#### Formatting the areas

To format the area of an area chart, follow the steps below:

1. Right-click any area in the area chart, and then select Format 2D Area or Format 3D Area to display the Format Area dialog.
2. In the General tab, set the layout style of the area chart.

   For a 2-D area chart, you can check the Use Depth option and specify the depth and direction as required to add a 3-dimensional effect to the areas, you can also set to show the lines that represent the data categories by checking High-Low Lines.

   Note: If the chart is a combo chart composed by areas and bars/lines, when you set the depth properties for the areas, they will be applied to the bars/lines as well, and vice versa.
3. In the Fill and Border tabs, set the fill and border modes for the areas (for details, see Formatting the platform). Click the Pattern List button in the Fill tab to specify the patterns that will apply to the areas according to your requirements.
4. In the Data Label tab, specify whether or not to show data labels for every area node, and if to show, the position of the label related to the area node. In the Font and Effects boxes, set the font formats and effects of the labels.

   Note: For 3-D charts, the Show Data Label checkbox is grayed out. However, you can still see the data labels by moving the mouse pointer over the areas when viewing the report result in view mode or in JReport Web.

5. When done, click OK to apply the settings and close the dialog.

See also Format Area dialog for detailed explanation about options in the dialog.