Procedure: Create a Column Chart within the Report
Add
a Chart Control to the Report Canvas
At
this point, we will
drag the Chart item from the Report Items listed within the Toolbox
pane (the position of which is defaulted to the left of the Layout tab).
Once the general
control is placed on the report canvas, we will adjust it, setting properties
as appropriate to meet the report specifications.
1.
Select View
from the main menu.
2.
Select Toolbox from the menu, which appears as partially shown in Illustration 7, to place
the Toolbox within easy reach (if it already appears, simply disregard
this step).
Illustration 7: Calling
the Toolbox to View (Partial View Menu Shown)
The toolbox
window should appear similar to that depicted in Illustration 8. 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 8: The
Toolbox, Pinned to the Upper Left Corner of the Design Environment
3.
Click the Chart
item (at the bottom of the Toolbox pane).
The
cursor becomes a small chart icon in combination with crosshairs when held
above the report canvas. This indicates that we can click to “anchor” the point,
from which we wish to draw the box that the chart will inhabit.
4.
Click on the
canvas, below the existing matrix, approximately as shown in Illustration 9.
Illustration 9: Placing
the Chart Selection onto the Report Campus ...
The chart item appears, in its generic manifestation,
as depicted in Illustration 10.
Illustration 10: The
Generic Chart Item Appears
NOTE: Should you accidentally place or drop the chart item
into a position that is not satisfactory, you can simply move the item by
clicking inside the chart item, then pointing to the now shaded border
of the chart item, 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.
5.
Pass the
cursor over the left border of the chart item, until it becomes a four-arrow
icon.
6.
Click and drag
the chart item to the left side of the report canvas.
7.
Pass the
cursor over the right border, and over the small square that appears about
midway down the right side, until the cursor becomes a simple double-headed
arrow.
8.
Click and drag
the right border of the chart item, widening the chart (along with the
underlying canvas) to approximately the “11”
point on the ruler appearing atop the Layout tab.
9.
Click and drag
the bottom border of the chart item, widening the chart downward (along
with the underlying canvas) to approximately the “7”
point on the ruler appearing along the left side of the Layout tab.
The
chart item is now in place, and we are ready to specify its “simple Bar
chart” nature, as well as to populate it with the primary dataset that is
already in place.
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