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Split a chart into small multiples

Drop a dimension on the Trellis shelf to repeat one chart once per category, then use the Trellis Layout panel to control the grid, the shared axes, and what each panel header shows.

4 min readUpdated August 27, 2026

A trellis - also called small multiples or faceting - repeats one chart once per category, laid out in a grid. It answers a different question from a color-split chart: instead of asking which series is biggest, it asks whether the same shape holds everywhere.

Build a trellis

  1. Build the chart you want repeated.
  2. Drag a dimension onto the Trellis shelf. It accepts one field.
  3. Open the Trellis Layout panel to adjust the grid and panel options.
Note: The Trellis shelf takes dimensions, dates, or geographic fields. Drop a measure on it and Golden tells you: "Trellis only accepts dimensions, dates, or geographic fields."

Start from the preset

The panel opens with a Preset button, "Compact small multiples", which sets a whole bundle of options at once: "One scrollable row of panels, categories named once beside them, and each header carrying its panel's average." Every option it sets stays editable afterwards, so it is a good starting point rather than a mode you are locked into.

Layout

  • Layout Mode - Grid, Linear, or Wrapped.
  • Direction - Horizontal or Vertical, for linear layouts.
  • Max Columns - a slider from 1 to 8, defaulting to 4, for grid and wrapped layouts.
  • Sort Panels By - Name, Total, Max Value, Min Value, or Average, ascending or descending.

Keeping panels comparable

The whole point of small multiples is that panels can be compared, and that only holds if they share a scale. Two options govern it.

  • Sync Axes Across Panels - on by default, so every panel measures against the same axis. Turn it off only when you care about each panel's own shape rather than its size.
  • Continuous color scale - Same range across all panels, or Per-panel range.
  • Category order in panels - Same order in every panel, or Rank within each panel.
Heads up: Shared Category Labels needs the same order in every panel, so it is unavailable under per-panel ranking. Ranking within each panel means position no longer means the same thing across the grid, which is exactly what a shared label strip would imply.

Panel headers and chrome

  • Panel header figure - None, Panel average, or Panel total.
  • Show Panel Counts - on by default, so each panel reports its own N.
  • Show Panel Borders and Compact Panels - the density controls.
  • Flag Panels Below - a threshold that marks panels falling under a value.
  • Reset to Defaults - undo the whole panel at once.
Tip: Show Panel Counts earns its default. A panel built from twelve rows and a panel built from twelve thousand look equally confident until the N is on screen.