Defaults, sections and inheritance

Defaults let related charts share settings without repeating them. A chart uses its own setting first, then its section’s setting, then the chartpack default. If none is supplied, the template chooses an automatic value where that is allowed. Delta charts always need two specified endpoint years.

Where to put a setting	Settings that can be shared
chartpack.defaults	start_year, end_year, y_axis bounds and, in 1.4, its label
section	The same settings, plus a chart title and a complete series list
Individual chart	Chart type, caption, selected year, X axis, controls and other type-specific options

A section’s label is its report heading; it is not a chart default. Chart types and report controls cannot be inherited.

Chartpack-wide years

- chartpack:
    format: gcubed-chartpack
    version: 1
    title: Policy experiment
    defaults:
      start_year: 2025
      end_year: 2040
- chart:
    series:
      - variable: INFL(USA)

Group charts in a section

- section:
    label: Macroeconomic outcomes
    start_year: 2025
    end_year: 2050
    y_axis:
      min: -5
      max: 10
- chart:
    title: Inflation
    series:
      - variable: INFL(USA)
- chart:
    title: Real GDP
    y_axis:
      max: 15
    series:
      - variable: GDPR(USA)

The second chart inherits min: -5 and replaces only max. A section lasts until the next section or the end of the document. Each new section replaces the previous section completely; omitted settings fall back to chartpack defaults, not to the previous section.

label is the visible section heading. The separate title property, when used on a section, is inherited as the title of each chart in that section.

Add a table of contents

Set table_of_contents: true in the chartpack metadata and give each visible section a label. This needs version "1.1.0" or later:

- chartpack:
    format: gcubed-chartpack
    version: "1.1.0"
    title: Policy experiment
    table_of_contents: true
- section:
    label: Macroeconomic outcomes
- chart:
    title: Inflation
    series:
      - variable: INFL(USA)
- section:
    label: Sector outcomes
- chart:
    title: Sector output
    series:
      - variable_prefix: OUP
        selectors:
          regions: [USA]
          sectors: all

The updated template places the table of contents above the charts. It links named sections and the charts they contain. Unlabelled sections still provide defaults but do not create a heading or table-of-contents entry. Charts before the first named section are not grouped into the table of contents.

Inherit a complete series list

- section:
    series:
      - variable: INFL(USA)
- chart: {}

A chart’s own series replaces an inherited sequence; series are never concatenated. A section does not need a following chart: standalone, consecutive and final sections are permitted. The renderer keeps an empty section in the report and warns that it contains no charts.

Exact series