Learn how to create your first chart with Datylon for Illustrator
Watch this short video to learn how to get started with Datylon for Illustrator. Create and style your first Datylon chart.
- Open Illustrator and create a new document or select an existing file in which you want to place one or more Datylon charts.
- Click on the Datylon Icon in the basic toolbar and drag a box on the Artboard. If you don't see the Datylon icon in the basic toolbar, add it from the list by clicking the 3 dots at the bottom of the basic toolbar. See more details here.
- The position and the size of the box will determine the position and size of the chart. This can be changed by using the handles or numerically set in the Illustrator Properties Panel. Make sure your chart area is large enough to fit your chart.
- A dummy chart will be created within the box.
- Click on Select Chart in the chart properties pane and scroll through the different chart types to find the chart of choice.
- Select one of the defaults available on the right. For more details on specific chart types see other articles in the Help Center.
- Adding data is done by changing the dummy data. There are 3 options:
- Type new data straight into the datasheet
- Copy new data in the datasheet from a text editor or spreadsheet
- Import a xls, xslx or csv file, by clicking Manage data > +Add > Import file
- Sometimes the data is not formatted correctly to be visualized. Either you re-format the data in the original spreadsheet, or after import in the Datylon panel under the formatting tab. For more information on formatting, see the article How to format incoming data?.
- In the Binding tab, the properties under Dataset relate to the basic formatting of the data. Under Series, you can bind the correct columns or rows with the appropriate data-driven properties for this particular chart. This means that the properties will change according to the data in the selected column or row. For some charts, extra Series can be added or also removed. A bit more on binding data here, and binding colors & properties here.
- In the Styling tab, you can find a whole range of properties grouped into sections. These properties are used to change the appearance of your chart. The sections can be expanded or collapsed by clicking the arrow on the right. You can click on the eye icon to switch sections on or off. Style properties depend on the chosen chart type and are covered in other articles in more detail.
- Save your work as a native Illustrator file (.ai). Note that when saved as .ai file or exported to our web app Datylon Report Studio, the data is preserved and stored within the Datylon object. All data will be lost however when saving or exporting to any other file format.
See also more videos on specific charts.