A chart recommendation is only as good as the data it reads. This lesson shows how to bring your own table into Chart Compass and how to check it was understood.
Paste a table
Open Chart Compass. In step 1, Your data, select the table in Excel or Google Sheets, including its header row, and copy it. Click the big box and paste. Chart Compass reads the table at once. If you typed the table into the box or changed it there, press Use this.
The header row matters. Chart Compass uses it to name the columns, and you will see those names again in the advice ("Revenue as columns and Target as a line"). A table without headers gets read as if the first row were the names.
If you already have data loaded, press Paste your own at the top of step 1 to get the box back. It also forgets the data kept in this browser.
Or open a CSV
Press Open a CSV and pick a .csv, .tsv or .txt file. Chart Compass finds the separator from the header line by itself: a comma, a semicolon or a tab all work. Quoted cells, with commas inside them, are read correctly.
The file is read in your browser. Nothing is uploaded. Files up to 5 MB open; for a bigger one, paste the rows you need.
Check what was read
Once the table is read, step 1 shows one line that sums up the data, such as Your data: 15 rows, 3 columns, and a chip for every column with its type, such as Region 5 values or Sales number:
| Type | What it means | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| date | Months, days, quarters, years | The time axis |
| number | Amounts, counts, percentages | What the chart measures |
| category (with a count) | A short list of names that repeat | Groups, colours, bars |
| text | Names that are all different | Labels only |
Look at the chips before anything else. If a column has the wrong type, the advice will be wrong too.
Numbers and dates it understands
Chart Compass reads numbers and dates written the way people write them in spreadsheets:
- Numbers like
1,234.5,1.234,5,$1,200,12%and3.4K - Dates like
2026-03,Mar 2026,March 2026andQ1 2026
When a column is read wrong
The most common problems, and their fixes:
- A number column shows as a category or text. A cell has a note in it, like
n/aorsee above. Clear those cells or replace them with a number in your sheet and paste again. - A date column shows as a category or text. Some cells are not dates, or are written in a way it does not know, like
3rd of March. Make the column one format, such asMar 2026for every row. - An ID shows as a number. Customer or order numbers are not amounts. It does no harm, but do not pick them as the measure in step 3.
Data for charts with a shape of their own
Most charts need only dates, categories and numbers. A few need the table laid out in a certain way, and Chart Compass suggests them as soon as it sees that layout:
| To get | Give it | Sample to try |
|---|---|---|
| Slope chart | A category and a date column with exactly two periods, or two number columns named like periods (2025 and 2026, Before and After) | Sales by region, two years |
| Calendar heatmap | A date column with a row for most days, at least four weeks of them, and a number | Daily website visits |
| Candlestick chart | A date column and four numbers named Open, High, Low and Close | Daily share price |
| Gantt chart | A task column and two date columns, a start and an end (names like Start and End help) | Website launch plan |
| Sankey diagram, Chord diagram, Network graph | Two columns of names, a from and a to (named From and To, or sharing most of their names), and a number if you have one | Moves between teams |
A plan and a list of moves need no number column at all.
Size and saving
You can paste up to 5,000 rows. Chart Compass keeps your data in this browser (up to 200 KB), so it is there when you come back, until you paste something new or press Paste your own. For a large table, paste a summary, such as one row per month or per region, rather than every transaction: a chart shows the summary anyway.
Next: telling the chart what to say.