Charts

[Micheal Planck]

These are a joke, right?

If you create a Chart, you have to put the data for the chart in the chart macro. This means your data table exists only to create the chart. It does not exist as a table of data that users can see, edit, or interact with; it merely exists as private data for the chart.

But if I am going to have a private data set to produce a graphic image... then why wouldn't I just create the chart in Google Sheets and paste the graphic image into Confluence? I would get a vastly better chart, with more options. The only problem is that the data to create the chart is locked behind some arbitrary wall. But... that's true with Confluence charts, too, since they are locked inside a chart macro.

Now if I create a table, I can then insert a chart linked to that table. But suddenly the formatting options are crippled, and my table has to be exactly the right format. For example, the data has to be per column, not row; because the field to specify otherwise only appears for charts, not charts made from tables. In other words: the chart you get from the chart macro is not the same chart you get from insert chart from table macro.

(Again, Atlassian wrote the chart macro, and then wrote a similar but not equal macro for charts from tables; instead of, you know, writing a generic chart macro and then allowing you to easily create a generic chart linked to a table. Because Atlassian does not know how to write a function. )

And never mind if I want some charts on a top-level page to summarize data found in child pages. Haha!

Of course I know that Stiltsoft has a plugin that solves most (or probably all) of these issues. So maybe Charts, as implemented by Atlassian, are deliberately useless placeholders so you'll go buy Stiltsoft's very nice offering?

At this point, why doesn't Stiltsoft just offer a competing product that is actually complete, out of the box, without having to layer on dozens of other plugins to achieve even the most basic functionality? I'd buy that.

[Stiltsoft support]

Hi @Micheal Planck ,

Thanks for the kind words about the Chart from Table macro developed by our company! We really try to fulfill the needs of Confluence users.

But can you elaborate a little bit more about "complete, out of the box, without having to layer on dozens of other plugins to achieve even the most basic functionality".

As for now, the Table Filter, Charts & Spreadsheets for Confluence app provides 12 different macros to cover various needs while working with native manual/macro generated tables (filtration, aggregation, calculations, conditional formatting, charts, etc.) and with Excel-like spreadsheets. Here is the full list of the macros with a short description.

So, what crucial features we miss and you have to install other plugins to work with tables in Confluence? 

Maybe you'll want to share your use cases with us - please book a call with the team, we'll be able to talk live.