Setting Data Points with the Data tab
The Data tab is the primary interface for configuring the chart and it is fairly complex. It sets the location of the chart, and the fields that determine the coordinates of each axis as well as map the data points. It also has three buttons for setting the properties of specialized charts. The Advanced button shows the default layout and is available for every report. The Group button is enabled when your report has a grouping section and the Cross-Tab button is enabled when there is a cross-tab object on the report. The default layout, Advanced, is shown in Figure 10-2.
Figure 10-2. The Data tab with the Advanced button selected.
The Advanced, Group and Cross-Tab buttons each create a different type of chart. Although they are all on the same Data tab and appear to work together, they are mutually exclusive. Only the last one selected will be used to create the chart. For example, say that you set some properties for the Advanced tab. You then decide that you would rather use a Group chart instead. So you click on the Group button and change the settings. When you run the report, the chart displayed on the report will be a group chart and reflect those settings. The settings you made with the Advanced button are ignored. In fact, when you close this dialog box and save your settings, only the settings for the current button are saved and any settings that were made with the other buttons are discarded.
The Placement frame controls which section the chart is placed in on the report. It is automatically placed there when you close the dialog box. The dropdown box sets whether the chart appears in the Report Header/Footer or whether it appears in the Group Header/Footer. When you click on it, it displays the options Once Per Report or For Each xxx. The Once Per Report option always puts the chart in the Report Header/Footer. There is one For Each xxx option listed for each group on your report. If there aren’t any groups on your report then the only option listed will be Once Per Report. To the right of the dropdown are the options to select placement in either the Header or the Footer.
The Data frame lets you choose the fields to plot onto the chart. The Available Fields list shows all the fields that the chart can use. To the right of this list is an Evaluate option and below that is the Show Value(s) list. Use the Available Fields list to select the fields to put in the two options on the right.
