Type Options

In the Type Options tab, you can specify more configuration options than are available in the New Chart wizard.

Also see Adding a Chart.

Chart type options affect the appearance of the chart such as column width and header row settings for tables and bar width and overlap for an overlapping bar charts type. Some options are common to most or all chart types, and others are specific to a certain chart type.

Type Options Tab Reference (Sheet of )
Field Description
Titles
Chart Display name of the chart. Appears at the top of the chart frame.

Title is used for all chart types
Category Axis

Value Axis

 Display name of the category and value axes.

Category Axis and Value Axis are used for all chart types except pie charts and tables.
Chart Size

Used for all chart types
Width and Height Enables you to define the height and width of the chart, with respect to the Dashboard page, using a graphical UI feature. You can select up to three blocks wide and three blocks high.

Each block represents 200 pixels in width and 140 pixels in height.
Color Scheme

Sets the colors for the chart (excluding chart value colors, which are set on the Data Settings tab).

Note
 If you want to change the default color options, first enable the system skin. See Dashboard Skins and the System Skins Overview.
Chart Color Set Defines the set of colors that can be used when defining chart components. Includes a set of series colors.

Used for all chart types.
Series Color The chart color set contains a set of series colors. In the Series Color field, you specify the first set of series colors to use. Subsequent series use the subsequent series colors in the list as defined in the chart color set.

Used for all charts types except tables and pie charts.
Data Layout and Column Width
Data Layout Data Layout options control the size and positioning of lines, bars, and columns.

Used for Line, Area, Scatter, Column Line and Scatter charts. See Options for Charts that Use Data Layout Settings for details.
Column Width Column Width Settings are used for table charts. See Table Chart Column Width Options for details.
Grid Lines

Used for all chart types except pie charts and tables.
Category Axis

Value Axis

 For each axis, if checked, grid lines are used. If not checked, grid lines are not used.
  • Category Axis Grid Lines are vertical grid lines.
  • Value Axis Grid Lines are horizontal grid lines. See also the Divisions setting.

(In the case of bar charts only, category axis grid lines are horizontal, and value axis grid lines are vertical.)
Category Axis Font and Value Axis Font

Used for all chart types except pie charts and tables.
Axis Title Controls the font size and font style (bold, italic, or normal) of the category or value axis title.
Axis Value Controls the font size and font style (bold, italic, or normal) of the category or value axis labels.
Divisions Value axis only. The value is used as a weighted guideline to determine the number of value axis value labels and the number of grid lines, if grid lines are used.

If you specify five divisions, you will see six value labels and grid lines (divisions are the spaces between the lines). However, the value may be adjusted to maintain the aesthetics of the labels.
Display Units Value axis only. Sets the scale of the display units. Generally set to Auto. For example if the range of values is 1-300,000, and you set the display units to Auto, the scale is automatically set to thousands. If you choose None, no scaling is done. Choose another option to determine the scaling used.

Available settings are: Auto, None, Thousands, Millions, Billions, Trillions.
Header Row and Category (Row) Label

Used for table charts only.
Show Header Row If checked, the table has a header row, displaying column headers.

If not checked, the table does not have a header row, and the rest of the header settings are disabled.
Category Column Header Specifies appearance settings for the category column header, which is the left most column in the table:
  • Label, the display name of the category
  • Size, the size of the font
  • Font Style, bold, italic, or normal
  • Alignment, the alignment of the header text, left, center, or right
Value Column Header Specifies appearance settings for the column header for each series, as specified on the Data Settings tab. (The column label is also specified on the Data Settings tab):
  • Size, the size of the font
  • Font Style, bold, italic, or normal
  • Alignment, the alignment of the header text, left, center or right
Category (Row) Label Specifies appearance settings for the text in the rows of the category column, which is the left most column in the table.
  • Size, the size of the font
  • Font Style, bold, italic, or normal
  • Alignment, the alignment of the row text, left, center or right
Category Labels

Used for all chart types.
Sort Category row label sort options are mainly relevant to multi-series charts. The effect of the settings, As Listed, Ascending, and Descending, are illustrated by the following example.
Example
 Series 1 has category values A, C, G and Series 2 has values B, F:
  • As Listed  The category row labels would display as A, C, G, B, F.
  • Ascending  The category row labels would display as A, B, C, F, G
  • Descending  The category row labels would display as G, F, C, B, A.
Allow Repeats If you check the Show Repeats checkbox, then category row labels repeat as needed.

If you do not check the Show Repeats checkbox, then the category appears once, and only the latest value displays.
Legend

Used for all chart types except tables.
Show Legend If checked, the legend is displayed in the chart margin.

If not checked, no legend displays
Placement If Show Legend is checked then specify the placement: Top, Bottom, Right, or Left.