Part III: Creating Charts and Other Visualizations
FIGURE 21.5
The Chart Area element uses No Fill, so the underlying cells are visible.
Resetting Chart Element Formatting
If you go overboard formatting a chart element, you can always reset it to its original state. Just select
the element and choose Chart Tools ➪ Format ➪ Current Selection ➪ Reset to Match Style. Or right-
click the chart element and choose Reset to Match Style from the shortcut menu.
To reset all formatting changes in the entire chart, select the Chart Area before you issue the Reset
to Match Style command.
Modifying the Plot Area
The Plot Area is the part of the chart that contains the actual chart. More specifically, the
Plot Area is a container for the chart series.
If you set the Shape Fill property to No Fill, the Plot Area will be transparent. Therefore, the fill color applied to the
Chart Area will show through.
You can move and resize the Plot Area. Select the Plot Area and then drag a border to move
it. To change the size of the Plot Area, drag one of the corner handles.
Different chart types vary in the way that they respond to changes in the Plot Area dimen-
sions. For example, you can’t change the relative dimensions of the Plot Area of a pie chart
or a radar chart. The Plot Area of these charts is always square. With other chart types,
