Essential Chart for WPF is designed from the ground up for the WPF platform, taking advantage of all the advancements that the platform has to offer like rich graphics, styling, animation, and data binding. The only thing that we carried over from our industry-leading Windows Forms chart was the eight years of experience building the best charting library for the Windows Forms platform.
Multiple Charts Created with Essential Chart for WPF
Essential Chart provides complete support for UI automation. If you are using HP’s QTP (Quick Test Professional) testing tools, Essential Chart offers an add-in that has very extensive APIs for testing all features of a chart, including user interaction features like zoom, scroll, pan, interactive cursors, and context menus.
A simple area chart shades the area under a curve formed by the data points in a series. Multiple series result in overlapped areas. This chart type is used to display the trends of values over time or categories.
Simple Area Chart
A spline area chart is an area chart with a smooth spline curve connecting the data points.
Spline Area Chart
Stacked area charts are area charts with y-coordinate values stacked over one another in order of series. Chart data can be viewed as a sum of series parts in this chart type.
Stacked Area Chart
3–D Stacked Area Chart
Range area charts take in 2 Y values and plot an area that spans between these 2 Y values in a set of points.
Range Area Chart
Range column charts take in 2 Y values and plot columns that span between these 2 Y values in a set of points.
Range Column Chart
3–D Range Column Chart
Step area charts are similar to regular area charts where, instead of a straight line tracing the shortest path between points, the values are connected by continuous vertical and horizontal lines that form a step-like progression.
Step Area Chart
3–D Step Area Chart
A bar chart is the simplest and most versatile of all statistical diagrams. It compares values across categories and is ideal to highlight variations in an item value over time using horizontal bars. Points from adjacent series are drawn as bars next to each other.
Simple Bar Chart
3–D Bar Chart
Stacked bar charts are bar charts with y-coordinate values stacked over one another in order of series. Chart data can be viewed as the sum of series parts when using the stacked bar chart.
Stacked Bar Chart
In a 100% stacked bar chart, the cumulative proportion of each stacked element always totals 100%. This type of chart is great to visualize the relative contribution of each series values to the whole.
100% Stacked Bar Chart
Frequently used in project management, a Gantt chart provides a graphical illustration of a schedule to help plan, coordinate, and track specific tasks of a project.
Provides a graphical representation of the duration of the task against the progression of time. Each task takes up one row. The expected time requirement for each task is represented by a horizontal bar whose left and right ends mark the beginning and completion date of the task. Another bar, usually rendered behind the previously mentioned bar, is used to represent the progression of the task. Tasks may run in a sequential, parallel, or overlapped fashions.
Gantt Chart
A histogram is a bar (column) chart of a frequency distribution in which the width of a bar is proportional to the variable class and the height of a bar is proportional to the class frequency. The categories (bars) are generally non-overlapping intervals of the variable, and must be continuous. In addition, the chart has the capability to display a normal distribution curve.
Histogram Chart
A tornado chart is a bar chart that shows the variability of an output with respect to different inputs. Variability is displayed using relative lengths of bars across a range. It is mainly used in sensitivity analysis and shows how different random factors can influence the prognostic outcome of a variable.
Tornado Chart
Column charts are the most commonly used charts, where the data points are displayed by vertical bars. It is similar to a bar chart, except that the bars are vertical and not horizontal.
Used for comparing the frequency, count, total, or average of data in different categories.Ideal for displaying variations in the value of an item over time.Points from adjacent series are drawn as bars next to each other.Error bars are supported to indicate a degree of uncertainty in the plotted data through a bar indicating a range. Plenty of symbol options are available to be rendered on error bars.
Column Chart
Data points from different series are rendered one over the other in the stacked column chart. They are very useful for indicating the cumulative effect of multiple series values.
Stacked Column Chart
100% Stacked Column Chart
In a 100% stacked column chart, the cumulative proportion of each stacked element always totals 100%. This type of chart is great to visualize the relative contribution of each series value to the whole.
100% Stacked Column Chart
Line charts refer to charts where the data points on a plot are joined using straight or curved 2–D or 3–D lines. These charts are ideal to represent time-dependent data that show trends in data at equal intervals.
Error bars, which are used to indicate a level of uncertainty in the points that are plotted, can also be included.
Line Chart
A spline chart is a line chart with a smooth line connecting the data points.
Spline Chart
Step line charts use horizontal and vertical lines to connect data points, resulting in a step-like progression.
Step Line Chart
A rotated spline chart is a spline chart rotated 90 degrees. It is useful for visualizing how far data points deviate from a median value.
Rotated Spline Chart
Pie and doughnut charts are ideal for displaying percentages in a fractional format of proportionate values.
Plots y values in one series as fractional parts of a circle.The data point value determines the portion of the pie that is taken up by the point.Displays only one data series at a time.Can be used to display only nominal (categorical, qualitative) data.Each data item in a chart has a unique color or pattern and is represented in the chart legend.Supports bevel, round, inside, outside, and custom chart types.
Pie Chart
Doughnut Chart
Accumulation charts are typically single-series charts that represent data in percentages and do not utilize axes.
A funnel chart is a type of accumulation chart in which the height of the funnel segment corresponds to the y-coordinate value of a point in a series.
Funnel charts are often used to represent stages in a sales process and display the potential revenue for each stage. Alternatively, the y-coordinate value can also be made to correspond
to the width of the segment.
Funnel Chart with a Circular Base
A pyramid chart is another type of accumulation chart that is triangular in shape. Similar to a funnel chart, the height of a segment is proportional to the y-coordinate value of the corresponding point.
Pyramid Chart
A radar chart is a clock-face form of a line chart.
Ability to compare the aggregate values of a data series.Represents each data series as a line around a central point.Provides a graphical display of the difference between actual and ideal performance.Useful for defining performance, and identifying strengths and weaknesses.
Radar Chart
A polar chart is a circular graph in which data is displayed in terms of values and angles.
An option is provided to perform a visual comparison between several quantitative or qualitative aspects.When charts are drawn for several situations using the same axes (poles), a visual comparison between the situations can be made.The x-coordinate value of a data point is used to set the angle.The y-coordinate value defines the distance from the center of the graph.
Polar Chart
A candle chart displays stock information using the high, low, open, and close values. The high and low values are represented by the wick of a candle. The candle represents open and close values.
Candle Chart
High-low charts are special kinds of charts normally used in stock analysis. They are typically used to display error bars or the trading range of a stock for each period.
High-Low Chart
A high-low area chart is a variation of the high-low chart that allows you to visualize transitions fo data values over a time period.
High-Low Area Chart
High-Low-Open-Close Charts
A high-low-open-close chart is a special kind of chart that is normally used in stock analysis. This chart type expects four y values for every point in the series. Those values should represent the high, low, open, and close values of the stock, in that order, for that period.
High-Low-Open-Close Chart
Kagi charts contain a series of connecting vertical lines where the thickness and direction of those lines depend on price.
Kagi Chart
A point and figure chart is used to identify support levels, resistance levels, and chart patterns.
Point and Figure Chart
In Renko charts, a brick is drawn in the direction of the prior move only if prices move by a minimum amount. If prices change by the determined amount or more, a new brick is drawn. If prices change by less than the determined amount, the new price is ignored.
Renko Chart
A three line break chart is similar in concept to point and figure charts. The three line break charting method is so-named because of the number of lines typically used.
Three Line Break Chart
The box and whisker chart is used to summarize the median, upper and lower quartile, and the minimum and maximum data values.
Box and Whisker Chart
Essential Chart for WPF is ideal for creating financial chart types with built-in support for technical indicators.
Technical indicators are values calculated from price and volume information displayed as line charts below or on top of price charts. They are used to improve the data analysis capabilities of a chart with regard to information on pricing, volume, and other metrics used in business calculations. Essential Chart supports ten types of indicators,
including Bollinger bands, stochastic average, exponential average, and moving average.
Bollinger bandsMoving averagesExponential averagesStochastic averageRelative strengthAccumulation distributionMACD
Technical Indicators
Statistical formulas and utility functions, such as average, mean, standard deviation, variance, and covariance, are now supported in Essential Chart for WPF.
Statistical Test
Utility Functions - Normal Distribution
Built-in palettes allow you to pick a set of colors you want to use for data points. Or even use custom palettes.
Data Points rendered using a custom color palette
All series data point UI elements are customizable by providing a custom template.
Scatter Chart with Templatized Data Points
Empty Points Displayed with a Different Color
Even use animations in your custom templates—ideal for creating presentation-type apps.
A "Custom" series type lets you even define your own custom look for an entire series.
Custom Chart Type Used to Implement a High-Low Area Chart
There are several built-in customization options available to customize the series, legend, labels, axes, data points, context menu, tick marks, gridlines, and chart area.
Legend Customization Options
Further customization is also possible by creating custom templates for chart elements using Microsoft Expression Blend. The customization possibilities are endless using this approach.
Custom Template Applied to a Chart
Essential Chart for WPF provides numerous built-in interactivity features like a run-time customization wizard, zooming, panning, toolbars, ToolTips, and interactive cursors to greatly enhance the data visualization experience for end users.
Interactivity Options
Selectable Data Points
Highlight Series on Mouse Hover
Interactive cursors let you mark a line in the chart to indicate a threshold level. Hide the vertical cursor while showing the horizontal cursor, or vice versa. The interactive cursor can be set to follow the mouse pointer as it moves across the chart area.
Interactive Cursors
Interactively select a region in the chart and get hold of the points that intersect with that region.
Region Selection
You can also drag and drop a series from one chart area to another to allow for end-user configurable comparative analysis.
Series Drag and Drop
Essential Chart's run-time customization dialog is similar to Microsoft Excel, and makes the data visualization experience richer.
Run-Time Customization Dialog
The built-in toolbar is great for allowing end users to customize the look and feel of the chart during run time.
Built-in Toolbar
There are numerous ways to customize the x-axis.
Range Calculation: Allow the chart to determine the appropriate range for the given values or specify a custom range.
Custom Intervals: Allows you to define the number of intervals or even the distance between the intervals whether you are plotting numeric or date-time values.
Label Customization: Let the chart show the x values as labels, bind to some other property in the source, or even manually specify custom labels.
Handling Intersecting Labels: Where there is not enough space to render label text, the chart will automatically lay it down in different modes.Multiple Rows:
Sunday.....Tuesday......Thursday
.........Monday.....WednesdayPartially Hide Labels:
Sun....Mon...Tue...Wed...ThuOr choose to rotate the label text by 90 degrees.Tick Support: Large as well as small ticks are supported.
The labels in a chart can also be assigned a prefix or a postfix to indicate units of measurement, etc.
Post Fix in Chart Labels
Plot multiple series of data against multiple y-axes. X-axis sharing is optional.
Multiple Y-Axes with a Shared X-Axis
There is also support for multiple areas with a single chart. Use this to create a dashboard-like UI for executive presentations.
Multiple Chart Areas
Different chart areas are normally placed inside a grid. However, you can use any Panel-derived container like a DockPanel, for example.
Multiple Chart Areas Contained in a DockPanel
Export the chart to a wide variety of formats like .bmp, .jpg, .png, .gif, .tiff, .wdp, and .xps. Use this feautre along with our Excel, Word, or PDF I/O libraries and you will be able to insert chart images into these popular file formats as well.
Chart Exported to PDF
Chart Exported to PDF
Print a Selected Region
Technical indicators are values calculated from price and volume information displayed as line charts below or on top of price charts. They are used to improve the data analysis capabilities of a chart with regard to information on pricing, volume, and other metrics used in business calculations. Essential Chart supports ten types of indicators,
including Bollinger bands, stochastic average, exponential average, and moving average.
Bollinger bandsMoving averagesExponential averagesStochasticRelative strengthAccumulation distributionMACD
Technical Indicators
