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Formatting a chart in a paginated report (Report Builder)

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Applies to: ✅ Microsoft Report Builder (SSRS) ✅ Power BI Report Builder ✅ Report Designer in SQL Server Data Tools

After you have defined the data for your paginated report chart and it is appearing the way you want, you can add formatting to improve the overall appearance and highlight key data points. The most common formatting options can be modified from the Properties dialog box that are found when you right-click a chart element to display its shortcut menu. Each chart element has its own dialog box. For more information about chart elements, see Charts (Report Builder and SSRS).

All properties that relate to the chart are located in the Properties pane, but many of these properties can also be set from a dialog box. If you are formatting the series, you can specify series-specific properties using custom attributes, which can only be found in the CustomAttributes category of properties, located in the Properties pane.

To effectively format the chart using a minimal number of steps, change the default border style, palette and drawing style. These three features produce the largest visible change on the chart. Drawing styles are only applicable to pie, doughnut, bar and column charts.

Note

You can create and modify paginated report definition (.rdl) files in Microsoft Report Builder, Power BI Report Builder, and in Report Designer in SQL Server Data Tools.

In This Section

Formatting Series Colors on a Chart (Report Builder and SSRS)
Discusses how colors are defined using a palette, how you can define your own color palette, and how to define colors based on an expression.

Formatting Axis Labels on a Chart (Report Builder and SSRS)
Discusses how to display gridlines, tick marks, and titles, and how to format numbers and dates on the axis scale.

Formatting the Legend on a Chart (Report Builder and SSRS)
Discusses how to re-order and format items in the chart legend.

Formatting Data Points on a Chart (Report Builder and SSRS)
Discusses how to position data point labels and format data point markers for every series on the chart.

3D, Bevel, and Other Effects in a Chart (Report Builder and SSRS)
Discusses various 3D effects that you can apply to a chart.

Add a Border Frame to a Chart (Report Builder and SSRS)
Explains how to add a border frame to a chart.

See Also

Charts (Report Builder and SSRS)
Add a Border Frame to a Chart (Report Builder and SSRS)
Define Colors on a Chart Using a Palette (Report Builder and SSRS)
Add Bevel, Emboss, and Texture Styles to a Chart (Report Builder and SSRS)