# Visualizing data

> How Flax turns a query result into a saved chart — the role-based chart grammar and the chart editor.

*[View this page in the Flax docs](https://flax-analytics.com/docs/visualizations/overview)*

A chart in Flax is a saved visualization of a query result. You build a query in
[Explore](/docs/exploring/overview) (or a [sheet](/docs/sheets/overview)), pick a
chart type, and Flax draws it. The chart stores *how to draw the result*, not the
data itself — so it stays live against your semantic model and survives library
upgrades.

## The chart grammar

Every chart is a small, declarative config (a "viz config") that maps **result
columns to visual roles** — which column is the category axis, which are the
values, which is the series breakdown. This grammar is versioned and independent of
the underlying rendering engine, so a saved chart renders the same way years later.

The common roles are:

| Role | Meaning | Used by |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `x` | Category or time axis | bar, line, area, scatter, combo |
| `y` | One or more value columns | bar, line, area, combo |
| `series` | A column that splits values into one series per distinct value | bar, line |
| `value` / `category` | A single value and its label | pie, donut, funnel, KPI, gauge, map |

Because the config references columns *by name*, changing the query (adding a
filter, swapping a dimension) updates the chart automatically.

## The chart editor

Open the chart editor from any Explore result or from a saved chart. It has three
parts:

1. **Type picker** — choose a chart type (see [Chart types](/docs/visualizations/chart-types)).
2. **Roles** — assign result columns to the roles that type needs. A guided empty
   state tells you what is still missing (for example, a box plot needs all five
   summary columns before it draws).
3. **Options** — legend position, number format, value labels ("Show numbers"),
   and per-chart colors. See [Formatting & theming](/docs/visualizations/formatting-and-theming).

Saved charts are org-scoped and carry a visibility of private, team, or org. Place
them on a [dashboard](/docs/visualizations/dashboards) to lay several out together.

## Next steps

- [Chart types](/docs/visualizations/chart-types) — pick the right chart for your data.
- [Formatting & theming](/docs/visualizations/formatting-and-theming) — number formats and colors.
- [Dashboards](/docs/visualizations/dashboards) — arrange charts into a board.