Formatting charts

The formatting options depend on the chart type and sub-type and on which area of the chart you select.

Single click

When you single-click a chart, black handles are displayed at its borders. You can reposition and resize the chart by dragging the borders or with the options of the Size and Position tab.

Right-click the chart and select Format Chart to display the Format Chart dialog.

Chart objects are automatically named 'Chart', followed by a sequential number. The name is displayed on the General tab of the Format Chart dialog. Optionally, specify a different name to help you to identify the object when you reference it in formulas or actions, for example.

On the Availability tab you can specify whether the chart is visible in outputs such as PDF.

To delete a chart, right-click it and select Delete Object.

Double click

Most chart formatting options become available when you double-click a chart. On a double-click, a hashed border is displayed around the chart. Further options are then available from a right-click or from a further double-click.

Some of the options depend on which area of the chart you select. These areas are:

Data series: Double-click a data series to open the Format Data Series dialog. Or, right-click and select Format Data Series.
Axes: Double-click a chart axis to open the Format Axis dialog. Or, right-click an axis and select Format Axis.
Grid: Right-click or double-click a grid line in the background of a report to open the Format Grid dialog. You can add grid lines on the Grid tab of the Chart Options dialog.
Plot Area: The plot area is the area on which the data series and grid are displayed. Right-click or double-click to open the Format Plot Area dialog.
Legend: Select the border of a chart legend. Right-click or double-click to display the Format Legend dialog.; If you do not want to include a legend, select None on the Legend tab.
Note: The Legend tab is also part of the Chart Options dialog. To open the Chart Options dialog, double-click a blank area of a chart. Then right-click and select Chart Options.
Format Plot Area: The Format Plot Area dialog is displayed when you double-click the background of the plot area, or right-click and select Format Plot Area.
Format Chart: Right-click the chart background and select Format Chart.
Trend Line: You can add a trend line to each data series in a chart; for example, to show the trend over time of sales of different products. Right-click a data series and select Add Trend Line. The Format Trend Line dialog opens. To show the trend of all data series, use a global trend line.
Chart Type: This option is available from a right-click in any area of the chart. You can change the type of chart without deleting the existing chart and creating a new one.
Chart Options: This option is available from any area of the chart. Double-click the chart and then right-click and select Chart Options. The Chart Options dialog contains tabs and options for chart titles, axes, grid lines, legends, data labels, data table and empty values.; On the Axes tab is the Use Excel-like Axis Scaling check box. It is selected by default and ensures that the scaling of the chart axes matches that of a Microsoft Excel chart based on the same data. For example, a column chart in Application Studio or Excel, based on the values, 4,3,2,4,5 displays 0,1,2,3,4,5,6 on the y-axis. If you clear the check box, the y-axis of the Application Studio chart is scaled from 0 to 5.5 in steps of 0.5.
Additional Graphics: These are global trend arrows and line charts. Global trend arrows show the overall trend of data in a chart. Line charts are additional lines that can be added to charts to show, for example, the average value of the data.; You can select additional graphics only in column and line charts which have one data series. The data must be displayed in columns (select Data in: Columns in step 2 of the Chart Wizard or open the Data Source dialog and select Data in: Columns).
Data Source: Right-click and select Data Source to open the Data Source dialog.