Xcelsius 2008 introduced a global dual axis chart capability that works quite well. I put together a simple example below, illustrating the technology. A dual axis chart is relevant when you are trying to draw indirect correlations between two different measures. I have never seen an effective use of dual axis charts where same measure is displayed on both y axis. The Y Axis toggle in Xcelsius is locate in the general tab for most vertical oriented charts.

Here are a few best practices that make these charts easier to visually digest in Xcelsius:

1. Always include vertical axis labels for the left and right Y axis.
2. Always show the legend on the top or bottom of the chart to ensure there is enough room for both vertical axis labels and titles.
3. Use colors that make it easy to differentiate between each series.

Download Source Files

Though I don’t believe it is one of the top new features in Xcelsius 2008, I wanted to introduce the History Component. This is a nice feature used for real time trending of a single measure. When people ask me to describe what this does, I reference the Windows task manager performance chart. This history component can be utilized to create a real-time historical view for a single cell. To better illustrate this feature, I created an example below. A useful application of this component would be for companies that use Xcelsius dashboards to show real-time data on a screen that is always on.

Download Source Files

There are two fields within the properties sheet: The Data property is linked into a single cell, and the Data Destination is a range that will build a historical list as the Data property changes. In addition, the history component can refresh on a time-based interval. A call center would be a perfect use case for this component if a dashboard is displayed for real time monitoring. Let me know if you have any other cool ideas…