示例 CSV
| City | MedianIncome | MedianRent | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | 71576 | 1450 | 978908 |
| Denver | 77127 | 1650 | 715522 |
| Columbus | 58575 | 1150 | 905748 |
| Raleigh | 67266 | 1300 | 474069 |
| Tampa | 58922 | 1500 | 398173 |
| Boise | 66979 | 1350 | 235684 |
How to Create a Bubble Chart
A step by step walkthrough for turning a spreadsheet into a published bubble chart in PlotSet, from shaping three numeric columns to tuning the size scale and publishing.
约 9 分钟Four columns, one chart: how to create a bubble chart in PlotSet starts with a spreadsheet that has a label, two numeric axis columns and a size value. You will end up with a published chart where the bubbles are scaled by area, not radius, carry a size legend the reader can actually use, and still hold together once a handful of records turn out much bigger than the rest.
Budget about nine minutes if your data is already four clean columns. The part people spend extra time on is tuning the size scale so the biggest bubble does not swallow the smallest ones, so treat that as a bit of trial and error rather than a setting you flip once and forget.
你需要的数据
Four columns, one row per entity: a label, two numeric axis columns, then a numeric size column. No merged cells, one header row.
All three numeric columns need to be plain numbers. A percentage stored as text with a percent sign, or an income figure stored with commas as text, will not map to an axis or to size.
The size column needs an amount, not a category. If your source data only has a bucket like small, medium or large, you need a real count or figure behind it before a bubble chart can size anything off it.
Zero and negative values break the size encoding. Area cannot represent a negative number, so filter those rows out or move that variable to colour instead.
Keep the entity count in the tens, not the hundreds. The example above has six rows for clarity; the sweet spot for a real chart is roughly ten to sixty before bubbles start stacking on top of each other.
操作步骤
PlotSet 中从空白模板到完成图表的具体点击路径。
- 01
Open the bubble chart template
From the PlotSet dashboard, start a new project and choose the Bubble Chart template. It loads with sample data already mapped to X, Y, size and label, so you can see the four column shape PlotSet expects before touching your own file.
每份指南都从这里开始：先选分类，再选模板，不管你要做哪种图表，用的都是同一个网格。 - 02
Shape your sheet into four columns
Put a label in the first column, then your two axis numbers, then the size value, one row per entity. If your source is a report with subtotal rows or merged header cells, flatten it first: the upload should be four plain columns and nothing else.
- 03
Bring in your file or connect a sheet
Use the data panel to import a CSV or .xlsx file, paste rows straight from a spreadsheet, or connect a Google Sheet so the chart can pick up later edits without a re-upload. PlotSet reads the first row as headers automatically.
这里的数据视图取自一个条形图项目。你可以上传 CSV、用「Magic Import」从图片里提取数字，或同步 Google Sheet，每种图表类型的面板都一样。 - 04
Map the label, X, Y and size columns
Confirm which column feeds each axis and which one drives bubble size. PlotSet usually guesses correctly when your headers are clear, but check it by hand if your sheet carries extra columns it might have picked over the ones you actually meant.
绑定决定哪一列作标签、哪一列提供数值、哪一列决定颜色。「Auto Binding」（自动绑定）会根据表头推测，所以要核对一遍，别想当然。 - 05
Tune the size scale
Adjust the minimum and maximum bubble size until the largest entity reads clearly bigger without hiding its neighbours underneath it. Confirm scaling is set to area, not radius, and turn on the size legend so the reader gets two or three reference bubbles with real numbers attached.
- 06
Label the ones that matter and colour by category
Add direct labels to the handful of bubbles that carry the story and leave the rest to hover tooltips. Labelling every bubble on a chart with more than a dozen entities just creates clutter. If you have a category column, turn on colour by group to separate the bubbles visually.
Bubble Chart 的「Preview」标签页。所有样式设置都在红框标出的这个面板里，每个设置各自占一个标签页：外观、标题、脚注，以及这种图表类型特有的选项。 - 07
Publish the chart, embed it, or export an image
Publish for a live, interactive chart with hover tooltips and a shareable link, grab the embed code for a page, or export a PNG, SVG or PDF when you need a static image for a deck.
从已加载示例数据的 Bubble Chart 模板开始，再替换成你自己的数据。
打开模板发布、嵌入或导出
最后一段路对每种图表都一样：「Share」（分享）把图表变成一个在线的公开链接和一段嵌入代码，「Export」（导出）把它输出成静态文件。
Share：公开链接与嵌入代码
打开嵌入代码和公开链接的开关，图表就发布出去了。链接可以放心发给任何人；嵌入代码以 iframe 的形式放进任意页面，悬停提示和交互效果都会保留。之后修改了图表，点「Recreate」就能把改动同步到链接和嵌入代码两边。
Export：SVG、PNG 或 JPG
「Export」会按你需要的尺寸输出一份静态副本。SVG 放到多大都清晰，还能在设计工具里继续编辑；幻灯片和文档用 PNG 或 JPG 最稳妥。想让图片在高分屏上够锐利，关键就是那个倍数设置。
Bubble Chart 的样式提示
Confirm the scale is set to area, not radius
Radius scaling makes a bubble twice as wide look four times as big, which misleads the reader every time. PlotSet defaults to area scaling for bubble charts, but if you have adjusted the size settings by hand, check the scale mode again before publishing.
Draw the big bubbles first and add some transparency
Send the largest bubbles to the back of the stack and lower the fill opacity a notch, so a big bubble does not fully hide a smaller one sitting underneath it. This matters most once your dataset passes twenty or so entities.
Ship a size legend with real numbers on it
Two or three reference bubbles with values attached turn the size encoding from decoration into information. Without a legend, a reader can tell one bubble is bigger than another but has no way to say by how much.
Filter or flag outliers that span orders of magnitude
If one record is a thousand times the size of the rest, pull it into its own callout or filter it out and say so in a caption. Otherwise every other bubble on the chart shrinks down to a dot next to it.
制作 Bubble Chart 时的常见错误
One bubble swallows the whole chart
This is almost always an outlier in the size column, sometimes a totals row that snuck in with the real data. Sort the size column in PlotSet's data table, find the record that dwarfs the rest, and either filter it out or cap the maximum size in the scale settings.
Every bubble comes out roughly the same size
Check that the size column is actually mapped to a numeric field and not to the label or a category column by mistake. It also happens when the values in that column are stored as text with commas or a currency symbol, since PlotSet cannot size marks off text.
Labels overlap into an unreadable mess
This shows up once a chart has more than about fifteen bubbles with direct labels turned on. Turn off labels for anything but the handful of bubbles the chart is actually about, and let the rest surface their identity in the tooltip on hover.
深入了解 Bubble Chart
不确定 Bubble Chart 是否是正确选择？查看它是什么、何时使用以及何时不使用。
Bubble Chart：常见问题
Four columns: a label for each entity, two numeric columns for the X and Y position, and a third numeric column for bubble size. A category column is optional and adds colour grouping. All three numeric columns need to be plain numbers, not text with symbols or commas, or PlotSet cannot map them.
现在制作你的 Bubble Chart
免费开始，300+ 模板任选。无需信用卡。