takeaways for the audience.
- Reinforcing: You can add text that enhances the message you’re trying to get across.
- Sequencing: Add text to show readers the sequence of your visualisations and guide the data story.
- Recommending: You can use text to recommend the action or decision your audience should take.
- Visualising: You can use Vizlib’s Advanced Text Object to add icons or images to provide more context at-a-glance.
“Words and pictures belong together. Viewers need the help that words can provide.”
– Edward Tufte, data visualisation expert.
How do analysts use text objects in different industries?
Text objects on Healthcare dashboards can help highlight important patient information such as a critical versus stable condition.
In Financial visualisations, text can clarify what the particular numbers represent, such as gross profit margin or win rate.
On Retail dashboards, text helps analysts identify the reasons for delivery delays. They can also provide recommendations for action in words.
Manufacturing visualisations display the process of arranging merchandise in a warehouse or the utilisation process of the production floor. Text helps to show the order of the visualisations. Text objects can also guide user navigation of the graphic.
High Tech dashboards, such as a cybersecurity dashboard, can result in many questions if data is only displayed visually. Text objects provide additional clarity and explanation for the viewers on key metrics.
On Energy and Utility dashboards, analysts use text objects to label information. For example, using icons symbolising oil, gas and water as labels on an energy production dashboard.
Text objects often feature on Communication sector dashboards. They set the user on a clear path to understanding through, for instance, a textual introduction to a visualisation.
In the Public sector, text objects can highlight the studied question in a survey for government analytics to learn about the satisfaction and opinions of a community. Text objects also emphasise answers by varying the font size depending on the popularity of the answer.
Researchers in the Life Science industry use text objects in their data analysis to highlight important data like the waste reduction rate to draw the reader’s attention to it.
For analysis in the Consumer products industry, text objects offer critical information to help readers interpret visualisations, such as customer satisfaction, engagement or experience dashboards.
What is the Vizlib Advanced Text Object?
Vizlib Advanced Text Object is a user-friendly text enablement feature for Qlik Sense. Add context to your visualisations to make the data story clear and insightful with Vizlib Advanced Text Object features such as:
- Easy customisation: Style your text to suit your visualisation needs and customise it to your brand with background images.
- User-friendly: You can easily configure text elements, like tooltips with the click or hover-over functionality to save time.
- Interoperability: Full support of HTML, including styling elements to streamline your data visualisation process.
- Multiple Action Support: Make your apps more interactive by adding actions on text objects within your dashboards; e.g., Activate Next Sheet, Apply Bookmark, Create Bookmark, Open URL, Back/Forward, Selection in Field and many more!
Text and visuals make a great team. Together, they can help make your data visualisation laser sharp!
Learn more about Vizlib Advanced Text Object here. And, here are a few examples of the Vizlib Advanced Text Object:
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