.netCHARTING v4.4 Documentation Send comments on this topic.
Chart Type Anatomy 101
See Also
Getting Started > General Tutorials > Chart Type Anatomy 101

Glossary Item Box

Introduction

Chart types are constructed using several settings. Among them, the most significant are:

These properties work in concert to provide unprecedented flexibility. 

Chart Types

The most fundamental property, Chart.Type, determines the generic layout of series and in the case of pie, and radar, a type of chart. Axis scales further contribute to how elements are laid out, i.e. (Stacked). The series type determines how the series are drawn (line, bar, etc.).

[C#]

Chart.Type = ChartType.Radar;

[Visual Basic]

Chart.Type = ChartType.Radar

 

ShowCombo

Combo Chart Type

This chart type supports all the series types. It is vertically oriented so the y axis (value axis) can only contain numeric or time values while the x axis can also contain names of elements (category axis).


Supported Series Types

  • All


 Element values (properties) used on the (Y Axis).

  • YValue
  • YValueStart
  • YDateTime
  • YDateTimeStart
  • BubbleSize
  • Complete
  • (Financial: Open Close High Low)


  Element values used on the (X Axis).

  • XValue
  • XDateTime
  • Name 

 

ShowComboHorizontal

 

ComboHorizontal Chart Type

This chart types is horizontally oriented so the x axis can only contain numeric or time values. It is the same as the Combo type except it's oriented horizontally.


Supported Series Types

  • All (New in version 3.4)

 

Notice the X and Y properties are switched
  Element values used on the (Y Axis).

  • XValue
  • XDateTime
  • Name 


 Element values used on the (X Axis).

  • YValue
  • YValueStart
  • YDateTime
  • YDateTimeStart
  • BubbleSize
  • Complete
  • (Financial: Open Close High Low)

 

Notice that the axes element values are reversed for this chart type, meaning the element XValue actually goes on the Y axis. The reason for this is so that if you change between vertical and horizontal chart types, the result will be the same.

 

 

ShowComboSideBySide

ComboSideBySide Chart Type

This chart type is similar to combo but series are placed side by side and the x axis tick labels show series names instead of element names. This layout can be achieved in a normal combo chart by transposing the data.


Supported Series Types

  • All


  Element values used on the (Y Axis).

  • YValue
  • YValueStart
  • YDateTime
  • YDateTimeStart
  • BubbleSize
  • Complete
  • (Financial: Open Close High Low)


  Element values used on the (X Axis).

  • None (Series.Name us used)

 

Notes


 

ShowPie & Donut

Pie Chart Type

Shows a single pie consisting of all the series added to the chart where each slice represents a series.


Supported Series Types

  • N/A


  Element values used on the (Y Axis).

  • YValue


 Element values used on the (X Axis).

  • N/A


 Related properties:

  • Element.ForceMarker
  • Element.ExplodeSlice
  • Chart.PieLabelMode
  • Chart.ExplodedSliceAmount
  • Chart.DonutHoleSize (Donut Only)

 

Notice that the series are slices when using this chart type, hence, if only a single series is used, the chart will have a single 100% slice. To see each element use the plural ChartType.Pies.
 

 

ShowPiesNested

PiesNested Chart Type

Shows a series of nested pies.

 

Scale.Stacked
The width of each ring can also reflect the series total values when Chart.YAxis.Scale = Scale.Stacked is used. Alternatively Series.DefaultElement.BubbleSize can be used to specify ring widths and will be applied when these properties are set.

Scale.Normal
When Scale.Normal is used, the pies are not stacked, the ring width of each pie is measured from the middle point of the pies. This means that if two series have the same ring width, one will completely cover the other.

In this mode, SpacingPercentageNested is not applicable.


Supported Series Types

  • N/A


  Element values used on the (Y Axis).

  • YValue
  • Series.DefaultElement.BubbleSize (Control ring widths).


 Element values used on the (X Axis).

  • N/A


 Related properties:

  • Element.ForceMarker
  • Chart.SpacingPercentageNested
  • Chart.PieLabelMode

 

 

ShowRadar

Radar Chart Type

Draws all series on a single radar. Both x and y axes are used. The x axis surrounds the radar and the y axis goes from the center to the outside.

Using this type will force each series to share a single x axis.
Supported Series Types
  • Marker
  • Line
  • AreaLine
  • Bubble
  • Column


  Element values used on the (Y Axis).

  • YValue
  • YValueStart
  • YDateTime
  • YDateTimeStart
  • BubbleSize


 Element values used on the (X Axis).

  • Name
  • XValue
  • XDateTime


 Related properties:

  • Chart.RadarLabelMode
  • Axis.RadarMode
Polar Charts
The radar chart can support standard spider and polar axes. If the x axis uses a category scale, the default will be a spider axis (resembling a spider web). If the axis uses a numeric or time axis, the type will default to Polar. The type can also be specified explicitly using: 
[C#]
Chart.XAxis.RadarMode = RadarMode.Polar;

[Visual Basic]
Chart.XAxis.RadarMode = RadarMode.Polar
Lines on polar charts will appear as curves. This is a feature which helps determine the actual values of lines along along the width of the lines.

 

ShowMultipleGrouped

MultipleGrouped Chart Type

Draws all series as elements of a single object such as types specified by SeriesTypeMultiple.

Supported Series Types (SeriesTypeMultiple)
  • FunnelCone
  • FunnelPyramid
  • Pyramid
  • Cone
  • Pie
  • Donut
  • Gauge
  • StackedBubble (Uses Element.YValue, not Element.BubbleSize)


  Element values used on the (Y Axis).

  • YValue


 Related properties:

  • Chart.FunnelNozzlePercentage
  • Chart.FunnelNozzleWidthPercentage
  • Chart.SpacingPercentage
  • Chart.BubbleStackShadeAsOne
  • Chart.BubbleCenterStack

ShowGauges

PiesNested Chart Type

Shows each series as a gauge. Each can be a different GaugeType.

 

Please refer to the Gauges Tutorial for detailed documentation.

 

ShowDonuts

Donuts Chart Type

The series are laid out in a way that allows for the maximum space usage. One donut for each series.


Supported Series Types
  • N/A


  Element values used on the (Y Axis).

  • YValue
  • Height (2D Only)


 Element values used on the (X Axis).

  • N/A

 

 Related properties:

  • Element.ForceMarker
  • Element.ExplodeSlice
  • Chart.PieLabelMode
  • Chart.ExplodedSliceAmount
  • Chart.DonutHoleSize
  • Element.Outline

 

ShowRadars

Radars Chart Type

Shows a radar for each series in the chart.

 

Supported Series Types
  • Marker
  • Line
  • AreaLine
  • Bubble
  • Column


  Element values used on the (Y Axis).

  • YValue
  • YValueStart
  • YDateTime
  • YDateTimeStart
  • BubbleSize


 Element values used on the (X Axis).

  • Name
  • XValue
  • XDateTime


 Related properties:

  • Chart.RadarLabelMode
  • Axis.RadarMode
Polar Charts
The radar chart can support standard spider and polar axes. If the x axis uses a category scale, the default will be a spider axis (resembling a spider web). If the axis uses a numeric or time axis, the type will default to Polar. The type can also be specified explicitly using: 
[C#]
Chart.XAxis.RadarMode = RadarMode.Polar;

[Visual Basic]
Chart.XAxis.RadarMode = RadarMode.Polar
Lines on polar charts will appear as curves. This is a feature which helps determine the actual values of lines along along the width of the lines.

 

ShowMultiple

Multiple Chart Type

Draws all series as individual objects. Different types are supported and can be specified by SeriesTypeMultiple for each series simultaneously. The benefit of this chart type is that it allows using different types such as pies, gauges, and the multiple types all on the same chart.

Supported Series Types (SeriesTypeMultiple)
  • FunnelCone
  • FunnelPyramid
  • Pyramid
  • Cone
  • Pie
  • Donut
  • Gauge
  • StackedBubble (Uses Element.YValue, not Element.BubbleSize)


  Element values used on the (Y Axis).

  • YValue


 Related properties:

  • Chart.FunnelNozzlePercentage
  • Chart.FunnelNozzleWidthPercentage
  • Chart.StackedSpacingPercentage
  • Chart.BubbleStackShadeAsOne
  • Chart.BubbleCenterStack

 

ShowPies

Pies Chart Type

Shows a single pie for each series in the chart.


Supported Series Types

  • N/A


  Element values used on the (Y Axis).

  • YValue
  • Height (2D Only)
  • Length


 Element values used on the (X Axis).

  • N/A


 Related properties:

  • Element.ForceMarker
  • Element.ExplodeSlice
  • Chart.PieLabelMode
  • Chart.ExplodedSliceAmount
  • Element.Outline

 

 

 

Other chart types such as Bubble, Scatter, and Gantt are obsolete but available for legacy support. They default to Combo, Combo, and ComboHorizontal respectively and set other properties to resemble the legacy results.

ChartType.Financial is also obsolete and unnecessary. It is provided only for backward compatibility as well.

Series Types

The next major contributor to chart types is the series type. The above chart type list includes a section on supported series types for each. Different series types can be specified for each series simultaneously using the following chart types:

This allows you to create virtually unlimited number of different chart types.

SeriesType enumeration

[C#]

mySeries.Type = SeriesType.Line;

[Visual Basic]

mySeries.Type = SeriesType.Line

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


SeriesTypeFinancial enumeration

 

[C#]

mySeries.Type = SeriesTypeFinancial.CandleStick;

[Visual Basic]

mySeries.Type = SeriesTypeFinancial.CandleStick

 

 

SeriesTypeMultiple enumeration

 

This series type (SeriesTypeMultiple) applies to charts using ChartType.Multiple & ChartType.MultipleGrouped.

 

Axis Scales

Further customization is achieved by specifying an axis scale. Besides controlling the quantitative scale type, scales also dictate how series behave. For example an axis scale can specify that columns are stacked.

See also: Element Values & Axis Scales | Element Layout and Axes | Z Axis effect

Conclusion

As you can see, the final chart type is fundamentally based on three settings. This mix and match concept may be more complicated than a single property, however, the flexibility it provides makes it well worth understanding.

See Also