XL97: How to Use the ApplyCustomType Method to Format Charts (167279)

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Syntax

In Microsoft Excel 97, the ApplyCustomType method uses the following syntax

<Expression>.ApplyCustomType(<ChartType>,<TypeName>)

where the arguments are as follows:

<Expression> is a Chart or Series object.
<ChartType> is a standard chart type, as listed in the Help topic for the ChartType property, or one of the following three constants:
xlBuiltIn
xlUserDefined
xlAnyGallery
<TypeName> is the name of the custom chart type you want to apply to the chart. Use this argument only when <ChartType> is one of the three constants listed for <ChartType>, and when <Expression> refers to a Chart object (not a Series object).

The xlBuiltIn, xlUserDefined, and xlAnyGallery Constants

For ChartType, you can use the xlBuiltIn, xlUserDefined, and xlAnyGallery constants to determine the source of custom chart formats that the ApplyCustomType method will use. The sources that are used by each constant are listed in the following table.

   Constant        Source
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------
   xlBuiltIn       Uses custom chart formats in Xl8galry.xls. These
                   formats are included with Microsoft Excel 97.

   xlUserDefined   Uses custom chart formats in Xlusrgal.xls. You create
                   these formats.

   xlAnyGallery    Uses custom chart formats in Xlusrgal.xls or
                   Xl8galry.xls.

To view the custom chart formats that are available in Xl8galry.xls and Xlusrgal.xls files, follow these steps:

In Microsoft Excel 97, click a chart to select it.
On the Chart menu, click Chart Type. Then, click the Custom Types tab.
Under Select From, click the type of custom chart formats you want to view (User-defined or Built-in).

The names in the Chart Type list are TypeName arguments for the ApplyCustomType method. For example, if you want to format the chart as a "Floating Bars" chart, use the following line of code:

   Charts(1).ApplyCustomType xlBuiltIn, "Floating Bars"

Because "Floating Bars" is a built-in custom chart format, use the xlBuiltIn constant. In most cases, you can also use the xlAnyGallery constant.

NOTE: If you specify an invalid TypeName argument, you receive the following error message:

Run-time error '1004':
Application-defined or object-defined error

If you use the xlAnyGallery constant, Microsoft Excel 97 first look for the specified TypeName in Xlusrgal.xls. If the TypeName is not found, Microsoft Excel 97 then looks in Xl8galry.xls. If the TypeName is not found, you receive the previous error message.

Examples

Changing to a 3-D Line Chart Type

To change the active chart to a 3-D line chart, use the following line of code:

   ActiveChart.ApplyCustomType xl3DLine

Changing to a User-Defined Chart Type

To change the first chart in the workbook to a user-defined chart type called "Rainbow Columns" use either of the following lines of code:

   Charts(1).ApplyCustomType xlUserDefined, "Rainbow Columns"

-or-

   Charts(1).ApplyCustomType xlAnyGallery, "Rainbow Columns"

Changing to a Built-in Chart Type

To change the second chart in the workbook to a built-in chart type called "Outdoor Bars," use the following line of code:

   Charts(2).ApplyCustomType xlBuiltIn, "Outdoor Bars"

Note that you can also use the following line of code:

   Charts(2).ApplyCustomType xlAnyGallery, "Outdoor Bars"

However, this code does not achieve the same results if a user-defined chart type called "Outdoor Bars" also exists.