Office 2007 Bible

Understanding Charts

PowerPoint 2007’s charting feature is based upon the same Escher 2.0 graphics engine as is used for drawn objects. Consequently, most of what you have learned about formatting objects in earlier chapters (about Word) also applies to charts. For example, you can apply shape styles to the individual elements of a chart, and apply WordArt styles to chart text. However, there are also many chart-specific formatting and layout options, as you will see throughout this chapter.

Parts of a chart

The sample chart shown in Figure 23-25 contains these elements:

• Data series: Each different bar color represents a different series: Q1, Q2, and Q3.

• Legend: Colored squares in the Legend box describe the correlation of each color to a data series.

• Categories: The North, South, East, and West labels along the bottom of the chart are the categories.

• Category axis: The horizontal line running across the bottom of the chart is the category axis, also called the horizontal axis.

• Value axis: The vertical line running up the left side of the chart, with the numbers on it, is the value axis, also called the vertical axis.

• Data points: Each individual bar is a data point. The numeric value for that data point corresponds to the height of the bar, measured against the value axis.

• Walls: The walls are the areas behind the data points. On a 3-D chart, as shown in Figure 23-25, there are both back and side walls. On a 2-D chart, there is only a back wall.

• Floor: The floor is the area on which ...