Reading the river

The river is the home view: one row per dimension value (a customer, a product category, etc.), one segment per month. Color tracks how each segment compares to its baseline; thickness tracks the chosen height metric.

The canvas, lanes, and time header

The Y-axis on the left lists the bands; the time header runs across the top. The current month is highlighted; future months render with a striped "pending" pattern so they don't read as a drop in volume.

Scrolling and panning

Click and drag, or wheel horizontally, to pan through time. The canvas, time header, Y-axis, and summary row all scroll together — there is no way to scroll one without the others.

Drilling in and out

Right-click any band → Drill down to filter the river to that band's contents. The breadcrumbs above the Y-axis show the active drill path; click any segment to jump back, or click All to reset.

Display options

The toolbar carries three layout switches:

• Empty Rows — hide bands with no activity in the current date range.
• Summary — show a totals row at the bottom of the canvas.
• Comparison — split the canvas into two periods (see below).

The view mode button on the right of the toolbar switches the layout itself:

• Normal — standard layout.
• Dense — fit all months in the viewport, no horizontal scroll. Disables Comparison and Summary.
• Compressed — fit all bands in the viewport, no vertical scroll.

Comparison mode

With Comparison on, the canvas splits into two periods side by side — useful for spotting month-over-month or year-over-year shifts at a glance.

The toolbar's date selector becomes a comparison-type picker. Pick two months, two ranges, or one of the presets (prior month, same month last year, trailing average). The exact preset doesn't survive a reload — only the two periods are stored in the URL.