Populate the Column Chart item to Meet the Business Requirements
While our
next steps might focus upon simply dragging fields from the Fields pane
of the Report Designer, we will populate our chart from inside the
multi-tabbed Chart Properties dialog. Because few charts I encounter in
the business environment can be built completely through the “drag-and-drop”
process anyway (expressions are often involved in combination with the date
fields, as an example), I long ago developed the habit of working from the Properties
dialog. (The practice of tabbing through the Properties dialog can
often remind us of other settings we need to make, additional options that are
available in meeting client / employer needs, and so forth, as an another
benefit.)
1.
Right-click
the generic chart item.
2.
Select Properties
from the context menu that appears, as shown in Illustration 11.
Illustration 11:
Select Properties from the Context Menu
The Properties dialog appears, defaulted to the General
tab, where we will begin our examination of the chart properties in the subsections
that follow.
General Tab
1.
Type the
following into the Title box on the General tab:
Sales Reason Comparisons
2.
Click the
Style button, depicted (and also magnified) within the respective red
squares in Illustration 12, to the immediate right of the Title
box.
Illustration 12:
Click the Style Button for the Title Box ...
The Style
Properties dialog box appears.
3.
Make the
settings, listed in Table 1 below, within the Style Properties
dialog box:
|
Property
|
|
Setting
|
|
|
|
|
|
Family
|
|
Arial
|
|
Size
|
|
12pt
|
|
Style
|
|
Italic
|
|
Weight
|
|
Bold
|
|
Color
|
|
Black
|
|
Decoration
|
|
None
|
|
|
|
|
Table 1: Style Properties Dialog
The Style
Properties dialog appears, with our settings, as shown in Illustration 13.
Illustration 13:
Style Properties Dialog Box with Settings
4.
Click OK
to accept changes and to exit the Style Properties dialog box.
We return
to the General tab.
5.
Ensure that Column
is selected in the Chart type selection list.
6.
Ensure that
the left-most selection, Column chart, is highlighted) among the context-sensitive
Chart sub-type selections to the immediate right of the Chart type
selection list.
7.
Click the Chart
Area Style... button, which appears in the bottom left corner of the General
tab.
We can
manipulate settings for chart borders and lines via the Borders and Lines
tab, depicted with default settings in Illustration 14.
Illustration 14:
Style Properties Dialog Box – Border and Line Tab (with Default Settings)
8.
Click the Fill
tab to expose the chart Fill settings, which appear (with defaults) as
shown in Illustration 15.
Illustration 15:
Style Properties Dialog Box – Fill Tab (with Default Settings)
9.
Click the
OK button at the bottom of the Style Properties... dialog, to dismiss
the dialog with all properties settings at default.
We return
to the General tab, once again.
10.
Click the Plot
Area Style... button, which appears to the immediate right of the Chart
Area Style... button at the bottom of the General tab.
The
two-tabbed Style Properties dialog that appears is identical to that
which we saw when we clicked the Chart Area Style... button in the
immediately preceding steps. Since we will be leaving these settings, too, at
their defaults, we will dismiss the Style Properties dialog at this
point.
11.
Click the
OK button at the bottom of the Style Properties dialog, to dismiss
the dialog with all properties settings at default.
We return
to the General tab, once again, which appears, with our settings, as
depicted in Illustration 16.
Illustration 16:
Chart Properties Dialog Box – General Tab with Our Settings
We will
move to the Data tab in the subsection that follows.
» 
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