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Responsive Configuration

The responsive options allow charts to adapt their configuration based on screen size or other conditions. This enables mobile-friendly, adaptive visualizations.

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Basic Structure

Highcharts.chart('container', {
  // Default configuration
  title: { text: 'Desktop Title' },
  legend: { enabled: true },
  
  // Responsive rules
  responsive: {
    rules: [{
      condition: {
        maxWidth: 500
      },
      chartOptions: {
        title: { text: 'Mobile Title' },
        legend: { enabled: false }
      }
    }]
  }
});

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Responsive Rules

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rules

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responsive.rules
Array<object>
required
Array of responsive rule objects
Each rule contains:
  • condition - When to apply the rule
  • chartOptions - Options to merge when condition is met
responsive: {
  rules: [
    {
      condition: { maxWidth: 600 },
      chartOptions: {
        // Options for small screens
      }
    },
    {
      condition: { minWidth: 601, maxWidth: 1200 },
      chartOptions: {
        // Options for medium screens
      }
    },
    {
      condition: { minWidth: 1201 },
      chartOptions: {
        // Options for large screens
      }
    }
  ]
}

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Condition Options

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maxWidth

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condition.maxWidth
number
Maximum chart width (in pixels) for this rule to apply
condition: {
  maxWidth: 500  // Apply when chart width ≤ 500px
}

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minWidth

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condition.minWidth
number
Minimum chart width (in pixels) for this rule to apply
condition: {
  minWidth: 600  // Apply when chart width ≥ 600px
}

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maxHeight

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condition.maxHeight
number
Maximum chart height (in pixels) for this rule to apply
condition: {
  maxHeight: 400  // Apply when chart height ≤ 400px
}

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minHeight

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condition.minHeight
number
Minimum chart height (in pixels) for this rule to apply

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Combined Conditions

condition: {
  minWidth: 400,
  maxWidth: 800,
  minHeight: 300
}

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Custom Callback

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condition.callback
Function
Custom function that returns true when rule should apply
condition: {
  callback: function() {
    return window.innerWidth < 500 || 
           /Android|iPhone/.test(navigator.userAgent);
  }
}

​
Chart Options

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chartOptions

​
chartOptions
object
required
Chart configuration to merge when condition is met
Any chart option can be modified: 
chartOptions: {
  chart: {
    height: 300,
    spacing: [5, 5, 5, 5]
  },
  title: {
    text: 'Mobile View',
    style: { fontSize: '14px' }
  },
  legend: {
    enabled: false
  },
  xAxis: {
    labels: {
      rotation: -45,
      style: { fontSize: '10px' }
    }
  },
  yAxis: {
    title: { text: '' }  // Remove axis title
  },
  plotOptions: {
    series: {
      dataLabels: { enabled: false }
    }
  }
}

​
Common Responsive Patterns

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Mobile-First Design

Highcharts.chart('container', {
  // Mobile defaults
  chart: {
    height: 300
  },
  title: {
    text: 'Chart Title',
    style: { fontSize: '14px' }
  },
  legend: {
    layout: 'horizontal',
    align: 'center',
    verticalAlign: 'bottom'
  },
  
  responsive: {
    rules: [{
      // Desktop enhancements
      condition: { minWidth: 768 },
      chartOptions: {
        chart: {
          height: 400
        },
        title: {
          style: { fontSize: '18px' }
        },
        legend: {
          layout: 'vertical',
          align: 'right',
          verticalAlign: 'middle'
        }
      }
    }]
  }
});

​
Hide Elements on Small Screens

responsive: {
  rules: [{
    condition: { maxWidth: 500 },
    chartOptions: {
      // Hide legend
      legend: { enabled: false },
      
      // Hide axis titles
      xAxis: { title: { text: '' }},
      yAxis: { title: { text: '' }},
      
      // Hide data labels
      plotOptions: {
        series: {
          dataLabels: { enabled: false }
        }
      },
      
      // Hide subtitle
      subtitle: { text: '' },
      
      // Hide credits
      credits: { enabled: false }
    }
  }]
}

​
Adjust Spacing

responsive: {
  rules: [{
    condition: { maxWidth: 600 },
    chartOptions: {
      chart: {
        spacing: [5, 5, 5, 5],  // Reduce spacing
        margin: [40, 10, 60, 40]  // Tighter margins
      },
      title: {
        margin: 10  // Less space below title
      }
    }
  }]
}

​
Simplify for Performance

responsive: {
  rules: [{
    condition: { maxWidth: 500 },
    chartOptions: {
      // Disable animations
      chart: {
        animation: false
      },
      plotOptions: {
        series: {
          animation: false,
          // Simplify markers
          marker: {
            enabled: false
          },
          // Disable shadows
          shadow: false
        }
      }
    }
  }]
}

​
Responsive Text Sizing

responsive: {
  rules: [
    {
      condition: { maxWidth: 500 },
      chartOptions: {
        title: {
          style: { fontSize: '12px' }
        },
        subtitle: {
          style: { fontSize: '10px' }
        },
        xAxis: {
          labels: { style: { fontSize: '9px' }},
          title: { style: { fontSize: '10px' }}
        },
        yAxis: {
          labels: { style: { fontSize: '9px' }},
          title: { style: { fontSize: '10px' }}
        },
        legend: {
          itemStyle: { fontSize: '9px' }
        }
      }
    },
    {
      condition: { minWidth: 1200 },
      chartOptions: {
        title: {
          style: { fontSize: '20px' }
        },
        subtitle: {
          style: { fontSize: '14px' }
        },
        xAxis: {
          labels: { style: { fontSize: '12px' }},
          title: { style: { fontSize: '14px' }}
        },
        yAxis: {
          labels: { style: { fontSize: '12px' }},
          title: { style: { fontSize: '14px' }}
        },
        legend: {
          itemStyle: { fontSize: '12px' }
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

​
Complete Example

Highcharts.chart('container', {
  chart: {
    type: 'column',
    height: 400
  },
  
  title: {
    text: 'Responsive Chart Example',
    style: { fontSize: '16px' }
  },
  
  subtitle: {
    text: 'Adapts to screen size'
  },
  
  xAxis: {
    categories: ['Jan', 'Feb', 'Mar', 'Apr', 'May', 'Jun'],
    title: { text: 'Month' },
    labels: {
      rotation: 0
    }
  },
  
  yAxis: {
    title: { text: 'Value' }
  },
  
  legend: {
    enabled: true,
    layout: 'vertical',
    align: 'right',
    verticalAlign: 'middle'
  },
  
  plotOptions: {
    column: {
      dataLabels: {
        enabled: true,
        format: '{point.y}'
      }
    }
  },
  
  series: [
    { name: 'Series 1', data: [49, 71, 106, 129, 144, 176] },
    { name: 'Series 2', data: [83, 78, 98, 93, 106, 84] }
  ],
  
  // Responsive configuration
  responsive: {
    rules: [
      {
        // Small screens (mobile)
        condition: { maxWidth: 500 },
        chartOptions: {
          chart: {
            height: 300,
            spacing: [5, 5, 5, 5]
          },
          title: {
            style: { fontSize: '12px' }
          },
          subtitle: {
            text: ''  // Hide subtitle
          },
          legend: {
            enabled: false  // Hide legend
          },
          xAxis: {
            title: { text: '' },  // Hide axis title
            labels: {
              rotation: -45,
              style: { fontSize: '9px' }
            }
          },
          yAxis: {
            title: { text: '' },  // Hide axis title
            labels: {
              style: { fontSize: '9px' }
            }
          },
          plotOptions: {
            column: {
              dataLabels: {
                enabled: false  // Hide data labels
              },
              pointPadding: 0.05,
              groupPadding: 0.1
            }
          }
        }
      },
      {
        // Medium screens (tablet)
        condition: { minWidth: 501, maxWidth: 900 },
        chartOptions: {
          chart: {
            height: 350
          },
          title: {
            style: { fontSize: '14px' }
          },
          legend: {
            layout: 'horizontal',
            align: 'center',
            verticalAlign: 'bottom'
          },
          xAxis: {
            labels: {
              style: { fontSize: '10px' }
            }
          },
          yAxis: {
            labels: {
              style: { fontSize: '10px' }
            }
          }
        }
      },
      {
        // Large screens (desktop)
        condition: { minWidth: 1200 },
        chartOptions: {
          chart: {
            height: 500
          },
          title: {
            style: { fontSize: '20px' }
          },
          xAxis: {
            labels: {
              style: { fontSize: '13px' }
            },
            title: {
              style: { fontSize: '14px' }
            }
          },
          yAxis: {
            labels: {
              style: { fontSize: '13px' }
            },
            title: {
              style: { fontSize: '14px' }
            }
          },
          plotOptions: {
            column: {
              dataLabels: {
                style: { fontSize: '11px' }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    ]
  }
});

​
Testing Responsive Behavior

// Programmatically test responsive rules
const chart = Highcharts.chart('container', { /* config */ });

// Trigger reflow on window resize
window.addEventListener('resize', () => {
  chart.reflow();
});

// Check current responsive state
console.log('Chart width:', chart.chartWidth);
console.log('Chart height:', chart.chartHeight);

// Force resize
chart.setSize(400, 300);

​
Best Practices

  1. Mobile-First: Start with mobile configuration, enhance for larger screens
  2. Performance: Disable animations and complex features on small devices
  3. Readability: Increase font sizes, reduce clutter on small screens
  4. Touch-Friendly: Ensure adequate spacing for touch interactions
  5. Test Multiple Breakpoints: Cover phone, tablet, desktop sizes
  6. Progressive Enhancement: Add features as screen size increases

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See Also