A plot area is the area in which data points (bars, points, lines, etc) are drawn. A plot area will contain a collection of series. Each series is a collection of data points. A plot area may also contain an axis(s) and wall(s). The axis(s) and wall(s) enhance the visual appearance of the plot area and are usually painted just outside the plot area.

A plot area can be assigned an anchor view location and a view size. The anchor view location is specified in normalized units ((0,0) = left upper corner of chart view, (1,1) = right lower corner of chart view). The view size of the plot area is specified in normalized units ((0,0) = zero size, (1,1) = full size of chart view). The left top corner of the plot area is aligned with the anchor location.

The elements that can be drawn in the plot area are explained below.

• Series
• Walls
• Axis
• Chart Line Style
• Elevation and Rotation
• Lighting, Shapes, and Borders

Example

The following example adds a series of bar charts to plot area and sets the display position and size of the plot area.

//Create a series of bar charts
FarPoint.Win.Chart.BarSeries series = new FarPoint.Win.Chart.BarSeries();
series.SeriesName = "Series 0";
series.Values.Add(2.0);
series.Values.Add(4.0);
series.Values.Add(3.0);
series.Values.Add(5.0);
//Create plot area
FarPoint.Win.Chart.YPlotArea plotArea = new FarPoint.Win.Chart.YPlotArea();
plotArea.Location = new PointF(0.2f, 0.2f);
plotArea.Size = new SizeF(0.6f, 0.6f);
plotArea.Series.Add(series);

'Create a series of bar charts
Dim series As New FarPoint.Win.Chart.BarSeries()
series.SeriesName = "Series 0"
series.Values.Add(2.0)
series.Values.Add(4.0)
series.Values.Add(3.0)
series.Values.Add(5.0)
'Create plot area
Dim plotArea As New FarPoint.Win.Chart.YPlotArea()
plotArea.Location = New PointF(0.2F, 0.2F)
plotArea.Size = New SizeF(0.6F, 0.6F)
plotArea.Series.Add(series)

Using the Spread Designer

1. Start the Chart Designer.
2. Select the [Plot Area] from the tree menu on the left side.
3. Set the required properties in the Property list on the right side.
4. Click <OK> to exit Chart Designer.