Adjusting the Spacing of Columns in Bold Reports Column Charts

This guide demonstrates how to customize the spacing between column series in a column chart using the ColumnSpacing property in Bold Reports Report Designer. Adjusting the column spacing can enhance readability and minimize visual clutter, particularly in charts with multiple series or dense data points. This customization is especially beneficial for bar and column chart types, as described in the Bold Reports Chart Documentation.

Prerequisites

• Bold Reports Report Designer must be installed.
• An open report project with a configured column chart.
• A dataset containing at least one categorical field (e.g., Category) and one or more numerical fields (e.g., Sales, Profit) for chart series.
• A basic understanding of chart properties and custom attributes.
• Access to Bold Reports documentation on Chart Types.

Steps to Adjust Column Spacing

Step 1: Select the Chart Item

1. Open your report in Bold Reports Report Designer.
2. In the design area, click on the column chart to select it, ensuring it is highlighted for editing.
   Snapshot: Selecting the chart item in the design area.
   
   

Step 2: Set the ColumnSpacing Property

1. With the chart selected, open the Properties panel (typically on the right).
2. Scroll to the Miscellaneous section and find the Custom Attributes.
3. Click Set Attributes to open the Custom Attributes dialog.
   Snapshot: Accessing Custom Attributes in the Properties panel.
   
   
4. In the dialog, click Add to create a new attribute.
5. Set the attribute name to ColumnSpacing and the value to 0.5 (recommended for balanced spacing).
6. Click OK to save the settings.
   Snapshot: Setting the ColumnSpacing property to 0.5.
   
   

ColumnSpacing Functionality:

• The ColumnSpacing property controls the gap between column series in the chart.
• It reduces the width of each column and distributes equal spacing on both sides.
• Value Range:
  • 0: No spacing (columns touch or overlap).
  • 0.5: Columns are spaced apart by half their width (recommended for clarity).
  • 1: Maximum spacing (minimal column width).
  • Acceptable values range from 0 to 1.

Step 3: Preview and Verify

1. Click the Preview tab in Report Designer to view the chart.
2. Compare the chart’s appearance before and after applying ColumnSpacing:
   • Before: Columns may appear cluttered or overlapping, especially with multiple series.
     
     
   • After: Columns are evenly spaced, improving readability.