You can customize the appearance of charts by changing text properties.
In this section, you'll learn about
selecting text
changing font appearance
applying fills to text
positioning, rotating, and moving text
adding boxes to text
adding fills to text boxes
setting the numeric format for chart text
editing chart text
Selecting text
Before you can change the properties of text items in a chart, you must select them. Quattro Pro provides two edit modes for text manipulation: select mode, and edit mode. Direct editing of text is not available when in select mode, and all changes are applied to the entire text string. For example, can change the size of the entire text item, and apply a box to it. When the text is in edit mode, you can apply changes to individual characters. For example, you can change the size and color of the first character in a word. Edit mode is available for titles, subtitles, axes titles, and footnotes.
Quattro Pro also lets you browse between the text items in a chart in the Text properties dialog box.
To select text
To select Do the following
An entire text string Click a chart, and click the text you want.
A single character Click a chart, click the text, and click and drag over the characters you want.
To select text items in the Text properties dialog box
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Choose the text from the list box under the chart preview window.
If you want to select an individual character, click and drag over the character in the text edit window.
Changing font appearance
You can modify chart text font and font size.
Quattro Pro lets you make the text in the charts superscript and subscript. You can also add a shadow to the text to create the illusion of depth.
To change the chart font
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Font tab.
5 Click a font type from the first list box.
To change the font size
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Font tab.
5 Choose a font size from the second list box.
To make text superscript or subscript
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Font tab.
5 Enable one of the following check boxes:
Superscript
Subscript
You can also
Strikeout text Enable the Strikeout check box.
Outline text Enable the Outline check box. Open the Color picker, and click a color.
Note
You cannot outline an individual character.
To add a shadow to text
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Font tab.
5 Enable the Shadow check box.
You can also
Specify the direction of the shadow Type values in the X offset box and the Y offset box.
Change the color of the shadow Open the Shadow color picker, and click a color.
Applying fills to text
Quattro Pro lets you apply different fill styles, such as a pattern or gradient, to chart text. A pattern fill consists of two colors arranged to form a design. A gradient fill creates a smooth transition between two colors by gradually changing their transparency as the fill progresses from one color to another.
You can also apply a texture or picture fill to text. Quattro Pro provides a selection of texture and picture fills that you can use.
You can modify the gradient fill and picture fill settings. For example, you can choose from three different gradient types, linear, circular, or rectangular, where each gradient type creates a unique transition between the two colors.
To apply a pattern fill to text
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Text fill tab.
5 Click Pattern.
6 In the Colors area, open the Foreground color picker, and click a color.
7 Open the Background color picker, and click a color.
If you want to reverse the foreground and background colors, click Reverse colors.
8 Click a pattern on the pattern palette.
To apply a gradient fill to text
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Text fill tab.
5 Click Gradient.
6 In the Colors area, open the Foreground color picker, and click a color.
7 Open the Background color picker, and click a color.
If you want to reverse the foreground and background colors, click Reverse colors.
8 Click a gradient style on the gradient palette.
To apply a texture fill to text
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Text fill tab.
5 Click Texture.
6 Choose a texture category from the Category list box.
7 Click a texture style on the texture palette.
Tip
You can apply a custom texture not included with Quattro Pro by clicking Browse, and choosing a texture.
To apply a picture fill to text
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Text fill tab.
5 Click Picture.
6 Choose a picture category from the Category list box.
7 Click a picture on the picture palette.
Tip
You can apply a custom picture not included with Quattro Pro by clicking Browse, and choosing a picture.
To modify the gradient fill properties of text
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Text fill tab.
5 Click Gradient.
6 Click Gradient settings.
7 In the Gradient settings dialog box, change any options.
To modify the picture fill properties of text
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Text fill tab.
5 Click Picture.
6 Click Picture settings.
7 In the Picture settings dialog box, change any options.
Positioning, rotating, and moving text
You can change the position of text in a chart by aligning it and changing its orientation. You can also rotate text and move text to another position in the chart window.
To align chart text within a text box
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Position tab.
5 Open the Alignment picker, and click one of the following:
Left
Center
Right
To change text orientation
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Position tab.
5 Open the Orientation picker, and click one of the following:
Horizontal
Vertical
To rotate chart text
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Position tab.
5 In the Rotation box, drag the arrow to a new position.
Tip
You can also specify the text rotation by typing a number in the box under the Rotation box.
To move chart text
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Drag the text to a new position in the chart window.
Adding boxes to text
To emphasize text in a chart, you can frame it with a box. For example, you can place a box around a legend or a title, and you can customize it by adding a border and changing the border's style, width, and color.
You can also add a shadow to a box to create the illusion of depth, and you can customize the shadow's direction and color.
To add a box to text
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Box style tab.
5 Open the Box picker, and click a box style.
To add a border to a text box
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Box style tab.
5 Open the Border picker, and click a border style.
You can also
Change the border width In the Line format area, open the Width picker, and click a border width.
Change the border style In the Line format area, open the Line style picker, and click a border style.
Change the border color In the Line format area, open the Color picker, and click a color.
To add a shadow to a text box
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Box style tab.
5 Enable the Shadow check box.
You can also
Specify the direction of the shadow Type values in the X offset box and the Y offset box.
Change the color of the shadow Open the Shadow color picker, and click a color.
Note
You can apply a shadow to a text box only if the text box has a border.
Adding fills to text boxes
Quattro Pro lets you apply different fill styles, such as a pattern or gradient, to text boxes in a chart. A pattern fill consists of two colors arranged to form a design. A gradient fill creates a smooth transition between two colors by gradually changing their transparency as the fill progresses from one color to another.
You can also apply a texture or picture fill to text boxes. Quattro Pro provides a selection of texture and picture fills that you can use.
You can modify the gradient fill and picture fill settings. For example, you can choose from three different gradient types, linear, circular, or rectangular, where each gradient type creates a unique transition between the two colors.
To apply a pattern fill to a text box
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Box fill tab.
5 Click Pattern.
6 In the Colors area, open the Foreground color picker, and click a color.
7 Open the Background color picker, and click a color.
If you want to reverse the foreground and background colors, click Reverse colors.
8 Click a pattern on the pattern palette.
Note
You can apply a fill only to a text box that has a border.
To apply a gradient fill to a text box
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Box fill tab.
5 Click Gradient.
6 In the Colors area, open the Foreground color picker, and click a color.
7 Open the Background color picker, and click a color.
If you want to reverse the foreground and background colors, click Reverse colors.
8 Click a gradient style on the gradient palette.
Note
You can apply a fill only to a text box that has a border.
To apply a texture fill to a text box
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Box fill tab.
5 Click Texture.
6 Choose a texture category from the Category list box.
7 Click a texture style on the texture palette.
Note
You can apply a fill only to a text box that has a border.
Tip
You can apply a custom texture not included with Quattro Pro by clicking Browse, and choosing a texture.
To apply a picture fill
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Box fill tab.
5 Click Picture.
6 Choose a picture category from the Category list box.
7 Click a picture on the picture palette.
Note
You can apply a fill only to a text box that has a border.
Tip
You can apply a custom picture not included with Quattro Pro by clicking Browse, and choosing a picture.
To modify the gradient fill properties of a text box
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Box fill tab.
5 Click Gradient.
6 Click Gradient settings.
7 In the Gradient settings dialog box, change any options.
To modify the picture fill properties of a text box
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
4 Click the Box fill tab.
5 Click Picture.
6 Click Picture settings.
7 In the Picture settings dialog box, change any options.
Setting the numeric format for chart text
You can change the numeric format for x-axis, y-axis, and data label text in charts. For example, you can display data using currency symbols or percentages.
To set the numeric format for chart text
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text.
3 Click Chart Text properties.
3 Click the Numeric format tab.
4 In the Category area, choose one of the numeric formats from the list.
For example, to use a date format, choose Date from the list.
5 In the Format area, specify any numeric format settings.
Notes
In order to format dates and times to properly display in a chart, you must first concatenate the date and time as a single number as follows: YYYYMMDDhhmmss. For example, 20011231235959 = December 31st, 2001 at 11:59:59 pm.
Maximum, minimum, and increment values must be set precisely in the Y-axis properties dialog box to allow dates to properly appear on the y-axis of your chart. For example, to create a y-axis scale that ranges from the start to the end of the year 2001, incremented by month, you would use 20011201000000 as the Max value, 20010101000000 as the Min value, and 100000000 as the Increment value.
Editing chart text
After you add text to a chart, you can retype it to change the content.
To edit chart text
1 Click a chart.
2 Select the text you want to edit.
3 Click inside the text.
4 Type the new text.
Note
You can edit titles, subtitles, axes titles, and footnotes only.
