Enhancing the Chart Frame

Up to this point, you have been micromanaging your chart, adding and removing objects from the chart and formatting text, axes, and data series. For a more global change, you can modify the overall appearance of a chart by adding a border or shading. To change a chart's border and its background shading (or color ), follow these steps:

1. Select the chart. Handles appear around the entire chart.

2. In the Chart toolbar, open the Chart Objects list and click Chart Area ; then click the Format Chart Area button, or right-click on the chart's background and choose Format Chart Area . The Format Chart Area dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 8.8.

   Figure 8.8. You can add a border and background to your chart.

   

3. Click the Patterns tab, if needed, to bring it to the front.

4. Under Border , enter the preferences for the line style, weight, and color of the line that surrounds the chart. You can also choose to add a drop shadow to the border and/or have the corners rounded.

5. Under Area , choose the desired color for the chart's background.

6. Click OK to save your changes and have the specified formatting applied to your chart.