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Chart

The Chart is a sophisticated control used to embed graphs into your report. It graphically represents a series of points using numerous 2D or 3D chart types. A Chart can be populated with points both manually (by specifying arguments and values for each point) and dynamically (by connecting it to the report's data source, or binding it to a separate one).

For more information about this control, refer to Charting .

There are many available Chart types you can choose from. To name a few, these are Bar, Point, Line, Pie and Doughnut, Area, Radar and Polar, Range Bar, Gantt, Candle Stick and Stock charts.

A Chart control contains multiple elements (diagram, series, series points, axes, legend, titles, labels, strips, constant lines, etc.). When any of these elements is selected, the Property Grid  shows only the properties which correspond to the selected item. Visual Chart elements which can be highlighted or selected, are described in Select Chart Elements.

The Chart control is data-aware in a different manner than the other report controls. Consider three common report scenarios:

1. Static data for a Chart's series is provided manually. It can be done using the Series Collection Editor invoked by the Chart's Series property. It allows you to manually define values and arguments for each series point.
2. Chart's series are created automatically, getting their data from the Chart's Data Source and dependent on the rules defined by the Series Template property. This approach is described in Chart with Dynamic Series.
3. Each series is created and customized manually and has a separate Data Source. This approach is described in Chart with Static Series.
   

You can customize a created chart using both the Property Grid and the Chart Wizard . To invoke the Chart Wizard, click a Chart's Smart Tag , and in the invoked actions list, click theRun Wizard... link.

Then, the Chart Wizard will guide you through the whole process of customizing the Chart, from defining its view type to providing its data and customizing its appearance.

In the Property Grid, the Chart's properties are divided into the following groups.

• Appearance Name
  

  Allows you to choose one of the available appearances, to be used to draw the Chart's elements (Diagram, Axes, Legend, etc.).

• Background Color
  

  Specifies the background color for a Chart.

• Background Image
  

  Allows you to load a background image to a Chart (or define its URL), and also define whether it should be stretched to fit the entire Chart's area, or not.

• Borders, Border Color and Border Width
  

  Specify border settings for the control.

• Fill Style
  

  Determines the fill style of a Chart's background (Empty, Solid, Gradient or Hatch) and define other fill options if required.

• Formatting Rules

  Invokes the Formatting Rules Editor allowing you to choose which rules should be applied to the control during report generation, and define the precedence of the applied rules. 

• Image Type
  

  Determines whether a Chart should be internally rendered as a metafile in a report (in this case the quality of the rendered image is always good, but in particular cases some details of the control may be lost), or as a bitmap (in this case the quality of the rendered image is sometimes poor, but it allows a control to be drawn more precisely).

• Indicators Palette Name
  

  Specifies the palette that is used to paint all indicators that exist in a Chart.

• Padding
  

  Specifies the internal space between the Chart's content (the diagram and legend) and its edge, in pixels.

• Palette Name
  

  Allows you to choose one from the built-in palettes to be used to draw a Chart's series.

• Palette's Base Color Number
  

  Allows you to define an integer index determining the base color for the palette defined by the Chart's Palette Name property.

• Style Priority
  

  Allows you to define the priority of various style elements (such as background color, border color, etc.). 

• Anchor Vertically
  

  Specifies the vertical anchoring style of the control, so that after page rendering it stays attached to the top control, bottom control, or both.

• Automatic Binding Settings Enabled
  

  Specifies whether or not the Chart's data binding is automatically adjusted when its data source is a Pivot Grid.

• Automatic Layout Settings Enabled
  

  Specifies whether or not the Chart's layout is automatically adjusted when its data source is a Pivot Grid.

• Empty Chart Text
  

  Specifies the text to be shown in the Chart, when it has no data to display.

• Scripts
  

  This property contains events, which you can handle by the required scripts. 

• Small Chart Text
  

  Specifies the text to be shown in the Chart, when it's too small to fit the diagram.

• Visible
  

  Specifies whether a Chart should be visible in print preview.

• (Data Bindings)
  

  If the current report is bound to data, this property allows you to bind some of a Chart's properties (Bookmark, Navigation URL and Tag) to a data field obtained from the report's data source, and to apply a format string to it. For more information on this, refer to Display Values from a Database (Bind Report Elements to Data).
  

• Data Adapter
  

  Determines a data adapter that will populate a Chart's data source which is assigned via the Data Source property. It is automatically set to the appropriate value, when the Data Member property is defined. 

• Data Member
  

  Determines the data source member which supplies data to a Chart.

  Note
  Usually, it is not necessary to specify the Data Member property when binding a Chart to data. This property should only be set directly if the dataset contains more than one table.

• Data Source
  

  Determines a Chart's data source. 

• Pivot Grid Data Source Options
  

  Determines a Chart's data source. 

• Series Data Member
  Determines the name of the data field whose values are used to automatically generate and populate a Chart's series. 

  When Chart binding is used to automatically generate series within a chart control based upon the data obtained from the associated data source (defined by the Data Source property), a rule needs to be defined that helps the Chart recognize the data records whose values are used to construct individual series objects. To do this, the Series Data Member property, which specifies the data field whose values are taken into account when series objects are automatically created and populated, can be used.

  Each automatically generated series gets its name from the data field specified by the Series Data Member property. For example, this name is used to identify a series within the chart control's legend. The names of all automatically generated series can be supplemented with the same prefix and postfix defined by the settings which are available via the Series Name Template property.

  The template settings for the dynamically created series are defined by the specific properties which are available via the SeriesTemplate property of a Chart. In particular, the Argument Data Member and Value Data Members properties specify the data fields from which the arguments and data values of the series data points are obtained.

  Note
  Note that if the Series Data Member property is not set for a Chart, the Chart control can't automatically generate series even if the Argument Data Member and Value Data Members properties are defined.

• Series Name Template
  

  Determines the settings used to name data bound series defining the prefix and postfix texts for the names of series which are dynamically created as a result of binding a Chart to data (using the Data Source, Series Data Member, Argument Data Member and Value Data Members properties). The series names, to which these prefixes and postfixes are added, are taken by each series from the data field defined by the Series Data Member property. 

  Note
  Note that the settings available via the Series Name Template property are not applied to the data bound series which are contained within the Series collection of a Chart.

• Series Sorting
  

  Allows you to define the sort mode of a Chart's series (None by default, Descending or Ascending).

• Series Template
  

  Allows you to customize a template for series which are created dynamically as a result of binding a Chart to data (via the Data Source and Series Data Member properties). The settings which are available via the Series Template property are common to all such data bound series. These settings allow you to provide centralized customization of all dynamically created data bound series. 

  Note that the settings which are customized via the Series Template property don't apply to the series contained within the Series collection of a Chart.

• Tag
  

  This property allows you to add some additional information to the control; for example its id, by which it can then be accessible via scripts.

  If the current report has a data source, the Tag property can be bound to a data field obtained from the data source. To do this, expand the (Data Bindings) property and in the Tag.Binding drop-down selector, select the required data field.

• (Name)
  

  Determines a control's name, by which it can be accessed in the Report Explorer, Property Grid or via scripts.
  

• Annotation Repository
  

  Provides centralized access to all annotations that are present in the Chart.

• Annotations
  

  Provides access to the annotations collection of the Chart.

• Diagram
  

  Allows you to customize a Chart's diagram elements: main and secondary axes and panes.

  By default, a Chart is displayed in the Default Pane, but if necessary, you can display each Chart's series in a separate pane. To do this, click the Pane's ellipsis button, to invoke the Pane Collection Editor, allowing you to manage and customize panes. Then, select the required series within the Chart and set its View.Pane property to the required pane.

  Note that the diagram is null until no visible series exists in the Chart's collection. So, to access the diagram's options, you should create a series first.

• Legend
  

  Allows you to customize a Chart's legend, by defining such properties as text alignment and antialiasing, font style, background color or image, border options, markers' size and visibility, shadow options, etc.

• Series
  

  Invokes the Series Collection Editor, which allows you to manage and customize a Chart's series.

  Note that series which are bound to data at the level of a chart control (in particular, using the Data Source, Series Data Member and both the Argument Data Member and Value Data Members properties) are created dynamically, based upon the data obtained from the specified data source, and they are not presented within the Series collection. To perform a centralized customization of such series, use the settings which are available via the Series Template property.

• Titles
  

  Invokes the Chart Title Collection Editor, which allows you to manage and customize a Chart's titles.

• Location
  

  Specifies the control's location, in report measurement units.
  

• Size
  

  Specifies the control's size, in report measurement units.
  

• Snap Line Margin
  

  Specifies the margin (in report measurement units), which is to be preserved around the control when it is aligned using Snap Lines, or when other controls are aligned next to it.
  

See also