Procedure: Create a Bar 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 “Stacked Bar chart”
nature, as well as to populate it with the primary dataset that is already in
place.
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