How to Create and Edit Excel Charts in C#

How Do I Create Charts in Excel?

IronXL supports column, scatter, line, pie, bar, and area charts. To create a chart, specify the following components. This flexibility allows you to create Excel spreadsheets with rich visualizations tailored to your data presentation needs.

1. Use CreateChart to specify the chart type and worksheet location.
2. Add series with AddSeries. This method accepts a single column for some chart types. The first parameter is horizontal axis values. The second is vertical axis values.
3. Optionally specify series name, chart name, and legend position.
4. Call Plot to render the chart. Multiple calls create multiple charts.

Let's create charts from the data in the chart.xlsx Excel file. A preview of the data is displayed below:

What's the Process for Creating Column Charts?

Column charts are ideal for comparing values across categories. When you load spreadsheet data, you can visualize it effectively using column charts to highlight differences between data points. The following example demonstrates creating a multi-series column chart with animal population data:

:path=/static-assets/excel/content-code-examples/how-to/create-edit-charts-column-chart.cs

using IronXL;
using IronXL.Drawing.Charts;

WorkBook workBook = WorkBook.Load("chart.xlsx");
WorkSheet workSheet = workBook.DefaultWorkSheet;

// Set the chart type and position
IChart chart = workSheet.CreateChart(ChartType.Column, 5, 5, 20, 10);

string xAxis = "A2:A7";

// Add the series
IChartSeries series = chart.AddSeries(xAxis, "B2:B7");
series.Title = workSheet["B1"].StringValue;

// Add the series
series = chart.AddSeries(xAxis, "C2:C7");
series.Title = workSheet["C1"].StringValue;

// Add the series
series = chart.AddSeries(xAxis, "D2:D7");
series.Title = workSheet["D1"].StringValue;

// Set the chart title
chart.SetTitle("Column Chart");

// Set the legend position
chart.SetLegendPosition(LegendPosition.Bottom);

// Plot the chart
chart.Plot();

workBook.SaveAs("columnChart.xlsx");

$vbLabelText   $csharpLabel

How Do I Create Line Charts?

Line charts excel at showing trends over time. Since line charts display the same information as column charts, switching between them requires only changing the chart type. This makes line charts particularly useful when reading XLSX files containing time-series data:

:path=/static-assets/excel/content-code-examples/how-to/create-edit-charts-pie-chart.cs

using IronXL;
using IronXL.Drawing.Charts;

WorkBook workBook = WorkBook.Load("chart.xlsx");
WorkSheet workSheet = workBook.DefaultWorkSheet;

// Set the chart type and position
IChart chart = workSheet.CreateChart(ChartType.Pie, 5, 5, 20, 10);

string xAxis = "A2:A7";

// Add the series
IChartSeries series = chart.AddSeries(xAxis, "B2:B7");
series.Title = workSheet["B1"].StringValue;

// Set the chart title
chart.SetTitle("Pie Chart");

// Set the legend position
chart.SetLegendPosition(LegendPosition.Bottom);

// Plot the chart
chart.Plot();

workBook.SaveAs("pieChart.xlsx");

$vbLabelText   $csharpLabel

When Should I Use Pie Charts?

Pie charts show proportions and percentages of a whole. For pie charts, only one column of data is needed, making them simpler to implement. They're effective when you want to convert spreadsheet data into visual representations of market share, budget allocation, or category distribution:

:path=/static-assets/excel/content-code-examples/how-to/create-edit-charts-pie-chart.cs

using IronXL;
using IronXL.Drawing.Charts;

WorkBook workBook = WorkBook.Load("chart.xlsx");
WorkSheet workSheet = workBook.DefaultWorkSheet;

// Set the chart type and position
IChart chart = workSheet.CreateChart(ChartType.Pie, 5, 5, 20, 10);

string xAxis = "A2:A7";

// Add the series
IChartSeries series = chart.AddSeries(xAxis, "B2:B7");
series.Title = workSheet["B1"].StringValue;

// Set the chart title
chart.SetTitle("Pie Chart");

// Set the legend position
chart.SetLegendPosition(LegendPosition.Bottom);

// Plot the chart
chart.Plot();

workBook.SaveAs("pieChart.xlsx");

$vbLabelText   $csharpLabel

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How Do I Edit Existing Charts?

When working with existing Excel files, you may need to modify charts already created. IronXL provides straightforward methods to edit existing charts, allowing you to update titles, reposition legends, and refresh data. This is useful when editing Excel files that contain pre-existing visualizations.

You can edit legend position and chart title in existing charts. To edit a chart, first retrieve it by accessing the Charts property and selecting the targeted chart. Then access the chart properties to make your edits:

:path=/static-assets/excel/content-code-examples/how-to/create-edit-charts-edit-chart.cs

using IronXL;
using IronXL.Drawing.Charts;

WorkBook workBook = WorkBook.Load("pieChart.xlsx");
WorkSheet workSheet = workBook.DefaultWorkSheet;

// Retrieve the chart
IChart chart = workSheet.Charts[0];

// Edit the legend position
chart.SetLegendPosition(LegendPosition.Top);

// Edit the chart title
chart.SetTitle("Edited Chart");

workBook.SaveAs("editedChart.xlsx");

Before

After

How Do I Remove Charts from Excel?

Sometimes you need to clean up Excel files by removing outdated or unnecessary charts. This is common when managing worksheets containing multiple visualizations. To remove an existing chart from a spreadsheet, first retrieve the chart from the Charts property. You'll receive a list of charts. Pass the targeted chart object to RemoveChart:

:path=/static-assets/excel/content-code-examples/how-to/create-edit-charts-remove-chart.cs

using IronXL;
using IronXL.Drawing.Charts;
using System.Collections.Generic;

WorkBook workBook = WorkBook.Load("pieChart.xlsx");
WorkSheet workSheet = workBook.DefaultWorkSheet;

// Retrieve the chart
List<IChart> chart = workSheet.Charts;

// Remove the chart
workSheet.RemoveChart(chart[0]);

workBook.SaveAs("removedChart.xlsx");

Advanced Chart Customization

Beyond basic chart creation, IronXL supports advanced customization options. When creating complex reports or dashboards, you can combine charts with other Excel features like conditional formatting to create comprehensive data visualizations.

For business applications, charts often need dynamic generation from database queries or real-time data sources. IronXL integrates seamlessly with .NET data structures, allowing you to create charts from DataTables, Lists, or any enumerable collection. This makes it ideal for generating automated reports that include visual elements.

Summary

IronXL provides a complete solution for working with Excel charts in C# applications. Whether creating new visualizations, modifying existing ones, or removing outdated charts, the library offers intuitive methods that don't require Excel Interop. By combining chart functionality with IronXL's other features like data manipulation and formatting, you can build sophisticated Excel automation solutions that enhance data presentation and analysis in your .NET applications.