SankeyMATIC Manual

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Labels & Units

The controls described on this page are found in the “Labels & Units” section of the SankeyMATIC Build interface.

If that section is collapsed, click on the title bar to expand it.

Specifying Unit Labels

To present your values with the proper units, use the “Prefix” and “Suffix” fields, found under “Labels & Units” > “Units”.

Examples:
Prefix Suffix Output
$ (blank) $70.25
$ K $70.25K
€ M €70.25M
(blank) TWh 70.25TWh

Note: SankeyMATIC does not trim spaces in labels. This gives you more direct control over their appearance.

Starting a suffix with a space will produce a space between the amount and the suffix.

This can make some labels more readable, as shown below:

Units Suffix = "QBTU" (no space)

Basic Sankey diagram example with no space between the amount labels and the example suffix QBTU

Units Suffix = " QBTU" (with a space)

Basic Sankey diagram example with a space between the amount labels and the example suffix QBTU

Show Totals in Node Labels?

Showing Node totals in labels can make the diagram nicely specific, but doing so can require a lot of horizontal room to keep the labels from intruding on other nodes.

You have the option of leaving out the specific totals by unchecking the “Show Node totals as part of labels” checkbox.

Show Node totals = ON

Basic Sankey diagram example with a space between the amount labels and the example suffix QBTU

Show Node totals = OFF

Basic Sankey diagram example with no amounts shown

Note: With the extra space, there is
more room to use a larger font size

Basic Sankey diagram example with no amounts shown, plus a larger label size

Numeric Precision in Labels

Normally SankeyMATIC will not display any trailing 0s after the decimal point in Node labels.

However, for some units (like dollars and cents) this can produce strange-looking output.

Check the “Show trailing zeroes (best for currency)” box to make sure trailing 0s are included when appropriate.

Show trailing zeroes = OFF

Basic Sankey diagram example with currency labels truncating zeroes, such as $6.2

Show trailing zeroes = ON

Basic Sankey diagram example with currency labels always showing trailing zeroes, such as $6.20

Labels vs. No Labels

If you want no labels to appear at all, you can turn them off by un-checking the “Show labels” checkbox.

You might use this approach if:

  • you are intending to apply your own custom labels in a separate graphics program
  • you are making a series of consistently-formatted small multiples which will have a separate legend describing them
  • you are making a tidy thumbnail version of a diagram
  • you are making artistic patterns that you don't want to clutter up with text
  • ...and so on.

Show labels = ON

Basic Sankey diagram example with text labels showing

Show labels = OFF

Basic Sankey diagram example with no text labels, only blank paths

Additional Controls

Additional label-presentation attributes you can control are:

  • Font size
  • Font color
  • Font face: sans-serif / serif / monospace
  • Font weight: Light / Normal / Bold . (Note: Light only applies to the sans-serif font face)

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