Where a pie chart shows one total split into slices, a bar chart compares values side by side, one bar per category, and a line chart plots one or more series across shared categories, so it suits trends over time. Both are ordinary canvas elements: they drop in with sample data and take their colours from the active theme.
Adding one
In Illustrate, open the Data category on the palette strip. In Diagram mode, use the search panel instead: type "bar chart" or "line chart".
Pick Bar or Line, then tap the canvas to drop it, or drag to draw it at a size. It lands with sample data so it looks finished straight away.
Editing a bar chart
A bar chart holds one value per bar, the same way a pie chart holds one per slice. Right-click it, open Tools, then Data: each row is a bar, with a swatch for its colour, a label and a value. Edit them in place, remove a bar with ×, or add one with + Add Slice. The chart redraws as you type.
Editing a line chart
A line chart's data is a grid, too wide for the menu, so its Tools then Data section lists the series and offers Edit Data. That opens the Chart data dialog:
- Edit the grid directly: a row per category, a column per series. Add a series with the + at the end of the header row, add a category with + Add row, and remove either with its × (a chart always keeps at least one of each).
- Import CSV loads a file: the header row is the series names and the first column is the categories, so you can save a sheet from a spreadsheet and load it straight in. Importing replaces what the grid held.
Changes apply as you make them; Done closes the dialog.
Display and colours
Both charts share the pie chart's display options: in Tools, Chart places the legend (Off, Top, Left, Right or Below, the default) and sets its Text Size, and the Animation section offers Grow, Pop, Spin and Pulse. Hovering a bar or a point shows its label and value.
Colours default to variants of the theme, so a multi-series chart stays legible and on-brand. To recolour the whole chart at once, open Style and pick a palette from its Presets: Vivid, Ocean, Forest, Sunset, Berry, Earth, Grey or Contrast. A colour you set on one bar by hand wins over the palette. Animations freeze on export, so a still image looks right.
For a single percentage rather than a series, a progress bar or ring reads more clearly than a one-bar chart.
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