ChartDirector 7.1 (.NET Edition)

Track Line with Legend (Windows)




NOTE: For conciseness, some of the following descriptions only mention WinChartViewer. Those descriptions apply to WPFChartViewer as well.

This sample program demonstrates a track cursor programmed with the following features:

The code first draws the chart, and sets the track cursor to the right side of the plot area. This ensures the chart initially has a legend that reflects the latest data values. In the WinChartViewer.MouseMovePlotArea event handler, the track cursor is updated to reflect the mouse position.

The trackLineLegend method is the routine that draws the track cursor. Its key elements are:

Source Code Listing

[Windows Forms - C# version] NetWinCharts\CSharpWinCharts\frmtracklegend.cs
using System; using System.Collections; using System.Windows.Forms; using ChartDirector; namespace CSharpChartExplorer { public partial class FrmTrackLegend : Form { public FrmTrackLegend() { InitializeComponent(); } private void FrmTrackLegend_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) { // Data for the chart as 3 random data series RanSeries r = new RanSeries(127); double[] data0 = r.getSeries(100, 100, -15, 15); double[] data1 = r.getSeries(100, 150, -15, 15); double[] data2 = r.getSeries(100, 200, -15, 15); DateTime[] timeStamps = r.getDateSeries(100, new DateTime(2011, 1, 1), 86400); // Create a XYChart object of size 640 x 400 pixels XYChart c = new XYChart(640, 400); // Add a title to the chart using 18pt Times New Roman Bold Italic font c.addTitle(" Product Line Global Revenue", "Times New Roman Bold Italic", 18); // Set the plotarea at (50, 55) with width 70 pixels less than chart width, and height 90 pixels // less than chart height. Use a vertical gradient from light blue (f0f6ff) to sky blue (a0c0ff) // as background. Set border to transparent and grid lines to white (ffffff). c.setPlotArea(50, 55, c.getWidth() - 70, c.getHeight() - 90, c.linearGradientColor(0, 55, 0, c.getHeight() - 35, 0xf0f6ff, 0xa0c0ff), -1, Chart.Transparent, 0xffffff, 0xffffff); // Set legend icon style to use line style icon, sized for 8pt font c.getLegend().setLineStyleKey(); c.getLegend().setFontSize(8); // Set axis label style to 8pt Arial Bold c.xAxis().setLabelStyle("Arial Bold", 8); c.yAxis().setLabelStyle("Arial Bold", 8); // Set the axis stem to transparent c.xAxis().setColors(Chart.Transparent); c.yAxis().setColors(Chart.Transparent); // Configure x-axis label format c.xAxis().setMultiFormat(Chart.StartOfYearFilter(), "{value|mm/yyyy} ", Chart.StartOfMonthFilter( ), "{value|mm}"); // Add axis title using 10pt Arial Bold Italic font c.yAxis().setTitle("USD millions", "Arial Bold Italic", 10); // Add a line layer to the chart using a line width of 2 pixels. LineLayer layer = c.addLineLayer2(); layer.setLineWidth(2); // Add 3 data series to the line layer layer.setXData(timeStamps); layer.addDataSet(data0, 0xff3333, "Alpha"); layer.addDataSet(data1, 0x008800, "Beta"); layer.addDataSet(data2, 0x3333cc, "Gamma"); // Include track line with legend for the latest data values trackLineLegend(c, c.getPlotArea().getRightX()); // Assign the chart to the WinChartViewer winChartViewer1.Chart = c; } // // Draw track cursor when mouse is moving over plotarea // private void winChartViewer1_MouseMovePlotArea(object sender, MouseEventArgs e) { WinChartViewer viewer = (WinChartViewer)sender; trackLineLegend((XYChart)viewer.Chart, viewer.PlotAreaMouseX); viewer.updateDisplay(); } // // Draw the track line with legend // private void trackLineLegend(XYChart c, int mouseX) { // Clear the current dynamic layer and get the DrawArea object to draw on it. DrawArea d = c.initDynamicLayer(); // The plot area object PlotArea plotArea = c.getPlotArea(); // Get the data x-value that is nearest to the mouse, and find its pixel coordinate. double xValue = c.getNearestXValue(mouseX); int xCoor = c.getXCoor(xValue); // Draw a vertical track line at the x-position d.vline(plotArea.getTopY(), plotArea.getBottomY(), xCoor, d.dashLineColor(0x000000, 0x0101)); // Container to hold the legend entries ArrayList legendEntries = new ArrayList(); // Iterate through all layers to build the legend array for(int i = 0; i < c.getLayerCount(); ++i) { Layer layer = c.getLayerByZ(i); // The data array index of the x-value int xIndex = layer.getXIndexOf(xValue); // Iterate through all the data sets in the layer for(int j = 0; j < layer.getDataSetCount(); ++j) { ChartDirector.DataSet dataSet = layer.getDataSetByZ(j); // We are only interested in visible data sets with names string dataName = dataSet.getDataName(); int color = dataSet.getDataColor(); if ((!string.IsNullOrEmpty(dataName)) && (color != Chart.Transparent)) { // Build the legend entry, consist of the legend icon, name and data value. double dataValue = dataSet.getValue(xIndex); legendEntries.Add("<*block*>" + dataSet.getLegendIcon() + " " + dataName + ": " + (( dataValue == Chart.NoValue) ? "N/A" : c.formatValue(dataValue, "{value|P4}")) + "<*/*>"); // Draw a track dot for data points within the plot area int yCoor = c.getYCoor(dataSet.getPosition(xIndex), dataSet.getUseYAxis()); if ((yCoor >= plotArea.getTopY()) && (yCoor <= plotArea.getBottomY())) { d.circle(xCoor, yCoor, 4, 4, color, color); } } } } // Create the legend by joining the legend entries legendEntries.Reverse(); string legendText = "<*block,maxWidth=" + plotArea.getWidth() + "*><*block*><*font=Arial Bold*>[" + c.xAxis().getFormattedLabel(xValue, "mmm dd, yyyy") + "]<*/*> " + String.Join( " ", (string[])legendEntries.ToArray(typeof(string))) + "<*/*>"; // Display the legend on the top of the plot area TTFText t = d.text(legendText, "Arial", 8); t.draw(plotArea.getLeftX() + 5, plotArea.getTopY() - 3, 0x000000, Chart.BottomLeft); } } }

[Windows Forms - VB Version] NetWinCharts\VBNetWinCharts\frmtracklegend.vb
Imports ChartDirector Imports System.Collections Public Class FrmTrackLegend Private Sub FrmTrackLegend_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load ' Data for the chart as 3 random data series Dim r As RanSeries = New RanSeries(127) Dim data0() As Double = r.getSeries(100, 100, -15, 15) Dim data1() As Double = r.getSeries(100, 150, -15, 15) Dim data2() As Double = r.getSeries(100, 200, -15, 15) Dim timeStamps() As Date = r.getDateSeries(100, DateSerial(2011, 1, 1), 86400) ' Create a XYChart object of size 640 x 400 pixels Dim c As XYChart = New XYChart(640, 400) ' Add a title to the chart using 18pt Times New Roman Bold Italic font c.addTitle(" Product Line Global Revenue", "Times New Roman Bold Italic", 18) ' Set the plotarea at (50, 55) with width 70 pixels less than chart width, and height 90 pixels less ' than chart height. Use a vertical gradient from light blue (f0f6ff) to sky blue (a0c0ff) as ' background. Set border to transparent and grid lines to white (ffffff). c.setPlotArea(50, 55, c.getWidth() - 70, c.getHeight() - 90, c.linearGradientColor(0, 55, 0, _ c.getHeight() - 35, &Hf0f6ff, &Ha0c0ff), -1, Chart.Transparent, &Hffffff, &Hffffff) ' Set legend icon style to use line style icon, sized for 8pt font c.getLegend().setLineStyleKey() c.getLegend().setFontSize(8) ' Set axis label style to 8pt Arial Bold c.xAxis().setLabelStyle("Arial Bold", 8) c.yAxis().setLabelStyle("Arial Bold", 8) ' Set the axis stem to transparent c.xAxis().setColors(Chart.Transparent) c.yAxis().setColors(Chart.Transparent) ' Configure x-axis label format c.xAxis().setMultiFormat(Chart.StartOfYearFilter(), "{value|mm/yyyy} ", Chart.StartOfMonthFilter(), _ "{value|mm}") ' Add axis title using 10pt Arial Bold Italic font c.yAxis().setTitle("USD millions", "Arial Bold Italic", 10) ' Add a line layer to the chart using a line width of 2 pixels. Dim layer As LineLayer = c.addLineLayer2() layer.setLineWidth(2) ' Add 3 data series to the line layer layer.setXData(timeStamps) layer.addDataSet(data0, &Hff3333, "Alpha") layer.addDataSet(data1, &H008800, "Beta") layer.addDataSet(data2, &H3333cc, "Gamma") ' Include track line with legend for the latest data values trackLineLegend(c, c.getPlotArea().getRightX()) ' Assign the chart to the WinChartViewer winChartViewer1.Chart = c End Sub ' ' Draw track cursor when mouse is moving over plotarea ' Private Sub winChartViewer1_MouseMovePlotArea(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.MouseEventArgs) Handles winChartViewer1.MouseMovePlotArea Dim viewer As WinChartViewer = sender trackLineLegend(viewer.Chart, viewer.PlotAreaMouseX) viewer.updateDisplay() End Sub ' ' Draw the track line with legend ' Private Sub trackLineLegend(c As XYChart, mouseX As Integer) ' Clear the current dynamic layer and get the DrawArea object to draw on it. Dim d As DrawArea = c.initDynamicLayer() ' The plot area object Dim plotArea As PlotArea = c.getPlotArea() ' Get the data x-value that is nearest to the mouse, and find its pixel coordinate. Dim xValue As Double = c.getNearestXValue(mouseX) Dim xCoor As Integer = c.getXCoor(xValue) ' Draw a vertical track line at the x-position d.vline(plotArea.getTopY(), plotArea.getBottomY(), xCoor, d.dashLineColor(&H000000, &H0101)) ' Container to hold the legend entries Dim legendEntries As ArrayList = New ArrayList() ' Iterate through all layers to build the legend array For i As Integer = 0 To c.getLayerCount() - 1 Dim layer As Layer = c.getLayerByZ(i) ' The data array index of the x-value Dim xIndex As Integer = layer.getXIndexOf(xValue) ' Iterate through all the data sets in the layer For j As Integer = 0 To layer.getDataSetCount() - 1 Dim dataSet As ChartDirector.DataSet = layer.getDataSetByZ(j) ' We are only interested in visible data sets with names Dim dataName As String = dataSet.getDataName() Dim color As Integer = dataSet.getDataColor() If (Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(dataName)) AndAlso (color <> Chart.Transparent) Then ' Build the legend entry, consist of the legend icon, name and data value. Dim dataValue As Double = dataSet.getValue(xIndex) legendEntries.Add("<*block*>" & dataSet.getLegendIcon() & " " & dataName & ": " & IIf( _ dataValue = Chart.NoValue, "N/A", c.formatValue(dataValue, "{value|P4}")) & "<*/*>") ' Draw a track dot for data points within the plot area Dim yCoor As Integer = c.getYCoor(dataSet.getPosition(xIndex), dataSet.getUseYAxis()) If (yCoor >= plotArea.getTopY()) AndAlso (yCoor <= plotArea.getBottomY()) Then d.circle(xCoor, yCoor, 4, 4, color, color) End If End If Next Next ' Create the legend by joining the legend entries legendEntries.Reverse() Dim legendText As String = "<*block,maxWidth=" & plotArea.getWidth() & _ "*><*block*><*font=Arial Bold*>[" & c.xAxis().getFormattedLabel(xValue, "mmm dd, yyyy") & _ "]<*/*> " & Join(CType(legendEntries.ToArray(GetType(String)), String()), " ") & _ "<*/*>" ' Display the legend on the top of the plot area Dim t As TTFText = d.text(legendText, "Arial", 8) t.draw(plotArea.getLeftX() + 5, plotArea.getTopY() - 3, &H000000, Chart.BottomLeft) End Sub End Class

[WPF - XAML] NetWPFCharts\CSharpWPFCharts\TrackLegendWindow.xaml
<Window x:Class="CSharpWPFCharts.TrackLegendWindow" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" xmlns:local="clr-namespace:CSharpWPFCharts" mc:Ignorable="d" xmlns:ChartDirector="clr-namespace:ChartDirector;assembly=netchartdir" UseLayoutRounding="True" Title="Track Line with Legend" SizeToContent="WidthAndHeight" ResizeMode="NoResize" Loaded="Window_Loaded"> <Grid> <ChartDirector:WPFChartViewer x:Name="WPFChartViewer1" Margin="5" MouseMovePlotArea="WPFChartViewer1_MouseMovePlotArea" /> </Grid> </Window>

[WPF - C#] NetWPFCharts\CSharpWPFCharts\TrackLegendWindow.xaml.cs
using System; using System.Collections; using System.Windows; using System.Windows.Input; using ChartDirector; namespace CSharpWPFCharts { public partial class TrackLegendWindow : Window { public TrackLegendWindow() { InitializeComponent(); } private void Window_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) { // Data for the chart as 3 random data series RanSeries r = new RanSeries(127); double[] data0 = r.getSeries(100, 100, -15, 15); double[] data1 = r.getSeries(100, 150, -15, 15); double[] data2 = r.getSeries(100, 200, -15, 15); DateTime[] timeStamps = r.getDateSeries(100, new DateTime(2011, 1, 1), 86400); // Create a XYChart object of size 640 x 400 pixels XYChart c = new XYChart(640, 400); // Add a title to the chart using 18pt Times New Roman Bold Italic font c.addTitle(" Product Line Global Revenue", "Times New Roman Bold Italic", 18); // Set the plotarea at (50, 55) with width 70 pixels less than chart width, and height 90 pixels // less than chart height. Use a vertical gradient from light blue (f0f6ff) to sky blue (a0c0ff) // as background. Set border to transparent and grid lines to white (ffffff). c.setPlotArea(50, 55, c.getWidth() - 70, c.getHeight() - 90, c.linearGradientColor(0, 55, 0, c.getHeight() - 35, 0xf0f6ff, 0xa0c0ff), -1, Chart.Transparent, 0xffffff, 0xffffff); // Set legend icon style to use line style icon, sized for 8pt font c.getLegend().setLineStyleKey(); c.getLegend().setFontSize(8); // Set axis label style to 8pt Arial Bold c.xAxis().setLabelStyle("Arial Bold", 8); c.yAxis().setLabelStyle("Arial Bold", 8); // Set the axis stem to transparent c.xAxis().setColors(Chart.Transparent); c.yAxis().setColors(Chart.Transparent); // Configure x-axis label format c.xAxis().setMultiFormat(Chart.StartOfYearFilter(), "{value|mm/yyyy} ", Chart.StartOfMonthFilter( ), "{value|mm}"); // Add axis title using 10pt Arial Bold Italic font c.yAxis().setTitle("USD millions", "Arial Bold Italic", 10); // Add a line layer to the chart using a line width of 2 pixels. LineLayer layer = c.addLineLayer2(); layer.setLineWidth(2); // Add 3 data series to the line layer layer.setXData(timeStamps); layer.addDataSet(data0, 0xff3333, "Alpha"); layer.addDataSet(data1, 0x008800, "Beta"); layer.addDataSet(data2, 0x3333cc, "Gamma"); // Include track line with legend for the latest data values trackLineLegend(c, c.getPlotArea().getRightX()); // Assign the chart to the WPFChartViewer WPFChartViewer1.Chart = c; } // // Draw track cursor when mouse is moving over plotarea // private void WPFChartViewer1_MouseMovePlotArea(object sender, MouseEventArgs e) { WPFChartViewer viewer = (WPFChartViewer)sender; trackLineLegend((XYChart)viewer.Chart, viewer.PlotAreaMouseX); viewer.updateDisplay(); } // // Draw the track line with legend // private void trackLineLegend(XYChart c, int mouseX) { // Clear the current dynamic layer and get the DrawArea object to draw on it. DrawArea d = c.initDynamicLayer(); // The plot area object PlotArea plotArea = c.getPlotArea(); // Get the data x-value that is nearest to the mouse, and find its pixel coordinate. double xValue = c.getNearestXValue(mouseX); int xCoor = c.getXCoor(xValue); // Draw a vertical track line at the x-position d.vline(plotArea.getTopY(), plotArea.getBottomY(), xCoor, d.dashLineColor(0x000000, 0x0101)); // Container to hold the legend entries ArrayList legendEntries = new ArrayList(); // Iterate through all layers to build the legend array for(int i = 0; i < c.getLayerCount(); ++i) { Layer layer = c.getLayerByZ(i); // The data array index of the x-value int xIndex = layer.getXIndexOf(xValue); // Iterate through all the data sets in the layer for(int j = 0; j < layer.getDataSetCount(); ++j) { ChartDirector.DataSet dataSet = layer.getDataSetByZ(j); // We are only interested in visible data sets with names string dataName = dataSet.getDataName(); int color = dataSet.getDataColor(); if ((!string.IsNullOrEmpty(dataName)) && (color != Chart.Transparent)) { // Build the legend entry, consist of the legend icon, name and data value. double dataValue = dataSet.getValue(xIndex); legendEntries.Add("<*block*>" + dataSet.getLegendIcon() + " " + dataName + ": " + (( dataValue == Chart.NoValue) ? "N/A" : c.formatValue(dataValue, "{value|P4}")) + "<*/*>"); // Draw a track dot for data points within the plot area int yCoor = c.getYCoor(dataSet.getPosition(xIndex), dataSet.getUseYAxis()); if ((yCoor >= plotArea.getTopY()) && (yCoor <= plotArea.getBottomY())) { d.circle(xCoor, yCoor, 4, 4, color, color); } } } } // Create the legend by joining the legend entries legendEntries.Reverse(); string legendText = "<*block,maxWidth=" + plotArea.getWidth() + "*><*block*><*font=Arial Bold*>[" + c.xAxis().getFormattedLabel(xValue, "mmm dd, yyyy") + "]<*/*> " + String.Join( " ", (string[])legendEntries.ToArray(typeof(string))) + "<*/*>"; // Display the legend on the top of the plot area TTFText t = d.text(legendText, "Arial", 8); t.draw(plotArea.getLeftX() + 5, plotArea.getTopY() - 3, 0x000000, Chart.BottomLeft); } } }