Locate the Pie
Chart Item on the Blank Report
The
process of building a chart report consists of dragging the chart item onto the
Layout tab, and adjusting it, while setting properties as appropriate to
meet the report specifications.
1.
Click the Layout
tab to switch to the Layout view.
2.
Drag the
report edges to comfortably fill the screen area.
3.
Select View
--> Toolbox (as shown in Illustration 14), from the
main menu to place the Toolbox within easy reach (if it already appears,
simply disregard this step).
Illustration
14: Calling the Toolbox to View
The toolbox
window should appear similar to that shown in Illustration 15. Mine is
pinned to the upper left corner of the design environment, where I find it most
convenient. This is, of course, subject to your own choices. (Note also that
I dock my Fields and Server Explorer panes in this area to
maximize design real estate, as an aside.)
Illustration
15: The Toolbox, Pinned to the Upper Left Corner of the Design Environment
4.
Click the Chart
button (at the bottom of the Toolbox pane).
5.
Place the
mouse cursor over the upper left corner of the report layout.
The
cursor becomes a small chart icon in combination with crosshairs when held
above the layout. This indicates that we can click to "anchor" the
point, from which we wish to draw the box that the chart will inhabit.
6.
Starting in
the upper left corner of the layout body, click, and then, holding the mouse
button down, drag to create a box that covers the report layout.
The
layout should have this box appearing at its perimeter.
7.
Release the
mouse to drop the chart item.
The chart item appears, in its generic manifestation,
as shown in Illustration 16. Because the chart is the only item we
intend to place in the report, it should extend almost completely over the
report layout.
Illustration
16: The Generic Chart Item Appears
NOTE: Should you accidentally "drop" the chart item in
a manner that you wish to realign, you can simply move the item by clicking
inside the chart, then pointing to the now shaded border, to drag it to a new
location.
Clicking again on the border will also allow you to expand /
contract the chart shape. (The nuances are easy to learn with a little
practice.) Double-clicking the chart item will make the "drop regions,"
seen above, appear.
The chart item is now in place, and we are ready to specify
its "pie" nature, as well as to populate it with the dataset that we
have created.
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