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Modern Chart Improvements

Updated: Jan 22

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Last Updated 22 Jan 2025


As mentioned in the article, Current Feature Work: Monaco Editor + Modern Chart Improvements (accessforever.org), two significant new Access features were released in the Autumn of 2024. This article describes the Modern Chart Improvements feature rolled out to current channel users in version 2409 build 18025.20104 released on 25 September. There have been a significant number of further improvements in later versions.


The Modern Chart Improvements include:


1.   11 new chart types

Area / Radar / Arc / Box and Whisker / Bubble / Doughnut / Funnel / Scatter / Waterfall / Word Cloud

Pareto charts also added in version 2412.

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2.   Additional features with new and existing charts


  • gridlines in column / bar / line / area / combo / radar / box & whisker / bubble / pareto / scatter and waterfall charts

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  • number or percentage data labels in pie / arc / doughnut charts

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  • a new Chart Settings Format task pane whose features depend on the chart type in use. For example:

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All changes are based on a common charting framework called Ivy which has been integrated into the Access application. This will make it easier to continue adding other chart types in the future.


The Microsoft documentation has just been updated with details of the modern chart improvements. The official documentation for the Access Chart Object is still being updated.


Known Issues (Mostly Now Fixed)


The following issues were reported to the Access team and have since mostly been fixed:


  • Gridlines were very faint in the initial release to Current Channel. These were changed to the darker grey color shown above in version 2409 build 18025.20140 update released on 8th October. A further update in version 2412 allows users to choose the gridline colors.

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  • At first chart data could not be sorted. Funnel charts did not display correctly.

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    Sorting (ascending/descending) was added to most chart types in version 2412.


  • Bubble charts are currently 2-D only with the bubble size based on the Y-axis value rather than a third variable. This is under review.

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  • VBA support was not available for all the new chart types and features on first release.

    This has now been added in the Beta Channel version 2502 build 18514.20000 released on 17 Jan 2025. It will be rolled out to the Current Channel in early March


  • Word Cloud charts did not appear in print preview or when printed. This was fixed in Beta Channel version 2502 build 18514.20000.


NOTE: The changes are only being implemented in Access 365.

a) For users running Access 2016/2019/2021/2024, any new chart types used revert to the default Combo chart type.

b)  Users running Access 2013 or earlier cannot see any modern charts. The application will still run, but there will be an empty space where the modern chart is located.


For further details of the new chart types and the additional functionality with existing chart types, see Colin Riddington’s article: NEW - Modern Chart Improvements (isladogs.co.uk)


Video


Fellow MVP, Maria Barnes, recently gave a presentation on Modern Chart Improvements to the Access Lunchtime chapter of AccessUserGroups.org. The video is available on the Access Lunchtime YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/7RYQutxuhRc



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