Xcelsius Journal

Overview

Every so often it becomes important to make a software application do something it wasn't designed to do. In this article I show how to construct a variable width chart using an Area Chart component along with specifically designed elements in a spreadsheet.

You may recall that visual components like a Column Chart have a fixed width (see Figure 1). While you can adjust the bar width (click the Series button in the Appearance tab of the Properties Panel), all the columns in the chart are set to the same width.

Figure 1: Columns that are fixed width and textured

A clever trick that can be done in Excel is to eliminate the gap between bars or columns, so it gives the illusion that the bar or column of a given height is wider. In Xcelsius the bars have a pseudo 3D look to them, so when you eliminate the gaps between adjacent bars with identical height, they do not appear as a contiguous block (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Boundaries and textures are apparent even when gaps are eliminated

The idea of juxtaposing columns is a good one, but a column chart isn't the right component for the job. An Area Chart component better serves the purpose. You have solid colors and don't have to contend with boundaries or borders with Area Charts.