# Axis Scales and Decimals
URL: https://docs.valsight.ai/axis-scales-and-decimals/
Description: Set the scale size, decimal places and value range of each axis in a chart, and add a second axis for nodes with a different unit.
How large the numbers on an axis look, how many decimals they carry and where the axis starts and ends are all set per axis, not per chart.

## What it is

The default scale size and number of decimal places follow the unit and your system configuration, and can be overridden per chart. With a scale size of millions, 3,480,000 euros is shown as 3.5.

A chart can have several axes. That is what lets it display nodes with different units, for example one node in euros and one in percent, each against its own axis.

## When to use it

* The numbers are too long to read and a scale of thousands or millions would do.
* The chart mixes units and the second unit needs its own axis.
* You want every chart on a sheet to start and end at the same value so they can be compared at a glance.

To give one node the same scale everywhere it is charted rather than fixing it per chart, see [Default Scale Settings in Nodes](/default-scale-settings-in-nodes/).

## Configuration

1. Select the chart. The chart editor opens on the right.
2. Scroll to the **Formatting** section and click **Scales and Digits**.
3. Pick the axis tab you want to change, or add one with **Add Axis**.
4. Set the values below, then click **Save**.

| Setting                      | What you get                                                                                                                 |
| ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Scale Size**               | The factor the values are shown in, for example millions. **Auto** follows the unit and your system configuration.           |
| **Decimal Places**           | How many decimals the values carry.                                                                                          |
| **Min Value**, **Max Value** | Where the axis starts and ends. **Auto** picks values that use the available space well.                                     |
| **Invert Axis**              | Turns the direction of the axis around.                                                                                      |
| **Show Y-Axis Breaks**       | Draws the axis with a break in it instead of one continuous range. See [Y-Axis Breaks in Charts](/y-axis-breaks-in-charts/). |

![The Scales and Digits dialog, with scale size, decimal places, value range and axis options](./images/scales-and-digits.png)

## Good to know

* **The scale applies to the whole axis.** When a chart mixes nodes of very different magnitudes, one axis scale cannot suit all of them, and raising it rounds the small values to zero. Set the scale per node instead: see [Default Scale Settings in Nodes](/default-scale-settings-in-nodes/).
* **Rescaling is not the only way to fit a wide range.** To keep small differences visible without touching the scale, break the axis: see [Y-Axis Breaks in Charts](/y-axis-breaks-in-charts/).
* **Show Y-Axis Breaks is off limits with several axes.** On a chart with more than one axis the toggle is disabled: see [Y-Axis Breaks in Charts](/y-axis-breaks-in-charts/).
* **Each axis carries its own data series.** Moving a node to a second axis changes which axis its values are read against, not the values themselves.

## Related

* [Default Scale Settings in Nodes](/default-scale-settings-in-nodes/): one scale for a node, everywhere it is charted.
* [Y-Axis Breaks in Charts](/y-axis-breaks-in-charts/): cut a large value range instead of rescaling it.