---
title: Scatter visualization
description: The Scatter view uses a scatter plot to display time series data.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb/cloud/visualize-data/visualization-types/scatter/
estimated_tokens: 2787
product: InfluxDB Cloud (TSM)
version: cloud
---

# Scatter visualization

The **Scatter** view uses a scatter plot to display time series data.

![Scatter plot example](/img/influxdb/2-0-visualizations-scatter-example.png)

Select the **Scatter** option from the visualization dropdown in the upper left.

## Scatter behavior

The scatter visualization maps each data point to X and Y coordinates. X and Y axes are specified with the [X Column](#data) and [Y Column](#data) visualization options. Each unique series is differentiated using fill colors and symbols. Use the [Symbol Column](#data) and [Fill Column](#data) options to select columns used to differentiate points in the visualization.

## Scatter controls

To view **Scatter** controls, click **Customize** next to the visualization dropdown.

###### Data

-   **Symbol Column**: Define a column containing values that should be differentiated with symbols.
-   **Fill Column**: Define a column containing values that should be differentiated with fill color.
-   **X Column**: Select a column to display on the x-axis.
-   **Y Column**: Select a column to display on the y-axis.
-   **Time Format**: Select the time format. Options include:
    -   YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss ZZ
    -   YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss a ZZ
    -   DD/MM/YYYY HH:mm:ss.sss
    -   DD/MM/YYYY hh:mm:ss.sss a
    -   MM/DD/YYYY HH:mm:ss.sss
    -   MM/DD/YYYY hh:mm:ss.sss a
    -   YYYY/MM/DD HH:mm:ss
    -   YYYY/MM/DD hh:mm:ss a
    -   HH:mm
    -   hh:mm a
    -   HH:mm:ss
    -   hh:mm:ss a
    -   HH:mm:ss ZZ
    -   hh:mm:ss a ZZ
    -   HH:mm:ss.sss
    -   hh:mm:ss.sss a
    -   MMMM D, YYYY HH:mm:ss
    -   MMMM D, YYYY hh:mm:ss a
    -   dddd, MMMM D, YYYY HH:mm:ss
    -   dddd, MMMM D, YYYY hh:mm:ss a

###### Options

-   **Color Scheme**: Select a color scheme to use for your scatter plot.

###### X Axis

-   **X Axis Label**: Label for the x-axis.
-   **Generate X-Axis Tick Marks**: Select the method to generate x-axis tick marks:
    -   **Auto**: Select to automatically generate tick marks.
    -   **Custom**: To customize the number of x-axis tick marks, select this option, and then enter the following:
        -   **Total Tick Marks**: Enter the total number of ticks to display.
        -   **Start Tick Marks At**: Enter the value to start ticks at.
        -   **Tick Mark Interval**: Enter the interval in between each tick.
-   **X Axis Domain**: The x-axis value range.
    -   **Auto**: Automatically determine the value range based on values in the data set.
    -   **Custom**: Manually specify the minimum x-axis value, maximum x-axis value, or range by including both.
        -   **Min**: Minimum x-axis value.
        -   **Max**: Maximum x-axis value.

###### Y Axis

-   **Y Axis Label**: Label for the y-axis.
-   **Y Tick Prefix**: Prefix to be added to y-value.
-   **Y Tick Suffix**: Suffix to be added to y-value.
-   **Generate Y-Axis Tick Marks**: Select the method to generate y-axis tick marks:
    -   **Auto**: Select to automatically generate tick marks.
    -   **Custom**: To customize the number of y-axis tick marks, select this option, and then enter the following:
        -   **Total Tick Marks**: Enter the total number of ticks to display.
        -   **Start Tick Marks At**: Enter the value to start ticks at.
        -   **Tick Mark Interval**: Enter the interval in between each tick.
-   **Y Axis Domain**: The y-axis value range.
    -   **Auto**: Automatically determine the value range based on values in the data set.
    -   **Custom**: Manually specify the minimum y-axis value, maximum y-axis value, or range by including both.
        -   **Min**: Minimum y-axis value.
        -   **Max**: Maximum y-axis value.

###### Hover Legend

-   **Orientation**: Select the orientation of the legend that appears upon hover:
    -   **Horizontal**: Select to display the legend horizontally.
    -   **Vertical**: Select to display the legend vertically.
-   **Opacity**: Adjust the legend opacity using the slider.
-   **Colorize Rows**: Select to display legend rows in colors.

## Scatter examples

### Cross-measurement correlation

The following example explores possible correlation between CPU and Memory usage. It uses data collected with the Telegraf [Mem](/telegraf/v1/plugins//#mem) and [CPU](/telegraf/v1/plugins//#cpu) input plugins.

###### Query CPU and memory usage

The following query creates a union of CPU and memory usage. It scales the CPU usage metric to better align with baseline memory usage.

```js
cpu = from(bucket: "example-bucket")
    |> range(start: v.timeRangeStart, stop: v.timeRangeStop)
    |> filter(fn: (r) => r._measurement == "cpu" and r._field == "usage_system" and r.cpu == "cpu-total")
    // Scale CPU usage
    |> map(fn: (r) => ({r with _value: r._value + 60.0, _time: r._time}))

mem = from(bucket: "example-bucket")
    |> range(start: v.timeRangeStart, stop: v.timeRangeStop)
    |> filter(fn: (r) => r._measurement == "mem" and r._field == "used_percent")

union(tables: [cpu, mem])
```

###### Use a scatter plot to visualize correlation

In the Scatter visualization controls, points are differentiated based on their group keys.

![Heatmap correlation example](/img/influxdb/2-0-visualizations-scatter-correlation.png)

## Important notes

### Differences between a scatter plot and a heatmap

Scatter plots and [Heatmaps](/influxdb/cloud/visualize-data/visualization-types/heatmap/) both visualize the distribution of data points on X and Y axes. However, in certain cases, scatterplots can “hide” points if they share the same X and Y coordinates.

For example, the dashboard cells below visualize the same query results:

![Heatmap vs Scatter plot](/img/influxdb/2-0-visualizations-heatmap-vs-scatter.png)

The heatmap indicates isolated high point density, which isn’t visible in the scatter plot. In the scatter plot visualization, points that share the same X and Y coordinates appear as a single point.

#### Related

-   [Heatmap visualization](/influxdb/cloud/visualize-data/visualization-types/heatmap/)