Overview
Beyond standard columns, lines, and pies, the pptx.dev API supports specialty chart types for advanced data visualization. These charts help you communicate complex data patterns that basic charts cannot express.
Specialty Chart Types
| Chart type | Use case |
|---|---|
WATERFALL |
Financial bridges (revenue build, cost breakdown) |
FUNNEL |
Pipeline stages, conversion funnels |
TREEMAP |
Hierarchical data, category proportions |
HISTOGRAM |
Frequency distributions |
BOX_AND_WHISKER |
Statistical spread and outliers |
SCATTER |
Correlation between two variables |
RADAR / FILLED_RADAR |
Multi-dimensional comparisons |
PARETO |
80/20 analysis |
SPARKLINE |
Inline mini-charts |
DUMBBELL |
Before/after comparisons |
BULLET_COLUMN / BULLET_BAR |
Performance vs. target |
DOT_PLOT |
Distribution visualization |
Waterfall Chart
Perfect for showing how a starting value is affected by positive and negative changes:
{
"$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf/v1",
"name": "Revenue Bridge — Q1 to Q2",
"slides": [
{
"layout": "chart-1x-title-center",
"title": "Revenue Bridge — Q1 to Q2",
"chart": {
"type": "waterfall",
"data": {
"columns": [
"Series",
"Q1 Revenue",
"New Sales",
"Upsells",
"Churn",
"Downgrades",
"Q2 Revenue"
],
"rows": [
[
"Revenue ($K)",
400,
120,
45,
-30,
-15,
520
]
]
}
},
"design": {
"titleAlignment": "center",
"contentAlignment": "center"
}
}
],
"catalogs": {
"layouts": {
"records": [
{
"$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf-layout/v1",
"id": "chart-1x-title-center",
"name": "Chart 1x Title Center",
"placeholders": [
{
"type": "title"
},
{
"type": "chart"
}
]
}
]
}
}
}
Funnel Chart
Visualize conversion through stages:
{
"$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf/v1",
"name": "Sales Funnel — March 2026",
"slides": [
{
"layout": "chart-1x-title-center",
"title": "Sales Funnel — March 2026",
"chart": {
"type": "funnel",
"data": {
"columns": [
"Series",
"Leads",
"Qualified",
"Demo",
"Proposal",
"Closed Won"
],
"rows": [
[
"Count",
1200,
480,
180,
72,
28
]
]
}
},
"design": {
"titleAlignment": "center",
"contentAlignment": "center"
}
}
],
"catalogs": {
"layouts": {
"records": [
{
"$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf-layout/v1",
"id": "chart-1x-title-center",
"name": "Chart 1x Title Center",
"placeholders": [
{
"type": "title"
},
{
"type": "chart"
}
]
}
]
}
}
}
Treemap Chart
Show hierarchical data as nested rectangles:
{
"$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf/v1",
"name": "Revenue by Product Category",
"slides": [
{
"layout": "chart-1x-title-center",
"title": "Revenue by Product Category",
"chart": {
"type": "treemap",
"data": {
"columns": [
"Series",
"Enterprise SaaS",
"Mid-Market",
"SMB",
"Consulting",
"Training"
],
"rows": [
[
"Revenue ($K)",
320,
180,
95,
45,
20
]
]
}
},
"design": {
"titleAlignment": "center",
"contentAlignment": "center"
}
}
],
"catalogs": {
"layouts": {
"records": [
{
"$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf-layout/v1",
"id": "chart-1x-title-center",
"name": "Chart 1x Title Center",
"placeholders": [
{
"type": "title"
},
{
"type": "chart"
}
]
}
]
}
}
}
Scatter Chart
Show correlation between two variables:
{
"$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf/v1",
"name": "Deal Size vs. Sales Cycle Length",
"slides": [
{
"layout": "chart-1x-title-center",
"title": "Deal Size vs. Sales Cycle Length",
"chart": {
"type": "scatter",
"data": {
"columns": [
"Series",
"Point 1",
"Point 2",
"Point 3",
"Point 4",
"Point 5"
],
"rows": [
[
"X",
15,
30,
45,
60,
90
],
[
"Y",
5000,
12000,
28000,
55000,
120000
]
]
}
},
"design": {
"titleAlignment": "center",
"contentAlignment": "center"
}
}
],
"catalogs": {
"layouts": {
"records": [
{
"$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf-layout/v1",
"id": "chart-1x-title-center",
"name": "Chart 1x Title Center",
"placeholders": [
{
"type": "title"
},
{
"type": "chart"
}
]
}
]
}
}
}
Radar Chart
Compare multiple dimensions at once:
{
"$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf/v1",
"name": "Product Feature Comparison",
"slides": [
{
"layout": "chart-1x-title-center",
"title": "Product Feature Comparison",
"chart": {
"type": "radar-with-markers",
"data": {
"columns": [
"Series",
"Speed",
"Reliability",
"Features",
"Support",
"Price"
],
"rows": [
[
"Our Product",
9,
8,
7,
9,
6
],
[
"Competitor",
6,
7,
9,
5,
8
]
]
}
},
"design": {
"titleAlignment": "center",
"contentAlignment": "center"
}
}
],
"catalogs": {
"layouts": {
"records": [
{
"$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf-layout/v1",
"id": "chart-1x-title-center",
"name": "Chart 1x Title Center",
"placeholders": [
{
"type": "title"
},
{
"type": "chart"
}
]
}
]
}
}
}
Map Charts
Visualize data geographically:
{
"$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf/v1",
"name": "Revenue by Region",
"slides": [
{
"layout": "chart-1x-title-center",
"title": "Revenue by Region",
"chart": {
"type": "united-states",
"data": {
"columns": [
"Series",
"California",
"Texas",
"New York",
"Florida",
"Illinois"
],
"rows": [
[
"Revenue ($K)",
450,
280,
320,
190,
150
]
]
}
},
"design": {
"titleAlignment": "center",
"contentAlignment": "center"
}
}
],
"catalogs": {
"layouts": {
"records": [
{
"$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf-layout/v1",
"id": "chart-1x-title-center",
"name": "Chart 1x Title Center",
"placeholders": [
{
"type": "title"
},
{
"type": "chart"
}
]
}
]
}
}
}
Choosing the Right Specialty Chart
| Question | Chart type |
|---|---|
| "How did we get from X to Y?" | WATERFALL |
| "Where are we losing leads?" | FUNNEL |
| "What is the biggest category?" | TREEMAP |
| "Are these two things correlated?" | SCATTER |
| "How does our product compare?" | RADAR |
| "What is the distribution?" | HISTOGRAM or BOX_AND_WHISKER |
| "Where are our customers?" | Map charts |
Next Steps
- Start with column and bar charts for basic comparisons
- Learn about line charts for trends
- See all chart types