There are two primary methods which you can use to store chart definitions created in ChartDesigner: either as chart or as template files.

In addition to saving chart definitions in binary format, chart files and template files can also be saved in XML format. These XML chart definition files can be modified outside of Chart Designer or Chart API.

For image files, EspressDashboard can render charts in the following formats:

In addition to static images, ChartDesigner also allows the chart data to be exported as a text file, PDF, or an XML file.

You can also set data transposing from the data mapping dialog. Transposing allows you to plot multiple data source columns in one chart without modifying the data source.

For example, we have a data source that looks like this:

Example Data Source

We would like to plot data from all regions in one chart. The default mapping without data transposing does not allow us to do that. We would have to plot only one region in the chart or modify the data source, so we will have to transpose the data source.

Default Chart Data Mapping

To transpose the data, select the Multi Selection option next to the Data Series field. The field will change to a list allowing us to select several columns at the same time. We will just select all region columns and the chart will look like this:

Default Chart Data Mapping

	Note
	Only one chart element (such as data series, category, value, or second series) can be transposed at a time. If you select the Multi Selection checkbox for one chart element, the Multi Selection checkboxes will be deactivated for other chart elements.

Transposing is not available for drill-down charts.

Data mapping for column charts is fairly straightforward. It is similar to the examples first presented in Section 4.1.2.2 - Basic Data Mapping. For column charts, the following options are available:

Mapping Options for Column Charts

The data mapping also allows you to transpose the data (in other words: to select several columns for a single category). To learn more about data transposition, please see Section 4.1.3.1.1 - Data Transposition.

The last three data mapping options allow you to add a second value to the chart. ChartDesigner supports secondary values for all chart types except pie, radar, bubble, dial, surface, and scatter charts. In the example below, a second value of Quantity has been added to our column chart.

Column Chart With 2nd Value

As you can see, the second axis labels are drawn on the right-hand side of the plot area (you can choose to make this axis visible). Usually, the second value will share the same categories and series as the primary value. However, for two-dimensional column, stack column, stack area, high low, HLCO, and percentage column charts you can specify an overlay combination, which allows you to specify a second series. For more on overlay charts, please see Section 4.1.3.17 - Overlay Charts.

Mapping Options for Bar Charts

The mapping for this chart type is similar to that of a column chart, except the category (X) and values (Y) under column chart become category (Y) and values (X) respectively. This is because values are represented vertically in a column chart, but horizontally in a bar chart. Please note that the 2nd Series and Combo options are not available for bar charts. This is because the only combination available with bar charts is a line.

Mapping Options for Scatter Charts

In a scatter chart, the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis values determine the X, Y, and Z coordinates of a point respectively. The data series box allows you to choose a data column whose distinct values will determine the number of data series in the chart. Each element in a data series is drawn using the same set of drawing attributes( e.g., colors and markers).

Mapping Options for Line Charts

Data mapping for line charts is almost exactly the same as for column charts (discussed in Section 4.1.3.2.1 - Data Mapping). Line charts, however, do not have the 2nd Series and Combo options. This is because the only combination available with line charts is a line. To create line combinations with other chart types (bar, column, stack column, etc) select the other chart type as the primary chart, and select Line as the Combo option.

In stack column charts, each category is further subdivided into components. Hence, there is an additional sum-by option used to determine the sum-by values for the chart.

Mapping Options for Stack Column Charts

The data mapping options are as follows:

The data mapping also allows you to transpose the data (in other words: to select several columns for a single category). To learn more about data transposition, please see Section 4.1.3.1.1 - Data Transposition.

Stack column charts have a unique combination option which allows users to plot a second value as a stack area chart. Both values share the same category and sum-by values. This chart can compare component based categories for different values in the data.

Stack Column-Stack Area Combination Chart

With this combination chart you can specify to hide particular sum-by component in the chart to achieve a strip area effect.

Data Mapping Options for Stack Bar Charts

The mapping for this chart type is similar to that of a stack column chart, except the category (X) and values (Y) under column chart become category (Y) and values (X), respectively. This is because values are represented vertically in a column chart, but horizontally in a bar chart. Please note that the 2nd Series and Combo options are not available for stack bar charts. This is because the only combination available with stack bar charts is a line.

Mapping Options for Pie Charts

For pie charts, the mapping is as follows:

There is no 2nd Value option, as you cannot make any combination charts with a pie chart.

The data mapping also allows you to transpose the data (in other words: to select several columns for a single category). To learn more about data transposition, please see Section 4.1.3.1.1 - Data Transposition.

Mapping Options for Area Charts

Data mapping for area charts is almost exactly the same as for column charts (discussed in Section 4.1.3.2.1 - Data Mapping). However, area charts do not have the 2nd Series and Combo options. This is because the only combination available with area charts is a line.

Mapping Options for Stack Area Charts

Data Mapping for stack area charts is almost exactly the same as for stack column charts (covered in Section 4.1.3.6.1 - Data Mapping). However, two-dimensional stack charts cannot have a data series, and the combo options are Line and Overlay.

Mapping Options for High-Low Charts

Data mapping for high-low charts is similar to column charts. You can select series and category columns in the same manner. The difference for high-low charts is that you need to specify at least two value columns - a high and a low value. These are the two points that are plotted for each category. A third value called Close can also be specified. Combo options for high-low charts are Line, Column, and Overlay.

Mapping Options for HLCO Charts

Data mapping for HLCO charts is similar to that for High-Low charts. The only difference is that instead of specifying two different value columns, you must specify four different columns - High, Low, Open and Close. Combo options are Line, Column and Overlay.

A common kind of chart is a one that plots both stock price and trading volume in the same chart. This can be accomplished using an HLCO-column combination in ChartDesigner.

HLCO-Column Combination Chart

This example plots stock price and volume data over a three month period.

Mapping Options for Percentage Column Charts

Data mapping for percentage column charts is the same as for stack column charts (covered in Section 4.1.3.6.1 - Data Mapping). The only difference is that the sum-by components are plotted as a percentage of the Value column instead of discrete values. Combo options for percentage column charts are Line and Overlay.

Mapping Options for Doughnut Charts

Data mapping for doughnut charts is exactly the same as for pie charts (discussed in section Section 4.1.3.8.1 - Data Mapping).

Mapping Options for Surface Charts

The data mapping for a surface chart is similar to a three-dimensional scatter chart; the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis values determine the X, Y, and Z coordinates of a point respectively. However, unlike a scatter chart, surface charts do not support data series and cannot be converted to a two-dimensional chart.

The data mapping for bubble charts is similar to three-dimensional scatter charts; however, instead of plotting a Z-axis position, the third value determines the size of the bubble (specifically the radius).

Mapping Options for Bubble Charts

Note that similarly to a scatter chart, the columns have to be numeric in order to be mapped successfully.

Mapping Options for Overlay Charts

The data mapping for an overlay chart is similar to a column chart (covered in Section 4.1.3.2.1 - Data Mapping), except that the overlay chart plots each element in the data series as a separate chart. Please note that the 2nd Value, 2nd Series and Combo options do not apply to overlay charts. Overlay charts do not support secondary values. However, the different series elements can be plotted on different axes. For more about plotting options for overlay charts, see Section 4.1.4.9.3 - Overlay Charts.

Mapping Options for Box Charts

For box charts the mapping is as follows:

Please note that the 2nd Series and Combo options are not available for box charts. This is because the only combination available with box charts is a line.

The data mapping also allows you to transpose the data (in other words: to select several columns for a single category). To learn more about data transposition, please see Section 4.1.3.1.1 - Data Transposition.

Mapping Options for Radar Charts

For radar charts the mapping is as follows:

Please note that the 2nd Value, 2nd Series, and Combo options do not apply for radar charts. Radar charts do not support secondary values.

The data mapping also allows you to transpose the data (in other words: to select several columns for a single category). To learn more about data transposition, please see Section 4.1.3.1.1 - Data Transposition.

Mapping Options for Dial Charts

The data mapping of a dial chart is similar to a pie chart (detailed in Section 4.1.3.8.1 - Data Mapping). However, instead of pie wedges, the categories become dial hands. Also, dial charts do not support data series or secondary values.

Gauges are special types of dial charts containing a plot background image and/or plot foreground image. To create a new gauge, select the Gauges radio button on the Chart Type Selection dialog.

Selecting a Gauge Template

You can also create your own gauge by creating a template, saving the tpl file in the <EDAB Install>/gauges/templates/Custom/ folder (please note that the Custom folder is not created automatically by the EDAB installator so you will have to create it manually in your favorite file manager). To add this template to the Custom tab, you will also need to provide two images, a screenshot of the template placed in <EDAB Install>/gauges/screenshots/selected/Custom/, and a dimmer version of the same template placed in <EDAB Install>/gauges/screenshots/unselected/Custom/. An easy way to create the screenshot is to export the template to gif for the regular screenshot and resize it to 100px by 100px. Then change the background to a darker color, export and resize again for the dimmer version.

It is also possible to apply a gauge template onto an existing dial chart. Selecting apply template when the current chart is a dial chart will display the gauge tabs just like when creating a new chart.

Applying a Gauge Template

For more information regarding the dial background and foreground images, see Section 4.1.4.9.2 - Dial Charts.

The data mapping for Gantt charts is similar to high-low charts. However, instead of selecting a column for the high and low values, you select the start and end values.

Mapping Options for Gantt Charts

The mapping is as follows:

The data mapping also allows you to transpose the data (in other words: to select several columns for a single category). To learn more about data transposition, please see Section 4.1.3.1.1 - Data Transposition.

Mapping Options for Polar Charts

The data mapping for polar charts is similar to scatter charts. The angle and radius options allow you to select the columns whose values will make up the polar coordinates. These must both be numeric. The data series box allows you to choose a data column whose distinct values will determine the number of data series in the chart. Each element in a data series is drawn using the same set of drawing attributes, e.g., colors and markers.

This menu performs basic file operations such as opening, closing, and saving files. Note that saving and opening options are not available when you use the report data as the data source for an embedded chart. For more information about file options, please see Section 4.1.6 - Saving & Exporting Charts.

This menu allows you to add various elements to a chart.

This menu allows you to edit and modify the properties of many different chart components.

Undo:	Cancels the last operation performed in the designer and reverts back to the previous state. The designer will remember the last 10 actions made.
Redo:	Reverses the action of the undo command. For example, if you change the font color from black to red, you can undo this command to change it back to black, and then redo this command to have it change to red again.
Data Properties:	This option allows you to control several options for how the data is displayed. You can control the thickness of columns/bars, how null data is displayed, whether to draw data top labels or not, as well as enable and select a color for negative top labels.
Histogram Options:	This allows you to specify if you want to draw the chart as a histogram and display additional options to specify the frequency count.
Aggregation Options:	This allows you to specify whether to aggregate the data before drawing the chart and display additional options to specify type of aggregation.
Zoom Options	This allows you to enable/disable and set options for time based zooming. This option only applies if you have date/time data mapped to the category axis.
3D Display Options:	This allows you to set several options that control the display of 3D charts. You can specify an inline series for 3D column (or similar) charts, as well as specify rendering approximation for 3D scatter and surface charts. (This improves performance for charts with a lot of data points.)
Rendering Options:	This allows you to specify various rendering options for the chart for a better presentation. Rendering Options Dialog Among the options available are: Enable Anti-Alias: This allows you to specify anti-aliasing for the chart. Anti-aliasing will smooth text and lines in the chart, creating a smoother appearance. This feature can be applied to either the entire file or just to the chart, which will leave the text unaffected. Adjust Font: This allows you to specify the font size for text in charts to be relative to the screen resolution. This feature allows for more precise conversions of charts to various export formats and between installations. Translucent This allows you to specify whether the columns/bars/areas should be translucent. This allows any columns/bars/areas “hidden” behind to show through. You can also specify the opacity by adjusting the slider, where 0% is completely opaque and 100% is completely transparent. This option is available for all 3D charts and for 2D Area, Radar and Gantt charts with data series. Gradient: This allows you to enable gradients. The gradient can be applied either across the entire canvas or to chart data points only. You can change the gradient options by clicking on Customize to show the following dialog: Gradient Options Dialog This dialog allows you to specify the start and end points for the gradient (based on the x-y plane), the gradient color scheme, and whether the gradient should be cyclic. The start and end points are represented as percentages with (0,0) being the top left corner of the canvas and (100, 100) being the bottom right corner of the canvas. You can also specify whether the gradient change is shading (becoming darker or brighter) or a different color. Lastly, you can specify the gradient to be cyclic i.e., toggle between the two opposites in the gradient. Note that the start and end points represent the first segment if the gradient is cyclic. You can also enable 3D shading for certain 2D charts (Column, Bar, Stack Column, Stack Bar, 100% Column and Overlay) by selecting the Use 3D Shading Effect for 2D bar/column option (please note that this option is available for 2D bar/column charts only).
Font Mapping:	This allows you to map system (true type) font files for the PDF export. For more information about this feature, please see Section 4.1.6.2.1 - PDF Font Mapping
Chart Options:	This brings up some specific options for the chart type that you are using. Options vary depending on chart type.
Axis Scale:	This allows you to adjust the scale for any value axes. Automatic (best fit) scaling is used by default.
Axis Elements:	This allows you to modify the appearance of the axes and axis labels. Options here include axis thickness, grid lines, label steps, and data formatting.
Canvas:	This allows you to adjust the background canvas size. You can also specify whether to use scroll bars when the canvas size exceeds the view port.
Data Border:	Add a border to data elements (columns, bars, etc). Data Border Dialog If you select the Draw border option, the Border thickness, and the Border color fields will be enabled allowing you to configure the border properties. The Black border for white area option can be selected even when the Draw border is disabled. If you do so, a simple black border will be added only to white data elements. Column chart with the “Black border for white area” enabled Note This option is not available for Surface, Scatter, Line, Bubble, Box, Radar, Dial, and Polar charts.
Legend:	This allows you to modify the display properties of the chart legend.
Lighting Model:	This allows you to modify some of the lighting options for three-dimensional charts. You can modify both the light ambient color and the intensity.
Line and Point:	This allows you to modify the display properties of any lines in a chart. For two-dimensional charts you can choose to display lines and points for any dataset as well as customize their appearance. You can also use this menu item to modify the display properties for any trend, floating, or horizontal/vertical lines.
Plot Area:	This option allows you to customize appearance of the area bounded by the X and Y axes for two-dimensional charts.
No Data To Plot Message:	This option allows you to set a message that appears if there is insufficient data to plot the chart. By default, the “No Data To Plot” message appears.
Flash Hintbox Customization:	This option allows you to specify the font properties as well as the border and background color for the hint box in the flash export.
NULL Data Properties:	This option allows you to show any category axis point that contains Null data and replace it with a different string. By default, any Null data category point is skipped.
Table:	This allows you to add and configure a table displaying the chart data.
Text Properties:	This option allows you to set a resize ratio for any text in the chart. From this option you can also specify to use Java 2D rotate text. This option gives rotated text a cleaner appearance. You can also specify any text replacement options.
Viewer Options:	This menu item allows you to specify some configuration options for the Chart Viewer JNLP (More about Applets in JNLP: Section 1.3.4 - Run Applets in WebStart with JNLP file) when the chart is viewed. You can control what options are available in the Viewer pop-up menu. These options can also be controlled through HTML parameters.

This menu allows you to change the current chart and its dimension. You can switch between 2D and 3D for chart types that support representations in each dimension. You can also change chart types. Note that as you switch between chart types, some formatting information will be lost. Also, you cannot switch between Gantt charts and other chart types.

This menu contains options allowing you to add and navigate drill-down layers in a chart. The drill-down features are explained in Section 4.1.5 - Chart Drill-Down. Note that drill-down is only available (functional) when charts are deployed independently from reports.

This menu contains options that allows you to refresh, re-order or completely change the chart data.

This menu allows you to view a version of the program and to open a documentation.

The options in this menu allow you to toggle various elements in the Chart Designer interface. From this menu you can turn on and off the font and color panel, the Chart Designer toolbar, and the navigation panel for 3D charts.

You can use the color panel to change the color of any element in the chart. To modify an element's color, first, click on it. The status bar at the bottom of the Chart Designer window will indicate which element has been currently selected. After you have selected the object, click on one of the panels in the color panel and the color of the object will change to reflect the color you selected.

Color Panel

To create a custom color for the object, first select it, then click the More button. This will bring up a new dialog allowing you to pick a color from a larger palette or to create a new color.

Additional Colors Dialog

From this dialog you can pick a new color from swatches or configure a custom color using HSB values or RGB values.

The color set panel allows you to choose a color scheme for your chart. It contains predefined color sets that can be applied to chart data points on the value or the second value axis.

Color Set Panel

In order to change a color set for the value or the second value axis, first select the Color Set tab. Then select the axis (Value or 2nd Value) from the Select Axis select box and click the appropriate color set radio button. After that chart data points will get colors from the selected color set. Note that the Select Axis select box is only visible when the chart has the second value axis. By default, the value axis uses the first color set while the second value axis uses the seventh.

Please note that if you change a color of a data point manually, it will automatically unselect the selected color set. This is because of the color set that no longer corresponds to colors of data points in the chart. It is also important to note that if chart data points have more different colors than there are colors in the color set, it will automatically use colors from the beginning of the next color set, and so on. If there is no next color set available, it will use the first one instead.

4.1.4.3.2.1. Save Colors for Categories feature

Data points colors are closely related to the Save Colors for Categories feature that is available in the Data Properties dialog. The dialog can be opened by clicking the Change data properties icon on the toolbar, or by using Format → Data Properties. (Please note that this feature is not available for Stack charts and it is disabled if the chart has Single Color for All Categories.) If the feature is turned on, colors of chart data points are assigned to names of categories (or series for charts with series). If such categories (or series) then appear in the chart, it will automatically use their assigned colors. If the feature is turned off (default), colors are assigned by data points order (i.e. the first data point will get the first available color from the color set, the second will get the second color, etc.). Save Colors for Categories setting is automatically saved in the .pac file. The following example shows scenarios with the feature on and off:

Assume that a chart has three categories (“A”, “B”, and “C”) with colors taken from the following color set (blue, green, yellow, red).

Image 1 - Example Chart

Image 2 - “Save Colors for Categories” Feature On

Image 3 - “Save Colors for Categories” Feature Off

Save Colors for Categories feature on

We saved the chart with the “Save Colors for Categories” feature enabled (see Image 1), so the following categories and colors were saved to the list of saved categories:

category A ... blue color

category B ... green color

category C ... yellow color

Now if you open the chart and data changes (e.g. there will be only categories A and D in the data - see Image 2), categories will have the following colors:

category A ... blue color (category A has blue color, because the category name A is present in the list of saved categories)

category D ... red color (category D has the next available color in the color set, because the category name D isn't present in the list of saved categories. In this case, the category will have red color, because blue, green, and yellow colors are already assigned to categories A, B, and C.

For this scenario, the color set will not be selected under the Color Set tab because colors of data points do not correspond to the color set.

Save Colors for Categories feature off

Here is the same situation, but assume that the chart has been saved with the “Save Colors for Categories” feature off (see Image 3). The list of saved categories will be empty this time.

After opening the chart, the categories will have the following colors:

category A ... blue color (category A has blue color, as it is the first available color from the color set)

category D ... green color (category D has the second color from the color set, because the first is already assigned to the category A)

For this scenario, the color set will be selected under the Color Set tab because colors of data points correspond to the color set.

Unlike color and font panels, the pattern panel can only be applied to data points. There is a predefined pattern palette available for you to use. Similarly to how the color panel is used, you will need to first pick the data point you would like to change and then pick any pattern from the pattern palette. The pattern will be applied to the data point directly.

If a pattern has already been defined for a data point, the user can still change the color by selecting the color panel tab and picking a different color from the color palette. The color on the pattern will be changed to the new color immediately. The patterns shown on the pattern palette will change to the new color as well.

Pattern Example

You can use the font panel to modify the font, the font style, font size, and the font angle for labels, titles, or other text in a chart. To modify the font, you must first select the text object whose font you would like to change by clicking on it. The status bar at the bottom of the Chart Designer window will indicate which is the currently selected object.

Font Panel

The first drop-down box allows you to select the font that you would like to use. The second drop-down box allows you to select the font style either plain, bold, italic, or bold and italic. The third box allows you to select the font size. The last box allows you to specify the angle of the text.

Certain groups of text (i.e. axis labels or data top labels) will all have the same properties. Hence, if you select one of text and modify the font properties it will apply to all of them.

ChartDesigner allows you to use the Java graphics libraries to give your text a cleaner appearance. For regular text you can use the chart anti-alias feature by selecting Format → Rendering Options. For rotated text (i.e. text not a 0 degrees), you can use the Java 2D rotate text feature by selecting Format → Text Properties. Note that these methods require Java 1.2 or higher.

The chart canvas is the background on which all of the chart elements are drawn. Its dimensions are the size of the finished chart. You can modify the size of the chart canvas by selection Format → Canvas. This will bring up a dialog prompting you to specify the new canvas dimensions.

Canvas Formatting Dialog

You can specify the canvas size in pixels, inches, or centimeters. From this dialog you can also specify when to use scroll bars in the viewport. By default the viewport will display scroll bars when the canvas is larger than the window. When the canvas is smaller than the viewport window, a dark gray area will appear around it.

If you're creating an embedded chart in a report, the canvas will resize to match the space that you have defined for the chart in the Report Designer. For example, if you set the space in the report to be 3 inches by 4 inches, the next time you edit the chart, the canvas will automatically size to 3 inches by 4 inches.

On this dialog, you can also set up gradient background for the canvas. The gradient settings are the same as in the Rendering options described in the Section 4.1.4.1.3 - Format Menu.

4.1.4.5.1.1. Background Images

You can add an image as the background of the chart instead of having a plain or a colored canvas.

Radar Chart with Background Image

You can add a background image by selecting Insert → Background or by clicking the Background button on the toolbar. This will bring up a dialog allowing you to specify the background image for the chart.

Add Background Image Dialog

To insert a new image, select the Enable Background Image option. If you want to remove an existing background image and use simple background color instead, unselect this option.

There are two ways of inserting background images: either locate the image on the hard drive or retrieve it from an URL.

To locate an image on the hard drive, click on the Browse button.

To retrieve image from an URL, enter the URL in the Image URL text field. After that, click on the Refresh Preview button to verify the URL. If the image from the URL appears in the Preview section, the URL is correct.

If you add a background image and save the chart as TPL or CHT, the image itself is not stored with the chart. Only the path or URL is saved. If you move a TPL or CHT chart, you need to be sure that it can still access the image along the path specified. If you save the chart as PAC, the background image will be stored in the PAC file along with the chart.

You can select any element in the chart by clicking on it. The status bar at the bottom of the Chart Designer window will indicate which object has been currently selected. Clicking and dragging on an object will move it around the chart canvas. Note that some objects like axis or data top labels move in tandem, while other objects like legends move independently.

You can move the entire chart plot by clicking in the plot area and dragging the mouse. This will move the entire chart around the canvas. To resize a chart click the plot area and 8 points will appear in the corners and on the sides of the plot area. Drag any of those points using the mouse to enlarge or shrink the plot area. You can also resize three-dimensional charts by using the zoom control in the navigation panel.

There are two ways to add text to a chart: as titles or as plain text elements.

4.1.4.6.1.1. TextVariables

ChartDesigner allows you to specify certain variables within text that allow for run time substitution based on certain values/objects in the chart. For example, if your chart uses a parameterized query as the data source, you could use the &paramInfo variable to display which parameter value(s) were selected at runtime.

Both the insert titles dialog and the add text dialog have a button marked Variables at the bottom. This will bring up a dialog with a list of variables you can use and it will allow you to select one to add to the title or to the text.

Variables Dialog

The following text variables are supported:

&drillInfo:	This displays which data point is being drilled on for drill-down charts. This variable does not work for parameter drill-down.
&paramInfo:	This displays the parameter value(s) that were selected. You can use this variable instead of &drillInfo for parameter drill-down charts.
&date:	This displays the date when the chart was last drawn/redrawn.
&time:	This displays the time when the charts were last drawn/redrawn.
&category:	This displays the name of the category column.
&series:	This displays the name of the data series column.
&sumby:	This displays the name of the sum-by column.
&value:	This displays the name of the value column
&subvalue:	This displays the name of the secondary value column
&xaxis:	This displays the name of the column that is mapped to the X-axis. This is for charts that map a value instead of a category to the X-axis like scatter or bubble charts.
&yaxis:	This displays the name of the column that is mapped to the Y-axis. This is for scatter, bubble, and surface charts.
&zaxis:	This displays the name of the column that is mapped to the Z-axis. This is for scatter, bubble, and surface charts.
&2ndaxis:	This displays the name of the column that is mapped to the 2nd-axis.
&paramInfoName<index>:	If the chart contains parameters, this displays the name of the parameter for the selected index.
&paramInfoValue<index>:	If the chart contains parameters, this displays the supplied parameter value for the selected index.
&<paramName>>:	If the chart contains a parameter with this name, this will display the value selected for that parameter.

4.1.4.6.1.2. Text Replacement

ChartDesigner allows you to overwrite a particular piece of text in a chart. This can be useful if the data source does not use particularly intuitive column names. Note that this feature will replace all instances of the text. For example, if you have a column chart without a series that displays a column name for both the X-axis label and the legend item, you cannot use text replacement to change only the label and not the legend item. The text replacement feature will also change only whole strings and not instances where there is a partial match.

To use text replacement, select Format → Text Properties. This will bring up a dialog allowing you to specify replaced text.

Text Properties Dialog

Please note that when making successive changes to the same text, the original text must be used. For example, assume you replaced the word “coffee” with “water”. Now if you want to change “water” to “soft drink” the text replacement should have the original text, which is “coffee” and then “soft drink” as the replacement. To remove any text replacement, simply replace the original string with itself. Hence, using the same example, you would replace “coffee” with “coffee”.

You can see a list of all the original text and the replacements by clicking on the List button. This will bring up a dialog listing all of the text replacement in the chart.

Replaced Text List

From this dialog you can select any of the replaced text and modify or undo the replacement by clicking the buttons at the bottom of the dialog.

4.1.4.6.1.3. Automatic Text Resizing

ChartDesigner has the ability to automatically adjust the font size of the text in a chart as it is resized. This is useful if you're using the same chart template to produce a number of charts in different sizes. You can specify a ratio for the font size to adjust based on changes in the chart canvas. To specify a resize ratio, select Format → Text Properties.

Text Properties Dialog

The ratio dictates the relative percent that the font should resize in regards to the canvas. For example, say you resize a chart from 500 x 500 pixels to 250 x 250. With a resize ratio of 1 then text with 12 point font would decrease to 6 point, decreasing by the same percent as the canvas. However, with a resize ratio of 0.5 the font would decrease half as much as the canvas so our 12 point font would only decrease to 9 point.

4.1.4.6.1.4. Text Cropping

Long labels or text in a chart can sometimes take up too much space in the chart plot, leaving little room for the actual chart. For situations like this, ChartDesigner offers a text cropping feature for chart text. Text that is longer than a user-supplied threshold will be truncated with “...”. The hint box for the chart will show the whole label. To specify text cropping, select Format → Text Properties.

Text Properties Dialog

To enable text cropping, check the Set Max Display Characters option and specify the maximum character length in the dialog. Any text longer than the specified number of characters will be truncated.

ChartDesigner allows you to add and format a number of different types of lines for charts.

4.1.4.6.2.1. Line and Point Formatting

You can choose to display lines and points for all the data points in the chart for any two dimensional chart type. Note that some chart types already use this representation (i.e. line or scatter charts).

Column Chart with Lines and Points Defined

Line and point display is controlled by selecting Format → Line and Point, or click the Line and Point button on the toolbar. This will bring up a dialog presenting several options.

Line and Point Dialog

The first three options allow you to specify whether you would like to show lines, points, and a points border for the chart. For radar charts you also have the option of showing areas. The remaining options allow you to customize the line and point displays for each element in the data series.

For each data series element, you can specify the point shape that you would like to use. You can also control the size of the points. The default point size is 0. You can specify point sizes of -1, -2, & -3 which represent sizes of 0.75, 0.5, and 0.25 respectively. At -3 (0.25), the point will be drawn as a dot regardless of the selected point shape.

For lines you can specify the line thickness, as well as customize a dash pattern. The dash pattern is created by specifying the number of filled pixels and the number of empty pixels (between 0 and 255). The line is then drawn by dividing into segments - the number of filled pixels followed by the number of empty pixels. Setting 0 for both will result in a solid line. Setting 255 for both will result in no line being drawn.

The last option allows you to change data point symbol border color to black or darker shade of symbol color.

4.1.4.6.2.2. Floating Lines

Floating lines are free-form lines that can be arbitrarily added to any place on the chart canvas. Often floating lines are used to point to a specific element in a chart. To add a floating line select Insert → Line, or click the Insert Line button on the toolbar.

When you select this option, your mouse pointer will change to a cross. Click within the chart canvas where you would like the line to begin. Each additional click will add a point to the line, allowing you to add another segment. This way you can use floating lines to draw shapes as well. Once you have finished, right-click to stop drawing. The line will then be added.

Once a line has been placed on the canvas, it cannot be moved individually. It will move with the chart plot, like annotation text. To specify options for a floating line, first select it, and then select Format → Line and Point or click the Line and Point button on the toolbar. This will bring up a dialog allowing you to format various properties for the floating line.

Line and Point Dialog for Floating Lines

The dialog allows you to specify a standard line style or to create a custom dash pattern in the same manner as line and point formatting. You can also specify the line thickness in pixels. The checkboxes at the bottom of the dialog allow you to place an arrowhead at the start and/or end of the line, as well as fill the area enclosed by the line to create a solid shape.

Floating lines can be deleted by selecting them and hitting the delete key.

4.1.4.6.2.3. Fixed Horizontal/Vertical Lines

Fixed horizontal or vertical lines are lines that are drawn on one of the chart axes. These lines can also be drawn on three-dimensional charts where they appear as planes. There are two types of fixed lines: constant lines and control lines. Constant lines are lines that are fixed to a certain value in an axis. Control lines are drawn based on computed values that allow you to spot data points that are outside of certain value ranges. To add either type of line to a chart, select Horz\Vert Line from the Insert menu. This will bring up a dialog showing the list of existing horizontal/vertical lines, allowing you to edit the selected line, remove the selected line, and/or create a new line.

Define Horizontal/Vertical Lines Dialog

Clicking on Insert or clicking on Edit when an existing line is selected, respectively, will bring up a dialog allowing you to configure the selected line.

Constant Line Dialog

For constant lines you need to specify a label for the line, as well as the numeric value to use for the line. Note that for the category axis, the data points start with 0.5. You can also specify the line thickness and whether the line is horizontal or vertical. The last two options allow you to add an item to the chart legend for the line and whether to display any annotation for the line.

For Gantt charts, there is one extra option called Current Date for Gantt Chart. If you choose this option, the Constant line value field will deactivate and the current date will be used as the line value (the line position will be updated every time you run the chart).

For radar charts, the horizontal/vertical option is disabled. Radar charts draw constant/control lines at the same point around all the chart axes (in a similar manner to the radar grid). In addition, for radar charts, an additional option named Circular Style is present. By default, lines in radar charts are drawn in a segmented fashion - straight lines connect the points on each axis. Selecting this option will draw the constant/control as a circle.

	Note
	If you have not specified any annotation for the line then none will appear if you select the last option. For more on adding annotation to a chart, please see Section 4.1.4.6.1 - Adding Text.

To add a control line, click on the Control Line tab in the dialog.

Control Line Dialog

For control lines you need to specify which series element you want to compute the value for (this option does not appear if no series is present) and how to compute the value. Options for control lines are average, minimum, maximum, and multiples of standard deviation.

After you have specified all of the options, the line will be added to the chart or the selected line will be changed, respectively. To edit any of the properties specified in the previous dialogs, you can select Insert → Horz/Vert Line again and select the line from the list. You can also double-click on the line that you want to modify.

You can change the appearance of fixed lines by first selecting the line and then selecting Format → Line and Point, or clicking the Line and Point icon on the toolbar. This will bring up a dialog allowing you to customize the line.

Line and Point Dialog for Fixed Lines

This dialog allows you to specify a standard line style or to create a custom dash pattern in the same manner as line and point formatting.

4.1.4.6.2.4. Trend Lines

A powerful feature of ChartDesigner is the ability to add trend lines to charts. Trend lines can help to show more details of a chart's data by exposing and highlighting certain trends.

Chart with Trend Lines

To add a trend line to a chart, select Insert → Trendline. This will bring up a dialog showing the list of existing trend lines, allowing you to edit the selected trend line, remove the selected trend line, and/or create a new trend line.

Trend Line Options Dialog

Clicking on Insert or clicking on Edit when an existing trend line is selected, respectively, will bring up a dialog allowing you to configure the selected trend line.

Define Trend Lines Dialog

In this dialog you can specify a label for the line, as well as what element of the data series to base the calculation on. The following types of trend lines are supported: a polynomial of any degree (please note that a linear trend line is a polynomial trend line of the 1st degree, i.e. the Polynomial curve order option has to be set to 1 ), a power, exponential, logarithmic, a moving average, an exponential moving average, an triangular moving average, cubic B-spline, and a normal distribution curve. For moving averages you will need to specify the average period and for a polynomial you will need to specify the curve order. You can also specify the thickness of the line and configure whether a label in legend and the attached text should be shown. In case the chart has data series, you can configure the trendline for a specific series.

After you have specified all of the options, the trend line will be added to the chart or the selected trend line will be changed, respectively. To edit any of the properties specified in the previous dialog, you can select 'TrendLine' from the Insert menu again, and select the line from the list. You can change the appearance of the trend line by first selecting it, and then selecting Format → Line and Point, or clicking the Line and Point button on the toolbar. This will bring up a dialog allowing you to customize the lines.

Line and Point Dialog for Trend Lines

This dialog allows you to create a custom dash pattern in the same manner as line and point formatting.

4.1.4.6.2.4.1. Normal Distribution Curve

A special type of trend line that allows you to draw a normal distribution curve for the data in the chart. In order to plot a normal distribution curve, the chart must either be a two-dimensional column or bar chart, it cannot have a data series, and the category should be numeric. Assuming these conditions are met, you can specify a normal distribution curve as one of the trend line options.

Chart with Normal Distribution Curve

Since the scale for the curve is usually different than the scale for the value axis, the curve is shown on a secondary axis. You can modify the scale by changing the scale for the secondary axis.

Control areas are useful for comparing the chart data against a certain range of data. For most two-dimensional charts, control areas are drawn as filled areas on the chart plot between a range of values on the chart's value axis and/or category axis. The data points are then drawn over top of the control areas giving you a quick visual reference to see which data points fall within the designated range. Instead of drawing a background area on the plot, the control areas can also be shown only where the data points intersect the control area. This feature gives users a clear visual reference when specific threshold values are reached.

Two-Dimensional Area Chart with Control Areas

Column Chart with Control Area Drawn for Data Points

A special instance of control areas can be used for dial charts. For dial charts control areas are drawn as arcs on the face of the dial, allowing you to see if the dial hands (data points) fall within the range. Note that control areas are not available for radar and pie charts.

Dial Chart with Control Areas

To add a control area to a chart, select Insert → Control Area. The following dialog will appear showing the list of existing control areas, allowing you to edit the selected control area, remove the selected control area, and/or create a new control area.

Control Area List

Clicking on Insert or clicking on Edit when an existing control area is selected, respectively, will bring up a dialog allowing you to configure the selected control area. If your chart is not a dial chart, the following dialog will open.

Control Area Configuration Dialog

The following options are provided for control areas:

If your chart is a dial chart, then a different dialog will appear when you select Insert → Control Area and then click on the Insert or Edit button.

Control Area Dialog for Dial Charts:

The following options are provided for dial chart control areas:

After you have specified all of the options, the control area will be added to the chart or the selected control area will be changed, respectively. To edit any of the properties specified in the previous dialog, you can select Insert → Control Area again, and select the control area from the list. You can also double-click on the control area that you want to modify.

In addition to displaying charts, you can also display a table showing the data points displayed in the chart. The table can be placed below or to the right of the chart plot.

Chart with Table

To add a table to a chart, or to modify the various display options for a table, select Format → Table. This will bring up a dialog allowing you to customize various options for the table display.

Format Table Dialog

From this dialog you can specify whether or not to display the table, as well as what relative position to give the table either to the bottom or right-hand side of the chart plot. You can also specify a 3D effect for the table and its depth.

The Transpose checkbox allows you to swap the columns and rows of the table. By default, the category elements are drawn as columns and the data series elements as rows.

The Show Color Symbols option allows you to show/hide color boxes for data series in the table.

Chart table with color boxes

The Alignment options allows you to specify horizontal alignment of the text in the table cells, either left, center, or right. The alignment can be set for row headers, column headers, and inner table cells.

	Note
	If there isn't enough room in the chart canvas, not all data points will be displayed in the table. The table size adjusts with the canvas size and also with the font size in the table cells.

ChartDesigner has an capability to add hyperlinks to any data point in a chart. Links can be specified for either single data points or multiple elements. Any added hyperlinks will be applied to both the data points on the chart and to their respective fields on the legend. To add a hyperlink to a chart, select Insert → Link or right-click on a data point and select Insert Link from the pop-up menu. This will bring up a dialog showing a list of existing hyperlinks which you can configure, remove, and/or create new ones.

Insert Link Dialog

Clicking on Insert or clicking on Edit when an existing hyperlink is selected will bring up a dialog allowing you to configure the selected hyperlink.

Define Link Dialog

The URL field allows you to specify a Web page that you want to link.

The Series and Category drop down menus allows you to select an element in the data series and category elements for the hyperlink. You can also link to all data series elements or all category elements.

You can specify the Target parameter recognized by HTML when specifying a hyperlink to be attached to a data point or data series. This can be used to determine whether the new HTML page should open in a new browser window, in the same browser window, or whether the new page should occupy the same portion of the page as the current page.

The Hint field allows you to enter text that will pop-up when you move your mouse cursor over a data point. If you want to create pop-up labels without hyperlinks, you can leave the URL field blank and only specify the hint.

4.1.4.6.5.1. Viewing Hyperlinks

If you specify hyperlinks for charts, they will be active only when the chart is exported to Flash format*. For most image formats such as PNG, JPG, GIF, etc, an image map file containing information for the link will be automatically generated when you export the chart. You can insert the image and image map into an HTML file to view the image with clickable links.

	Note
	* For Flash export, when the user clicks on the hyperlink, there will likely be a warning message prompted by Flash saying that there was a potentially unsafe operation. You can turn this warning off by clicking on settings and adding the chart into the list of trusted locations.

Export Dialog

By default, the scale of any value axes in the chart is calculated to provide a 'best fit' for the data being plotted. This is often a useful feature if the data being displayed can change radically. However, you may often want to set the scale of the axes manually. To modify the axis scale, select Format → Axis Scale, or click the Axis Scale button on the toolbar. This will bring up a dialog allowing you to format the scale for any value axes in the chart.

Axis Scale Dialog

The following options are provided:

The axis scale dialog will have a tab for each axis in the chart. There's a unique option available for secondary axes which allows you to align the axis scale. It will apply all options from the primary axis to the secondary axis, giving both axes the exact same scale.

Axis Scale Dialog for Secondary Axis

The axis scale dialog is different for a Gantt chart. You can still select the Automatic option to have the scale configured automatically or the Manual option to set the scale manually. The Automatic axis scale has a few Auto Scale Step Options: Auto, Day, Month, Year, and Dynamic. The auto option always finds a best fit. The dynamic option also finds a best fit, but unlike the auto option, it uses standard step intervals only (for example: 1 month, 1 year etc...). When the Manual axis scale is chosen, the Maximum, Minimum, Unit and Origin are replaced with Maximum Date, Minimum Date, Scale Step and Origin Date respectively and these new settings take in a Date/Time (represented by yyyy, MM, dd, hh, mm).

Axis Scale Dialog for Gantt Chart

The appearance properties of the axes and the axis labels are controlled through the axis elements dialog. To invoke the axis elements dialog, select Format → Axis Elements or click the Format Value Elements button on the toolbar. This will bring up the following dialog, allowing you to customize elements in all chart axes. You can also customize the appearance of dial and pie chart labels from this dialog.

Axis Elements Dialog

A tab will appear in this dialog for each axis in the chart. The dialog allows you to perform the following options. Note that some options are only available for certain chart types, certain data types, and on certain axes.

Many of the data display options are controlled through the data properties dialog. From this dialog you can control the size of bars/columns, set display options for null values, and specify options for data labels. To invoke the data properties dialog, select Format → Data Properties or click the Data Properties button on the toolbar. This will bring up the following dialog:

Data Properties Dialog

This data properties dialog contains the following options:

For charts displaying date or time data on the category axis, ChartDesigner provides a unique feature allowing users to perform date/time based zooming. Using this feature, you can group the category elements into user-defined intervals and aggregate the points in each group. You can also filter the data by specifying upper and lower bounds for the results.

For example, suppose your data contains daily sales volume for the past two years. Using zooming, you could aggregate the data to look at average volume per month, quarter, or year. Using the upper and lower bounds, you could narrow the range to look at weekly sales volume within a specific quarter.

Zooming is available for all chart types except scatter, surface, box, dial, polar, radar, bubble, and Gantt.

4.1.4.8.2.1. Adding Zooming

When you create a new chart with date, time, or timestamp data in the category axis, you can specify zooming options by selecting Format → Time Zooming Options.

Zoom Options Dialog

This dialog allows you to specify a lower and upper bound for the data, as well as the interval by which you would like to group the data. The scale specified here must be within the maximum and minimum scale specified in the aggregation options dialog.

This dialog also allows you to preserve a linear scale for the chart. By setting the Linear option to true, the chart will always display points for the grouped intervals, even if there is no data associated with a particular group. For example, say again that you are measuring sales volume over a three month period - April, May, and June. If the input data has no records for May and you set the Linear option to true, a point will be drawn for May with a value of zero. If you set the Linear option to false, the data point for April will be immediately followed by June.

You can disable/enable zooming, as well as the lower and upper bound restrictions by using the checkboxes at the bottom of the dialog.

If you enable zooming (if you check Enable Zooming option), the dialog Aggregate Options will appear, prompting you to specify aggregation options for the grouped data points.

Aggregation Options Dialog

In this dialog, you can specify the Primary Aggregation, as well as the maximum and minimum scale increments that can be used when zooming the data. After you have specified your desired options, click on the OK button to return to zooming options.

Once you have finished specifying all the options, click on the OK button and the zooming will be applied to the chart.

ChartDesigner allows you to change the order of the category and series elements. To modify the ordering, select Data → Ordering or click the Change Data Ordering button on the toolbar. This will bring up the following dialog:

Data Ordering Dialog

There is an Order By list which contains category element, series element, and an option marked VALUES. You have the following options for the category and series elements:

You can also sort the category elements based on their corresponding values. To do this, select the VALUES option in the data ordering dialog.

Value Data Ordering Dialog

If you choose the VALUES option, the entire dialog changes. From this dialog, you can specify to sort the category elements based on their corresponding values in the value, or secondary value axis. You can also specify whether to sort them in ascending or descending order. This type of ordering is called a Pareto chart and is often used in process control applications.

Pareto Chart

Please note that any sorting set will be re-applied if the chart is refreshed and/or if the data changes.

4.1.4.8.3.1. Top/Bottom N Charts

Sometimes you want to plot only a few highest or lowest values. To do that, you can use the Top/Bottom N function.

To enable this feature, choose Data → Ordering, or click the Change Data Ordering button on the toolbar.

If the chart doesn't have any data series, the Ordering dialog will show the Limit Number Of DataPoints option.

This option can only be enabled if you sort the chart by categories or values, or by the values in ascending or descending order. If you have such chart, you can enable this function by selecting the Show first option. Then you can specify the maximum number of items that will be shown in the chart. If the data source returns more items than you specify in this option, excessive items will not be shown in the chart as if they didn't exist.

Histogram is a useful analysis tool that allows you to track how often events occur and when and how a set of data falls into specific ranges. ChartDesigner allows you to plot histograms based on the category elements in a chart. You can plot histograms for all category data types except time-based data (date, time, or timestamp).

Histograms are calculated by counting data points or instances of each category element. For numeric categories, you can further specify upper and lower bounds, as well as the number of bins or bin width to create ranges for the frequency counts.

To create a histogram, you must start with a 2D column chart, bar chart, line chart or area chart. In the Data Mapping dialog, make sure DataSeries is set to None and the field you want to plot in the histogram is set in the Category axis. Once you click Done in the Data Mapping dialog and the chart is shown on the canvas, select Format → Histogram Options. A dialog will appear allowing you to select a histogram plot. By default, the histogram is displayed as frequency count. You can choose to change it to display probability by checking the Show probability check box.

Select Histogram Dialog

If the values in the Category axis is numeric, you will see that the Options button is enabled. When you click Options button, another dialog will appear, allowing you to specify options for the histogram plot.

Histogram Options Dialog

From this dialog, you can set a lower or upper bound for that data being plotted. When you place bound restrictions, the histogram will not count data that falls outside of the range specified by the upper and lower bounds. If you select Enable Bins, you can specify the number of bins or set width of each bin. The default number of bins is 10. You can also click Use suggested Number of Bins if you wish to use a value calculated by the system. If Enable Bins is deselected, the frequency count will be performed on each Category value instead of a range of values for a bin.

If you enable scale, you can specify the number of bins or set width of each bin.

The plot area is the plane on which the data points are drawn for two-dimensional charts. You can customize the appearance of the plot area by selecting Format → Plot Area. Assuming the current chart is a two-dimensional chart, the following dialog will appear.

Plot Area Dialog

This dialog allows you to draw a border around the plot area, or fill it with a background color. If you fill the area, you can also specify certain 3D effects like raising, lowering or shadow.

On this dialog, you can also set up gradient background for the plot area. The gradient settings are the same as in the Rendering options described in the Section 4.1.4.1.3 - Format Menu.

You can control and modify the display of the chart legend either by selecting Format → Legend, or by clicking on the Format Legend button on the toolbar, or by selecting Legend properties from legend pop-up menu (which pops up when you right-click on the legend). This will bring up the following dialog, allowing you to customize the legend properties.

Format Legend Dialog

The dialog contains the following options:

Additionally, you can remove specific category/series elements from the legend by clicking on the Hide button. This will bring up a list of the legend items, where you can select which elements you would like to hide.

ChartDesigner renders three-dimensional charts in true 3D, allowing light source modification, panning, zooming, and rotation. However, 3D rendering can be very memory and CPU intensive. When charts have a lot of data points (like 3D scatter and surface charts), it's possible to run out of memory when generating the chart. To solve this problem, a rendering approximation feature is provided. Using this algorithm the chart is not rendered perfectly, but it's usually acceptable when a lot of points have to be shown.

By default, approximation is turned on at a threshold value of 100 points. This means that if a 3D chart has more than 100 data points, the approximation will be used. You can turn this feature off, or change the threshold value by selecting Format → 3D Display Options. This will bring up the following dialog.

3D Display Options Dialog

The two options for 3D approximation allows you to turn on/off the approximation and set the threshold value. The other option in this dialog allows you to draw the series in-line (the same option is in navigation panel).

For column, bar, stack column, stack bar and HLCO charts, ChartDesigner allows you to configure a border around the columns. To set the border option, select Format → Data Border. This will bring up a dialog allowing you to set border options.

IData Border Dialog

The first option allows you to turn on/off the data border. The second option allows you to set a black border for any white areas in the chart. Please note that the border is black only if the first option is unchecked and will only appear around white areas in the chart. The third and fourth options allows you to set border thickness and border color. If you click on the Click button, a new dialog will appear allowing you to select or enter a new color.

ChartDesigner allows you to aggregate data if there is more than one data point associated to a given category (and its series and/or stack, if a series and/or stack is present). This allows for a broader look at the data rather than just a single data point (out of many).

To aggregate the data, select Format → Aggregation Options. A dialog will appear allowing you to enable aggregation.

Select Aggregation Dialog

When you select Enable Aggregation, a second dialog box will appear, asking you which type of aggregation should be applied. You can choose from minimum, maximum, average, sum, count, first, last, sumsquare, variance, stddev, and countdistinct for the aggregates. You can specify a primary aggregate (aggregate applied to the column mapped to the primary axis) as well a secondary aggregate (aggregate applied to the column mapped to the secondary axis), if a secondary axis exists.

Aggregate Options Dialog

For bubble charts, the following dialog is displayed:

Bubble Options Dialog

The following options are available for bubble charts:

Bubble Chart with 3D Shading

For dial charts, the following dialog is displayed.

Dial Options Dialog

The following options are available for dial charts:

Starting Angle:	This option specifies the angle where the first axis label is to be set. This property also determines where the border and dial area will start if the Draw Full Circle option is unchecked. The angle is represented in degrees and is 0 by default. Assuming the dial chart is a clock face, 0 degrees is 12 o'clock.
Ending Angle:	This option specifies the angle where the last axis label should be set. This property also determines where the border and dial area will end if the Draw Full Circle option is unchecked. The angle is represented in degrees and is 360 by default. Hence by default the labels (and data points) encompass the entire circumference of the dial.
Center Point Radius:	This option specifies the radius for an inner circle, which starts from the center of the dial chart. The radius is specified as a ratio to the radius of the dial plot. Hence, a value of 1 will make the inner circle encompass the entire dial. If the Draw Full Circle option is unchecked, only the portion of the center point that is within the starting and ending angles will be shown. Dial Chart with Center Point Radius
Needle Style:	This option specifies the type of needle to draw. The Pointed Blade is a smooth line with a thick base. It becomes slightly thinner as it extends outwards, but finishes with a very sharp pointed tip. The Round Headed Blade is similar to the Pointed Blade except for a round tip. The Triangular Pointer is sharp and resembles a very thin triangle. The Pointer is a step ladder pointer with three segments. The Rectangular Pointer (as shown above on the picture) is a simple straight needle. Default needle is Pointed Blade.
Draw Border:	This option specifies whether or not to draw a border around the dial.
Draw Arrow:	This option specifies whether or not to draw arrowheads at the end of the dial hands.
Draw Full Circle:	This option specifies whether to draw the dial as a complete circle (360 degrees) or only draw the portion of the circle determined by the starting and ending angles.
Needle Length and Thickness:	This option specifies the length and thickness of the needle. The needle length is measured from the center of the dial. The range is from 0 (center of the dial) to 1 (the end of the dial). The thickness determines the width of the needle, larger values results in a wider pointer. When creating a chart, the needle length is randomly generated. Default thickness is 2. Each category element is represented by a different needle. You can either change properties individually or change multiple categories at once. To change the property of each needle individually, directly change the values to the right of the category. To make changes to multiple needles, check each category or check the Select All option, set the properties in the lower right corner and then click on the Apply Now button for each property changed. This will modify all checked categories to new values.

4.1.4.9.2.1. Gauge Images

Dial charts have an additional option to display a foreground or background image for the dial plot area. To add a foreground or background image, select Insert → Dial Foreground... or Insert → Dial Background.... These options are only enabled for dial charts.

Dial Chart Background Image Dialog

Selecting an image works in the same way as the background image dialog, see Section 4.1.4.5.1.1 - Background Images. In the dial chart image dialog, there is also an option to specify the radius of the image. Specifying 1 for the radius will make the image the same width and height as the plot area. Increasing or decreasing this value will enlarge or shrink the images.

For overlay charts, the following dialog is displayed:

Overlay Options Dialog

From this dialog, you can specify which chart type you would like to use for each element of the data series. Available chart types for the series elements in an overlay chart are column, area, and line. You can also choose not to display certain series elements.

From this dialog, you can also specify which axis you would like to use to plot a series element. You can place elements on the primary or secondary axes, or you can create new value axes for the series elements. To create a new value axis, select New Axis from the drop-down menu. Once you specify to use a new axis, a new option will be added to the drop-down menus for the other data series elements, allowing them to be drawn on the same axis that you previously specified. Using a variety of axes allows you to precisely tune the scale that the different series elements use. Each of these axes will have its own tab in the Axis Elements window, where you can change the label step interval for each axis independently of the others.

Axis Options Dialog for Multiple Value Axes

Overlay Chart with Multiple Value Axes

If one of the chart types used by the overlay chart is a line, you can specify whether or not to draw the line as a step line using the Combo Line tab. For more about step lines see Section 4.1.4.9.5 - Line Charts:

Combo Line Options for Overlay Charts

For pie charts, the following dialog is displayed. (Note that different options will appear/disappear depending on whether the chart has a series, and if it's a 2D or 3D chart.) Here are the options available for a 2D chart with series:

Pie Options Dialog (With Series)

Here are the options available for a 2D chart without series. Notice that the formation options are removed and the % in legend and Value in legend options are added:

Pie Options Dialog (Without Series)

The following options are available for pie charts:

Explode:	This option allows you to pick one or more category/series elements whose sections are to be drawn at a certain distance away from the center of the pie.
Sector Gap:	This option allows you to pick one or more category/series elements whose sections are drawn at a certain distance away from the center of the pie and still maintain the same distance between pie slices and a circular boundary.
Distance from origin:	This option allows you to specify how far the exploded/sector gap sections are to be drawn away from the center. This number, represented as a percentage of the radius, indicates the distance between the center and the tip of the pie slice to be exported.
Rotate pie:	This option allows you to specify the number of degrees that the chart should be rotated in a clockwise direction. Available values are between 0 and 360
Place label:	This option indicates the distance of the labels from the center of the pie. The position of an individual label can also be adjusted by dragging the text.
“Others” % Threshold:	This feature is useful for pie charts that have a large number of small categories. Rather than draw a slice for each category, users can select a threshold value. Any category whose percentage of the value column is less than the threshold value will be lumped into an “Others” slice.
Display Name for “Others”:	This option allows you to set the display name for the “Others” slice that is created for categories that fall below the supplied threshold value. This label will appear in the legend, and/or for the slice label.
Label:	This option determines whether a category/series label should be drawn for each pie slice. By default, these only appear as legend items. Note that the label will not appear if the data for the slice is 0 or null.
Value:	This option allows you to specify whether to display the actual value of each pie slice. Note that the value will not appear if the data for the slice is 0 or null.
Category:	This option allows you to specify whether to display the category of each pie slice.
Percentage:	This option allows you to display the percentage for each pie slice. The percentages are calculated by dividing the value of each section by the sum of all the values. Note that the percentage will not appear if the data for the slice is 0 or null.
% in legend:	This option allows you to display the percentage represented by each slice in the pie in the legend. This can be a preferable presentation if the pie slices become too thin. This option is only available if the pie chart does not have a data series.
Value in legend:	This option allows you to display the value represented by each slice in the pie in the legend. This can be a preferable presentation if the pie slices become too thin. This option is only available if the pie chart does not have a data series.
Border:	This option specifies whether to draw a border around each pie slice. This option is only available for two-dimensional pie charts. For three-dimensional pies, you can use the border drawing option on the navigation panel. Note that the border will not appear if the data for the slice is 0 or null.
Slice-to-Label Line:	This option will draw a line from any label(s) to it's corresponding pie slice. Note that the slice-to-label line will not appear if the data for the slice is 0 or null.
Label at the Side:	This option will place labels for the pie chart away from the plot around the outside of the chart. When used with the Slick-to-Label Line option, it gives users a way to display the pie labels for charts with many small categories without any text overlapping. Note that the label will not appear if the data for the slice is 0 or null. Pie Chart with Side Labels and Lines
Best Fit:	This option will arrange multiple pies in best configuration to fit the chart canvas. It's only available for pies with data series.
Draw Linearly:	This option will arrange multiple pies in a straight horizontal line. It's only available for pies with data series.
Number of Pies Per Row:	This option allows you to create a custom arrangement of multiple pies, by specifying the number of pies to draw in each row of the arrangement.
Gap between pies:	This option allows you to specify the gap between the multiple pies. The number is a multiple of the pie radius, so the gap will adjust with the size of the chart plot.

For two-dimensional line charts, one of two different dialogs will be displayed depending on whether the chart has a data series or not. If the chart has a data series then the following dialog is displayed.

Line Options Dialog (with series)

Line charts with data series have a specific option that allows you to draw drop bars between two series elements. The dialog options are as follows:

Series A:	This option specifies the first series element for the drop bar.
Series B:	This option specifies the second series element for the drop bar.
Draw Drop Bar:	This option specifies whether or not to draw drop bars.
Draw Border:	This option specifies whether or not to draw a border around drop bars.
Set Layout:	This option specifies whether to draw a line chart in vertical or horizontal orientation.
Step Line:	This option allows you to draw line chart as a step line. You can also specify the step line ratio to use. Line Chart with Drop Bars Note that the color of the drop bar will vary depending on which series has the higher value for a given point. If the line chart does not have a series, then the following dialog will appear. Line Options Dialog (without series) The dialog options are as follows: Set Points Uniform: This option specifies whether the point shapes and colors are uniform or not. Un-checking this option allows you to set multiple colors and point shapes for the data points. The points can be customized in the line and point dialog. Set Layout: This option specifies whether to draw the line chart in vertical or horizontal orientation. Step Line: This option allows you to draw the line chart as a step line. You can also specify the step line ratio to use. Line Chart with Step Lines The step line ratio allows you to specify how far between points the horizontal portion of the step line should be drawn. A ratio of 1 draws the line horizontally to the next point on the chart and then draws vertically to that point, while a ratio of 0.5 draws the horizontal portion halfway between the two points. A ratio of 0 will result in the vertical portion of the line drawn first and then connect to the next point horizontally. Values for the ration are between 0 and 1.

There are no additional options for three-dimensional line charts.

4.1.4.9.5.1. Double Value Line Charts

ChartDesigner contains a special option for line charts that allows you to have two values shown for the same line. Here the secondary axis is used to plot the second value (as in a line-line combination) and then combined with the line on the primary axis.

Double Value Line Chart

To create a double value line chart, design a line-line combination chart (a line chart with primary and secondary values). Then select Format → Axis Elements. This will bring up the axis elements dialog.

Axis Elements Dialog for Line-Line Combination Charts

Under the 2nd Axis tab, there is a checkbox marked Show using primary axis. Check this box and click on the OK button. Your chart will now be drawn as a double value line chart.

For HLCO charts, the following dialog is displayed:

HLCO Options Dialog

The Show Hi-Low As Candle Stick option will turn the HLCO chart into a candle representation. A candle HLCO chart blends high, low, close, and open data into a single object that resembles a candlestick.

HLCO Candlestick Chart

For box charts, the following dialog is displayed:

Box Options Dialog

This dialog allows you to specify whether to display the box chart in a horizontal or vertical orientation.

For stack area charts, the following dialog is displayed:

Stack Area Options Dialog

You can choose to hide any of the stacks in the chart by clicking on the corresponding check box. The Combo Line tab allows you to specify step lines if the chart is a line stack area combination. There are no additional options for three-dimensional stack area charts.

For Gantt charts, the following dialog is displayed:

Gantt Options Dialog

The following options are available for Gantt charts:

For radar charts, the following dialog is displayed:

Radar Options Dialog

By default, the scale is same for all axes in the radar chart. Unchecking the Synchronize All Axes option will allow each axis in the radar chart to be scaled independently. You can select to use auto-scaling for each axis, or you can set the scales manually by invoking the axis scale dialog.

The second option allows you to set how the grid is drawn for the radar chart. By default, if the grid is enabled, it is drawn in straight lines that connect the tickers on each axis. Enabling the Draw Circular Grid option will draw the grid in a circle, similar to the polar chart grid.

The third option allows you to specify a cut-off point for the data points (areas) in the radar chart. You can enter a maximum value that should be shown in the chart. The areas bounded by the data points will not be drawn beyond the specified cut-off point.

For scatter charts, the following dialog is displayed:

Scatter Options Dialog

The Combo Line tab allows you to set Draw Lines In Data Source Order, Draw Arrows on lines or Draw the connecting lines as a Step Lines, as well as specify the step lines ratio.

The Cut Off Point tab allows you to specify a maximum value for the Y point of the scatter coordinates. Any coordinates that fall beyond this threshold will not be plotted. Connecting lines will draw up to the edge of the threshold and continue to the next data point.

For polar charts, the following dialog is displayed:

Polar Options Dialog

For column charts with data series, the following dialog is displayed:

Column Options Dialog

Normally, when column charts have data series, each series has it's own color that is applied for every category in the chart. If you want to assign different colors to the columns in the chart regardless of the series, you can enable the Unique Color Column option in this dialog. When it's turned on, you can set color for each column in the chart individually.

For column/bar charts without data series, the following dialog is displayed:

Column/Bar Options Dialog

Normally, when column/bar charts don't have data series, all categories in the chart have single color. If you want to assign different colors to the categories in the chart, uncheck the Single Color For All Categories option in this dialog.

For any other two-dimensional line combination chart, the following dialog is displayed:

Line Combination Chart Options

This dialog allows you to specify whether to draw the combo line as a step line, as well as specify the step line ratio.

The chart options for a doughnut chart are almost exactly the same as the options for a pie chart. You can refer to the options under Section 4.1.4.9.4 - Pie Charts for more details.

Doughnut Chart Options

The only option unique to doughnut charts is the Arc Length Ratio (%) which specifies the size of the hole at the center of the chart. A higher number results in a smaller hole.

To add layers of data drill-down to a chart, you must first create a top-level chart. In the above example, we would create a chart with “Category” mapped to the category axis and “Sales” mapped to the value axis. In a column chart, it would look like this:

Top-Level Chart

To add a layer of drill-down, select Drill-Down → Add. This will bring up a dialog prompting you to specify the aggregation you want to use for the value axis. For example, selecting sum will display the total for each category in the top-level chart. Available aggregate functions are minimum, maximum, average, sum, count, first, last, sumsquare, variance, stddev, and countdistinct.

Aggregation Dialog

After you select the aggregation you want to use, click on the OK button. A new dialog will appear prompting you to specify a name for the drill-down chart. This name will be assigned to the chart templates that are created by the drill-down process. Note that all sub-level drill-down templates are saved in the /drilltemplates/ directory.

Drill-Down Name Dialog

Once you have specified a name you want to use, click on the OK button. You will then be prompted to specify the chart type and data mapping for the sub-level chart.

Data Drill-Down Mapping Dialog

The options in the dialog are similar to those for normal data mapping. The major difference is that the first option allows you to select a chart type. Available chart types for data drill-down are column, bar, line, stack column, stack bar, pie, area, doughnut, overlay, radar, and dial. The data mapping options will change depending on the type of chart that you select.

Once you have finished specifying the mapping options, click on the Done button and you will go back to the Chart Designer where you can customize and modify your sub-level chart. You can add additional layers of drill-down by selecting Drill-Down → Add again.

You can navigate to a particular drill-down chart by selecting Drill-Down → Previous or Drill-Down → Next or by double clicking a data point. The Previous selection takes you up a level, while the Next selection goes down a level using the left-most category as the data to be drilled on. You can also go from any drill-down chart to the top-level chart by selecting Drill-Down → Go To Top Level. You can customize (i.e. assign colors, add title, axis labels, background image, ...etc.) the drill-down chart in the same way as the top-level chart. Everytime you change and leave a level, you will be prompted to save the chart. Make sure that you answer yes if you want the attributes of the drill-down level to be saved, otherwise you will you lose all the changes.

You can insert a drill-down chart between two other drill-down charts by going to the higher level drill-down chart and selecting Drill-Down → Add. The drill-down chart that you create will be inserted between the two previous drill-down charts.

You can remove a level of the drill-down by navigating to that level and selecting Drill-Down → Remove This. The entire drill-down chart can also be deleted by selecting Drill-Down → Remove All. Selecting Drill-Down → Previous brings the drill-down chart to a higher level, which is the same as right clicking and selecting Back from the pop-up menu. The Next selection brings the drill-down chart to a lower level, which has the same function as double clicking on an item in the chart.

Once you have finished creating and editing all the levels of the drill-down chart, you can save it by navigating to the top-level chart and selecting File → Save or File → Save as.

To add and edit various layers of a parameter drill-down, select Drill-Down → Parameter Drill-Down. This will bring up a navigation window that shows various levels of drill-down.

Parameter Drill-Down Navigation Window

Left-hand side of the navigation window displays the hierarchy of drill-down levels. The “ROOT” node is the top-level chart. The level you are currently editing is marked with **. To edit a different level, select it and click the SWITCH TO button on the right-hand side. The chart will then open in the Designer. Levels of drill-down can also be removed by selecting the node in the Navigation window and then clicking on the REMOVE button.

To add a new level of drill-down, select the chart under which you would like to add the layer (if you have only the top-level chart, then only the “ROOT” node will be visible), and click ADD. You will then be prompted to create a new chart or to use an existing chart for the drill-down layer. You can use any existing chart; however, any chart for a drill-down layer must have a parameterized query as the data source. If you select to create a new chart, the Data Source Manager will reopen, allowing you to select a data source for the chart and to continue through the Chart Wizard steps.

The next step is to map the category and/or series columns from the top-level chart to the query parameter(s) in the sub-level chart. You will be prompted to do this when you select an existing chart for the drill-down layer or when you select the data source for a new chart for the drill-down layer. In either case, a dialog will appear prompting you to map the fields.

Parameter Mapping Window

Available options in the drop-down menus are based on data type. For example, if your parameterized query has string as the parameter, only fields containing string data can be mapped. Hence, it is important to consider what type of data will be passed from the top-level chart to the lower-level charts because if your category or series are not of the correct data type or if you do not have enough fields to pass to the lower-levels, the drill-down will not work correctly.

Once you correctly specify the parameter mapping, you will be prompted to specify a display name for the drill-down level. After you select a name, the sub-level chart will appear in the Designer, allowing you to customize it. You can navigate through the layers of drill-down using the Navigation window, or like data drill-down, you can double click on a data point to go down a level and right click and select Back from the pop-up menu to go up a level.

Chart templates are a special format in which chart definitions can be saved. Unlike chart files (.cht format) which saves both the chart definitions as well as the data for the chart, templates only save the definitions (i.e. the chart attributes and the layout of the individual components), and the data source information. This means that templates store the location/connection information for the data source that was used to create the chart, but they store none of the actual data in the file. (Templates do keep 10 records of back-up data, allowing them to be opened when the data source is not present).

Template files can be used in two ways. First, it can be opened, viewed, or exported, allowing you to see a chart with fresh data. This way data for the chart are retrieved based on the data source specified in the file. If the original data source is not accessible, this method cannot be used. The second way in which templates can be used is to apply its attributes to other charts. In this scenario, the chart to which the template is applied will inherit appearance properties of the template (including colors, fonts, size of chart components, position of legends, etc). This feature allows you to produce a consistent look and feel among charts.

You can apply a template in Chart Designer by selecting File → Apply Template. This will bring up a dialog prompting you to specify the template file you want to use.

Apply Template Dialog

The dialog allows you to specify the template file and its location. You can browse to a file by clicking on the Browse button.

Note that when the chart and the template being applied are different sizes (i.e. chart canvas size), the resulting chart may not display correctly. This is because the text size will not change between template and chart to which it is applied. While the other components will adjust to the size of the new canvas, the font will not. To keep a consistent look, the size of your template should be close to the size of the chart to which it will be applied.

Hyperlinks, floating lines, floating text, and axis scales defined in the template files carry over. You may have to redefine them in the chart, if necessary. Chart type and dimension are not modified by the template. For example, a three-dimensional chart will not be changed to a two-dimensional chart if the template is a two-dimensional chart. Likewise, a pie chart remains a pie chart when a template of a bar chart is applied. Although the chart type does not change when you apply a template, some appearance properties will not translate very well from a template with another chart type. For best results, try to apply templates of the same type and dimension to a chart.

In addition to the two binary chart representations, you can also save the chart definitions in XML format. This option allows you to have a text-based chart template that can be used to modify chart properties outside of Chart Designer.

To create an XML file when saving the chart, check the Create XML File box in the save as dialog when saving the chart. This will create an XML file for the chart. Note that the XML file is a representation of the .tpl format and not the .cht format.

As with reports, you can use any font in the system for the labels, text, and titles in a chart. For most image exports, the text is written in the image and no additional configuration is necessary. For PDF export, however, you will need to specify a .ttf (true type font), .ttc (true type collection), .pfb, or .afm file for any system font you want to use in the chart.

To set font mapping for PDF export, select Format → Font Mapping. This will bring up a dialog allowing you to specify font files.

Font Mapping Dialog

For each font and style combination, you can select a specific .ttf, .ttc, .pfb, or .afm file for that font. You can either type the full path or browse to the font file. If you are using a .ttc file you will need to specify the font index in the box provided (.ttc files contain more than one font). Once you have specified the correct file, click the 'Add' button to save the mapping to the list. You can edit or delete existing mappings by selecting them in the list and then clicking the appropriate button.

	Note
	You only need to apply font mapping when exporting the chart by itself. If the chart is in a report, it will inherit the font mapping defined in the report.