Data in a chart is organized into a chart group. In 3D Chart, a chart group is represented by a Chart3DGroups object. At present, only one ChartGroup can be stored in a ChartGroupsCollection.

Within a Chart Group, the three-dimensional data to be displayed is assumed to come either from a grid surface, or from one or more series of points. This data is represented by the Set property of Chart3DData class, which is of Chart3DDataSet type. Chart3DDataSet class is a base abstract class for all data types. The data displayed can be in one of three formats:

• Regularly-grid data, in which the X and Y-grid lines are evenly spaced (Chart3DDataSetGrid).
• Irregularly-grid data, in which the X and Y-grid lines are not evenly spaced (Chart3DDataSetIrGrid).
• Point data, in which the X, Y, and Z-coordinates can be specified without restrictions (Chart3DDataSetPoint).

To set the data format, create one from three datasets and assign it to the Set property of Chart3DData or set the Layout property to the appropriate data layout constant. The second way is useful at design time.