Stats Counter FAQ and Troubleshooting
Answers for KPI rows that show a dash (—), fail to animate, or pick the wrong computed rule. The dash character below is the product's rendered dash.
How does Zenpo Stats Counter read my data?
One row of a SharePoint list is one stat. Stat name and Value are required. Mode, Date, Caption, Order, Link, Animate, Computed rule, and Compare value are optional roles.
What is the difference between Literal, Mapped, and Computed?
Literal shows the column's own formatted value ($4.8M, 62.4%, 1,234). Mapped shows a status word with a color dot you define under State colors. Computed calculates the result from one of four rules: Days until, Days since, Percent of target, Change vs previous. See Value Modes and Computed Rules.
What exactly do I put in the Rule column?
The accepted value, not the readable name. Use daysUntil, daysSince, percentOfTarget, or deltaVsPrevious (case, spaces, and punctuation are ignored). Other accepted aliases are daysTil, countdown, daysAgo, countUp, percentTarget, ofTarget, delta, vsPrevious, and change.
Writing "Change vs previous" into the Rule column does not select that rule. Use deltaVsPrevious.
How do I build a countdown?
Set the row's mode to computed, put the target date in the Date column, and set the Rule to daysUntil. It renders a whole number of days plus the word "day" or "days", and never goes negative. A date that has passed reads 0.
How is Percent of target calculated?
Two ways. With numbers, it is the Value divided by the Compare value, times 100, rendered as a whole number with a % sign and not capped at 100. With dates (the window form), put the start date in Compare value and the end date in Date, and it renders how far through that window today is, clamped between 0% and 100%. See Value Modes and Computed Rules.
What happens if the target is zero, or a value is missing?
The stat renders an em dash (—) rather than a wrong number or an infinity. Editors also see a notice explaining which mapping is missing. Readers never see those notices.
Why is my stat showing a dash (—)?
A dash means the row could not produce a value.
| Symptom | Cause | What to change |
|---|---|---|
Literal stat shows — | the Value cell is blank | put a value in the row |
Computed day rule shows — | Date is blank or unreadable | fill the row's Date column, or change the rule |
Percent of target shows — | Value or Compare value isn't a number, the target is 0, or (date-window form) the start date is on or after the end date | supply two usable numbers, or a valid start/end pair |
Change vs previous shows — | Value or Compare value is missing or unreadable, or Compare value holds a date | supply two numbers; use Percent of target for date windows |
Which stats count up?
Only literal numbers. Mapped status words and all four computed rules always sit still, whatever the animation setting says. A reader whose device requests reduced motion sees the final value immediately.
Why did my number change to something like 4.8M?
Abbreviate large numbers is on by default. Turn it off to show every digit. Abbreviation reads the displayed text, so a plain number column with a hand-typed unit (for example "4,200 units") is treated as a unit value and shortens earlier than a bare number would.
How do I control the order the stats appear in?
Map the Order role and number the rows. The lowest number comes first, and rows with no value go last. With no Order mapping, the stats follow the selected SharePoint view's order.
Why doesn't a number count up?
It is a mapped or computed row (those never animate), its value isn't numeric, the row's Animate cell says No while the global setting is Let each stat decide, the global setting is Off, or the viewer's device requests reduced motion.
Why does a status word show without a color dot?
The word isn't in the State colors list, or it doesn't match exactly (apart from case and surrounding spaces).
Why is a stat missing entirely?
Rows are skipped only when they are a folder, or when they have no name and no value and no date. Otherwise check the selected view's filter and item limit, and the viewer's permissions on the list.
Why do only editors see a message?
Nothing to show yet / "Every stat is mapped to a column that has no value, or the list has no rows you can see. Editors see this message; visitors see an empty space."
What do the editor-only notices mean?
Visitors never see these. Only the first unresolved issue is shown.
- Missing second value: "One or more stats ask for a comparing rule that can't run. Those rules need a second value: map a Compare value column, then give the row two numbers — the Value column and the Compare value column."
- Missing date: "One or more stats count days but have no date to count to. Put a date in the row's Date column, or — if the row was meant to compare two numbers — set its Rule to Percent of target or Change vs previous."
- Wrong rule for dates: "One or more stats use Change vs previous against a date. That rule compares two numbers. For a date window — how far through it today is — use Percent of target, with the start date in Compare value and the end date in Date. For a plain countdown, use Days until."
The last notice names the readable rules. In the Rule column itself, still write percentOfTarget or daysUntil, not those readable names.