Published-release documentation · release compatibility

Appearance Encodings

Cars scatterplot with grouped regression lines and confidence bands — Layered points, derived fits, and confidence bands.

Canonical appearance compatibility

Action	Marks	Field types	Scale family	Item grain and units
`encodeSize`	point	quantitative, nominal, ordinal	linear, log, sqrt, pow, quantize, quantile, threshold; ordinal for categories	row-owned point; range values are areas; remove explicit radius first
`encodeShape`	point	nominal	ordinal	row-owned point; conflicts with explicit constant shape
`encodeOpacity`	point, line, rule, bar	quantitative or constant	linear for field; none for constant	point/rule item, complete line series, or final bar cell; values within one series/cell must agree
`encodeStrokeWidth`	line, rule	quantitative or constant	linear, log, sqrt, pow, symlog for field; none for constant	complete line series or rule item; width in logical pixels
`encodeStrokeDash`	line, rule	nominal or constant	ordinal for field; none for constant	complete line series or rule item; series values must agree
`encodeAngle`	point, tick	quantitative or constant	none	item; clockwise degrees; circles retain the angle as a visual no-op
`encodePointRadius` / `encodeRadius`	point	constant	none	glyph radius in logical pixels; independent from Polar position r
`encodeBarWidth`	bar	constant band fraction, pixels, or UTC calendar interval	parent category band, temporal interval, or quantitative slot	aggregate or ranged bar; histogram bins own their width

At a glance

Action	Shortest call	Inference/defaults	Result
`encodeRadius` / `encodePointRadius`	`encodePointRadius({ value: 3 })`	Current point mark	Concrete point glyph radius
`removePointRadius`	`removePointRadius()`	Current point with explicit radius	Theme-default glyph radius
`encodeSize`	`encodeSize({ field: "Acceleration" })`	Current point; linear scale; area range `[24, 196]`	Semantic size and concrete equal-area symbols
`encodeShape`	`encodeShape({ field: "Origin" })`	Current point; 12-value ordinal shape range	Semantic shape and mixed concrete symbols
`encodeAngle`	`encodeAngle({ field: "direction" })`	Current point or Tick; direct clockwise degrees	Rotated concrete paths or line endpoints
`encodeOpacity`	`encodeOpacity({ value: 0.27 })`	Current Point/Rule/Line/Bar/Rect	Constant concrete opacity
`encodeOpacity`	`encodeOpacity({ field: "Acceleration" })`	Current Point/Rule/Line/Bar/Rect; linear scale; range `[0.2, 1]`	Semantic field opacity and concrete values
`encodeStroke`	`encodeStroke({ value: "#334155" })`	Current supported mark	Constant concrete outline color
`encodeStroke`	`encodeStroke({ field: "status" })`	Current supported mark; independent ordinal stroke scale	Field-driven item or series outline
`encodeStrokeWidth`	`encodeStrokeWidth({ value: 3 })`	Current Line/Rule/Rect	Constant concrete width
`encodeStrokeWidth`	`encodeStrokeWidth({ field: "weight" })`	Current line/rule/rect; quantitative scale; width range `[1, 8]`	Field-driven rule/rect items or line series
`encodeBarWidth`	`encodeBarWidth()`	Current bar; first assignment uses band `0.72`	Saved width; rectangles when positions are complete
`selectMarks`	`selectMarks({ field: "Horsepower", op: "max" })`	Current or unique mark; deterministic selection ID	Reusable semantic final-item selection
`editMarkSelection`	`editMarkSelection({ field: "Horsepower", op: "min" })`	Current or unique stored selection	Same ID/target with a replaced selector
`highlightMarks`	`highlightMarks({ select: { field: "Horsepower", op: "max" } })`	Current point/bar/path/rule; red accent; selected-last	Concrete selected-item emphasis
`removeMarkHighlight`	`removeMarkHighlight()`	Current or unique highlighted selection	Clean mark baseline with selection retained
`removeMarkSelection`	`removeMarkSelection()`	Current or unique stored selection	Selection and dependent highlight released

Appearance actions change final mark style without changing position. Use the focused pages below for selection, point appearance, and mark-specific style.

Supported highlight marks

Action	Supported marks	Grain	Result
`selectMarks` / `highlightMarks`	point, bar, line, area, rect, arc, rule, tick	item; stacked bars also support stack	selection intent and mark-specific durable emphasis

Focused appearance families

Selection and highlightingSelect final graphical items and apply durable emphasis. Point appearanceRadius, size, shape, and opacity encodings. Mark styleRule stroke and aggregate or ranged bar width.

Errors and limitations

Radius, constant stroke, constant rule width, constant opacity, and both bar width modes are graphical constants. Field stroke, field opacity, and field-driven stroke width are semantic encodings. Angle is a scale-free semantic encoding for point and Tick glyphs; circles accept it as a visual no-op. Size cannot be combined with a constant radius. Remove that assignment with removePointRadius() before encoding size. A constant editPointMark shape cannot be combined with field-driven encodeShape. Bar width can be assigned before positions. Completed aggregate or ranged bars use that width; group layout requires matching color and directional offset semantics. Histogram bins reject a saved category-slot width. Ambiguous targets, duplicate inferred selection IDs, incompatible item-grain selectors, and point-inapplicable highlight options fail before creating partial selection or appearance state. Each supported mark accepts only the style properties listed on the focused selection page.

Marks · Position encodings · Series encodings · Legends

Explicit shape ranges may reuse supported shapes for different categories. Provide an entry for every domain value; automatic ranges remain distinct and do not cycle.

Documentation provenance

293 actions · sha256:e755591a2e5f5e2b494867583876e28020a478c5220b77bdc6ad469a6224891d