> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.caplena.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Custom Insight Elements

> Describe the chart you want in plain language, and let AI build it for you — with real prompt examples, including before/after fixes.

Sometimes none of the ready-made insight element types quite fit what you're picturing. That's what **Custom** is for: describe the visualization you want in plain language, and Caplena's AI builds it for you — layout, colors, labels, and all.

## Where to find it

When adding an insight element to any report section, look for **Custom** at the top of the **Generate** category in the side panel. You'll see a blank canvas with a prompt field: *"Describe what you want to visualize and AI will build it for you — the sky is the limit."*

## Why use Custom instead of a preset

The preset elements (NPS score, topic frequency, driver analysis, and so on) cover the most common report needs. Reach for **Custom** when you want:

* A **specific chart type** not covered by a preset (e.g. a world map instead of a bar chart)
* **Precise styling** — a particular color palette, a shared scale across charts, labels in a specific place
* **Multiple charts in one go** — one per segment, side by side, without building each manually
* A **one-off visualization** for a specific stakeholder ask that doesn't need to become a permanent report fixture

## Writing a good prompt

The more specific your prompt, the closer the first result lands to what you had in mind. A strong prompt usually mentions:

1. **Chart type** — donut, bar, stacked bar, map, line, etc.
2. **What's being measured** — which column, score, or topic.
3. **How it should be split** — by segment, country, verification status, time period.
4. **Styling cues** — color scheme, exact labels, title, legend placement.

Below are real examples built from a demo airline-reviews project, including a couple of "before and after" prompts that show how a small amount of extra detail turns a so-so result into a genuinely useful one.

## Example 1: Grouped bar chart

**Prompt:** *"Grouped bar chart comparing average Overall Rating for the top airlines by review volume, with bars split by Verified (true/false), sorted by overall average descending. Show the exact value above each bar."*

This produced a clean, titled chart ("Avg Overall Rating by Airline: Verified vs Not Verified") with a legend, exact values labeled above every bar, and airlines sorted from highest to lowest rating — ready to use as-is.

<Tip>
  Naming the exact column to split by (**Verified**) and asking for value labels up front got this right in one pass — no follow-up prompt needed.
</Tip>

## Example 2: World map

**Prompt:** *"World map showing average Overall Rating by Territory, colored on a red-to-green scale."*

This produced a full world map (titled "Average Overall Rating by Territory") shaded from red (lowest average) through yellow to green (highest), with only territories present in the data colored in and the rest left grey — a fast way to spot regional patterns without building a table first.

## Example 3: Donut charts, before and after

**First prompt:** *"Two side-by-side donut charts comparing the share of Recommended = Yes for Verified vs Not Verified reviews."*

The first result had two real problems: the percentage labels were cut off mid-number ("yes: 29...." instead of the full value), and both slices used shades of blue, making "yes" and "no" hard to tell apart at a glance.

**Refined prompt:** *"Two side-by-side donut charts titled 'Recommendation Rate: Verified vs Not Verified'. Left chart: Verified reviews, right chart: Not Verified reviews. Each shows the share of Recommended = Yes (green) vs No (red). Show full percentage labels with one decimal place, not truncated. Add a legend below each chart."*

The refined version fixed both issues: full, precise percentages (e.g. "yes: 30.0%", "no: 73.9%") and a clear green-vs-red color split that makes the comparison readable immediately.

<Note>
  If a result looks almost right but has a specific flaw — truncated labels, confusing colors, a missing title — name that flaw directly in your next prompt (e.g. "not truncated", "use green/red instead of two blues"). It's usually faster than starting over with a new description.
</Note>

## Tips for better results

* **Name the exact columns or segments** if your project has several similarly-named ones — the AI works from your project's structure, and precision here avoids guesswork.
* **Ask for value labels up front** ("show the exact value above each bar", "full percentage labels, not truncated") — this was the single biggest fix across our test prompts.
* **Say if you want one chart or several** — "one chart per segment" is a very different ask from "one combined chart with all segments shown together."
* **Specify colors when meaning matters** — e.g. green for "yes" and red for "no" reads instantly; two shades of the same color doesn't.
* **Mention the scale explicitly** if comparability matters — e.g. "on a shared scale" ensures multiple charts use the same color range instead of each auto-scaling to its own data.
* **Iterate by naming the specific flaw** rather than rewriting the whole prompt — small, targeted edits get you there fast.
* **Use Custom for exploration**, then swap to a preset element later if the chart turns out to be something you'll want to keep updating long-term with built-in configuration options.

## Related

* For the full list of ready-made elements, see [Insight Elements – General Overview & Settings](/insight-and-reports/insight-elements/insight-elements-general-overview-settings).