The Microsoft Office Chart Component lets you create a chart in a design program for run-time access in a Web browser or other run-time environment. Microsoft Excel, Microsoft FrontPage, and Microsoft Access are design programs that you can use to create and modify charts.

The run-time features discussed in this topic are available to users who have the Microsoft Office Web Components installed. They can do this by installing Microsoft Office XP or, if their company has an Office XP site license, by downloading the Office Web Components from their corporate intranet. Users should also have a Web browser that fully supports interactive charts, such as Internet Explorer 5 or later. If you plan to create charts for use in a program other than a Web browser, such as a Microsoft Visual Basic form to be viewed as part of a custom solution, see Help for your design program to find out how your users can access and interact with the chart.

In the browser at run time, users whose systems meet the necessary requirements can view the chart you've created. They can see the chart automatically update as changes are made to the data reflected in the chart, as well as interact with the chart to the level you allow. For instance, if you create a chart that uses stock prices, and the data is updated to reflect the most recent price, users will see the chart change to reflect the new price. If you allow the chart toolbar to be shown, users can also change the chart type, change some formatting, and — depending on the data type — show, hide, or rearrange data in the chart.

Changing the data reflected in a chart   Users can change the data reflected in a chart, depending on the type of source data and level of access you give them. For instance, you can provide a spreadsheet and corresponding chart on a Web page and allow users to change some but not all of the data in the spreadsheet. When the user changes the data in the spreadsheet, the chart is updated. Or, if your chart is based on a PivotTable list or a database table or query, and you display fields in the chart, users can  move, rearrange, filter, and sort the fields directly in the chart.

Changing the chart   You can give users access to the chart toolbar or the Commands and Options dialog box, allowing them to make many of the same changes that you can make in the design program. For example, users could change the chart type or any type of formatting in the chart. Alternatively, you can disable use of the Commands and Options dialog box or toolbar, and instead write scripts to allow only changes that you choose. Learn about getting help for programming a chart.

How the browser version affects what users can do   To interact with a chart means that you can change the chart's source data and see the chart update. To interact with a chart, users need Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.01 or later. It's recommended that users install Internet Explorer 5 or later, which comes with Microsoft Office XP, to take full advantage of the interactive capabilities of the chart and its source data.

Help for the user in the browser   Browser users have access to a run-time version of chart Help, which includes topics about default run-time capabilities such as changing the chart type, hiding or showing the legend, sorting, filtering, and moving fields. The run-time version of Help does not include information on using the Commands and Options dialog box. If you modify the capabilities allowed at run time, you should provide assistance or instructions on the Web page.

Users also have access to system Help topics in the browser, and any Help content that's provided with the data source for the chart. For example, if a chart uses data from a PivotTable list, users can view the PivotTable Component Help to learn how to change the data in the PivotTable list.