> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.custral.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Heatmap

> Density across two categorical axes.

<Frame caption="A heatmap showing value density across rows and columns.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/custral/NGCdls_pt-1YDx5S/images/charts/heatmap.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=NGCdls_pt-1YDx5S&q=85&s=5c0a1021289b2a99f24576979b9cacae" alt="A heatmap showing value density across rows and columns." width="760" height="260" data-path="images/charts/heatmap.png" />
</Frame>

## When to use

Heatmaps reveal patterns across two categorical dimensions: hour-of-day vs day-of-week, channel vs disposition, sales rep vs deal stage. Color intensity encodes the value at each intersection.

## Required data shape

* **Rows**: a categorical property.
* **Columns**: a second categorical property.
* **Value (optional)**: numeric property aggregated per cell; defaults to count.

## Configuration

| Setting     | What it does                                                       |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Rows        | The property whose values form the row axis.                       |
| Columns     | The property whose values form the column axis.                    |
| Value       | The numeric value aggregated per cell. Defaults to a record count. |
| Aggregation | How values roll up: Count, Sum, or Average.                        |

## Limitations

* Best with bounded axes (24 hours, 7 days). Open-ended axes (record id) are not useful.
* Color scale defaults to linear; for highly skewed data, switch to log.


## Related topics

- [Business Intelligence](/bi/overview.md)
- [Chart drill-down](/bi/reporting/drill-down.md)
- [Reporting](/bi/reporting/overview.md)
- [Blocks](/blocks/overview.md)
- [Assemble a support inbox](/recipes/support-inbox.md)