# Formatting Charts

## Content

The previous section introduced the **Theme** that you can use to select the appearance of your charts quickly and easily. The [Theme](/componentone/api/wpf/online-chart/dotnet-framework-api/C1.WPF.C1Chart.4.6.2/C1.WPF.C1Chart.C1Chart.Theme.html) and [Palette](/componentone/api/wpf/online-chart/dotnet-framework-api/C1.WPF.C1Chart.4.6.2/C1.WPF.C1Chart.C1Chart.Palette.html) properties offer a long list of built-in options that were carefully developed to provide great results with little effort from developers.

In most applications, you will choose the combination of settings for the **Theme** and **Palette** properties that is closest to the feel you want for your application, then customize a few items if necessary. Items you may want to customize include:

1. **Axis titles**: The axis titles are **UIElement** objects. You can customize them directly, and with complete flexibility. The chart samples used in the [Simple Charts](/componentone/docs/wpf/online-chart/overview/Types/SimpleCharts), [Time-Series Charts](/componentone/docs/wpf/online-chart/overview/ChartFeatures/Time-SeriesCharts), and [Scatter Charts](/componentone/docs/wpf/online-chart/overview/Types/ScatterCharts) topics use the TextElement objects, but you could use many other elements, including panels such as Border and Grid objects. For more information on axis titles, see the [Axis Title](/componentone/docs/wpf/online-chart/overview/ChartFeatures/Axis/AxisTitle) topic.
2. **Axis**: The chart samples used in the **Simple Charts**, **Time-Series Charts**, and **Scatter Charts** topics show how you can customize axis scale, annotation angle, and annotation format. All these are accessible through the Axis object exposed by the AxisX and AxisY properties. For more information on C1Chart’s axis, see [Axes](/componentone/docs/wpf/online-chart/overview/ChartFeatures/Axis).

 The **C1Chart** control has the usual Font properties that determine how annotations are displayed along both axes (**FontFamily**, **FontSize**, etc). If you need more control over the appearance of the annotations, the **Axis** object also exposes an **AnnoTemplate** property that can be used to customize annotations even further.

3. **Grid lines**: Grid lines are controlled by the **Axis** properties. There are properties for the major and minor grid lines (**MajorGridStrokeThickness**, **MajorGridStrokeThickness**, **MinorGridStrokeThickness**, **MinorGridStrokeThickness**, and so on). For more information on grid lines, see [Grid Lines](/componentone/docs/wpf/online-chart/overview/ChartFeatures/Axis/GridLines).
4. **Tick Marks**: Tick marks are also controlled by the **Axis** properties. There are properties for the major and minor ticks (**MajorTickStroke**, **MajorTickThickness**, **MinorTickStroke**, **MinorTickThickness**, and so on). For more information on tick marks, see [Tick Marks](/componentone/docs/wpf/online-chart/overview/ChartFeatures/Axis/TickMarksa).

## See Also

[XAML Elements](/componentone/docs/wpf/online-chart/overview/ChartFeatures/StyleandAppearance/XAMLElements)