AG Grid Chart Non-Numeric Data: Visualizing Strings & Dates

Learn how to handle AG Grid Chart Non-Numeric Data like strings, dates, and more for effective data visualization.

If you have ever tried to make a chart in AG Grid and thought, “Why on earth isn’t this working?”, you are not alone. I’ve been there. Late night. It got quite cold. Console logs everywhere. A chart stubbornly refuses to render because—surprise—your data is not numeric. This isn’t just a bug; it’s a technical nuance of how AG Grid handles chart data.

This article exists because I wall myself.
I remember the exact moment. I built a dashboard for a client, feeling very confident. The data was clean. Columns were appreciated. Charts were active. I clicked “Create Chart” and… nothing. Or worse, an error which politely said absolutely nothing useful. That’s when I learned a critical technical lesson about AG Grid chart non-numeric data—a lesson every developer usually acquires the hard way.

So let us save you the frustration.
In this guide, we’ll cover:

• Why AG Grid charts don’t support non-numeric data directly
  
• What that actually means in technical practice
  
• How to use text, strings, enums, booleans, dates, and more the right way—without hacks or guesswork

Table of Contents

1. What Developers Mean by “AG Grid Chart Non-Numeric Data”
2. The Straight Answer (No Sugar Coating)
3. Why Charts Mandate Numeric Data (In Plain English)
4. The First Mistake Everyone Makes (Including Me)
5. Using Non-Numeric Data: Seam Categories (The Right Way)
6. Mapping Strings to Numbers (Enums, Status, Priorities)
7. Extracting Meaningful Metrics from Text
8. Handling Dates in AG Grid Charts
9. Community vs Enterprise Charts: What Changes?
10. What You Can’t Do (And Stop Trying)
11. Real-World Example: From Messy Data to Clean Chart
12. Performance, UX, and Best Practices
13. SEO-Friendly Summary & Key Takeaways

1. What Developers Mean by “AG Grid Chart Non-Numeric Data”

AG Grid Chart non-numeric data questions usually come from frustration. Developers aren’t asking theoretically—they are stuck.

They are dealing with data like:

• Status values (Open, Closed, Pending)
• Categories (Electronics, Clothing, Furniture)
• Boolean flags (Correct, Mistaken)
• Dates (2024-01-01)
• Text-based preferences (Low, Medium, High)

And they are trying to figure out why it won’t chart.

The problem? AG Grid charts expect numbers where you’re allocating words.

2. The Straight Answer (No Sugar Coating)

Let’s clear this up quickly:

AG Grid charts cannot plot non-numeric data on the value axis.

That’s it. It’s the rule.

• If a column is used as a series (value) in a chart, it must be numeric.
• Strings, text, and booleans won’t work directly—no amount of configuration magic will change that.

But—this is important—non-numeric data is still incredibly useful when used correctly.

3. Why Charts Necessitate Numeric Data (In Plain English)

Charts are visual math.

• A bar chart asks: “How tall should this bar be?”
• A line chart asks: “How far up or down should this point go?”

Text can’t answer those questions. It’s like trying to measure height using colors—Red, Blue, Green—which one is significant?

AG Grid charts require numeric values on the series axis. It’s not a limitation—it’s how charts fundamentally work.

4. The First Mistake Everyone Makes (Including Me)

Here’s a mistake I made early on:

I tried to map a status column directly:

{ status: ‘Open’ }

{ status: ‘Off’ }

In my head, it made sense. “I just want to visualize statuses in a chart.”

But charts do not display values—they manifest relationships.

Once I realized that, everything clicked. You don’t map text. You map what the text represents.

5. Using Non-Numeric Data: Seam Categories (The Right Way)

AG Grid charts require categories for non-numeric data.

Non-numeric data belongs on the category axis, not the value axis.

Example:

rowData = [

  { status: ‘Open’, count: 14 },

  { status: ‘Off’, count: 9 },

  { status: ‘Waiting’, count: 4 }

];

const columnDefs = [

  { field: ‘status’, chartDataType: ‘category’ },

  { field: ‘count’, chartDataType: ‘series’ }

];

Now the chart makes sense:

• Status is the label
• Count is the measurable value

This approach works for most dashboards.

6. Mapping Strings to Numbers (Enums, Status, Priorities)

Sometimes categories are not enough. What if you want to:

• Compare priorities
• Plot progression
• Arrange meaningfully

This is where mapping comes in.

Example:

const priorityMap = { Decreased: 1, Medium: 2, High: 3 };

{ field: ‘priority’, valueGetter: params => priorityMap[params.data.priority] }

Charts don’t lie—you translate:

• Celsius → Fahrenheit
• Text → Meaningful numbers

After that, you can use axis labels or tooltips to display the original text.

7. Extracting Meaningful Metrics from Text

Often, what we need are frequencies:

• How many orders per status?
• How many users per category?
• How many tickets per category?

Example:

rowData = [

  { category: ‘bug’, total: 23 },

  { category: ‘function’, total: 12 },

  { category: ‘support’, total: 8 }

];

Now you’re mapping insight, not raw data. This is the difference between a useless chart and a powerful one.

8. Handling Dates in AG Grid Charts

Dates are tricky—they aren’t numeric, but under the hood, they are numbers.

AG Grid supports dates in charts, but how you use them matters.

Option 1: Category axis

{ field: ‘createdAt’, chartDataType: ‘category’ }

• Good for discrete events and small datasets

Option 2: Timeline (Enterprise)

{ field: ‘createdAt’, chartDataType: ‘time’ }

• Best for trends, time series, analytics dashboards

9. Community vs Enterprise Charts: What Changes?

Characteristic	Community	Enterprise
Basic Charts	✅	✅
Category Axis	✅	✅
Time Axis	❌	✅
Advanced Formatting	❌	✅

If mapping dates is significant, Enterprise is worth it.
If not, Community handles 90% of use cases.

10. What You Can’t Do (And Stop Trying)

Let me save you hours of trial and error:

You cannot plot strings as values
You cannot use booleans without conversion
You cannot force text onto a numeric axis
You cannot map raw objects

If you think: “There should be a setting for this…” — there isn’t. And that’s okay.

11. Real-World Example: From Messy Data to Clean Chart

Raw Data (what we receive):

{ Status: ‘Activate’, AssignedTo: ‘Ali’, Priority: ‘High’ }

Prepared data for the chart (what matters):

{ Status: ‘Open’, Count: 1, PreferredValue: 3 }

The chart doesn’t care about everything. It cares about what matters.

Once I learned to separate display data from chart data, my dashboards became cleaner, faster, and more meaningful.

12. Performance, UX, and Best Practices

Hard-earned lessons:

• Preprocess data before transferring it to the grid
• Do not overload charts with categories
• Always mark axes clearly
• Prioritize counts over raw text
• Keep charts focused on one question
• Charts should explain, not confuse

13. Key Takings

AG Grid Chart Non-Numeric Data Key Takeaways:

• AG Grid charts necessitate numeric values on the series axis
• Non-numeric data belongs in categories
• Map strings to numbers if needed
• Extract meaningful metrics from text
• Dates require careful handling
• Stop fighting the chart—work with it

Final Thought:
When you stop trying to force non-numeric data into charts and instead translate it into meaning, AG Grid becomes incredibly powerful. I learned this the hard way—you don’t have to.

Additional Resources

1.AG Grid Integrated Charts Overview: Official guide on integrated charts in AG Grid: Learn how charts work, including series and category setup, and common usage patterns.

2.AG Charts Axis Types (Category, Time, Number): Explore axis types in AG Charts: Understand the difference between category, numeric, and time axes, essential for handling non-numeric data correctly.