Bubble Charts in JavaScript

How to make a D3.js-based bubble chart in javascript. Examples of scatter charts whose markers have variable color, size, and symbols.

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Plotly is a free and open-source graphing library for JavaScript. We recommend you read our Getting Started guide for the latest installation or upgrade instructions, then move on to our Plotly Fundamentals tutorials or dive straight in to some Basic Charts tutorials.

Marker Size on Bubble Charts

var trace1 = {
  x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
  y: [10, 11, 12, 13],
  mode: 'markers',
  marker: {
    size: [40, 60, 80, 100]
  }
};

var data = [trace1];

var layout = {
  title: {
    text: 'Marker Size'
  },
  showlegend: false,
  height: 600,
  width: 600
};

Plotly.newPlot('myDiv', data, layout);

Marker Size and Color on Bubble Charts

var trace1 = {
  x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
  y: [10, 11, 12, 13],
  mode: 'markers',
  marker: {
    color: ['rgb(93, 164, 214)', 'rgb(255, 144, 14)',  'rgb(44, 160, 101)', 'rgb(255, 65, 54)'],
    opacity: [1, 0.8, 0.6, 0.4],
    size: [40, 60, 80, 100]
  }
};

var data = [trace1];

var layout = {
  title: {
    text: 'Marker Size and Color'
  },
  showlegend: false,
  height: 600,
  width: 600
};

Plotly.newPlot('myDiv', data, layout);

Hover Text on Bubble Charts

var trace1 = {
  x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
  y: [10, 11, 12, 13],
  text: ['A<br>size: 40', 'B<br>size: 60', 'C<br>size: 80', 'D<br>size: 100'],
  mode: 'markers',
  marker: {
    color: ['rgb(93, 164, 214)', 'rgb(255, 144, 14)',  'rgb(44, 160, 101)', 'rgb(255, 65, 54)'],
    size: [40, 60, 80, 100]
  }
};

var data = [trace1];

var layout = {
  title: {
    text: 'Bubble Chart Hover Text'
  },
  showlegend: false,
  height: 600,
  width: 600
};

Plotly.newPlot('myDiv', data, layout);

Bubble Size Scaling on Charts

// To scale the bubble size, use the attribute sizeref. We recommend using the following formula to calculate a sizeref value:
// sizeref = 2.0 * Math.max(...size) / (desired_maximum_marker_size**2)
// Note that setting 'sizeref' to a value greater than 1, decreases the rendered marker sizes, while setting 'sizeref' to less than 1, increases the rendered marker sizes. See https://plotly.com/python/reference/scatter/#scatter-marker-sizeref for more information. Additionally, we recommend setting the sizemode attribute: https://plotly.com/python/reference/scatter/#scatter-marker-sizemode to area.

var trace1 = {
  x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
  y: [10, 11, 12, 13],
  text: ['A<br>size: 40', 'B<br>size: 60', 'C<br>size: 80', 'D<br>size: 100'],
  mode: 'markers',
  marker: {
    size: [400, 600, 800, 1000],
    sizemode: 'area'
  }
};

var trace2 = {
  x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
  y: [14, 15, 16, 17],
  text: ['A</br>size: 40</br>sixeref: 0.2', 'B</br>size: 60</br>sixeref: 0.2', 'C</br>size: 80</br>sixeref: 0.2', 'D</br>size: 100</br>sixeref: 0.2'],
  mode: 'markers',
  marker: {
    size: [400, 600, 800, 1000],
    //setting 'sizeref' to lower than 1 decreases the rendered size
    sizeref: 2,
    sizemode: 'area'
  }
};

var trace3 = {
  x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
  y: [20, 21, 22, 23],
  text: ['A</br>size: 40</br>sixeref: 2', 'B</br>size: 60</br>sixeref: 2', 'C</br>size: 80</br>sixeref: 2', 'D</br>size: 100</br>sixeref: 2'],
  mode: 'markers',
  marker: {
    size: [400, 600, 800, 1000],
    //setting 'sizeref' to less than 1, increases the rendered marker sizes
    sizeref: 0.2,
    sizemode: 'area'
  }
};

// sizeref using above forumla
var desired_maximum_marker_size = 40;
var size = [400, 600, 800, 1000];
var trace4 = {
  x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
  y: [26, 27, 28, 29],
  text: ['A</br>size: 40</br>sixeref: 1.25', 'B</br>size: 60</br>sixeref: 1.25', 'C</br>size: 80</br>sixeref: 1.25', 'D</br>size: 100</br>sixeref: 1.25'],
  mode: 'markers',
  marker: {
    size: size,
    //set 'sizeref' to an 'ideal' size given by the formula sizeref = 2. * max(array_of_size_values) / (desired_maximum_marker_size ** 2)
    sizeref: 2.0 * Math.max(...size) / (desired_maximum_marker_size**2),
    sizemode: 'area'
  }
};

var data = [trace1, trace2, trace3, trace4];

var layout = {
  title: {
    text: 'Size Scaling in Bubble Charts'
  },
  showlegend: false,
  height: 600,
  width: 600
};

Plotly.newPlot('myDiv', data, layout);

Marker Size, Color, and Symbol as an Array

var trace1 = {
  x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
  y: [10, 11, 12, 13],
  mode: 'markers',
  marker: {
    color: ['hsl(0,100,40)', 'hsl(33,100,40)', 'hsl(66,100,40)', 'hsl(99,100,40)'],
    size: [12, 22, 32, 42],
    opacity: [0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9]
  },
  type: 'scatter'
};

var trace2 = {
  x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
  y: [11, 12, 13, 14],
  mode: 'markers',
  marker: {
    color: 'rgb(31, 119, 180)',
    size: 18,
    symbol: ['circle', 'square', 'diamond', 'cross']
  },
  type: 'scatter'
};

var trace3 = {
  x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
  y: [12, 13, 14, 15],
  mode: 'markers',
  marker: {
    size: 18,
    line: {
      color: ['rgb(120,120,120)', 'rgb(120,120,120)', 'red', 'rgb(120,120,120)'],
      width: [2, 2, 6, 2]
    }
  },
  type: 'scatter'
};

var data = [trace1, trace2, trace3];

var layout = {showlegend: false};

Plotly.newPlot('myDiv', data, layout);