Chart API (VB.Net / netframework)
Note
This demo is available in your FlexCel installation at <FlexCel Install Folder>\samples\vb\VS2022\netframework\10.API\16.Chart API and also at https://github.com/tmssoftware/TMS-FlexCel.NET-demos/tree/master/vb/VS2022/netframework/Modules/10.API/16.Chart API
Overview
Here we will show how to create a simple chart only with code. Note that as charts are complex and have many configuration options, the best way to find out how to create a particular chart is to create it in Excel, and then open it with APIMate. APIMate has full support for showing the chart API.
Concepts
How you can use ExcelFile.AddChart, ExcelChart.AddSeries and other commands to create a simple chart.
The chart API works only in xlsx files, so this demo wouldn't work with xls files.
Files
AssemblyInfo.vb
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.Runtime.CompilerServices
'
' General Information about an assembly is controlled through the following
' set of attributes. Change these attribute values to modify the information
' associated with an assembly.
'
<Assembly: AssemblyTitle("")>
<Assembly: AssemblyDescription("")>
<Assembly: AssemblyConfiguration("")>
<Assembly: AssemblyCompany("")>
<Assembly: AssemblyProduct("")>
<Assembly: AssemblyCopyright("(c) 2002 - 2014 TMS Software")>
<Assembly: AssemblyTrademark("")>
<Assembly: AssemblyCulture("")>
'
' Version information for an assembly consists of the following four values:
'
' Major Version
' Minor Version
' Build Number
' Revision
'
' You can specify all the values or you can default the Revision and Build Numbers
' by using the '*' as shown below:
<Assembly: AssemblyVersion("6.2.1.0")>
'
' In order to sign your assembly you must specify a key to use. Refer to the
' Microsoft .NET Framework documentation for more information on assembly signing.
'
' Use the attributes below to control which key is used for signing.
'
' Notes:
' (*) If no key is specified, the assembly is not signed.
' (*) KeyName refers to a key that has been installed in the Crypto Service
' Provider (CSP) on your machine. KeyFile refers to a file which contains
' a key.
' (*) If the KeyFile and the KeyName values are both specified, the
' following processing occurs:
' (1) If the KeyName can be found in the CSP, that key is used.
' (2) If the KeyName does not exist and the KeyFile does exist, the key
' in the KeyFile is installed into the CSP and used.
' (*) In order to create a KeyFile, you can use the sn.exe (Strong Name) utility.
' When specifying the KeyFile, the location of the KeyFile should be
' relative to the project output directory which is
' %Project Directory%\obj\<configuration>. For example, if your KeyFile is
' located in the project directory, you would specify the AssemblyKeyFile
' attribute as [assembly: AssemblyKeyFile("..\\..\\mykey.snk")]
' (*) Delay Signing is an advanced option - see the Microsoft .NET Framework
' documentation for more information on this.
'
<Assembly: AssemblyDelaySign(False)>
<Assembly: AssemblyKeyFile("")>
<Assembly: AssemblyKeyName("")>
Form1.Designer.vb
Imports System.Collections
Imports FlexCel.Core
Imports FlexCel.XlsAdapter
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.Text
Namespace ChartAPI
Partial Public Class mainForm
Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Form
Private WithEvents button1 As System.Windows.Forms.Button
Private saveFileDialog1 As System.Windows.Forms.SaveFileDialog
Private label1 As System.Windows.Forms.Label
''' <summary>
''' Required designer variable.
''' </summary>
Private components As System.ComponentModel.Container = Nothing
''' <summary>
''' Clean up any resources being used.
''' </summary>
Protected Overrides Sub Dispose(ByVal disposing As Boolean)
If disposing Then
If components IsNot Nothing Then
components.Dispose()
End If
End If
MyBase.Dispose(disposing)
End Sub
#Region "Windows Form Designer generated code"
''' <summary>
''' Required method for Designer support - do not modify
''' the contents of this method with the code editor.
''' </summary>
Private Sub InitializeComponent()
Me.button1 = New System.Windows.Forms.Button()
Me.saveFileDialog1 = New System.Windows.Forms.SaveFileDialog()
Me.label1 = New System.Windows.Forms.Label()
Me.SuspendLayout()
'
' button1
'
Me.button1.Anchor = System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Bottom
Me.button1.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(136, 160)
Me.button1.Name = "button1"
Me.button1.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(75, 23)
Me.button1.TabIndex = 0
Me.button1.Text = "GO!"
' Me.button1.Click += New System.EventHandler(Me.button1_Click)
'
' saveFileDialog1
'
Me.saveFileDialog1.DefaultExt = "xlsx"
Me.saveFileDialog1.Filter = "Excel Files (2007 or newer)|*.xlsx"
Me.saveFileDialog1.RestoreDirectory = True
'
' label1
'
Me.label1.Anchor = (CType((((System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Top Or System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Bottom) Or System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Left) Or System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Right), System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles))
Me.label1.BackColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb((CInt((CByte(255)))), (CInt((CByte(255)))), (CInt((CByte(192)))))
Me.label1.BorderStyle = System.Windows.Forms.BorderStyle.FixedSingle
Me.label1.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(16, 16)
Me.label1.Name = "label1"
Me.label1.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(320, 90)
Me.label1.TabIndex = 1
Me.label1.Text = "A demo showing how to create a simple chart with code. Use APIMate for more compl" & "ex charts"
'
' mainForm
'
Me.AutoScaleDimensions = New System.Drawing.SizeF(6F, 13F)
Me.AutoScaleMode = System.Windows.Forms.AutoScaleMode.Font
Me.ClientSize = New System.Drawing.Size(344, 197)
Me.Controls.Add(Me.label1)
Me.Controls.Add(Me.button1)
Me.Name = "mainForm"
Me.Text = "Chart API"
Me.ResumeLayout(False)
End Sub
#End Region
End Class
End Namespace
Form1.vb
Imports System.Collections
Imports FlexCel.Core
Imports FlexCel.XlsAdapter
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.Text
Namespace ChartAPI
''' <summary>
''' A demo on creating a chart with code.
''' </summary>
Partial Public Class mainForm
Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Form
Public Sub New()
InitializeComponent()
End Sub
Private Sub button1_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles button1.Click
AutoRun()
End Sub
Private ReadOnly Property PathToExe() As String
Get
Return Path.Combine(Path.Combine(Path.GetDirectoryName(System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location), ".."), "..") & Path.DirectorySeparatorChar
End Get
End Property
Private Sub AutoRun()
'We will use data already stored in a file. For a real case, you would
'probably fill this data from some database.
Dim fileName As String = Path.Combine(PathToExe, "git-stats.xlsx")
Dim Xls As ExcelFile = New XlsFile(fileName, True)
'Add a new empty sheet for adding the chart.
Xls.InsertAndCopySheets(0, 1, 1)
Xls.ActiveSheet = 1
Xls.SheetName = "Chart"
Xls.PrintToFit = True
Xls.PrintScale = 70
Xls.PrintXResolution = 600
Xls.PrintYResolution = 600
Xls.PrintOptions = TPrintOptions.None
Xls.PrintPaperSize = TPaperSize.Letter
Xls.PrintLandscape = True
AddChart(Xls)
NormalOpen(Xls)
End Sub
Private Sub AddChart(ByVal xls As ExcelFile)
'This code is adapted from APIMate.
'Objects
Dim ChartOptions1 As New TShapeProperties()
ChartOptions1.Anchor = New TClientAnchor(TFlxAnchorType.MoveAndResize, 1, 215, 1, 608, 30, 228, 17, 736)
ChartOptions1.ShapeName = "Lines of code"
ChartOptions1.Print = True
ChartOptions1.Visible = True
ChartOptions1.ShapeOptions.SetValue(TShapeOption.fLockText, True)
ChartOptions1.ShapeOptions.SetValue(TShapeOption.LockRotation, True)
ChartOptions1.ShapeOptions.SetValue(TShapeOption.fAutoTextMargin, True)
ChartOptions1.ShapeOptions.SetValue(TShapeOption.fillColor, 134217806)
ChartOptions1.ShapeOptions.SetValue(TShapeOption.wzName, "Lines of code")
Dim Chart1 As ExcelChart = xls.AddChart(ChartOptions1, TChartType.Area, New ChartStyle(102), False)
Dim Title As New TDataLabel()
Title.PositionZeroBased = Nothing
Dim TextFillOptions As New ChartFillOptions(New TShapeFill(New TSolidFill(TDrawingColor.FromRgb(&H80, &H80, &H80)), True, TFormattingType.Subtle, TDrawingColor.FromRgb(&H0, &H0, &H0, New TColorTransform(TColorTransformType.Alpha, 0)), False))
Dim LabelTextOptions As New TChartTextOptions(New TFlxChartFont("Calibri Light", 320, TExcelColor.FromArgb(&H80, &H80, &H80), TFlxFontStyles.Bold, TFlxUnderline.None, TFontScheme.Major), THFlxAlignment.center, TVFlxAlignment.center, TBackgroundMode.Transparent, TextFillOptions)
Title.TextOptions = LabelTextOptions
Dim LabelOptions As New TDataLabelOptions()
Title.LabelOptions = LabelOptions
Dim ChartLineOptions As New ChartLineOptions(New TShapeLine(True, New TLineStyle(New TNoFill(), Nothing), Nothing, TFormattingType.Subtle))
Dim ChartFillOptions As New ChartFillOptions(New TShapeFill(New TNoFill(), False, TFormattingType.Subtle, Nothing, False))
Title.Frame = New TChartFrameOptions(ChartLineOptions, ChartFillOptions, False)
Dim Runs() As TRTFRun
Runs = New TRTFRun(0){}
Runs(0).FirstChar = 0
Dim fnt As TFlxFont
fnt = xls.GetDefaultFont
fnt.Name = "Calibri Light"
fnt.Size20 = 320
fnt.Color = TExcelColor.FromArgb(&H80, &H80, &H80)
fnt.Style = TFlxFontStyles.Bold
fnt.Family = 0
fnt.CharSet = 1
fnt.Scheme = TFontScheme.Major
Runs(0).FontIndex = xls.AddFont(fnt)
Dim LabelValue1 As New TRichString("FlexCel: Lines of code over time", Runs, xls)
Title.LabelValues = New Object() { LabelValue1 }
Chart1.SetTitle(Title)
Chart1.Background = New TChartFrameOptions(TDrawingColor.FromTheme(TThemeColor.Dark1, New TColorTransform(TColorTransformType.LumMod, 0.15), New TColorTransform(TColorTransformType.LumOff, 0.85)), 9525, TDrawingColor.FromTheme(TThemeColor.Light1), False)
Dim PlotAreaFrame As TChartFrameOptions
ChartLineOptions = New ChartLineOptions(New TShapeLine(True, New TLineStyle(New TNoFill(), Nothing), Nothing, TFormattingType.Subtle))
ChartFillOptions = New ChartFillOptions(New TShapeFill(New TPatternFill(TDrawingColor.FromTheme(TThemeColor.Dark1, New TColorTransform(TColorTransformType.LumMod, 0.15), New TColorTransform(TColorTransformType.LumOff, 0.85)), TDrawingColor.FromTheme(TThemeColor.Light1), TDrawingPattern.ltDnDiag), True, TFormattingType.Subtle, Nothing, False))
PlotAreaFrame = New TChartFrameOptions(ChartLineOptions, ChartFillOptions, False)
Dim PlotAreaPos As New TChartPlotAreaPosition(True, TChartRelativeRectangle.Automatic, TChartLayoutTarget.Inner, True)
Chart1.PlotArea = New TChartPlotArea(PlotAreaFrame, PlotAreaPos, False)
Chart1.SetChartOptions(1, New TAreaChartOptions(False, TStackedMode.Stacked, Nothing))
Dim LastYear As Integer = 0
Dim shade As Double = 1
For i As Integer = 2 To 189
Dim Series As New ChartSeries("=" & (New TCellAddress("Data", 1, i, True, True)).CellRef, "=" & (New TCellAddress("Data", 2, i, True, True)).CellRef & ":" & (New TCellAddress("Data", 189, i, True, True)).CellRef, "=Data!$A$2:$A$189")
'We will display every year in a single color. Each month gets its own shade.
Dim xf As Integer = -1
Dim Year As Integer = FlxDateTime.FromOADate((CDbl(xls.GetCellValue(2, 1, i, xf))), False).Year
If LastYear <> Year Then
shade = 1
ElseIf shade > 0.3 Then
shade -= 0.05
End If
LastYear = Year
Dim SeriesColor As TDrawingColor = TDrawingColor.FromTheme(CType(TThemeColor.Accent1 + (Year Mod 6), TThemeColor), New TColorTransform(TColorTransformType.Shade, shade))
Dim SeriesFill As New ChartSeriesFillOptions(New TShapeFill(New TSolidFill(SeriesColor), True, TFormattingType.Subtle, Nothing, False), Nothing, False, False)
Dim SeriesLine As New ChartSeriesLineOptions(New TShapeLine(True, New TLineStyle(New TNoFill(), Nothing), Nothing, TFormattingType.Subtle), False)
Series.Options.Add(New ChartSeriesOptions(-1, SeriesFill, SeriesLine, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, True))
Chart1.AddSeries(Series)
Next i
Chart1.PlotEmptyCells = TPlotEmptyCells.Zero
Chart1.ShowDataInHiddenRowsAndCols = False
Dim AxisFont As New TFlxChartFont("Calibri", 180, TExcelColor.FromArgb(&H59, &H59, &H59), TFlxFontStyles.None, TFlxUnderline.None, TFontScheme.Minor)
Dim AxisLine As New TAxisLineOptions()
AxisLine.MainAxis = New ChartLineOptions(New TShapeLine(True, New TLineStyle(New TSolidFill(TDrawingColor.FromTheme(TThemeColor.Dark1, New TColorTransform(TColorTransformType.LumMod, 0.15), New TColorTransform(TColorTransformType.LumOff, 0.85))), 9525, TPenAlignment.Center, TLineCap.Flat, TCompoundLineType.Single, Nothing, TLineJoin.Round, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing), Nothing, TFormattingType.Subtle))
AxisLine.DoNotDrawLabelsIfNotDrawingAxis = False
Dim AxisTicks As New TAxisTickOptions(TTickType.Outside, TTickType.None, TAxisLabelPosition.NextToAxis, TBackgroundMode.Transparent, TDrawingColor.FromRgb(&H59, &H59, &H59), 0)
Dim AxisRangeOptions As New TAxisRangeOptions(12, 1, False, False, False)
Dim CatAxis As TBaseAxis = New TCategoryAxis(0, 0, 12, TDateUnits.Days, 12, TDateUnits.Days, TDateUnits.Months, 0, TCategoryAxisOptions.AutoMin Or TCategoryAxisOptions.AutoMax Or TCategoryAxisOptions.DateAxis Or TCategoryAxisOptions.AutoCrossDate Or TCategoryAxisOptions.AutoDate, AxisFont, "yyyy\-mm\-dd;@", True, AxisLine, AxisTicks, AxisRangeOptions, Nothing, TChartAxisPos.Bottom, 1)
AxisFont = New TFlxChartFont("Calibri", 180, TExcelColor.FromArgb(&H59, &H59, &H59), TFlxFontStyles.None, TFlxUnderline.None, TFontScheme.Minor)
AxisLine = New TAxisLineOptions()
AxisLine.MainAxis = New ChartLineOptions(New TShapeLine(True, New TLineStyle(New TSolidFill(TDrawingColor.FromTheme(TThemeColor.Dark1, New TColorTransform(TColorTransformType.LumMod, 0.15), New TColorTransform(TColorTransformType.LumOff, 0.85))), 9525, TPenAlignment.Center, TLineCap.Flat, TCompoundLineType.Single, Nothing, TLineJoin.Round, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing), Nothing, TFormattingType.Subtle))
AxisLine.MajorGridLines = New ChartLineOptions(New TShapeLine(True, New TLineStyle(New TSolidFill(TDrawingColor.FromTheme(TThemeColor.Dark1, New TColorTransform(TColorTransformType.LumMod, 0.15), New TColorTransform(TColorTransformType.LumOff, 0.85))), 9525, TPenAlignment.Center, TLineCap.Flat, TCompoundLineType.Single, Nothing, TLineJoin.Round, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing), Nothing, TFormattingType.Subtle))
AxisLine.DoNotDrawLabelsIfNotDrawingAxis = False
AxisTicks = New TAxisTickOptions(TTickType.None, TTickType.None, TAxisLabelPosition.NextToAxis, TBackgroundMode.Transparent, TDrawingColor.FromRgb(&H59, &H59, &H59), 0)
CatAxis.NumberFormat = "yyyy-mm"
CatAxis.NumberFormatLinkedToSource = False
Dim ValAxis As TBaseAxis = New TValueAxis(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, TValueAxisOptions.AutoMin Or TValueAxisOptions.AutoMax Or TValueAxisOptions.AutoMajor Or TValueAxisOptions.AutoMinor Or TValueAxisOptions.AutoCross, AxisFont, "General", True, AxisLine, AxisTicks, Nothing, TChartAxisPos.Left)
Chart1.SetChartAxis(New TChartAxis(0, CatAxis, ValAxis))
End Sub
Private Sub NormalOpen(ByVal Xls As ExcelFile)
If saveFileDialog1.ShowDialog() = System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then
Xls.Save(saveFileDialog1.FileName)
If MessageBox.Show("Do you want to open the generated file?", "Confirm", MessageBoxButtons.YesNo) = System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Yes Then
Process.Start(saveFileDialog1.FileName)
End If
End If
End Sub
End Class
End Namespace
Program.vb
Namespace ChartAPI
Friend NotInheritable Class Program
Private Sub New()
End Sub
''' <summary>
''' The main entry point for the application.
''' </summary>
<STAThread> _
Shared Sub Main()
Application.EnableVisualStyles()
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(False)
Application.Run(New mainForm())
End Sub
End Class
End Namespace