Axis Properties Dialog Box, Axis Options

Select Axis Options on the Axis Properties dialog box to define the appearance of the specified axis of the chart. In previous versions of Reporting Services, the chart displayed all labels on the x-axis by default. However, in Reporting Services 2008, the chart skips labels in order to produce a cleaner image on the chart and avoid labeling collisions. For more information, see Formatting Axis Labels on a Chart.

Options

  • Enable scale breaks
    Select this option to enable the chart to draw a scale breaks when it is deemed necessary. When this option is enabled, the chart will automatically calculate whether there is sufficient difference between the high and low points in the dataset to draw a scale break.

  • Reverse direction
    Select this option to reverse the direction of the chart. For example, by default, a column chart displays the y-axis on the left side of the chart and categories from left to right. When this option is selected, the chart displays the y-axis on the right side of the chart and categories from right to left.

  • Use interlacing
    Select this option to add strip lines to the chart. Strip lines are shaded bands on the chart area that give the effect of alternating light and dark areas between gridlines. These strip lines are useful for highlighting repeating patterns on an axis.

  • Color
    Select a color or type an expression for the color of the axis line.

  • Always include zero
    Select this option to always include zero on the axis scale. If this option is not enabled, the chart will not label the zero value on the axis. Including zero values is useful when the dataset includes negative or zero values.

  • Scalar axis
    Select this option to display a set of axis values on a continuous scale. For example, if the dataset contains data for January, March, and November, a non-scalar axis displays only those months, whereas a scalar axis displays all of the months in the year.

  • Use logarithmic scale
    Select this option to indicate that the axis scale is logarithmic. This option is available only on the y-axis if the axis contains positive numeric values.

  • Log base
    Type the logarithmic base to use when the axis is set to use a logarithmic scale. By default, the chart uses a base of 10 for the logarithmic scale of an axis. This option is available only on the y-axis if the axis is numeric.

  • Minimum
    Type an expression or a value for the minimum value for the x-axis. If omitted, the minimum value is determined by the data returned by the dataset.

  • Maximum
    Type an expression or a value for the maximum value for the x-axis. If omitted, the maximum value is determined by the data returned by the dataset.

  • Interval
    Type an expression or value for the interval between axis labels. For example, type 1 to display each category label on the axis. Type 2 to display every other category label. If omitted, the labels are calculated automatically based on the values in the dataset.

  • Interval type
    Type an expression or a value for the interval type of the interval specified. For example, if you want the interval to be two days, you will specify 2 for interval and Days for interval type.

  • Cross at
    Type an expression or a value for this axis at which to cross the perpendicular axis. For example, if you set this value to 5 for the x-axis, the y-axis will cross the x-axis at 5. If this option is set to Auto, the value will be determined by the data returned by the dataset.

  • Side margins
    Type an expression or select a value to add or remove a margin between the chart elements and the sides of the chart. If this option is set to Auto, a side margins are added.

  • Arrow style
    Select the arrow style of the axis. This is useful for adding a triangular arrowhead to the end of the axis line.