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Creating a basic chart

Last update:
May 18, 2026
You can create a chart in either of the following ways:
  • Using the cfchart, cfchartseries, and cfchartdata tags in a ColdFusion page.
  • Using the chart wizard that is included with the ColdFusion Report Builder. For more information, see Creating Reports and Documents for Printing.

Creating a chart with ColdFusion tags

To create a chart with ColdFusion tags, you use the cfchart tag along with at least one cfchartseries tag. You can optionally include one or more cfchartdata tags within a cfchartseries tag. The following table describes these tags:
Tag
Description
cfchart
Specifies the container in which the chart appears. This container defines the height, width, background color, labels, fonts, and other characteristics of the chart. Include at least one cfchartseries tag within the cfchart tag.
cfchartseries{{}}
Specifies a database query that supplies the data to the chart and one or more cfchartdata tags that specify individual data points. Specifies the chart type, colors for the chart, and other optional attributes.
cfchartdata{{}}
Optionally specifies an individual data point to the cfchartseries tag.
The following example shows an outline of the basic code that you use to create a chart:
<cfchartseries type="type">

<cfchartdata item="something" value="number">

</cfchartseries>

</chart>
The following example displays a simple pie chart that shows four values:
<cfchartseries type="pie">

<cfchartdata item="New car sales" value="50000">

<cfchartdata item="Used car sales" value="25000">

<cfchartdata item="Leasing" value="30000">

<cfchartdata item="Service" value="40000">

</cfchartseries>

</cfchart>
Note: If you access charting functionality using Java calls, a watermark ‘Developer Edition - Not for Production Use’ might be displayed on the chart images. To avoid this, when you assign the server object to a reference, instead of svr.getDefaultInstance(getPageContext().getServletContext());), use the following code (by prefixing svr=) :*svr=*svr.getDefaultInstance(getPageContext().getServletContext());). Ensure that you restart the server for the changes to take effect.

Creating a chart with the Report Builder wizard

The ColdFusion Report Builder includes a wizard that lets you create charts easily. The wizard lets you specify all of the chart characteristics that you can specify using the cfchart, cfchartseries, and cfchartdata tags. For information about using the Report Builder chart wizard, see Creating Reports and Documents for Printing.

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