Add a chart

Azure DevOps Services | Azure DevOps Server 2022 - Azure DevOps Server 2019

Learn how you can add charts to your extensions. Charts can be added to any Azure DevOps Services extension.

Tip

Check out our newest documentation on extension development using the Azure DevOps Extension SDK.

Charts are easy to create, resizable, interactive, and consistent with the Azure DevOps Services look and feel. The following chart types are supported:

  • Line
  • Bar
  • Column
  • Area
  • Stacked bar
  • Stacked column
  • Stacked area
  • Pie
  • Pivot table
  • Histogram

If you're in a hurry and want to get your hands on the code right away, you can download the complete samples. Once downloaded, go to the charts folder, and then follow the packaging and publishing instructions to publish the sample extension. The extension contains sample chart widgets.

How to organize your code

For this tutorial, we create a widget and add a chart to it. To do so, in the home folder for your project, create a chart.html file with the following contents:

HTML file

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <script src="sdk/scripts/VSS.SDK.js"></script>
    <script src="scripts/pie-chart.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div class="widget">
        <h2 class="title">Chart Widget</h2>
        <div id="Chart-Container"></div>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Use the npm install command to retrieve the SDK: npm install vss-web-extension-sdk. To learn more about the SDK, visit the Client SDK GitHub Page.

Ensure that the VSS.SDK.js file is inside the sdk/scripts folder so that the path is home/sdk/scripts/VSS.SDK.js.

Images

Add images to an img folder in your project directory so that the path is home/img/logo.png and home/img/CatalogIcon.png. See our newest documentation, the Formula Design System and Azure DevOps extension sample SDK.

Extension manifest file

In the home folder of your project, create your extension manifest file. Create a vss-extension.json file with the following contents:

{
    "manifestVersion": 1,
    "id": "samples-charts",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "name": "Interactive Charts in Azure DevOps Services",
    "description": "Samples of interactive charts from the Chart SDK.",
    "publisher": "Fabrikam",
    "targets": [
        {
            "id": "Microsoft.VisualStudio.Services"
        }
    ],
    "icons": {
        "default": "img/logo.png"
    },
    "demands": ["contribution/ms.vss-dashboards-web.widget-sdk-version-2", "contribution/ms.vss-web.charts-service"],
    "contributions": [
        {
            "id": "chart",
            "type": "ms.vss-dashboards-web.widget",
            "targets": [
                "ms.vss-dashboards-web.widget-catalog"
            ],
            "properties": {
                "name": "Sample Chart",
                "description": "A simple chart widget with no configuration and hard-coded data.",
                "catalogIconUrl": "img/CatalogIcon.png",
                "uri": "chart.html",
                "supportedSizes": [
                    {
                        "rowSpan": 2,
                        "columnSpan": 2
                    }
                ],
                "supportedScopes": [
                    "project_team"
                ]
            }
        }
    ],
    "files": [
        {
            "path": "chart.html",
            "addressable": true
        },
        {
            "path": "sdk/scripts/VSS.SDK.js",
            "addressable": true
        },
        {
            "path": "img",
            "addressable": true
        },
        {
            "path": "scripts",
            "addressable": true
        }
    ],
    "scopes": [
    ]
}

Before uploading this extension, you must update the publisher to yours.

Put the following code snippets into a chart.js file in a scripts folder, so that the path is home/scripts/chart.js. Then, follow the packaging and publishing instructions to publish your extension.

Charts

Chart

This sample renders a chart. The data and labelValues have been hardcoded here, and would need to be changed to the data you want to visualize.

VSS.init({
        explicitNotifyLoaded: true,
        usePlatformStyles: true 
    });

VSS.require([
        "TFS/Dashboards/WidgetHelpers", 
        "Charts/Services"
        ],
        function (WidgetHelpers, Services) {
        WidgetHelpers.IncludeWidgetStyles();
        VSS.register("chart", function () { 
             return {
             load:function() {
                return Services.ChartsService.getService().then(function(chartService){
                    var $container = $('#Chart-Container');
                    var chartOptions = { 
                        "hostOptions": { 
                            "height": "290", 
                            "width": "300"
                        },
                        "chartType": "pie",
                        "series": [{
                            "data": [11, 4, 3, 1]
                        }],
                        "xAxis": { 
                            "labelValues": ["Design", "On Deck", "Completed", "Development"] 
                        }, 
                        "specializedOptions": {
                            "showLabels": "true",
                            "size": 200
                        } 
                    };

                    chartService.createChart($container, chartOptions);
                    return WidgetHelpers.WidgetStatusHelper.Success();
                });
                }
             }
            });
    VSS.notifyLoadSucceeded();
});

Here, the chart's size is defined in hostOptions. The series property is an array and contains a single object with data in it. The xAxis object contains labelValues, which correspond to the data. For pie charts, we also have some special options that are defined by the specializedOptions property. Here, we're explicitly enabling data labels for the pie chart. We also need to set the size of the pie chart by specifying its outer diameter.

The chart requires a container, the chart options, and a call to the Chart Service to initialize and render. For more information on chart options, see vss-web-extension-sdk/typings/charts.

Stacked area chart

The following sample renders a stacked area chart. This chart type is ideal to compare a relationship of parts to a whole and highlight general trends across categories. It's commonly used to compare trends over time. This sample also specifies a custom color for one of the series being rendered.

VSS.init({
        explicitNotifyLoaded: true,
        usePlatformStyles: true 
    });

VSS.require([
        "TFS/Dashboards/WidgetHelpers", 
        "Charts/Services"
        ],
        function (WidgetHelpers, Services) {
        WidgetHelpers.IncludeWidgetStyles();
        VSS.register("StackedAreaChart", function () { 
             return {
             load:function() {
                return Services.ChartsService.getService().then(function(chartService){
                    var $container = $('#Chart-Container');
                    var chartOptions = { 
                        "hostOptions": { 
                            "height": "290", 
                            "width": "300"
                        },
                        "chartType": "stackedArea",
                        "series": [
                            {
                                "name": "Completed",
                                "data": [1,3,4,3,6,1,9,0,8,11]
                            },
                            {
                                "name": "Development",
                                "data": [1,1,0,3,0,2,8,9,2,8]
                            },
                            {
                                "name": "Design",
                                "data": [0,0,0,6,1,1,9,9,1,9], 
                                "color": "#207752"
                            },
                            {
                                "name": "On Deck",
                                "data": [1,2,4,5,4,2,1,7,0,6]
                            }
                        ],
                        "xAxis": {
                            "labelFormatMode": "dateTime_DayInMonth",
                            "labelValues": [
                                "1/1/2016",
                                "1/2/2016",
                                "1/3/2016",
                                "1/4/2016",
                                "1/5/2016",
                                "1/6/2016",
                                "1/7/2016",
                                "1/8/2016",
                                "1/9/2016",
                                "1/10/2016"
                            ]
                        }
                    }
                    chartService.createChart($container, chartOptions);
                    return WidgetHelpers.WidgetStatusHelper.Success();
                });
                }
             }
            });
    VSS.notifyLoadSucceeded();
});

Pivot table

This sample renders a Pivot Table. This chart type helps arrange and summarize complex data in a tabular form.

VSS.init({
        explicitNotifyLoaded: true,
        usePlatformStyles: true 
    });

VSS.require([
        "TFS/Dashboards/WidgetHelpers", 
        "Charts/Services"
        ],
        function (WidgetHelpers, Services) {
        WidgetHelpers.IncludeWidgetStyles();
        VSS.register("PivotTable", function () { 
             return {
             load:function() {
                return Services.ChartsService.getService().then(function(chartService){
                    var $container = $('#Chart-Container');
                    var chartOptions = { 
                        "hostOptions": { 
                            "height": "290", 
                            "width": "300"
                        },
                        "chartType": "table",
                        "xAxis": {
                            "labelValues": ["Design","In Progress","Resolved","Total"]
                        },
                        "yAxis": {
                            "labelValues": ["P1","P2","P3","Total"]
                        },
                        "series": [
                            {
                                "name": "Design",
                                "data": [
                                    [0,0,1],
                                    [0,1,2],
                                    [0,2,3]
                                ]
                            },
                            {
                                "name": "In Progress",
                                "data": [
                                    [1,0,4],
                                    [1,1,5],
                                    [1,2,6]
                                ]
                            },
                            {
                                "name": "Resolved",
                                "data": [
                                    [2,0,7],
                                    [2,1,8],
                                    [2,2,9]
                                ]
                            },
                            {
                                "name": "Total",
                                "data": [
                                    [3,0,12],
                                    [3,1,15],
                                    [3,2,18],
                                    [0,3,6],
                                    [1,3,15],
                                    [2,3,24],
                                    [3,3,10]
                                ],
                                "color": "rgba(255,255,255,0)"
                            }
                        ]
                    }

                    chartService.createChart($container, chartOptions);
                    return WidgetHelpers.WidgetStatusHelper.Success();
                });
                }
             }
            });
    VSS.notifyLoadSucceeded();
});