Legend of the Graph
When the data appearing in a chart contains multiple variables (series), you can include a legend in the chart. The legend contains a list of the variables appearing in the chart and an example of their appearance (mark). This information allows the data from each variable to be identified in the Graph.
A legend always contains one or more legend items, where each legend item consists of a colored box that represents the series, and a text string that describes the series.
To format a legend, use the Legend properties of the Graph report item and click the legend to change the legend placement (Location and IsInsidePloatArea), Size, Title, and items Style. The Title property can be an expression.
You cannot add images, extra columns, or other supplementary items to the legend.
Modifying the Color
The colored box displayed for each legend item is inherited from the fill color of its corresponding series.
To change the color displayed in a legend item, modify the color of the corresponding series.
You can also use the ConditionalFormatting and MarkConditionalFormatting collections of the LegendItem to style items based on the Graph data.
Modifying the Text Style
To change the text style, select the legend and change the Style properties from the Property Browser.
- Click the Graph legend you want to change. The selected legend properties are listed in the Property Browser.
- In the Style property, click the Edit Collection (…) button. The Edit style dialog opens.
- When you are done, click OK.
Note that if you are using the Standalone Report Designer, you can use the Graph tools in the Design and Format tabs of the ribbon.
Setting the Order
Legend items are ordered according to the order in which their corresponding series are processed by the processing engine.
To change the order, configure the SortingsExpression of the Graph.SeriesGroups.
Modifying the Text
You can change the text of the legend item by modifying each Graph.Series properties of the LegendItem. To set the LegendItem.Value property, use Expression.
Removing Extra Legends
The legend is always connected to a series. If a legend item appears in the legend but the corresponding series is not displayed in the chart, most likely the series does not contain any values.
To remove the legend item, remove the series from the chart by setting up a Filter for the corresponding SeriesGroup.
To visually hide a legend item, use the Graph.Series.LegendItem.Style.Visible property.
Positioning the Legend
When the legend is placed outside the chart area, you can move the legend to one of twelve available positions. By default, the legend is shown outside the plot area.
To reposition the legend:
- Click the legend area. The legend properties are listed in the Property Browser;
- In the Misc section, select a value for the Position property.
To move the legend inside the plot area:
- Click the legend area. The legend properties are listed in the Property Browser;
- In the Misc section, set the IsInsideThePlotArea property to True.
Displaying Legends Horizontally
To display the legend horizontally, move the legend to the top or bottom of the chart. As a result, the legend expands horizontally.
Sizing the Legend
You can size the legend absolutely or automatically. If the Height or Width fields are left empty, the engine will define their run-time values according to the data.
The automatic sizing partially depends on the positioning of the legend as follows:
- Absolutely positioned—If both dimensions are set, the size is absolute and will not be altered at run-time. If one of the dimensions is not set, the legend will automatically grow in its direction. The ordering of the items is "down then across", forming columns.
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Relatively positioned—The available properties are Center, LeftTop, LeftCenter, LeftBottom, RightTop, RightCenter, RightBottom. The width is absolute if set. Otherwise, the legend can grow horizontally. The legend can stretch up to the PlotArea width when IsInsidePlotArea = True and no more than half of the Graph width when IsInsidePlotArea = False.
The height is taken into account only if all items can fit in the provided space. Otherwise, the legend grows vertically, stretching to the limits of the Graph at maximum. The ordering of the items is "down then across", forming columns.
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Relatively positioned—The available properties are TopLeft, TopCenter, TopRight, BottomLeft, BottomCenter, BottomRight. The height is absolute if set. Otherwise, the legend can grow vertically. The legend can stretch up to the PlotArea height when IsInsidePlotArea = True and no more than half of the Graph height when IsInsidePlotArea = False.
The width is taken into account only if all items can fit in the provided space. Otherwise, the legend grows horizontally, stretching to the limits of the graph at maximum. The ordering of the items is "across then down", forming rows.
If the contents of the Legend do not fit within the maximum space available, an ellipsis
...will be shown as a placeholder.