Specify Chart Settings dialog box
Use this dialog box to specify settings for a chart component. Not all settings are required. If you do not specify a value for an optional setting, a default value is used.
Types of charts include column or bar charts, line charts, pie charts, doughnut charts, scatter charts, and spark charts, to name a few. These charts can displays data from a single source (or series) or from multiple series. They can even include combination displays, showing both lines and columns, for example.
This dialog box can be accessed only from the “Component” property sheet for a chart component. In the property sheet, locate the “Binding” property and click the ellipsis (“”) button. In the “Edit Component Data Binding” dialog box then, select “Chart” as the “Type” “,” and then click “”.
As used in this and related topics:
- The canvas is the area where the chart is displayed.
- The legend is an area outside the canvas (but within the area of the component) that describes the chart.
- Alpha is a transparency setting from 0-100. 100 means no transparency, that is, solid color. 0 means invisible. Numbers from 1 to 99 are levels of transparency, with the lower numbers being more transparent and higher numbers less transparent/more solid.
- Color values are stored in a hexadecimal RGB (Red/Green/Blue) format. Each color value (R,G, and B) is assigned a value from 0 to 255, which in hexadecimal notation is 00 to FF. Each value represents the amount of color, so for example, FF0000 is solid red, 000000 is solid black, and FFFFFF is solid white. You can use the “Color” dialog box to select a color or create a custom color.
Data tab
Use the “Data” tab to make the basic data settings for a chart component. These settings include:
- Chart type and style
- Chart caption and other labels
- Data sources for the chart
Trend Lines tab
Trend lines are horizontal or vertical lines that help users interpret the data in relationship to a predetermined value. For example, a trend line can indicate benchmark or target values.
You can define multiple trend lines for a chart.
Use the settings on this tab to define:
- The start and end values for trend lines
- The appearance of trend lines, including color, thickness, line style, and so on
- Whether the trend line is labeled and if so, where
General tab
The “General” tab hosts a variety of general settings you can make for a chart component. These settings include:
- Basic font settings
- Tooltip settings
- Attributes for vertical divisional lines used in the chart
- Other functional attributes, such as color palettes and label displays
Cosmetics I tab
The “Cosmetics I” tab hosts a variety of settings that control the display and appearance of such aspects of the chart as:
- Padding and margins
- The chart component background and borders
- The chart canvas background and borders
- Lines used in the chart
- Data plot colors and borders
Cosmetics II tab
The “Cosmetics II” tab hosts a variety of settings that control the display and appearance of such aspects of the chart as:
- Both the X-axis and the Y-axis (independently)
- Data value displays
- Mouseover effects for data elements
Legend tab
The Legend tab hosts settings that are specific to the legend in a mult-series chart or a combination chart. These settings control the display and appearance of such aspects of the legend as:
- Legend properties
- Legend cosmetics (appearance & display)
Other tab
The “Other” tab hosts miscellaneous settings that do not clearly belong with other groups. These include settings for:
- Stacked charts
- Scroll charts
- Bar charts
- Anchors
- Number formatting
- Divisional lines
Chart XML tab
The “Chart XML” tab displays the XML that is used to generate the chart in the form. The XML is display-only.