Chart Type Anatomy 101

Introduction

Chart types are constructed using several settings. Among them, the most significant are:

• Chart Type
• Series Type
• Axis Scale 

These properties work in concert to provide unprecedented flexibility. 

Chart Types

The most fundamental property, Chart.Type, determines the generic layout of series and in the case of pie, radar, and gauge, a type of chart.

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Combo

Combo Chart Type This chart types supports all the series types. It is vertically oriented so the y axis can only contain numeric or time values. Supported Series Types All    Element values used on the (Y Axis). YValue YValueStart YDateTime YDateTimeStart BubbleSize Complete (Financial: Open Close High Low)     Element values used on the (X Axis). XValue XDateTime Name

ComboHorizontal

ComboHorizontal Chart Type This chart types is horizontally oriented so the x axis can only contain numeric or time values. Supported Series Types Column Cylinder   Element values used on the (Y Axis). XValue XDateTime Name   Element values used on the (X Axis). YValue YValueStart YDateTime YDateTimeStart Complete   Notice that the axes values are reversed for this chart type. The reason for this is so that if you change between chart types the result will be correct.

ComboSideBySide

ComboSideBySide Chart Type This chart types is similar to combo but each series is placed side by side and the x axis tick labels show each series name. Supported Series Types All   Element values used on the (Y Axis). YValue YValueStart YDateTime YDateTimeStart BubbleSize Complete (Financial: Open Close High Low)     Element values used on the (X Axis). None (Series.Name us used)   Notes SideBySide does not support unclustered columns.

Pie & Donut

Pie Chart Type Shows a single pie made up of all the series added to the chart. Supported Series Types N/A   Element values used on the (Y Axis). YValue  Element values used on the (X Axis). N/A  Related properties: Element.ForceMarker Chart.PieLabelMode Chart.ExplodedSliceAmount Chart.DonutHoleSize   Notice that the series are slices in using this chart type, hence, if only a single series is used, the chart will have a single 100% slice. To see each element use the plural ChartType.Pies.

 

Radar

Radar Chart Type Draws all series on a single radar. Both x and y axes are used. The x axis surrounds the radar and the y axis goes from the center to the outside. Using this type will force each series to share a single x. Supported Series Types Marker Line AreaLine Bubble   Element values used on the (Y Axis). YValue BubbleSize  Element values used on the (X Axis). Name  Related properties: Chart.RadarLabelMode

Pies, Donuts, Radars, & Gauges

Pies, Radars, & Gauges Chart Types All three chart types behave the same. The series are laid out in a way that allows for the maximum space usage.   Radars chart type allows different x axes to be used for each series. Supported Series Types (Radars Only) Marker Line AreaLine Bubble   Element values used on the (Y Axis). YValue BubbleSize  Element values used on the (X Axis). Name

 

Other chart types such as Bubble, Scatter, and Gantt are obsolete and they default to Combo, Combo, and ComboHorizontal respectively. ChartType.Financial is also obsolete and shouldnt be used. It is provided only for backward compatibility.

Series Types

The next major contributor to chart types is the series type. The above chart type list includes a section on supported series types for each. Different series types can be specified for each series with the following chart types:

• Combo
• ComboSideBySide
• ComboHorizontal
• Radar(s)

 This allows you to create virtually unlimited number of different chart types.

SeriesType enumeration

• Marker
• In 3D markers have no depth
• Related Properties
• Element.Marker
• Line
• In 3D each element can have a different color on the same line.
• In 2D elements will automatically show element markers.
• Related Properties
• Series.Line (2D)
• Element.Marker
• Spline
• In 3D this type is a line.
• Related Properties
• Series.Line (2D)
• Element.Marker
• AreaLine
• Supports Stacked Axis Scales.
• Related Properties
• Series.Line (2D)
• Element.Marker
• Column & Bar
• Supports Stacked Axis Scales.
• Supports shading effects.
• Supports Element.Complete indicator which is useful with Gantt charts.
• Cylinder
• Supports Stacked Axis Scales.
• Bubble
• Requires Element.BubbleSize values.
• Supports shading effects.
• Related Element Properties
• Element.BubbleSize

SeriesTypeFinancial enumeration

• CandleStick
• Element values used
• Open or YValueStart
• Close or YValue
• High
• Low
• Complete
• Supports column shading.
• Bar
• When a open value is not provided this bar will be an HLC bar, if provided it will be a OHLC.
• Open
• Close
• High
• Low
• HighLowArea

Axis Scales

Further customization is achieved by specifying an axis scale. Besides controlling the quantitative scale type, scales also dictate how series behave. For example an axis scale can specify that columns are stacked.

See also: Element Values & Axis Scales | Element Layout and Axes | Z Axis effect

Conclusion

As you can see, the final chart type is fundamentally based on three settings. This mix and match concept may be more complicated than a single property, however, the flexibility it provides makes it well worth understanding.

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