How to Highlight Breaches of a Target Line on Combined Charts
Introduction
Combined basic charts let you overlay a flat reference line — the Constant Value metric — on top of your real metrics to mark a target, threshold, or goal. With Breach Mode, you can go one step further: whenever a metric crosses your line, the chart highlights the breach in red and shades the area between the metric and the line.
This makes it effortless to spot exactly when and how badly your historical data breached a threshold — no squinting at crossings required.
Before You Begin
You need a Dynamic Dashboard you can edit.
Breach Mode lives on the Combined basic chart widget — the chart type that layers multiple metrics on a single chart.
Step 1: Open a Combined Basic Chart for Editing
Open your dashboard and click Edit in the top bar.
On the combined chart you want to change, open the widget menu and choose Edit. (To start from scratch, click Add Widget and pick Combined basic chart instead.)
Step 2: Add the Fixed Line
In the metric list, select at least one real metric (for example, Tickets Created Over Time).
Then select Constant Value — this is your fixed line.
In the Constant Value card on the right, set the Value to your target or threshold number.
Step 3: Choose a Breach Mode
Right below the Value field you will find the Breach Mode dropdown:
None (default) — the fixed line renders as a plain reference line, exactly as before.
Breach above line — being above the line is a breach. Use this when the line is a ceiling, like a backlog limit or a maximum wait time.
Breach below line — being below the line is a breach. Use this when the line is a floor, like a staffing minimum or an SLA target rate.
Pick the mode that matches your threshold, then click Edit Widget (or Add Widget) to save.
Step 4: Read the Chart
With Breach above line, every stretch where the metric rises above your line turns red, and the area between the metric and the line is shaded — the bigger the shaded pocket, the worse the breach:
With Breach below line, the highlighting flips — dips below the line turn red and the shortfall is shaded:
Everywhere the metric is on the safe side of the line, it keeps its normal color, so healthy periods and breach periods are visible at a glance.
Good to Know
Existing charts are untouched. Breach Mode defaults to None, so charts you built before this feature look exactly the same until you opt in.
Line metrics only. Breach highlighting applies to metrics drawn as lines; bar metrics keep their normal styling.
Dual-axis charts. On charts with a left and right axis, breach highlighting applies to the metrics on the same axis as the Constant Value line — a line on the right axis will not restyle metrics plotted against the left axis.
The fixed line itself never changes color — only the metrics crossing it do.
If you have any questions, reach out to the Qvasa team — we are happy to help you set up the right thresholds for your dashboards.