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Chart Data
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ActiveReports 6 > ActiveReports User Guide > Concepts > Charts > Chart Data

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Bound Data

The Chart control has its own data source which is distinct from the report data source. To access the chart's data source, click the Data Source verb which appears below the Properties window when the chart is selected on the report. If the Data Source verb does not appear, see Access the Chart Wizard and Data Source for help.

Unbound Data

The Chart control allows you to set the data source for a chart control, series, or data points collection at run time.

Any of the following objects can be used as data sources:

Below are some examples of binding to different data sources at run time.

Dataset

The Chart control's DataSource property can be set to a dataset at run time. The following code demonstrates how to set up a dataset, set the DataSource property to the dataset, create a series, and set the ValueMembersY property to the dataset expression at run time.

  1. In design view of the report, double-click the section where you placed your chart. This creates a Format event handling method for the section.
  2. Add code to the handler to create a data source and bind a series to a dataset expression.

ShowTo write the code in Visual Basic.NET

Visual Basic.NET code. Paste INSIDE the section Format event. Copy Code
' create the series
Dim s As New DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series
Dim m_cnnString As String = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:/Northwind.mdb; Persist Security Info=False"
Dim m_cnn As New System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection(m_cnnString)
Dim oDBAdapter As System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter

' create the dataset
Dim oDS As DataSet
oDBAdapter = New System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter("SELECT ShipCountry, SUM(Freight) AS Expr1 FROM Orders GROUP BY ShipCountry", m_cnnString)
oDS = New DataSet
oDBAdapter.Fill(oDS, "Expr1")

' set the DataSource and ValueMembersY properties
Me.ChartControl1.DataSource = oDS
s.ValueMembersY = "Expr1"

Me.ChartControl1.Series.Add(s)

ShowTo write the code in C#

C# code. Paste INSIDE the section Format event. Copy Code
// create the series
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series s = new DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series();
string m_cnnString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:/Northwind.mdb;Persist Security Info=False";   
System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection m_cnn = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection(m_cnnString);       
System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter oDBAdapter;
 
// create the dataset
System.Data.DataSet oDS;
oDBAdapter = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter("SELECT ShipCountry, SUM(Freight) AS Expr1 FROM Orders GROUP BY ShipCountry", m_cnnString);
oDS = new System.Data.DataSet();
oDBAdapter.Fill(oDS, "Expr1");
 
// set the DataSource and ValueMembersY properties
this.chartControl1.DataSource = oDS;
s.ValueMembersY = "Expr1";
 
this.chartControl1.Series.Add(s);

Dataset Column

In the Chart control, the ValueMembersX and ValueMembersY properties of a series can be set to a dataset column. The following code demonstrates how to create a series, set up a dataset, set the DataSource property to the dataset, and set the ValueMembersY and ValueMembersX properties to dataset columns at run time.

  1. In design view of the report, double-click the section where you placed your chart. This creates a Format event handling method for the section.
  2. Add code to the handler to create a data source and bind a series to dataset columns.

ShowTo write the code in Visual Basic.NET

Visual Basic.NET code. Paste INSIDE the section Format event. Copy Code
' create the series
Dim s As New DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series
Dim m_cnnString As String = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:/Northwind.mdb; Persist Security Info=False"
Dim m_cnn As New System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection(m_cnnString)
Dim oDBAdapter As System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter

' create the dataset
Dim oDS As DataSet
oDBAdapter = New System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter("SELECT * from Orders WHERE OrderDate < #08/17/1994#", m_cnnString)
oDS = New DataSet
oDBAdapter.Fill(oDS, "Orders")

' set the DataSource, ValueMembersY, and ValueMembersX properties
Me.ChartControl1.DataSource = oDS
Me.ChartControl1.Series.Add(s)
Me.ChartControl1.Series(0).ValueMembersY = oDS.Tables("Orders").Columns(7).ColumnName
Me.ChartControl1.Series(0).ValueMemberX = oDS.Tables("Orders").Columns(8).ColumnName

ShowTo write the code in C#

C# code. Paste INSIDE the section Format event. Copy Code
// create the series
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series s = new DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series();
string m_cnnString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:/Northwind.mdb;Persist Security Info=False";   
System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection m_cnn = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection(m_cnnString);       
System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter oDBAdapter;
 
// create the dataset
System.Data.DataSet oDS;
oDBAdapter = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter("SELECT * from Orders WHERE OrderDate < #08/17/1994#", m_cnnString);
oDS = new System.Data.DataSet();
oDBAdapter.Fill(oDS, "Orders");
 
// set the DataSource, ValueMembersY, and ValueMembersX properties
this.chartControl1.DataSource = oDS;
this.chartControl1.Series.Add(s);
this.chartControl1.Series[0].ValueMembersY = oDS.Tables["Orders"].Columns[7].ColumnName;
this.chartControl1.Series[0].ValueMemberX = oDS.Tables["Orders"].Columns[8].ColumnName;

Data Command

You can set a chart's data source to a SqlCommand or OleDbCommand. The following code demonstrates how to create a series, create an OleDbCommand, set the DataSource property to the data command, and set the ValueMembersY property for the series at run time.

  1. In design view of the report, double-click the section where you placed your chart. This creates a Format event handling method for the section.
  2. Add code to the handler to create a data source and bind a series.

ShowTo write the code in Visual Basic.NET

Visual Basic.NET code. Paste INSIDE the section Format event. Copy Code
' create the series
Dim s As New DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series
Dim m_cnnString As String = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:/Northwind.mdb; Persist Security Info=False"
Dim m_cnn As New System.Data.Oledb.OleDbConnection(m_cnnString)
Dim query As String = "SELECT ShipCountry, SUM(Freight) AS Expr1 FROM Orders GROUP BY ShipCountry"
 
' create the OleDbCommand and open the connection
Dim command As New System.Data.Oledb.OleDbCommand(query, m_cnn)
command.Connection.Open()
 
' set the DataSource and ValueMembersY properties
Me.ChartControl1.DataSource = command
Me.ChartControl1.Series.Add(s)
Me.ChartControl1.Series(0).ValueMembersY = "Expr1"
 
' close the connection
m_cnn.Close()

ShowTo write the code in C#

C# code. Paste INSIDE the section Format event. Copy Code
// create the series
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series s = new DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series();
string m_cnnString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:/Northwind.mdb;Persist Security Info=False";   
System.Data.Oledb.OleDbConnection m_cnn = new System.Data.Oledb.OleDbConnection(m_cnnString);       
string query = "SELECT ShipCountry, SUM(Freight) AS Expr1 FROM Orders GROUP BY ShipCountry";
 
// create the OleDbCommand and opent the connection
System.Data.Oledb.OleDbCommand command = new System.Data.Oledb.OleDbCommand(query, m_cnn);
command.Connection.Open();
 
// set the DataSource and ValueMembersY properties
this.chartControl1.DataSource = command;
this.chartControl1.Series.Add(s);
this.chartControl1.Series[0].ValueMembersY = "Expr1";
 
// close the connection         
m_cnn.Close();

Array

The Chart control allows you to set the data source for the data points collection to an array. The following code demonstrates how to create a series, create an array, and use the DataBindY method to set the data source for the data points collection at run time.

  1. In design view of the report, double-click the section where you placed your chart. This creates a Format event handling method for the section.
  2. Add code to the handler to create a series, an array, and a data source.

ShowTo write the code in Visual Basic.NET

Visual Basic.NET code. Paste INSIDE the section Format event. Copy Code
' create the series
Dim s As New DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series

' create the array
Dim a As Double() = {1, 4, 2, 6, 3, 3, 4, 7}

' set the data source for the data points collection
Me.ChartControl1.Series.Add(s)
Me.ChartControl1.Series(0).Points.DataBindY(a)

ShowTo write the code in C#

C# code. Paste INSIDE the section Format event. Copy Code
// create the series
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series s = new DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series();
 
// create the array
double [] a = {1,4,2,6,3,3,4,7};
 
// set the data source for the data points collection
this.chartControl1.Series.Add(s);
this.chartControl1.Series[0].Points.DataBindY(a);

Calculated Series

You can easily create a calculated series based on the values of one or more series by setting the ValueMembersY property of a series to a formula. To reference a series in the formula, use the name of the series. The following code demonstrates how to create two series, one bound to a data array and the other bound to a formula based on the Y values of the first series.

  1. In design view of the report, double-click the section where you placed your chart. This creates a Format event handling method for the section.
  2. Add code to the handler to create a data bound series and a calculated series.

ShowTo write the code in Visual Basic.NET

Visual Basic.NET code. Paste INSIDE the FetchData event. Copy Code
Dim s As New DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series
Dim cS As New DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series
Dim a As Double() = {1, 4, 2, 6, 3, 3, 4, 7}

Me.ChartControl1.Series.AddRange(New DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series() {s, cS})
Me.ChartControl1.Series(0).Points.DataBindY(a)
Me.ChartControl1.Series(0).Name = "Series1"
Me.ChartControl1.Series(1).ValueMembersY = "Series1.Y[0]+10"

ShowTo write the code in C#

C# code. Paste INSIDE the FetchData event. Copy Code
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series s = new DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series();
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series cS = new DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series();
double [] a = { 1,4,2,6,3,3,4,7};
 
this.chartControl1.Series.AddRange(new DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series[] {s, cS});
this.chartControl1.Series[0].Name = "Series1";
this.chartControl1.Series[0].Points.DataBindY(a);
this.chartControl1.Series[1].ValueMembersY = "Series1.Y[0]+10";

Sequence Series

Set a sequence series by specifying the minimum value, maximum value, and step for the series. The following code shows how to set the ValueMembersY property at run time to create a sequence series.

  1. In design view of the report, double-click the section where you placed your chart. This creates a Format event handling method for the section.
  2. Add code to the handler to add a series to the chart and set its members.

ShowTo write the code in Visual Basic.NET

Visual Basic.NET code. Paste INSIDE the section Format event. Copy Code
Dim s As New DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series
Me.ChartControl1.Series.Add(s)
Me.ChartControl1.Series(0).ValueMembersY = "sequence(12,48,4)"

ShowTo write the code in C#

C# code. Paste INSIDE the section Format event. Copy Code
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series s = new DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series();
this.chartControl1.Series.Add(s);
this.chartControl1.Series[0].ValueMembersY = "sequence(12,48,4)";

XML Data

The Chart control allows you to set the data source to an XML document. The following code demonstrates how to create a series and to set the ValueMembersY and ValueMemberX properties at run time.

  1. In design view of the report, double-click the section where you placed your chart. This creates a Format event handling method for the section.
  2. Add code to the handler to add a series to the chart and set its members.

ShowTo write the code in Visual Basic.NET

Visual Basic.NET code. Paste INSIDE the section Format event. Copy Code
' create the series
Dim s As New DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series()
Dim xmlDS As New DataDynamics.ActiveReports.DataSources.XMLDataSource("c:/customer.xml", "//CUSTOMER")

' set the DataSource, ValueMembersY and ValueMemberX  properties
Me.ChartControl1.DataSource = xmlDS
Me.ChartControl1.Series.Add(s)
Me.ChartControl1.Series(0).ValueMembersY = "xpath:ORDER/ITEM/PRICE"
Me.ChartControl1.Series(0).ValueMemberX = "xpath:ORDER/ITEM/AUTHOR"

ShowTo write the code in C#

C# code. Paste INSIDE the section Format event. Copy Code
// create the series
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series s = new DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Series();
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.DataSources.XMLDataSource xmlDS = new XMLDataSource("c:/customer.xml","//CUSTOMER");

// set the DataSource, ValueMembersY and ValueMemberX  properties
this.chartControl1.DataSource = xmlDS;
this.chartControl1.Series.Add(s);
this.chartControl1.Series[0].ValueMembersY = "xpath:ORDER/ITEM/PRICE";
this.chartControl1.Series[0].ValueMemberX  = "xpath:ORDER/ITEM/AUTHOR";

 

See Also