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C#/VB.NET: Create a Line Chart in Excel

2022-06-01 06:19:00 Written by  support iceblue
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A line chart, also known as a line graph, is a type of chart that displays information as a series of data points connected by straight line segments. It is generally used to show the changes of information over a period of time, such as years, months or days. In this article, you will learn how to create a line chart in Excel in C# and VB.NET using Spire.XLS for .NET.

Install Spire.XLS for .NET

To begin with, you need to add the DLL files included in the Spire.XLS for .NET package as references in your .NET project. The DLL files can be either downloaded from this link or installed via NuGet.

PM> Install-Package Spire.XLS

Create a Line Chart in Excel using C# and VB.NET

The following are the main steps to create a line chart:

  • Create an instance of Workbook class.
  • Get the first worksheet by its index (zero-based) though Workbook.Worksheets[sheetIndex] property.
  • Add some data to the worksheet.
  • Add a line chart to the worksheet using Worksheet.Charts.Add(ExcelChartType.Line) method.
  • Set data range for the chart through Chart.DataRange property.
  • Set position, title, category axis title and value axis title for the chart.
  • Loop through the data series of the chart, show data labels for the data points of each data series by setting the ChartSerie.DataPoints.DefaultDataPoint.DataLabels.HasValue property as true.
  • Set the position of chart legend through Chart.Legend.Position property.
  • Save the result file using Workbook.SaveToFile() method.
  • C#
  • VB.NET
using Spire.Xls;
using Spire.Xls.Charts;
using System.Drawing;

namespace CreateLineChart
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            //Create a Workbook instance
            Workbook workbook = new Workbook();

            //Get the first worksheet
            Worksheet sheet = workbook.Worksheets[0];
            //Set sheet name
            sheet.Name = "Line Chart";
            //Hide gridlines
            sheet.GridLinesVisible = false;

            //Add some data to the the worksheet
            sheet.Range["A1"].Value = "Country";
            sheet.Range["A2"].Value = "Cuba";
            sheet.Range["A3"].Value = "Mexico";
            sheet.Range["A4"].Value = "France";
            sheet.Range["A5"].Value = "German";

            sheet.Range["B1"].Value = "Jun";
            sheet.Range["B2"].NumberValue = 3300;
            sheet.Range["B3"].NumberValue = 2300;
            sheet.Range["B4"].NumberValue = 4500;
            sheet.Range["B5"].NumberValue = 6700;

            sheet.Range["C1"].Value = "Jul";
            sheet.Range["C2"].NumberValue = 7500;
            sheet.Range["C3"].NumberValue = 2900;
            sheet.Range["C4"].NumberValue = 2300;
            sheet.Range["C5"].NumberValue = 4200;

            sheet.Range["D1"].Value = "Aug";
            sheet.Range["D2"].NumberValue = 7700;
            sheet.Range["D3"].NumberValue = 6900;
            sheet.Range["D4"].NumberValue = 8400;
            sheet.Range["D5"].NumberValue = 4200;

            sheet.Range["E1"].Value = "Sep";
            sheet.Range["E2"].NumberValue = 8000;
            sheet.Range["E3"].NumberValue = 7200;
            sheet.Range["E4"].NumberValue = 8300;
            sheet.Range["E5"].NumberValue = 5600;

            //Set font and fill color for specified cells
            sheet.Range["A1:E1"].Style.Font.IsBold = true;
            sheet.Range["A2:E2"].Style.KnownColor = ExcelColors.LightYellow;
            sheet.Range["A3:E3"].Style.KnownColor = ExcelColors.LightGreen1;
            sheet.Range["A4:E4"].Style.KnownColor = ExcelColors.LightOrange;
            sheet.Range["A5:E5"].Style.KnownColor = ExcelColors.LightTurquoise;

            //Set cell borders
            sheet.Range["A1:E5"].Style.Borders[BordersLineType.EdgeTop].Color = Color.FromArgb(0, 0, 128);
            sheet.Range["A1:E5"].Style.Borders[BordersLineType.EdgeTop].LineStyle = LineStyleType.Thin;
            sheet.Range["A1:E5"].Style.Borders[BordersLineType.EdgeBottom].Color = Color.FromArgb(0, 0, 128);
            sheet.Range["A1:E5"].Style.Borders[BordersLineType.EdgeBottom].LineStyle = LineStyleType.Thin;
            sheet.Range["A1:E5"].Style.Borders[BordersLineType.EdgeLeft].Color = Color.FromArgb(0, 0, 128);
            sheet.Range["A1:E5"].Style.Borders[BordersLineType.EdgeLeft].LineStyle = LineStyleType.Thin;
            sheet.Range["A1:E5"].Style.Borders[BordersLineType.EdgeRight].Color = Color.FromArgb(0, 0, 128);
            sheet.Range["A1:E5"].Style.Borders[BordersLineType.EdgeRight].LineStyle = LineStyleType.Thin;

            //Set number format
            sheet.Range["B2:D5"].Style.NumberFormat = "\"$\"#,##0";

            //Add a line chart to the worksheet
            Chart chart = sheet.Charts.Add(ExcelChartType.Line);

            //Set data range for the chart
            chart.DataRange = sheet.Range["A1:E5"];

            //Set position of the chart
            chart.LeftColumn = 1;
            chart.TopRow = 6;
            chart.RightColumn = 11;
            chart.BottomRow = 29;

            //Set and format chart title
            chart.ChartTitle = "Sales Report";
            chart.ChartTitleArea.IsBold = true;
            chart.ChartTitleArea.Size = 12;

            //Set and format category axis title
            chart.PrimaryCategoryAxis.Title = "Month";
            chart.PrimaryCategoryAxis.Font.IsBold = true;
            chart.PrimaryCategoryAxis.TitleArea.IsBold = true;

            //Set and format value axis title
            chart.PrimaryValueAxis.Title = "Sales (in USD)";
            chart.PrimaryValueAxis.HasMajorGridLines = false;
            chart.PrimaryValueAxis.TitleArea.TextRotationAngle = -90;
            chart.PrimaryValueAxis.MinValue = 1000;
            chart.PrimaryValueAxis.TitleArea.IsBold = true;

            //Loop through the data series of the chart
            foreach (ChartSerie cs in chart.Series)
            {
                cs.Format.Options.IsVaryColor = true;
                //Show data labels for data points
                cs.DataPoints.DefaultDataPoint.DataLabels.HasValue = true;                
            }

            //Set position of chart legend
            chart.Legend.Position = LegendPositionType.Top;

            //Save the result file
            workbook.SaveToFile("LineChart.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2016);
        }
    }
}

C#/VB.NET: Create a Line Chart in Excel

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Additional Info

  • tutorial_title: Create Excel Line Chart
Last modified on Wednesday, 01 June 2022 05:34