DevExpress Presentation API: Get Started with Chart

• Jun 05, 2026
• 6 minutes to read

This topic describes how to create a Chart, add it to a presentation, and customize its settings.

Add a Chart with a Data Series to a Presentation

• Add a Chart object to a slide’s Shapes collection.

• Specify chart Width and Height properties.

• Specify the chart’s data source using the Data property. For more information on how to load data to a chart, refer to the following help topic: Load Data to Charts.

• Create a series of the required type and add it to the chart’s Series collection.

• Specify series Arguments and Values properties to define the series data points.

The following code snippet creates a chart with a title, adds a series, and specifies the series data:

C#

using DevExpress.Docs.Office;
using DevExpress.Docs.Presentation;
using System.Drawing;

namespace PresentationApiSample;

public class Program {
    public static async Task Main(string[] _) {

        // Create a presentation.
        Presentation presentation = new Presentation();

        // Reset the slide collection.
        presentation.Slides.Clear();

        // Add a blank slide.
        Slide slide = new Slide(SlideLayoutType.Blank);
        presentation.Slides.Add(slide);

        // Insert a chart that fills the slide.
        Chart chart = new Chart();
        chart.Width = presentation.SlideSize.Width;
        chart.Height = presentation.SlideSize.Height;
        slide.Shapes.Add(chart);

        // Populate chart data.
        chart.Data[0, "A1"].NumericValue = 120;
        chart.Data[0, "A2"].NumericValue = 95;
        chart.Data[0, "A3"].NumericValue = 140;
        chart.Data[0, "B1"].TextValue = "Q1";
        chart.Data[0, "B2"].TextValue = "Q2";
        chart.Data[0, "B3"].TextValue = "Q3";

        // Bind series values and arguments to chart data ranges.
        BarSeries series = new BarSeries();
        series.Values = new ChartDataReference(sheetIndex: 0, fromCellReference: "A1", toCellReference: "A3");
        series.Arguments = new ChartDataReference(sheetIndex: 0, fromCellReference: "B1", toCellReference: "B3");

        // Add the series to the chart.
        chart.Series.Add(series);

        // Set chart title formatting.
        chart.Title = new ChartTitle(new TextArea { 
            Text = "Chart Title", 
            Level1ParagraphProperties = new TextParagraphProperties { 
                TextProperties = new TextProperties { FontSize = 30, Fill = new SolidFill(Color.DarkBlue) }
            }
        });
    }
}

VB.NET

Imports DevExpress.Docs.Office
Imports DevExpress.Docs.Presentation
Imports System.Drawing

Namespace PresentationApiSample

    Public Class Program
        Public Shared Async Function Main(ByVal _ As String()) As Task

            ' Create a presentation.
            Dim presentation As New Presentation()

            ' Reset the slide collection.
            presentation.Slides.Clear()

            ' Add a blank slide.
            Dim slide As New Slide(SlideLayoutType.Blank)
            presentation.Slides.Add(slide)

            ' Insert a chart that fills the slide.
            Dim chart As New Chart()
            chart.Width = presentation.SlideSize.Width
            chart.Height = presentation.SlideSize.Height
            slide.Shapes.Add(chart)

            ' Populate chart data.
            chart.Data(0, "A1").NumericValue = 120
            chart.Data(0, "A2").NumericValue = 95
            chart.Data(0, "A3").NumericValue = 140
            chart.Data(0, "B1").TextValue = "Q1"
            chart.Data(0, "B2").TextValue = "Q2"
            chart.Data(0, "B3").TextValue = "Q3"

            ' Bind series values and arguments to chart data ranges.
            Dim series = New BarSeries()
            series.Values = New ChartDataReference(sheetIndex:=0, fromCellReference:="A1", toCellReference:="A3")
            series.Arguments = New ChartDataReference(sheetIndex:=0, fromCellReference:="B1", toCellReference:="B3")

            ' Add the series to the chart.
            chart.Series.Add(series)

            ' Set chart title formatting.
            chart.Title = New ChartTitle(New TextArea With {
                .Text = "Chart Title",
                .Level1ParagraphProperties = New TextParagraphProperties With {
                    .TextProperties = New TextProperties With {
                        .FontSize = 30,
                        .Fill = New SolidFill(Color.DarkBlue)
                    }
                }
            })
        End Function
    End Class
End Namespace

Series and Views

A Chart object maintains two collections: Chart.Series and Chart.Views. Series objects supply data and define the chart type. Views control rendering settings applicable to all series of the corresponding type and sharing the same axes. When you add a series, the Presentation API automatically associates it with an existing view or creates a new one if needed.

The following code snippet creates two series and configures their common settings in the view:

C#

BarSeries barSeries1 = new BarSeries();
barSeries1.Arguments = new ChartStringData(new[] { "Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4", "Q5" });
barSeries1.Values = new ChartNumericData(new double[] { 10, 13, 4, 7, 5});
chart.Series.Add(barSeries1);

BarSeries barSeries2 = new BarSeries();
barSeries2.Arguments = new ChartStringData(new[] { "Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4", "Q5" });
barSeries2.Values = new ChartNumericData(new double[] { 5, 6, 4, 9, 11 });
chart.Series.Add(barSeries2);

BarChartView barView = (BarChartView)chart.Views[0];
barView.DataLabels = new DataLabels { ShowCategoryName = true, ShowValue = true };

VB.NET

Dim barSeries1 As New BarSeries()
barSeries1.Arguments = New ChartStringData(New String() { "Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4", "Q5" })
barSeries1.Values = New ChartNumericData(New Double() { 10, 13, 4, 7, 5 })
chart.Series.Add(barSeries1)

Dim barSeries2 As New BarSeries()
barSeries2.Arguments = New ChartStringData(New String() { "Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4", "Q5" })
barSeries2.Values = New ChartNumericData(New Double() { 5, 6, 4, 9, 11 })
chart.Series.Add(barSeries2)

Dim barView As BarChartView = DirectCast(chart.Views(0), BarChartView)
barView.DataLabels = New DataLabels() With {.ShowCategoryName = True, .ShowValue = True}

For information on series types and their associated views, refer to the following section: Supported Series Types.

Supported Series Types

The ChartType enumeration lists chart types available for the Chart class:

Enumeration Value	Series Object	View Object
Area Stacked Area 100% Stacked Area	AreaSeries	AreaChartView
3D Area 3D Stacked Area 3D 100% Stacked Area	Area3DSeries	Area3DChartView
Clustered Bar Stacked Bar 100% Stacked Bar Clustered Column Stacked Column 100% Stacked Column	BarSeries	BarChartView
3D Clustered Bar 3D Stacked Bar 3D 100% Stacked Bar 3D Clustered Column 3D Stacked Column 3D 100% Stacked Column 3D Column	Bar3DSeries	Bar3DChartView
Bubble 3D Bubble	BubbleSeries	BubbleChartView
Doughnut	DoughnutSeries	DoughnutChartView
Line Stacked Line 100% Stacked Line	LineSeries	LineChartView
3D Line	Line3DSeries	Line3DChartView
Pie of Pie Bar of Pie	ChartOfPieSeries	ChartOfPieView
Pie	PieSeries	PieChartView
Pie 3D	Pie3DSeries	Pie3DChartView
Radar Filled Radar	RadarSeries	RadarChartView
Scatter	ScatterSeries	ScatterChartView
High-Low-Close Open-High-Low-Close Volume-High-Low-Close Volume-Open-High-Low-Close	StockSeries	StockChartView
Surface	SurfaceSeries	SurfaceChartView
Surface 3D	Surface3DSeries	Surface3DChartView

Customize Chart Axes

For details on how to access and customize chart axes, refer to the following help topic:

Read Tutorial: Chart Axes

Customize Individual Series Points

Use the series CustomDataPoints property to access points you can customize individually. This property is a dictionary that maps data point indices to DataPoint objects. The following code snippet customizes the first data point of a line series:

C#

using DevExpress.Docs.Office;
using DevExpress.Docs.Presentation;
using System.Drawing;

lineSeries.Marker.Symbol = MarkerStyle.Circle;
lineSeries.Marker.Size = 20;

lineSeries.CustomDataPoints = new DataPointDictionary {
    { 0, new DataPoint { Marker = new Marker{ Fill = new SolidFill(Color.Red) } } }
};

VB.NET

Imports DevExpress.Docs.Office
Imports DevExpress.Docs.Presentation
Imports System.Drawing

lineSeries.Marker.Symbol = MarkerStyle.Circle
lineSeries.Marker.Size = 20

lineSeries.CustomDataPoints = New DataPointDictionary() From {
    {0, New DataPoint() With {
        .Marker = New Marker() With {
            .Fill = New SolidFill(Color.Red)
        }
    }}
}

Convert a Series to Another Type

Call the series ConvertTo method to convert the series to another type. The method returns a new series object of the specified type with data and settings converted from the original series. After conversion, remove the original series from the chart and add the newly created series:

C#

using DevExpress.Docs.Office;
using DevExpress.Docs.Presentation;

BarSeries series = new BarSeries();
series.Arguments = new ChartStringData(new[] { "Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4", "Q5" });
series.Values = new ChartNumericData(new double[] { 10, 13, 4, 7, 5 });
chart.Series.Add(series);

var res_series = series.ConvertTo(ChartType.Area);
chart.Series.Remove(series);
chart.Series.Add(res_series);

VB.NET

Imports DevExpress.Docs.Office
Imports DevExpress.Docs.Presentation

Dim series As New BarSeries()
series.Arguments = New ChartStringData(New String() { "Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4", "Q5" })
series.Values = New ChartNumericData(New Double() { 10, 13, 4, 7, 5 })
chart.Series.Add(series)

Dim resSeries = series.ConvertTo(ChartType.Area)
chart.Series.Remove(series)
chart.Series.Add(resSeries)

Customize Chart Appearance

Use the chart PlotArea property to specify the plot area settings (for example, fill color). Specify the chart Style property to apply one of the predefined styles to the chart. The following code snippet customizes the chart appearance:

C#

chart.PlotArea.Fill = new SolidFill(Color.AliceBlue);
chart.Style = ChartExStyle.Style3;

VB.NET

chart.PlotArea.Fill = New SolidFill(Color.AliceBlue)
chart.Style = ChartExStyle.Style3