Most of the chart types have two axes: A value axis and a category axis. With most chart types, the values of a data series are plotted along the value axis and the categories along the category axis. Normally the value axis corresponds to the Y axis and the category axis to the X axis.
Three-dimensional chart types also have a third (Z) axis.
Gridlines (or orientation lines) are vertical and horizontal lines that divide up the drawing area. They improve the readability of the individual chart values.
The list of elements tells you which axes are available in the chart. It is possible that two value axes are displayed there although only one is visible in the chart preview. This occurs if the second axis lacks the property Visibility.
Axes consist of the following elements:
You can also make scaling, boundary level, and data sequence specifications in the properties of axes.
The properties that you can define depend on the chart type you selected.
See also:
You can add an additional value axis to a chart with value and category axes. You can place individual data series of the chart on the second value axis. This can be useful if the value ranges of two data series are very different. If this is the case, you can set a different scaling factor for the secondary axis in order to balance the chart.
If the list of elements contains the entry ValueAxis2, the selected chart type allows you to add a secondary axis.
The scaling factor of an axis influences the distribution of the data series within a value scale. You can choose between the following scaling types:
You can change the scaling factor for value axes, but not for category axes. It does not matter whether the X axis or the Y axis is the value axis.
In the case of category axes in bar and column diagrams, you can select the property Variable Category Width in order to display the categories in different widths.
When entering value ranges, make sure that the values you enter tally with the values in your data sources. Values from data sources that are not in the range entered are not displayed in the chart later on.
We recommend that you select the fields Automatic Minimum and Automatic Maximum.
For value axes, you can define how many major and minor tick marks are displayed on the scale.
The procedure for major tick marks and minor tick marks is identical, and is explained in the example using major tick marks.
You can also change the appearance of the tick marks in this element. This is also the case for category axes (see also Formatting Lines ).
You can define on the category axes whether all category labels are to be displayed, or if not, which labels you want to exclude. This can save space, and is possible if the sequence of categories is obvious, for example, the names of months. You can also change the position of category labels.
You can change the point where the axes cross in a chart. You can also define whether the point of intersection should always lie between categories or on a category.
You can add a title to an axis. You can also enter the units to be displayed on the axes (for example, mill. US $).
If you do not need an axis title or unit, you can remove these elements.