Defining Chart Properties

Use

You can fine tune the formatting of a chart. It does not matter whether you have already modified the chart using the wizard, or whether it still has the default settings.

A chart consists of individual elements whose properties you can change independently of one another. The element properties are layout settings such as color, font, and line settings, as well as logical changes in the chart such as setting the chart type (also for individual data series).

All elements that you can change for the current chart appear in the list of elements in the right-hand window of the Chart Designer. Elements that are not supported for the current chart type are not displayed.

Note

Elements that are in the list of elements but not in the chart preview do not have a Visibility property. For example, this is the default case for the second value axis of bar and column charts.

The most important elements and their properties appear in the table below.

Chart Elements and Their Properties

Chart Element	Properties
Global settings	Chart type and dimensions, color settings for transparency, screen and data series, font, data gaps.
Layout	Position of chart in the plot area, position of title, subtitle and legend.
Background	Color and pattern of background and border (that is, all the chart apart from the plot area).
Plot area	Color and pattern of the plot area, the area on which the chart is drawn (without the axis label), and the frame around the plot area.
Bars, columns, and so on (depends on chart type)	Position and layout of the chart type-specific properties.
Category axis	Scaling, labeling, and layout of the category axis (only for charts with a category axis).
Value axes 1 and 2	Scaling, labeling, and layout of the value axis (only for charts with relevant axes).
Title and subtitle	Text, position, and appearance of the title and subtitle of a chart.
Legend	Position and appearance of the legend.
Series	Layout settings for a data series. For charts with multiple data series, different chart types can be assigned to the various data series here.
Points	Layout settings for individual data points.
Textures	Selection of texture images for formatting areas.
Data series and categories	For changes to label texts and creating trend lines.

Procedure

You format an element of a chart by:

Selecting the element
Defining the properties of the element

Selecting the Element

You have to select the element of a chart before you can format it.

You can select the element in the following ways:

In the chart preview, click on the required element. This element is then also selected in the list of properties.
Select the required element directly in the list of properties. The element is also selected in the chart preview, so that you can check it is the right one.
We recommend this procedure for complex charts with many small parts, since it can then be difficult to click on the required element in the preview area.

Defining Element Properties

You can define one or more properties for each element.

There are the following basic types of property:

Either/or properties that you select by clicking in the field, for example, Visibility.
Properties with a predefined selection list that you select by selecting the required entry from the list, for example, Border Properties → Style → Solid.
Numeric values of properties that you enter directly or increase/decrease using the arrow buttons next to the field, for example, Width → 2.
Color values that you can select from the palette or enter as an RGB value (for example, RGB(207,0,39)), in HTML format (for example, #CF0027), or using the standard name (see Assigning Colors ).

For more information on formatting important elements, see:

Changing the Size and Position of Chart Elements

Formatting Axes and Gridlines

Formatting Text

Formatting Data Series and Data Points

Formatting 3D Effects

Showing and Hiding Elements

You can show and hide single elements using the Visibility property.

Select the required element.
Check the Visibility property to show the element.
Remove the check mark from the Visibility property to hide the element.