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Markers in ColdFusion charts

Last update:
May 18, 2026
Markers highlight specific data points on a chart. Markers are visual indicators to help users identify trends or key values on the chart. As a chart creator or developer using ColdFusion, here’s why markers are a key component in your charting journey:
  • Markers draw attention to key data points on the chart, allowing users to identify trends.
  • Markers can help interpret information on charts using two or more data sources.
  • Markers can highlight anomalies or outliers so users can report insights more granularly.
  • Markers can enhance the readability of a chart with many data points.
Using the cfchart and cfchartseries tags, you can add markers to scatter plots, line charts, bar charts, area charts, and more.
Note:
ColdFusion only supports area and line markers.

Customization options

ColdFusion provides extensive customization options for markers, including:
  • Shape: Circle, square, triangle, and more.
  • Size: Adjust the size of the marker to make it prominent on a chart.
  • Color: Change the color of the marker to make it more distinct.
  • Transparency: Adjust the transparency of the marker by assigning a value from 0-1.
  • ..and more. View the section Marker properties for more information.

Example code to get started

Here are two basic examples of how to add markers on a line chart in ColdFusion:
Example 1- Apply line marker
The sample code:
  1. Defines the marker of type line on the Y-axis.
  2. Sets the marker at the value 80 on the Y-axis.
  3. Defines the appearance of the marker, using the properties, lineColor, lineWidth, lineStyle, and alpha.
  4. Adds a text label for the marker on a white background.
  5. Uses the data set by the cfchartdata tag.
code
<cfscript>
    markers={
        "yaxis" = [
        {
            "type" = "line", 
            "range" = [80],
            "lineColor"= "red",
            "lineWidth"= 2,
            "lineStyle"="solid",
            "alpha"="0.8",
            "label"={
                "text"="Safe level, defined by Org.",
                "backgroundColor"= "white",
                "offsetX"=180,
                "offsetY"=-10
            }
        }
        ]
    }
</cfscript>
<cfchart format="html" type = "line" showMarkers = "true" markers="#markers#" showLegend="false" 
            height="600"
            width="800" 
            title="Average atmospheric level" >
    <cfchartseries>
        <cfchartdata item = "2013" value = 23>
        <cfchartdata item = "2014" value = 93>
        <cfchartdata item = "2015" value = 34>
        <cfchartdata item = "2016" value = 72>
        <cfchartdata item = "2017" value = 96>
        <cfchartdata item = "2018" value = 33>
        <cfchartdata item = "2019" value = 32>
        <cfchartdata item = "2020" value = 27>
        <cfchartdata item = "2021" value = 38>
        <cfchartdata item = "2022" value = 49>
        <cfchartdata item = "2023" value = 75>
        <cfchartdata item = "2024" value = 74>
    </cfchartseries>
</cfchart>
Output
Figure: A line chart using markers.
A line chart using markers.
Example 2- Apply area marker
The sample code:
  1. Defines the marker of type area on the Y-axis.
  2. Sets the marker at the range of values 0-20 on the Y-axis.
  3. Defines the transparency of the marker.
  4. Adds a text label for the marker on a white background.
  5. Uses the data set by the cfchartdata tag.
code
<cfscript>
    markers={

        "plot"={
            "type" = "circle", 
            "borderColor"="red",
            "borderWidth"="2",
            "size"=7,
            "borderAlpha"=0.7,
            "shadow"="true",
            "shadowColor"="black",
            "shadowAngle"=240,
            "shadowBlur"=0.7,
            "shadowDistance"=10,
            "shadowAlpha"=1
        },

        "yaxis" = [
        {
            "type"="area",
            "range"=[0,20],
            "alpha"="0.8",
            "label"={
                "text"="Inactive level",
                "backgroundColor"= "white"
            }
        }
        ]
    }
</cfscript>
<cfchart format="html" type = "area" showMarkers = "true" markers="#markers#" 
        showLegend="false" 
        height="600" 
        width="800" 
        title="Average atmospheric level" >
    <cfchartseries>
        <cfchartdata item = "2013" value = 23>
        <cfchartdata item = "2014" value = 93>
        <cfchartdata item = "2015" value = 34>
        <cfchartdata item = "2016" value = 72>
        <cfchartdata item = "2017" value = 96>
        <cfchartdata item = "2018" value = 33>
        <cfchartdata item = "2019" value = 32>
        <cfchartdata item = "2020" value = 27>
        <cfchartdata item = "2021" value = 38>
        <cfchartdata item = "2022" value = 49>
        <cfchartdata item = "2023" value = 75>
        <cfchartdata item = "2024" value = 74>
    </cfchartseries>
</cfchart>
Output
Figure: An area chart using markers.
An area chart using markers.
Example 3
The following script uses markers to set yAxis, scaleR, and other properties .
code
<cfscript>
    markers={   
    "plot" =
    {
        "type" = "triangle", 
        "borderColor"="red",
        "borderWidth"="4",
        "size"=7,
        "borderAlpha"=0.7
    },
    "yaxis" = [
        {"type" = "line", 
        "range" = [30],
        "lineColor"= "red",
        "lineWidth"= 2,
        "lineStyle"="solid",
        "alpha"="0.8",
        "label"= {
          "text"= "Test Label for Marker for bar chart"}},
          {
            "type" = "area", 
            "range" = [20, 60],
            "valueRange"= "true",
            "backgroundColor"= "red"} 
        ],
          
        "scaleR" =  [
            {
                "type": "area",
                "range": [30, 40],
                "alpha": 0.5,
                "backgroundColor": "##ff4d4d",
                "borderColor": "black",
                "borderWidth": 7,
                "offsetEnd": 1,
                "offsetStart": 0  
            },
            {
                "type" = "line", 
                "range" = [30,40],
                "lineColor"= "red",
                "lineWidth"= 5,
                "lineStyle"="dashdot",
                "alpha"="0.8",
                "label"= {
                    "text"= "Test Label for Marker in markers struct"
                }
            }
        ]}
        scaleR=
            {"markers"= [
                {
                    "type": "area",
                    "range": [20, 30],
                    "alpha": 1,
                    "backgroundColor": "##ff4d4d",
                    "borderColor": "black",
                    "borderWidth": 3,
                    "offsetEnd": 0.6,
                    "offsetStart": 0.8  
                },
                {
                    "type" = "line", 
                    "range" = [30],
                    "lineColor"= "red",
                    "lineWidth"= 2,
                    "lineStyle"="solid",
                    "alpha"="0.8",
                    "label"= {
                        "text"= "Test Label for Marker in scaleR separately"
                    }
                }
            ]
}    
</cfscript>
<cfchartset  format="html" layout="2x3" height="800" width="1400">
<cfchart type = "bar" showMarkers = "true" markers="#markers#"  >
    <cfchartseries >
        <cfchartdata item = "2015" value = 20>
        <cfchartdata item = "2016" value = 40>
        <cfchartdata item = "2017" value = 60>
        <cfchartdata item = "2018" value = 80>
    </cfchartseries>
</cfchart>
<cfchart type = "gauge" scaleR="#scaleR#">
    <cfchartseries >
        <cfchartdata item = "2015" value = 20>
        <cfchartdata item = "2016" value = 40>
        <cfchartdata item = "2017" value = 60>
        <cfchartdata item = "2018" value = 80>
    </cfchartseries>
</cfchart>
<cfchart type = "gauge"  markers="#markers#">
    <cfchartseries >
        <cfchartdata item = "2015" value = 20>
        <cfchartdata item = "2016" value = 40>
        <cfchartdata item = "2017" value = 60>
        <cfchartdata item = "2018" value = 80>
    </cfchartseries>
</cfchart>
<cfchart type="line" markers="#markers#" showMarkers ="true">
     <cfchartseries>
        <cfchartdata item = "2015" value = 20>
        <cfchartdata item = "2016" value = 40>
        <cfchartdata item = "2017" value = 60>
        <cfchartdata item = "2018" value = 80>
    </cfchartseries>
</cfchart>
</cfchartset>
Output

Marker properties

Customize markers with different shapes (circle, square, diamond, etc.), sizes, colors, and borders . They can also display labels, tooltips, or animations to provide additional context.
Styling Options  
Attributes  
Possible Values  
Common
type
line, area
range
indexes or values
alpha
0 to 1
label
valueRange
true/false
backgroundColor/background-color
backgroundColor1/background-color-1
backgroundColor2/background-color-2
border
format:- [top right bottom left]
borderAlpha/border-alpha
0 to 1
borderColor/border-color
color name or code
borderRadius
default-0,possible-negative and positive
borderRadiusBottomLeft
default-0,possible-negative and positive
borderRadiusBottomRight
default-0,possible-negative and positive
borderRadiusTopLeft
default-0,possible-negative and positive
borderRadiusTopRight
default-0,possible-negative and positive
borderWidth/border-width
default-0
fillAngle
default-90
fillOffsetX
default-0
fillOffsetY
default-0
fillType
default-linear, possible linear,none,radial
gradientColors
gradientStops
placement
top,bottom, default-bottom
shadow
Default Value: false
shadowAlpha
Default Value: 0.75
shadowAngle
Default Value: 45
shadowBlur
Default Value: 0
shadowColor
Default Value: '#999'
shadowDistance
Default Value: 2
label
labelAlignment/label-alignment
normal/opposite/auto
labelPlacement/label-placement
normal/opposite
labelTolerance/label-tolerance
textAlign/text-align
center,bottom,middle,right
textAlpha/text-alpha
0 to 1
overlap
true/false
text
any string
padding
for ex:- [10,4,20,30]- top,right,bottom,left respectively
paddingLeft/padding-left
default-value : 2 , possible values:-  number
paddingRight/padding-right
default-value : 2 , possible values:-  number
textDecoration/text-decoration
underline
url
bold
true/false
verticalAlign/vertical-align
top,middle.bottom
visible
true/false
rtl
true/false
fontColor/font-color
fontFamily/font-family
fontSize/font-size
fontSize/font-size
line marker specific
lineColor/line-color
lineGapSize/line-gap-size(works with this lineSegmentSize  line-segment-size)
lineStyle/line-style
dashdot, dashed, dotted, solid
lineWidth/line-width
offsetX/offset-x
offsetY/offset-y
offsetEnd
offsetStart
area markers specific
type
range
alpha
label
valueRange
backgroundColor/background-color
backgroundColor1/background-color-1
backgroundColor2/background-color-2
border
borderAlpha/border-alpha
borderColor/border-color
borderWidth/border-width
fillAngle
fillOffsetX
fillOffsetY
fillType
gradientColors
gradientStops
placement

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