Direct Answer: How to Add a Heatmap Widget in OnePlan
To add a Heatmap widget in OnePlan, open a dashboard tab, click New > Widget, select a data source, then select Visualizations > Heatmap, configure the Y-Axis (rows), X-Axis (columns), Value field and aggregation, optionally sort either axis by value, choose a color palette, and click Add. The heatmap uses color intensity to show how the aggregated value varies across the intersection of two dimensions.
What This Article Covers: Heatmap Widgets
This article explains how to configure and add a Heatmap widget to a reporting dashboard in OnePlan. It covers every field in the Add Heatmap Widget form — including the Color Settings section — and provides configuration examples.
What you will accomplish Add a Heatmap widget that uses color intensity to reveal patterns and outliers across two dimensions of your data.
Before You Begin: Heatmap Widgets
- You must have an existing dashboard tab. See How to Create a Reporting Dashboard Tab in OnePlan if you haven’t created one yet.
- Heatmap widgets are available on Portfolio Area, Plan, and Global Resource Plan dashboards with most data sources. They are not available with the Timesheets data source on Plan dashboards.
- For the full availability matrix, see Reporting Widgets in OnePlan - Overview.
Why This Matters: Heatmap Widgets
Reveal Patterns Across Two Dimensions at Once
A Heatmap encodes three pieces of information into a single grid cell: the row category, the column category, and the intensity of a value at their intersection. This makes it possible to spot patterns — like which business units have the highest budget in Q3, or which resource roles are overallocated in a given month — in a single glance.
Color Makes Outliers Immediately Visible
Because intensity is encoded in color, high and low values jump out visually without requiring viewers to compare numbers. Heatmaps are especially effective for large datasets where scanning a table would be slow.
Configurable Color Palettes for Different Contexts
OnePlan heatmaps support multiple color palette options — including a Red Yellow Green option that conveys health status semantics (red = bad, green = good) — and an Invert Colors option for contexts where lower values should appear darker.
Sort Either Axis to Surface What Matters First
Heatmaps can be sorted by the values on both the X-Axis and Y-Axis, so the rows or columns with the highest (or lowest) values appear first instead of relying on default field ordering. This makes it faster to identify priorities and patterns without rearranging the underlying data.
Step-by-Step: Adding a Heatmap Widget in OnePlan
Task: Open the Add Heatmap Widget Form
- Navigate to the dashboard tab where you want to add the heatmap.
- Click New > Widget.
- Select a data source:
- Portfolio Area dashboards: Plans, Financials, or Resource Plans
- Plan dashboards: Work Items, Plan, Financials, or Resource Plans (not Timesheets)
- Global Resource Plan dashboards: no selection required
- Click Visualizations > Heatmap. The Add Heatmap Widget form will open with a live preview panel on the left.
Task: Configure the Heatmap Axes and Value
The heatmap is built from three fields: the row dimension (Y-Axis), the column dimension (X-Axis), and the value that drives color intensity (Value).
- Title (checkbox) — Check to display the widget title. Checked by default.
- Legend (checkbox) — Check to display a color legend showing the value range. Checked by default.
- Title — Enter a label. Defaults to “Heatmap”. Example: “Budget by Business Unit and Quarter”.
- Y-Axis — Choose the field that defines the rows of the heatmap. Example: Business Unit, Resource Role, Plan Type.
- X-Axis — Choose the field that defines the columns of the heatmap. Example: Quarter, Month, Investment Category.
- Value — Choose the field whose aggregated value determines the color intensity of each cell. Example: Budget, Allocated Hours, (Id) for item count.
- Aggregate — Choose how to compute the Value for each cell. Becomes active after Value is selected. Options: Sum, Average, Minimum, Maximum.
- Sort Y-Axis (optional) — Choose what to sort rows by: Label (the Y-Axis field’s values, alphabetically) or Value (the aggregated cell value). Click the × to clear the selection and return to default field order.
- Sort Order — Appears once Sort Y-Axis is set. Choose Ascending or Descending.
- Sort X-Axis (optional) — Choose what to sort columns by: Label (the X-Axis field’s values, alphabetically) or Value (the aggregated cell value). Click the × to clear the selection.
- Sort Order — Appears once Sort X-Axis is set. Choose Ascending or Descending.
### Task: Configure Color Settings
The Color Settings section controls how values are represented by color.
Color Palette — Select a palette option: -
Sequential (default) — A single-color gradient
from light to dark (blue). Use for neutral numeric ranges where no value
carries a positive or negative connotation. - Red Yellow
Green — A traffic-light gradient from red (low) to yellow (mid)
to green (high). Use for health or performance metrics where high values
are desirable. - Grey Scale — A greyscale gradient from
light to dark. Use for print-friendly output or when color is reserved
for other meaning on the same dashboard. - Advanced —
Lets you pick a custom Base Color. Click the
Base Color swatch to open the color picker, choose a
color (by clicking the color field, using the HEX/RGB inputs, or
dragging the sliders), and click Apply.
OnePlan generates a five-shade gradient palette from
that base color, shown as a row of swatches you can select from.
Invert Colors (checkbox) — Reverses the color scale so that low values appear darker and high values appear lighter. Use when lower values are more significant — for example, when a lower risk score is better.
Range Scaling — Controls how the color scale maps to your data values. Defaults to Linear. - Linear — The color scale is distributed evenly across the full range of values. Use for most scenarios. - Logarithmic — The color scale compresses large value ranges so that smaller values remain visually distinct. Use when your data has extreme outliers that would otherwise wash out color variation across the majority of values.
Add a Widget Filter
Add a Filter — Optionally restrict the heatmap’s data. The label reflects the active data source (e.g., Add a Plans Filter, Add a Work Items Filter).
Warning: Widget-level filters layer on top of dashboard-level filters. If they conflict, the heatmap may show no data.
Task: Add the Heatmap to the Dashboard
- Review the live preview. Confirm the rows, columns, and color distribution look correct.
- Click Add. The heatmap appears on the dashboard.
- Click Save to save the dashboard.
Example: Investment Category by Status Heatmap
A heatmap comparing active risk counts across status and investment category might be configured as:
- Title: “Investment Category by Status w/ Active Risk”
- Y-Axis: Status, Sort Y-Axis: Value, Sort Order: Descending — rows are ordered with the highest active risk count first
- X-Axis: Investment Category, Sort X-Axis: Label, Sort Order: Ascending — columns are ordered alphabetically by category name
- Value: Active Risks, Aggregate: Sum
This surfaces the statuses with the most active risk first, while keeping investment categories in a predictable alphabetical order across the top.
Frequently Asked Questions: Heatmap Widgets
Q: How do I add a Heatmap widget to a reporting dashboard in OnePlan? A: In OnePlan, open the dashboard tab, click New > Widget, select a data source, click Heatmap, configure the Y-Axis (rows), X-Axis (columns), Value field, aggregation, and color settings, then click Add and Save.
Q: What do the Y-Axis, X-Axis, and Value fields do on a Heatmap widget in OnePlan? A: In OnePlan, Y-Axis defines the row categories, X-Axis defines the column categories, and Value is the field whose aggregated result determines the color intensity at each row-column intersection. For example, Y-Axis = Business Unit, X-Axis = Quarter, Value = Budget (Sum) shows total budget per business unit per quarter, with color indicating which combinations have the highest spend.
Q: When should I use Red Yellow Green vs. Sequential color palette in OnePlan? A: In OnePlan, use Red Yellow Green when your value represents a performance or health metric where high values are good (green) and low values are concerning (red) — for example, completion percentage or plan health score. Use Sequential for neutral metrics like budget or headcount where there is no inherent good/bad direction.
Q: What does Invert Colors do on a Heatmap in OnePlan? A: In OnePlan, Invert Colors reverses the color scale so that lower values display as darker and higher values as lighter. Use this when a lower value carries more significance — for example, if you want high risk scores to appear darker to draw attention.
Q: What does Range Scaling do on a Heatmap widget in OnePlan? A: In OnePlan, Range Scaling controls how the color gradient maps to your data range. Linear distributes color evenly across the full range of values. If your data has extreme outliers that cause most cells to display a similar color, adjusting the scaling can improve contrast across the majority of values.
Q: Why is the Heatmap option not available for my data source in OnePlan? A: In OnePlan, Heatmap widgets are not available with the Timesheets data source on Plan dashboards. If you have selected Timesheets, the Heatmap option will not appear in the widget type list. Switch to a different data source or use a chart widget to visualize timesheet data instead.
Q: Can I sort a Heatmap by value in OnePlan? A: In OnePlan, Heatmap widgets support sorting on both the X-Axis and Y-Axis. Use Sort X-Axis and Sort Y-Axis to choose whether to sort by Label (the axis field’s values) or Value (the aggregated cell value), then set Sort Order to Ascending or Descending. Click the × next to a sort field to clear it and return to default field order.
Q: What is the Advanced color palette on a Heatmap widget in OnePlan? A: In OnePlan, the Advanced color palette lets you choose a custom Base Color using a color picker (by clicking the color field, entering HEX/RGB values, or dragging the sliders). OnePlan then generates a five-shade gradient palette from that base color.
What to Do Next: Heatmap Widgets
Add more widget types: - How to Add a Card Widget in OnePlan - How to Add a Chart Widget in OnePlan - How to Add a Table Widget in OnePlan - How to Add a Gauge Widget in OnePlan - How to Add a Pivot Chart Widget in OnePlan - How to Add a Treemap Widget in OnePlan
Manage widgets after adding them: - How to Edit and Delete Reporting Widgets in OnePlan - How to Resize, Rearrange, and Full-Screen Widgets in OnePlan
See a complete worked example: - Reporting Dashboard Configuration in OnePlan - Guided Workflow
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