Add Charts to a Sheet

Note

The following information applies only to PDF, TIFF, and EMF sheets whose underlying format is EMF.

The Charts tool allows you to define the data for a chart in the input and insert a chart image in the output.

To define chart data in the input, proceed through the steps listed below:

1. On the toolbar, click the little arrow next to the Charts tool and then click Create chart data.

2. When the pointer becomes a cross, mark the area to define the data to be shown in the chart. Or, for some input data types (such as XML), you can click the input data value.

   

   Note

   This example is based on text as input format, but collecting chart data is similar if XML is the input format.

3. If you want to edit the chart data, double-click the defined area. From the Edit Chart Data dialog, switch to the Chart Data tab.

   

   See the table below to learn more about the tab controls:

   Control	Description
   Chart data name	A descriptive name for the chart data as defined in the input.
   Replace existing chart data	If selected, any other chart data with the same name is replaced.

The next step is to define all of the data sets for the chart type. For example, label data is required for all chart types; XTitle and YTitle data is required for xy-charts only.

Note

A chart is an absolute rearrange and cannot be added to a pattern. It can only be added to the output. However, a chart can be located relative to different entities (for more details, see Position Properties).

To create the output object (a chart image), proceed through the steps listed below:

1. On the toolbar, click the little arrow next to the Charts tool and then click Insert chart image.

2. When the pointer becomes a cross, mark the area to define the chart position in the output.

3. When releasing the mouse, the Edit Chart dialog opens with the Chart tab.

For detailed information about common controls, see Edit Rearrange Properties.

The table below has more information about output-specific controls.

Basic tab controls:

Advanced tab controls:

Format tab controls:

Once you have specified the required properties for the chart, click the OK button to insert a chart image.

Click the Preview button to preview a chart in the output, taking into account the properties you have specified (but without applying them).

Once you have added the chart, you can resize and move it if necessary.

To resize the chart, hover over it and a sizing handle (a little square) appears. Click and drag the handle to make the table larger or smaller. The height and width ratio is maintained.

To move the chart, hover over it and a chart move handle appears. Using the chart move handle, drag the chart to the new location.

In addition, you can also change the corresponding values in the Edit Rearrange dialog to move and/or resize the chart.

To edit the chart you have created, right-click it and then click Properties or double-click the chart. The Edit Rearrange dialog opens. Use the controls described above to change the chart as required.

You can change a series you have specified using the Series tab of the Edit Rearrange dialog. To edit a series, select it in the list and click the Edit button, or double-click the series record. The Edit chart series item dialog appears.

Note

The list of controls and their availability varies depending on selected chart type.

The following table provides information about the various controls.

Specify Chart Colors

You can specify which colors the chart uses to represent this series:

• Area, bar, bar + line, line, spline, stacked bar, step line, and trend charts: A single color represents the series. For example, the line color for a line chart.

• Bar, Pareto, donut, and pie charts: Each segment or value has a different color. You can specify which colors to use.

In the Edit chart series item window, chart colors are assigned in one of the following ways:

• For area, bar, bar + line, line, spline, stacked bar, step line, and trend charts: You select a single color for the series. See Select a Single Color for the Series.

• For bar, Pareto, donut, and pie charts (which consist of separate chart items like bars or segments):

  • You can manually specify an ordered list of colors. Line items in the input data are indexed by their position in the data, and then their chart items are assigned the color that has the corresponding position in the color list. See Index-Based Color Assignment.

  • If the input data specifies which color to use for each line item in the input XML, you can specify which chart data series captures that color data. Lasernet Core will assign each chart item the color specified by the corresponding element in the input XML. See Color Assignment Based on Input Data.

Select a Single Color for the Series

Select Define colors manually, and then select a color for the single item in the color list.

Index-Based Color Assignment

The line items represented by the pattern defined in the input data are indexed by their position in the input XML. For example, in the following XML, the form defines a pattern on the product element. The first product element (for apple) is indexed 1, the second product element (for banana) is indexed 2, and so on. In this example, the form defines a Chart_Quantity chart series on the quantity element, and a pie chart in the form uses Chart_Quantity as its Series data in the Edit Chart window.

<sales>
     <department>Fruit</department>
     <month>January 2026</month>
     <item_data>
          <product>
               <item>Apple</item>
               <quantity>48773</quantity>
          </product>
          <product>
               <item>Banana</item>
               <quantity>87332</quantity>
          </product>
          <product>
               <item>Orange</item>
               <quantity>3454</quantity>
          </product>
     </item_data>
</sales>

Lasernet Core assigns colors to segments in bar, Pareto, donut, and pie charts according to their index position.

If chart colors are manually specified as a list, the first color in the list is assigned to the line item element indexed 1, the second color is assigned to element 2, and so on. However, as a result, the color used for the same item in different output documents might differ, if the line item element order in the XML differs for each job.

For example, if the first color in the list is red and Lasernet Core receives the XML above, the segment for the sales quantity for apples is colored red. But if the first product element in the XML for the next Lasernet Core job is for bananas, the segment for bananas is red.

Note

If it is important that the color used for each specific chart item is consistent between output documents, see Color Assignment Based on Input Data.

To use index-based color assignment, follow these steps:

1. In the Edit chart series item window, select Define colors manually (see 1 in the image below).

2. Click the single item in the color list, and then click Edit (2).

3. In the Chart item customisation window, select an Item color, then click OK.

4. Click Add (3), select the new color list item, click Edit, and then select a color. Repeat this step until the list contains enough colors.

   Note

   If the number of colors in the list is fewer than the number of chart items, Lasernet Core loops through the color list.

5. Click OK (4) to save your changes to the chart series.

Note

For pie and donut charts, you can explode one segment.

To explode a segment, edit its entry in the color list and set Explode to Yes.

Note

For each segment or value in the chart, you can provide an item name for Lasernet Core to use in the legend box. Edit each entry in the color list and enter a value for Item name.

Color Assignment Based on Input Data

If each line item specifies a color, Lasernet Core can apply that color to the corresponding chart segment. This guarantees consistent segment coloring between output documents.

For example, in the XML below, each line item has a color. The form defines a chart series (Chart_Color) on the color element, and Chart_color is selected as the Color series in the Edit chart series item window for the Chart_Quantity chart series. As a result, Lasernet Core applies the Chart_color indexed 1 (red) to the chart segment that represents the Chart_Quantity that is indexed 1 (apple). If the next Lasernet Core job contained apple sales data as the second line item in its XML, apple’s sales quantity and color (red) would both be indexed 2, so the pie chart segment for apples would still be red.

<sales>
     <department>Fruit</department>
     <month>January 2026</month>
     <item_data>
          <product>
               <item>Apple</item>
               <quantity>48773</quantity>
               <color>red</color>
          </product>
          <product>
               <item>Banana</item>
               <quantity>87332</quantity>
               <color>yellow</color>
          </product>
          <product>
               <item>Orange</item>
               <quantity>3454</quantity>
               <color>orange</color>
          </product>
     </item_data>
</sales>

To assign colors based on input data, follow these steps:

1. Close the Edit Chart window.

2. Ensure that the input data contains supported color data values.

   Note

   You can use the following color value formats:

   • A name from the list of colors defined in the list of SVG color keyword names.

   • RGB

     • #RRGGBB

       • Each of RR, GG, and BB is a two-digit hex value.

       • For example, magenta is #FF00FF.

     • #RGB

       • Each of R, G, and B is a single-digit hex value.

       • R, G, and B are repeated to form a #RRGGBB value.

       • For example, magenta is #F0F.

     • You can include or omit the preceding # character.

3. In the toolbar, click Charts > Chart Data and create a chart data series that captures the color data. For the example above, this could be Chart_Color on the color element.

   

4. Double-click the chart to open its Edit Chart window.

5. Click the chart’s data series on the Series tab, then click Edit.

   

6. In the Edit chart series item window, select Define colors from input.

7. Select the color data chart series from the Color series list.

8. Click OK to save your changes to the chart series.

Locate a Chart 'Relative To'

The following example will show you how to locate a chart relative to the bottom of a region. For more details about the ‘relative to’ options, see Edit Rearrange Properties.

1. In the output, define the region of data relative to where you want to locate a chart. The picture below shows a region of data to locate our chart against:

   

2. Add a chart and then edit it if required.

3. Open the Edit Rearrange dialog by right-clicking the chart and then clicking Properties or double-clicking the chart you have added.

   

4. With the Edit Rearrange dialog open, switch to the Position tab.

5. From the Relative to drop-down list, select the preferred position on the page.

6. Once you are done, click the OK button.

The following image shows the result of locating the chart relative to Bottom of region.

Note

Once you have located the chart relative to the bottom of the region, the location of the chart is changed if a region is relocated.

The following image shows the difference (the Y-position for the region is modified).

Click the Charts tool. The Form Editor will insert a chart at the cursor position, which you must design.

Drag data from a grab file to the relevant values or arguments area of the chart, or for more options right-click the chart, then click Run Designer.