Migrating from amCharts 4
This page will list some conceptual differences between amCharts 4 and 5, which, hopefully, will help you with the decision to upgrade (or not).
Not an upgrade
Section titled “Not an upgrade”amCharts 4 and amCharts 5 are conceptually different libraries.
The code between the two is not interchangeable.
Generic differences
Section titled “Generic differences”In a few words: amCharts 5 was designed to be fast and use less memory footprint than its predecessor.
amCharts 5 uses Canvas API as its method of rendering, whereas amCharts 4 used SVG.
Canvas API is generally way faster than SVG, however it paints outside DOM tree, which means you can’t target individual chart elements via JavaScript or CSS.
Code syntax
Section titled “Code syntax”amCharts 5 uses “root element” approach - you create a root element, then add actual chart or series objects to it.
The reference to root element is passed into all chart objects being created.
amCharts 4 did not have a root element, so chart instance was the top element in the tree.
Functional changes in v5
Section titled “Functional changes in v5”Limited JSON support
Section titled “Limited JSON support”amCharts 4 offered two ways to configure charts: object/procedural and JSON configs.
amCharts 5 offers object/procedural approach as well as limited JSON config support.
There are no 3D-esque chart types in amCharts 5, like 3D columns, pies, or cylinders.
No SVG
Section titled “No SVG”amCharts 5 uses Canvas API, which means it does not use SVG for its rendering.
It also means that exporting chart snapshot to SVG is also not available.
Browser support
Section titled “Browser support”amCharts 5 does not support any version of Internet Explorer, which was supported in amCharts 4.
EDGE browser as well as other modern desktop and mobile browsers are fully supported.
Should I migrate?
Section titled “Should I migrate?”Migrate if…
Section titled “Migrate if…”- Struggling with performance or memory footprint of amCharts 4.
- Using charts in multi-chart dashboards.
- Need chart types unsupported by v4 like Tree, drillable Suburst, Partition, Pack.
- Need Stock chart type (currently in development for amCharts 5).
- Want charts to be faster and use less memory.
Do not migrate if…
Section titled “Do not migrate if…”- Still need to support legacy browsers like Internet Explorer.
- Need 3D charts.
- Need to be able to serialize chart configs as JSON.
- Need to generate chart snapshots in SVG format.
- Using amCharts Editor 4.