How to Show Colored Ranges on a Radial Gauge in Bold Reports

Use the built-in Range properties in a radial gauge to show a colored band for a value range. Color-coded thresholds help readers recognize status or progress at a glance. For cases that need additional colored bands, an advanced RDL pointer approach may be required.

Steps to Add Color Coding to a Radial Gauge

Step 1: Configure the Built-In Range

1. Select the radial gauge and open its Properties panel.
2. Under Range, select Enable Range.
3. Set the range start and end values, width, placement, and color.
4. Preview the report to verify the colored range.

The range start and end values can be set using expressions. The radial gauge documentation describes one range data point; confirm whether your installed designer version supports adding more than one range before using this approach for multiple colored bands.
See the Radial Gauge user guide for details about the range properties.

Step 2: Use Additional Pointers Only When Needed

1. If the built-in range cannot represent the required coloring, you can investigate adding multiple radial pointers in the report definition. This is an advanced workaround; verify that multiple pointers produce the intended colored bands in your Bold Reports version before using it.

2. Back up the .rdl file before editing it. Invalid XML can prevent the report from opening. Open the report definition in a text editor, find the gauge’s <GaugePointers> section, and add each <RadialPointer> there. Use a unique Name for each pointer and keep them in the order you want them drawn.
   

   

3. Use unique pointer names consistently. For a three-pointer setup, name the pointers RadialPointer (maximum), RadialPointer2 (average), and RadialPointer3 (minimum). Assign each pointer a color and a value appropriate to its role. The following complete XML example is for RadialPointer3, the minimum pointer in this naming scheme:

   <RadialPointer Name="RadialPointer3">
       <Type>Bar</Type>
       <PointerCap>
           <Style>
               <BackgroundColor>White</BackgroundColor>
               <BackgroundGradientType>DiagonalLeft</BackgroundGradientType>
               <BackgroundGradientEndColor>DimGray</BackgroundGradientEndColor>
               <BackgroundHatchType>None</BackgroundHatchType>
           </Style>
           <CapImage>
               <OffsetX>0pt</OffsetX>
               <OffsetY>0pt</OffsetY>
               <Source>External</Source>
               <Value />
           </CapImage>
           <OnTop>true</OnTop>
           <CapStyle>RoundedWithWideIndentation</CapStyle>
           <Width>45</Width>
       </PointerCap>
       <NeedleStyle>Tapered</NeedleStyle>
       <Style>
           <Border>
               <Style>None</Style>
           </Border>
           <BackgroundColor>Blue</BackgroundColor>
           <BackgroundGradientType>None</BackgroundGradientType>
           <BackgroundGradientEndColor>Orange</BackgroundGradientEndColor>
           <BackgroundHatchType>None</BackgroundHatchType>
           <ShadowOffset>0pt</ShadowOffset>
       </Style>
       <GaugeInputValue>
           <Value>40</Value>
           <Multiplier>1</Multiplier>
       </GaugeInputValue>
       <PointerImage>
           <OffsetX>0pt</OffsetX>
           <OffsetY>0pt</OffsetY>
           <Source>External</Source>
           <Value />
       </PointerImage>
       <MarkerLength>25</MarkerLength>
       <MarkerStyle>Wedge</MarkerStyle>
       <Placement>Cross</Placement>
       <Width>45</Width>
   </RadialPointer>
   

• In this example, the pointer color is set in <Style><BackgroundColor>, and its value is 40. Change both values as needed for each pointer. To make the pointer value data-driven, replace the literal 40 with an expression using a field from the gauge’s dataset, for example:

  <Value>=Fields!GaugeValue.Value</Value>
  

4. Replace GaugeValue with the actual dataset field. Apply the same naming, color, and value approach to RadialPointer and RadialPointer2, and add the pointer elements to <GaugePointers> in the order they should be drawn.
   
   

Step 3: Verify the Gauge

1. Reopen or refresh the report after editing the RDL.
2. Preview the report and confirm the gauge loads without errors.
3. Check that the ranges or pointers appear in the intended order and colors, and that data-driven values display correctly.

• To simplify the appearance, you can disable Major Tick and Minor Tick in the radial gauge properties.
  
  

Limits

The built-in radial gauge documentation describes a single range data point. Confirm whether your Bold Reports version supports multiple ranges in the designer. Use the RDL pointer approach only when the built-in range cannot meet the requirement, and validate the resulting report in preview.

Preview

• The radial gauge displays the configured colored range or pointers.
  
  

Related Article

• Radial Gauge in the Bold Reports Web Report Designer