Visualize data with Smart Containers

Access the Smart Container shape library

To access the Smart Container shape library:

1. Open a Lucidchart document.
2. Click the Containers icon from the Primary Toolbar on the left-hand side of the workspace.

Add Smart Containers to the canvas

With a dataset

To automatically create Smart Containers using a spreadsheet, follow these steps:

1. Select Import Data from the bottom of the Smart Containers shape library on the left-hand side of the workspace.
2. Click Import Your Data.
3. Select a data import option.
4. Click Next.
5. Select a file to import.
6. Determine how you want the Smart Containers to be organized using the dropdown menus next to “Containers” and “Shape Title”.
   • Typically, a unique identifier (such as name or employee ID) in your data is selected as the “Shape Title”.
7. Click Next.

The Smart Containers will appear on the canvas.

Manually

To add Smart Containers to the canvas manually, without importing data, click the “Smart Containers” shape from the Shape menu.

Double-click a container or shape tile to edit the text inside.

Modify Smart Containers

After you have added Smart Containers to the document, you can modify them in various ways to fit your specific needs. Read the sections below for details on the ways you can modify your Smart Containers.

Change container grouping

To change how shape tiles are grouped within Smart Containers, follow these steps:

1. Hover your cursor over a Smart Container.
2. Click Smart Containers from the top-left corner of the selection.
3. Select the Layout tab from the top of the Context panel that appears on the right-hand side of the workspace.
4. In the “Layout” tab of the data panel, select an option from the “Group by” dropdown menu.
5. Select a new grouping option.

Add style and formatting

Smart Containers and the shape tiles within them can be formatted like regular shapes in Lucidchart. You can adjust styling such as fill color, font, text color, border color, etc. To learn more about how shapes can be formatted in Lucidchart, check out our Add and customize shapes in Lucidchart article.

You can set a default shape or container style by following these steps:

1. Select a shape tile or container on the canvas.
2. Style it how you want the default to appear.
3. In the Context panel on the right-hand side, select the Layout tab.
4. Under “Style”, select Set default shape style or Set default container style.

The remaining shape tiles or containers will be updated to match.

Adjust the layout

To adjust how the containers and shape tiles are arranged on the canvas, follow these steps:

1. Hover your cursor over a Smart Container.
2. Click Smart Containers from the top-left corner of the selection.
3. Select the Layout tab from the top of the Context panel that appears on the right-hand side of the workspace.
4. Under “Layout”, adjust the number dropdowns under “Wrap Containers” or “Wrap Shapes”.
   • Toggling either of these options off forces the containers or shape tiles to appear in one row rather than wrapping into multiple rows.

Manually add containers and shape tiles

You can manually adjust the layout of your Smart Containers in the following ways:

• Add an additional container or shape tile by clicking the plus sign icon at the top-right of the Smart Container selection.
• Rearrange containers and shape tiles by dragging and dropping.
• Delete a container or shape tile by selecting it and pressing “Delete” or “Backspace” on your keyboard.

Manually edit container or shape data

To manually edit the text on your containers and shape tiles:

1. Double-click a container or shape tile.
2. Select a piece of text you want to edit.
3. Type new data.

Manually editing a shape doesn’t alter your original data source, but the changes will remain in Lucidchart even after you refresh the data. If you want to override any manual changes made to containers or shape tiles, you need to replace the data instead of refreshing.

Display additional shape data

To display additional data fields on the shape tiles:

1. Hover your cursor over a Smart Container.
2. Click Smart Containers from the top-left corner of the selection.
3. Select the Layout tab from the top of the Context panel that appears on the right-hand side of the workspace.
4. Under “Manage Fields”, check the boxes next to the field you want to display.
   • To add a new custom field, click the plus sign icon to the right of “Manage Fields” and name the new field.

Refresh or replace the dataset

Replacing the data set is available to any account level. However, refreshing the dataset is only available to Enterprise accounts. See the Upgrade your Lucid account article for instructions to upgrade.

Refresh the data
If you make changes to the original dataset you used to import Smart Containers, you can refresh the data in Lucidchart to reflect those changes. To do this:

1. Hover your cursor over a Smart Container.
2. Click Smart Containers from the top-left corner of the selection.
3. Select the Data tab from the Context panel that appears on the right-hand side of the workspace.
4. Click Manage Data.
5. Select Refresh Dataset.

The containers and shape tiles will update to include the new information.

If you made manual changes to containers or shape tiles in Lucidchart and want to override those changes with the dataset, follow the steps below to “Replace the data” instead of refreshing.

Replace the data
To replace the data being used to create your Smart Containers with a new dataset or to override manual changes made in Lucidchart, follow these steps:

1. Hover your cursor over a Smart Container.
2. Click Smart Containers from the top-left corner of the selection.
3. Select the Data tab from the Context panel that appears on the right-hand side of the workspace.
4. Click Manage Data.
5. Select Replace Dataset.
6. Follow the prompts to import a new dataset.
   • If your dataset is entirely new, Lucidchart requires you to match the old data columns to the new one using dropdown menus.
   • If you are using the same dataset as the original import, Lucidchart will ask whether you want to keep any manual changes or override them with the dataset.
7. Click Replace Data.

The containers and shape tiles will update accordingly.

Export Smart Containers as a CSV file

To export Smart Containers in your Lucidchart document as a CSV file, follow these steps:

1. Hover your cursor over a Smart Container.
2. Click Smart Containers from the top-left corner of the selection.
3. Select the Data tab from the Context panel that appears on the right-hand side of the workspace.
4. Click Manage Data.
5. Select Export as CSV.
6. Click Download All Data as CSV or Download Changes as CSV.
   • “Download Changes as CSV” creates a CSV file containing only rows that have been changed in Lucidchart since the original import.

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