Area Chart in SSRS

In this article, we will show you how to create an Area Chart in SSRS, How to change the Title, Legend Position, Legend Title, Font style, Model, and 3D Area Chart in SSRS or SQL Reporting Services with an example.

For this SSRS Area Chart example, we used the Custom SQL query. Please type the query inside the SSMS to see the SQL Data that it’s going to return.

-- Query that we use in SSRS Area Chart
SELECT Cat.[EnglishProductCategoryName] AS ProductCategory,
SubCat.[EnglishProductSubcategoryName] AS ProductSubCategory,
Prod.EnglishProductName AS ProductName, Prod.Color, Fact.OrderQuantity,
Fact.TotalProductCost, Fact.SalesAmount, Fact.TaxAmt, Fact.[Freight]
FROM FactInternetSales AS Fact
INNER JOIN DimProduct AS Prod ON Fact.ProductKey = Prod.ProductKey
INNER JOIN DimProductSubcategory AS SubCat ON Prod.ProductSubcategoryKey = SubCat.ProductSubcategoryKey
INNER JOIN DimProductCategory AS Cat ON SubCat.ProductCategoryKey = Cat.ProductCategoryKey

Create an Area Chart in SSRS

In this example, we will create an Area Chart in SSRS to display the Sales Amount and Total Product Cost grouped by Product Name. The above code shows you the ADW Data Source and Dataset query we used for this Area Chart Report.

In the SSRS report design, we can add an Area Chart by dragging the Chart property from the Toolbox to the Design space or right-clicking on the report designer to open the context menu. Please select the Insert -> Chart option from the context menu, as shown below.

Choose Insert Chart Option

Once you select the Chart option, the Select Chart Type window will open to choose the necessary chart. For this example, we have chosen an Area Chart, as shown in the below screenshot.

Select Chart Type 4

Once you click on the Ok button, the Area chart will show in the design region with dummy data. Click on the empty space around the SSRS Area Chart will open the Chart Data window.

  • Values: Any Numeric (Metric) value such as Total Sales, Sale Amount, Number of Customers, or Tax. All these values will aggregate using an aggregate function like Sum, Avg, and Count because we are grouping them with the category group items.
  • Category Group: Please specify the Column name on which you want to partition the Area Chart.
  • Series Group: Specify the Dimension that further groups the individual category

Drag and drop the Sales Amount column from the data set to chart data values, Product Name to category group.

Add Columns to Values and Category Groups to SSRS Area Chart

Click on the Preview tab to see the report preview.

SSRS Area Chart Preview 8

If you observe the above screenshot, It is giving a perfect result. Let me add one more metric value Total Product Cost to the Values section.

Draw SSRS Area Charts 9

Now you can see that our Area chart shows the difference between the Product Cost and its sales Amount.

Multiple Values in a SSRS Area Chart 10

Format an Area Chart in SSRS

The following list of examples will show you the steps involved in formatting the Area Chart.

Change Axis properties of an Area Chart

Right-click on the Axis of an Area Chart and select the Horizontal Axis Properties.. option from the context menu to format the Axis values.

Format Area Chart in SSRS 11

Here we changed the Font style and font size of the SSRS Area chart Horizontal Axis.

Format Horizontal Axis Font 12

Next, Right click on the Vertical Axis of an Area Chart, and select the Vertical Axis Properties.. option to format the Axis values.

View Vertical Axis Properties 13

Please use the above-specified technique to change the font of the vertical Axis. Next, format the Numbers in the vertical axis by selecting the Number tab.

Format SSRS Area Chart Numbers and Currency 14

Change Axis Titles

To change the SSRS Area Chart Axis title, Please select the Axis title region, and change it as you need. OR, right-click on it to select the Axis Title properties..option.

Format SSRS Area Chart Axis Title 15

It opens a new window called the Axis Title Properties window. Under the General section, we can change the Title text as per our requirements. For now, we are changing it to PRODUCT NAME and align to center.

Under the Font tab, we can change the Font style, size, and color. For now, we are changing the Color to Dark Green, Font to Century Gothic, Size to 12pt, and style to Bold. In modern V, use the toolbar to make changes. Please apply the same properties to Y-Axis as well. Once you completed it, click on the Preview tab to see the report preview.

Formatted Area Chart Preview 18

Change SSRS Area Chart Title

To change the SSRS Area Chart title, Please select the Chart title region, and change it. OR, right-click on it and select the Title Properties.. option.

Change Area Chart Title 19

Here we are changing the title to SSRS Area Chart Example because the report is displaying the same

Change Area Chart Title Position 20

Format SSRS Area Chart Title Font

It explains how to change the tilt font of an Area chart in SSRS. To do so, within the Font tab, we can change the Font Size, Font Family, Font Style, and Color of an Area Chart Title. Here, we are changing the Font to Century Gothic, the Font size to 14pt, and the color to Brown.

Format Area Chart Title Font 21

Format Legend

To format the SSRS Area chart Legend region, Please Select the Legend region, and right-click on it will open the context menu. From the menu, please select the Legend Properties option.

Area Chart Legend Properties

It opens a new window called the Legend Properties. Within the General Tab, use Legend Position to change the Legend Position by changing the dot positions.

For now, we are changing the position from the default right corner to the Middle.

Change Area Chart Legend Position 23

Under the Font tab, we can change the Font style, size, and color of a Legend. For now, we are changing the Font to Century Gothic, and the Size to 10. Click the OK button to close the legend Properties window. Next, hit the SSRS Area chart preview tab to see the report preview

Area Chart Preview 25

3D Area Charts in SSRS

You have the option to add one more dimension to the Series group to further divide the SSRS Area Chart. For now, we are adding Color to the Series group

Different Area Charts

Let me show you the area chart preview

Multiple Area Charts preview 26

SSRS allows us to change the chart type even after creating an Area Chart. To do so First, select the Area Chart, right-click on it, and select the Change Chart Type… option from a context menu

Change Area Chart Type 27

Once you select the Change Chart Type… option, it will open a new window called Select Chart Type to select the change. Here we are selecting the 3D Area Chart

Select 3D Area Chart Type

Click on the preview to see the Area chart report preview. From the below screenshot, you can observe that We successfully changed the Chart Type from a 2D Area Chart to a 3D Area Chart in SSRS.

3D Area Chart in SSRS