Customizing the Appearance of Charts

You can customize the appearance of the charts in the X-Y Plots Viewer.

This task shows you how to:

Before you begin: Open an existing X-Y plot from the Feature Manager, or create a new X-Y plot.

Modify the Chart Background

You can modify the appearance of the chart background.

From the X-Y Plots Viewer, select Plot Options .
The Options dialog box appears.
From the list of options, select Chart.
Select Show fill to display the background fill color.
Select Show border to display a border around the chart area.
To change the background fill or border color, click the appropriate swatch to open the color picker.
Select from a predetermined set of colors, or create a custom color. See Customizing Colors in Plots and Charts for more information.

You can modify the title of the chart.

From the X-Y Plots Viewer, select Plot Options .
The Options dialog box appears.
From the list of options, select Chart.
Enter a descriptive Title.
Click Font to modify the Font Name, Font Type, and Font Size for the chart title.
To change the title color, click the appropriate swatch to open the color picker.
Select from a predetermined set of colors, or create a custom color. See Customizing Colors in Plots and Charts for more information.

You can modify the appearance of the grid area.

From the X-Y Plots Viewer, select Plot Options .
The Options dialog box appears.
From the list of options, select Grid.
Select Show fill to display the background fill color of the grid area.
Select Show border to display a border around the chart area.
To change the fill or border color for the grid area, click the appropriate swatch to open the color picker.
Select from a predetermined set of colors, or create a custom color. See Customizing Colors in Plots and Charts for more information.

You can modify the appearance of the X- and Y-grid lines.

From the X-Y Plots Viewer, select Plot Options .
The Options dialog box appears.
From the list of options, select Grid.

Select the X grid lines and Y grid lines you want to show in the chart:

Option	Description
Show major	Displays grid lines at major increments along the axis of interest.
Show minor	Displays grid lines at minor increments along the axis of interest.

To change the color of the grid lines, click the X grid lines swatch or the Y grid lines swatch to open the color picker.
Select from a predetermined set of colors, or create a custom color. See Customizing Colors in Plots and Charts for more information.

You can modify the appearance of the chart legend.

From the X-Y Plots Viewer, select Plot Options .
The Options dialog box appears.
From the list of options, select Legend.
Select Show legend to display the legend in the chart.
Optional: Select Automatic hide legend to hide the legend when the dimensions of the chart are too small to display the legend legibly.
Enter a descriptive title for the Legend.
Click Font to modify the Font Name, Font Type, and Font Size for the legend title and curve names.
Select Show border to display a border around the legend.
Select Show background to display a background color for the legend.
To change the location of the legend:
1. Select the Placement for the legend display: Outside or Inside of the grid area.
2. Select the Position for the legend display (Top, Bottom, Left, Right, Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left, or Bottom Right).
To change the color of the legend, curve name, font, border, or background, click the appropriate swatch to open the color picker.
Select from a predetermined set of colors, or create a custom color. See Customizing Colors in Plots and Charts for more information.