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Chart Genius: nothing is showing

Diagnose an empty or wrong chart without raising a ticket.

An empty chart is almost never broken. Something simply has not been told what to draw.

Work down this list before reporting anything.

Is there a layer? Sources supply data; layers draw it. A card with sources and no layer renders an empty plot area and no error, which is the most confusing version of this problem.

Is there data in the period? Move the page date back a month and see whether the chart fills.

Is the card detached from the datepicker? If it is, the page date you just changed did nothing. Open Datepicker in the right-hand panel and check the card's own period.

Is the source right? Each source reads either Actuals or planning. A source set to planning draws nothing across months that only have actuals, and the reverse.

Is a layer filtering everything out? A layer's filter narrow enough to match no rows produces an empty chart rather than an error.

Does the query return anything? If Show Query Builder is on, press Execute and read the result. An empty query and an empty chart look identical from the card.

Re-run after every change. The chart does not rebuild on its own — press Refresh Data, or Execute if the query builder is on. A change that appears to have done nothing has often worked perfectly and simply not been redrawn, which sends people chasing a problem they have already fixed.

Only then is it worth raising. Everything above is a setting on the card, or one press away.

A Chart Genius editor with an empty plot area showing only a zero on the axis, while two sources are configured beneath and the Layers panel above shows Add Layer with no layers defined.
  1. 1The plot area, empty but for a zero
  2. 2Two sources are configured, so the data side is not the problem
  3. 3No title and no aliases set
  4. 4Layers is empty — nothing has been told what shape to draw

ValueWorks 2026.08

Takeaways

  • ⚠ Caution

    Check for a layer first — sources alone draw nothing.

  • A detached card ignores the page date, so changing it proves nothing.

  • Then the period, the source, a layer's filter, and the query itself.

  • Refresh Data or Execute after every change — the chart does not redraw itself.

Surfaces covered

  • Reporting

Also taught in the Academy

Module 4 · Build your own views

Take it as lesson 4.6 in Business Analyst & FP&A