How to create Excel scatter chart in C#, VB.NET?

6 mins read

This article explains how to create a scatter chart in Excel using Syncfusion® Excel (XlsIO) library.

What is a scatter chart?

A scatter chart is used to compare at least two sets of values or pairs of data. The plotted values are represented with a marker point.

Create Scatter Chart in Excel

Scatter Chart

To create a scatter chart in Excel using XlsIO, you need to do the following steps.

Steps to create a scatter chart:

Step 1: Initialize chart

Create a chart object by calling the worksheet.Charts.Add method and specify the chart type to the ExcelChartType.Scatter_Markers enum value.

            // Create the chart
            IChartShape chart = worksheet.Charts.Add();
 
            // Set chart type to Scatter_Markers
            chart.ChartType = ExcelChartType.Scatter_Markers;

Step 2: Assign data

Set a range of data from the worksheet to the chart’s DataRange property. To plot the series values in columns and categories in rows, set the chart’s IsSeriesInRows property to false.

            // Set region of Chart data
            chart.DataRange = worksheet["A3:B7"];
 
            // Set chart series in columns for assigned data region
            chart.IsSeriesInRows = false;

Step 3: Apply basic chart elements

Add the basic elements like the chart title, data labels and legend.

ChartTitle of the chart object.
Set DataLabels via DefaultDataPoint.
Set TRUE to the chart’s HasLegend property to show the legend. Else FALSE.

              // Apply chart elements
              // Set Chart Title
              chart.ChartTitle = "Scatter Chart";
 
              // Set Legend
              chart.HasLegend = false;
              
              // Set DataLabels
              IChartSerie serie = chart.Series[0];
              serie.DataPoints.DefaultDataPoint.DataLabels.IsValue = true;
              serie.DataPoints.DefaultDataPoint.DataLabels.IsCategoryName = true;

Applicable properties for scatter charts

Below is the list of properties that are used for scatter charts:

MarkerBackgroundColor (or) MarkerBackgroundColorIndex
MarkerForegroundColor (or) MarkerForegroundColorIndex
MarkerSize
MarkerStyle
IsAutoMarker
IsVaryColor
Note:
Applying properties apart from the mentioned properties might throw an exception or the changes will not be reflected in the output document because those properties are not related to scatter charts.

Download Complete Sample

Download input file with data

To know more about creating charts with various settings using Syncfusion® Excel (XlsIO) library, please refer to the documentation.

The following C#/VB.NET complete code snippet shows the creation of scatter chart using XlsIO.

using Syncfusion.XlsIO;
using System.Reflection;
using System.IO;
 
namespace ChartSample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            using (ExcelEngine excelEngine = new ExcelEngine())
            {
                IApplication application = excelEngine.Excel;
                application.DefaultVersion = ExcelVersion.Excel2016;
 
                // Open existing workbook with data entered
                Assembly assembly = typeof(Program).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
                Stream fileStream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("ChartSample.InputTemplate.xlsx");
                IWorkbook workbook = application.Workbooks.Open(fileStream);
                IWorksheet worksheet = workbook.Worksheets[0];
 
                // Initialize chart
                IChartShape chart = worksheet.Charts.Add();
                chart.ChartType = ExcelChartType.Scatter_Markers;
 
                // Assign data
                chart.DataRange = worksheet["A3:B7"];
                chart.IsSeriesInRows = false;
 
                // Apply chart elements
                // Set Chart Title
                chart.ChartTitle = "Scatter Chart";
 
                // Set Legend
                chart.HasLegend = false;
 
                // Set DataLabels
                IChartSerie serie = chart.Series[0];
                serie1.DataPoints.DefaultDataPoint.DataLabels.IsValue = true; 
                serie1.DataPoints.DefaultDataPoint.DataLabels.IsCategoryName = true;
 
                // Positioning the chart in the worksheet
                chart.TopRow = 8;
                chart.LeftColumn = 1;
                chart.BottomRow = 23;
                chart.RightColumn = 8;
 
                // Saving and closing the workbook
                Stream stream = File.Create("Output.xlsx");
                workbook.SaveAs(stream);
            }
        }
    }
}

VB.NET

Imports Syncfusion.XlsIO
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.IO
 
Namespace ChartSample
 
    Class Program
 
        Public Shared Sub Main(ByVal args As String())
            Using excelEngine As ExcelEngine = New ExcelEngine()
                Dim application As IApplication = excelEngine.Excel
                application.DefaultVersion = ExcelVersion.Excel2016
 
 
                'Open existing workbook with data entered
                Dim assembly As Assembly = GetType(Program).GetTypeInfo().Assembly
                Dim fileStream As Stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("ChartSample.InputTemplate.xlsx")
                Dim workbook As IWorkbook = application.Workbooks.Open(fileStream)
                Dim worksheet As IWorksheet = workbook.Worksheets(0)
 
                'Initialize chart
                Dim chart As IChartShape = worksheet.Charts.Add()
                chart.ChartType = ExcelChartType.Scatter_Markers
 
                'Assign data
                chart.DataRange = worksheet("A3:B7")
                chart.IsSeriesInRows = False
 
                'Apply chart elements
                'Set Chart Title
                chart.ChartTitle = "Scatter Chart"
 
                'Set Legend
                chart.HasLegend = False
 
                'Set Datalabels
                IChartSerie serie = chart.Series[0]
                serie.DataPoints.DefaultDataPoint.DataLabels.IsValue = True
                serie.DataPoints.DefaultDataPoint.DataLabels.IsCategoryName = True
 
                'Positioning chart in the worksheet
                chart.TopRow = 8
                chart.LeftColumn = 1
                chart.BottomRow = 23
                chart.RightColumn = 8
 
                'Saving and closing the workbook
                Dim stream As Stream = File.Create("Output.xlsx")
                workbook.SaveAs(stream)
            End Using
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

Take a moment to peruse the documentation where you can find basic Excel document processing options along with the features like import and export data, chart, formulas, conditional formatting, data validation, tables, pivot tables and, protect the Excel documents, and most importantly, the PDF, CSV and Image conversions with code examples.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed learning about How to create Excel scatter chart in C#, VB.NET.

You can refer to our XIsIO’s feature tour page to learn about its other groundbreaking features. Explore our UG documentation and online demos to understand how to manipulate data in Excel documents.

If you are an existing user, you can access our latest components from the License and Downloads page. For new users, you can try our 30-day free trial to check out XlsIO and other Syncfusion® components.

If you have any queries or require clarification, please let us know in the comments below or contact us through our support forums, Support Tickets, or feedback portal. We are always happy to assist you!

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