10 e!Sankey Tips to Visualize Flow Data Effectively

e!Sankey: A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Interactive Sankey Diagrams

What e!Sankey is

e!Sankey is a tool for creating Sankey diagrams—flow charts that show quantities moving between nodes—focused on ease of use, interactivity, and precise flow layout. It’s commonly used for energy, material, cost, and process-flow visualizations where tracking quantities between stages matters.

Key features

• Interactive editing: Drag nodes and links, edit values directly, and see flows update.
• Precise flow control: Exact numerical specification of link quantities and automatic layout to conserve flow balance.
• Import/export: Support for CSV/Excel data import and export for iterative workflows.
• Customization: Styling options for node/link colors, labels, units, and display precision.
• Filtering & grouping: Collapse/expand groups and filter flows for clarity in complex diagrams.
• Export formats: High-resolution PNG/SVG and often copyable code or data for embedding.

When to use e!Sankey

• Visualizing energy balances (production → conversion → consumption).
• Mapping material flows across supply chains.
• Showing budget or cost allocations between departments or projects.
• Communicating process inefficiencies or losses.

Quick-start steps

1. Prepare data: list nodes and link values (source, target, value) in CSV or spreadsheet.
2. Import data into e!Sankey or enter manually.
3. Adjust node positions to improve readability; links will recalculate.
4. Style nodes/links (colors, widths, labels, units).
5. Use grouping or filters to simplify large diagrams.
6. Export as PNG/SVG or save project for later editing.

Tips for clear diagrams

• Keep node labels short and use tooltips for extra detail.
• Use consistent color schemes to represent categories (e.g., energy types).
• Aggregate small flows to reduce clutter.
• Show units and total conservation checks to build trust.
• Arrange nodes left-to-right for processes or topologically for networks.

Limitations

• Can become cluttered with very dense networks—consider aggregation.
• May require manual adjustment for optimal visual clarity.
• Advanced customization sometimes limited compared with full coding libraries.

Date: February 7, 2026