XY Error Chart
Error bars show how sure a measurement is: the point is the value measured, the bars the range the true value may lie in. Here seven points, each with an error in both x and y.
About this chart
When to show error bars
Every measurement has some uncertainty, and error bars put it on the chart instead of in a footnote. When the bars of two points overlap, the difference between them may not be real. Bars in both directions suit data where x is measured too, not just set.
Good for
- Lab and field measurements
- Survey results with a margin of error
- Comparing estimates, where the overlap matters
Think twice when
- Readers who don’t know what the bars mean: say it in a caption
- Dozens of points: the bars cross and turn into a mesh
- Errors that differ up and down: draw the low and high ends separately
For developers
Get the code.
Built with amCharts 5, a JavaScript library. The code includes your theme and renderer (canvas or SVG), but not the changes you make with the controls.
For projects that use npm:
How it reads:
npm install @amcharts/amcharts5. See Getting started.
The same chart as a JSON config. Chart Maker reads and writes this format, the library's JSON parser turns it into a chart, and the <am5-chart> element puts it on a page with no code.How it reads:
"type" is the class to create and "settings" what you would pass to its new() in code; "properties" fill in its parts, lists such as series and axes or templates such as columns.template; "refs" holds objects used in more than one place ("#series-0" stands for the one named series-0); a string starting with "@" takes a value from another object, such as "@series.get('fill')".
A complete page. Save it as an .html file and open it in a browser.
Paste this into an AI coding assistant to build the chart from scratch. More in amCharts & AI.
var data = [{
"x": 10,
"y": 14,
"errorX": 3,
"errorY": 4
}, {
"x": 0,
"y": 0,
"errorX": 2,
"errorY": 6
}, {
"x": -10,
"y": 3,
"errorX": 0.8,
"errorY": 3.5
}, {
"x": -6,
"y": 5,
"errorX": 1.2,
"errorY": 4.2
}, {
"x": 11,
"y": -4,
"errorX": 2.4,
"errorY": 3.9
}, {
"x": 13,
"y": 1,
"errorX": 1.5,
"errorY": 3.3
}, {
"x": 1,
"y": 6,
"errorX": 2,
"errorY": 3.3
}];
// Create root element
// https://docs.amcharts.com/v5/getting-started/#root-element
var root = am5.Root.new("chartdiv");
// Set themes
// https://docs.amcharts.com/v5/concepts/themes/
root.setThemes([
am5themes_Animated.new(root),
am5themes_Responsive.new(root)
]);
// Create chart
// https://docs.amcharts.com/v5/charts/xy-chart/
var chart = root.container.children.push(am5xy.XYChart.new(root, {
panX: true, // drag the plot to pan in any direction
panY: true,
wheelY: "zoomXY", // the mouse wheel zooms both axes at once
pinchZoomX:true, // pinch on a touch screen to zoom...
pinchZoomY:true // ...either axis
}));
chart.get("colors").set("step", 2); // every second theme color
// Create axes
// https://docs.amcharts.com/v5/charts/xy-chart/axes/
var xAxis = chart.xAxes.push(am5xy.ValueAxis.new(root, {
// 20% more room at both ends, so the error bars of the outer points fit
extraMax: 0.2,
extraMin: 0.2,
renderer: am5xy.AxisRendererX.new(root, { minGridDistance: 50 }), // at least 50px between labels
tooltip: am5.Tooltip.new(root, {}) // shows the cursor's x value on the axis
}));
var yAxis = chart.yAxes.push(am5xy.ValueAxis.new(root, {
extraMax: 0.2,
extraMin: 0.2,
renderer: am5xy.AxisRendererY.new(root, {}),
tooltip: am5.Tooltip.new(root, {}) // shows the cursor's y value on the axis
}));
// Create series
// https://docs.amcharts.com/v5/charts/xy-chart/series/
// The error bars and the points are two series with the same data
var errorSeries = chart.series.push(am5xy.LineSeries.new(root, {
xAxis: xAxis,
yAxis: yAxis,
valueYField: "y",
valueXField: "x"
}));
var series = chart.series.push(am5xy.LineSeries.new(root, {
xAxis: xAxis,
yAxis: yAxis,
valueYField: "y",
valueXField: "x",
tooltip: am5.Tooltip.new(root, {
labelText: "x: {valueX} ± {errorX}\ny: {valueY} ± {errorY}"
})
}));
// Only the bullets are drawn, no lines between the points
errorSeries.strokes.template.set("visible", false);
series.strokes.template.set("visible", false);
// Add error bullet: a bar from x - errorX to x + errorX and one from y - errorY to y + errorY,
// each with a cap at both ends. It is redrawn when the chart zooms (dynamic: true)
errorSeries.bullets.push(function() {
var graphics = am5.Graphics.new(root, {
strokeWidth: 2, // 2px lines...
stroke: series.get("stroke"), // ...in the points' color
draw: function(display, target) {
var dataItem = target.dataItem;
var xRenderer = xAxis.get("renderer");
var yRenderer = yAxis.get("renderer");
// how many pixels the errors are on the axes
var errorX = dataItem.dataContext.errorX;
var width = xRenderer.positionToCoordinate(xAxis.valueToPosition(errorX)) - xRenderer.positionToCoordinate(xAxis.valueToPosition(0));
var errorY = dataItem.dataContext.errorY;
var height = yRenderer.positionToCoordinate(yAxis.valueToPosition(errorY)) - yRenderer.positionToCoordinate(yAxis.valueToPosition(0));
// horizontal bar with caps
display.moveTo(-width, 0);
display.lineTo(width, 0);
display.moveTo(-width, -10); // each cap is 20px long
display.lineTo(-width, 10);
display.moveTo(width, -10);
display.lineTo(width, 10);
// vertical bar with caps
display.moveTo(0, -height);
display.lineTo(0, height);
display.moveTo(-10, -height);
display.lineTo(10, -height);
display.moveTo(-10, height);
display.lineTo(10, height);
}
});
return am5.Bullet.new(root, {
dynamic: true,
sprite: graphics
});
});
// Add circle bullet for the points
// https://docs.amcharts.com/v5/charts/xy-chart/series/#bullets
series.bullets.push(function() {
var graphics = am5.Circle.new(root, {
strokeWidth: 2, // a 2px ring...
radius: 5, // ...10px across...
stroke: series.get("stroke"),
fill: root.interfaceColors.get("background") // ...filled with the background color, so it looks hollow
});
return am5.Bullet.new(root, {
sprite: graphics
});
});
// Add cursor
// https://docs.amcharts.com/v5/charts/xy-chart/cursor/
chart.set("cursor", am5xy.XYCursor.new(root, {
xAxis: xAxis,
yAxis: yAxis,
snapToSeries: [series] // the cursor jumps to the nearest point
}));
// Add scrollbars
// https://docs.amcharts.com/v5/charts/xy-chart/scrollbars/
chart.set("scrollbarX", am5.Scrollbar.new(root, {
orientation: "horizontal"
}));
chart.set("scrollbarY", am5.Scrollbar.new(root, {
orientation: "vertical"
}));
errorSeries.data.setAll(data);
series.data.setAll(data);
// Make stuff animate on load
// https://docs.amcharts.com/v5/concepts/animations/
errorSeries.appear(1000);
series.appear(1000);
chart.appear(1000, 100);



