OpenOffice.org BASIC Guide - OpenOffice.org wiki

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C H A P T E R 9
9 Charts (Diagrams)
OpenOffice.org can display data as a chart, which creates graphical representations of numerical data in the form
of bars, pie charts, lines or other elements. Data can either be displayed as 2D or 3D graphics, and the appearance
of the chart elements can be individually adapted in a way similar to the process used for drawing elements.
Charts are not treated as independent documents in OpenOffice.org, but as objects that are embedded in an
existing document.
A chart may contain its own data or may display data from the container document. For example charts in
spreadsheets can display data obtained from the cell ranges and charts in text documents can display data obtained
from writer tables.
Using Charts in Spreadsheets
Charts within spreadsheets can display the data from an assigned cell range within the spreadsheet. Any
modifications made to the data within the spreadsheet will also be reflected in the assigned chart. The following
example shows how to create a chart assigned to some cell ranges within a spreadsheet document:
Dim Doc As Object
Dim Charts As Object
Dim Chart as Object
Dim Rect As New com.sun.star.awt.Rectangle
Dim RangeAddress(0) As New com.sun.star.table.CellRangeAddress
Doc = ThisComponent
Charts = Doc.Sheets(0).Charts
Rect.X = 8000
Rect.Y = 1000
Rect.Width = 10000
Rect.Height = 7000
RangeAddress(0).Sheet = 0
RangeAddress(0).StartColumn = 0
RangeAddress(0).StartRow = 0
RangeAddress(0).EndColumn = 2
RangeAddress(0).EndRow = 12
Charts.addNewByName("MyChart", Rect, RangeAddress(), True, True)
Although the code used in the example may appear to be complex, the central processes are limited to three lines.
The first central line creates the Doc document variable, which references the current spreadsheet document (Doc
line = StarDesktop.CurrentComponent). The code used in the example then creates a list containing all charts
of the first spreadsheet (Charts line = Doc.Sheets(0).Charts). Finally, in the last line, a new chart is added to
this list using the addNewByName method. This new chart is then visible to the user. The variable RangeAddress
determines the assigned cell range whose data will be displayed within the chart. The variable Rect determines the
position and size of the chart within the first sheet in the spreadsheet document.
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