Siticone Advanced Line Chart

The SiticoneAdvancedLineChart is a high-performance, multi-series visualization control designed for WinForms. It features smooth Bézier curves, gradient fills, interactive zooming/panning, and advanced tooltips to render complex data sets beautifully and efficiently.

Data Binding

Properties and methods for connecting data sources to the chart.

Property / Method	Type	Description & Usage Example
`DataSource`	object	chart.DataSource = myDataSet; The primary data source. Supports `DataTable`, `DataSet`, `DataView`, and `IEnumerable`.
`BindToDataTable()`	void	chart.BindToDataTable(dt, "DateCol", new[]{"Val1", "Val2"}); Manually binds a DataTable using specific column names for X and multiple Y series.
`BindStringDataTable()`	void	chart.BindStringDataTable(dt, "Date", "Value", "Category"); Binds data where series are defined by string values in a column (e.g., pivoting "Category" column into multiple lines).
`DataBind()`	void	chart.DataBind(); Explicitly forces the chart to process the assigned `DataSource` and render the series.

Appearance & Styling

Customize the visual presentation of the plot area, lines, and gradients.

Property	Type	Description & Usage Example
`DefaultUseCurvedLines`	bool	chart.DefaultUseCurvedLines = true; If true, renders series using smooth Bézier curves instead of straight lines by default.
`DefaultLineStyle`	SiticoneLineChartLineStyle	chart.DefaultLineStyle = SiticoneLineChartLineStyle.Dash; Sets the default dash pattern (Solid, Dash, Dot, etc.) for new series.
`UseGradientBackground`	bool	chart.UseGradientBackground = true; Enables a gradient fill for the main control background.
`PlotAreaBackColor`	Color	chart.PlotAreaBackColor = Color.WhiteSmoke; The background color specific to the data plotting area.
`RoundedCorners`	bool	chart.RoundedCorners = true; Applies rounded edges to the plot area and legend box.
`ShadowDepth`	float	chart.ShadowDepth = 3f; Adds a drop shadow behind the plot area for depth. Set to 0 to disable.

Axis Configuration

Manage the behavior and styling of the X and Y axes via the XAxis and YAxis properties.

Property	Type	Description & Usage Example
`AutoScaleAxes`	bool	chart.AutoScaleAxes = true; Automatically calculates Minimum and Maximum values for axes based on the data points.
`XAxis.Title`	string	chart.XAxis.Title = "Time (Months)"; The text label displayed below the X-Axis.
`YAxis.ShowGrid`	bool	chart.YAxis.ShowGrid = true; Toggles the horizontal grid lines originating from the Y-axis.
`XAxis.IsDateTimeAxis`	bool	chart.XAxis.IsDateTimeAxis = true; Treats X values as OLE Automation Dates and formats labels as dates.

Interaction & Tooltips

Features that allow users to explore the data dynamically.

Property	Type	Description & Usage Example
`EnableZooming`	bool	chart.EnableZooming = true; Allows users to programmatically zoom into specific data ranges via `ZoomTo()`.
`EnablePointHighlight`	bool	chart.EnablePointHighlight = true; Draws a circle marker over the data point closest to the mouse cursor.
`ShowAdvancedToolTip`	bool	chart.ShowAdvancedToolTip = true; Displays a rich tooltip containing values for all series at the specific X-coordinate hovered.
`ToolTipFormat`	string	chart.ToolTipFormat = "{0}: {2}"; Format string for standard tooltips. {0}=Series, {1}=X, {2}=Y, {3}=Label.

Methods

AddSeries()

// Adds a new series to the chart programmatically.
// Returns the created AdvancedLineDataSeries object for further configuration.
var salesSeries = chart.AddSeries(
                "Total Sales", 
                Color.SeaGreen, 
                SiticoneLineChartLineStyle.Solid, 
                true // Use curved lines
);

// Add points to the returned series
salesSeries.Points.Add(new AdvancedLineDataPoint(1, 150));
salesSeries.Points.Add(new AdvancedLineDataPoint(2, 230));

ZoomTo() & ResetZoom()

// Zooms the viewport to a specific range of X and Y values.
// Parameters: xMin, xMax, yMin, yMax
chart.ZoomTo(0, 50, 100, 500);

// Restores the view to show all data points.
chart.ResetZoom();

Events

Respond to user actions and internal state changes.

Event Descriptions & Wiring

// 1. AdvancedLineDataPointClick Event
// Fires when a specific data point marker is clicked by the user.
chart.AdvancedLineDataPointClick += (s, e) => 
{
                MessageBox.Show($"Clicked {e.Series.Name}: ({e.AdvancedLineDataPoint.XValue}, {e.AdvancedLineDataPoint.YValue})");
};

// 2. ZoomChanged Event
// Fires when the zoom level is modified via ZoomTo() or ResetZoom().
chart.ZoomChanged += (s, e) => 
{
                Debug.WriteLine($"New X Range: {e.CurrentXRange.Minimum} to {e.CurrentXRange.Maximum}");
};

// 3. AxisRangeChanged Event
// Fires when axes are automatically scaled or manually adjusted.
chart.AxisRangeChanged += (s, e) => 
{
                if (e.Axis.Orientation == AxisOrientation.Vertical)
                Debug.WriteLine("Y Axis rescaled.");
};

Detailed Usage Examples

Example 1: Basic List Binding

Manually populating a chart using simple List data.

C# - Basic Binding

private void LoadBasicChart()
{
                // 1. Clear existing data
    lineChart.ClearSeries();
    
                // 2. Add a new series
                var series = lineChart.AddSeries("Growth", Color.SeaGreen);
    series.UseCurvedLine = true;
    series.LineThickness = 3f;
    
                // 3. Enable Gradient Fill under the line
    series.UseFillGradient = true;
    series.FillGradientStart = Color.FromArgb(100, Color.SeaGreen);
    series.FillGradientEnd = Color.FromArgb(0, Color.SeaGreen);

                // 4. Add Points
    series.Points.Add(new AdvancedLineDataPoint(1, 10));
    series.Points.Add(new AdvancedLineDataPoint(2, 45));
    series.Points.Add(new AdvancedLineDataPoint(3, 25));
    series.Points.Add(new AdvancedLineDataPoint(4, 80));

                // 5. Configure Visuals
    lineChart.Title = "Annual Growth";
    lineChart.AnimateOnStartup = true;
    lineChart.AnimationType = SiticoneLineChartAnimationType.SlideInFromLeft;
}

Example 2: Binding to DataTable

Binding multiple series (e.g., Revenue and Expenses) from a single DataTable.

C# - DataTable Binding

private void BindFinancialData()
{
                DataTable dt = new DataTable();
    dt.Columns.Add("Year", typeof(int));
    dt.Columns.Add("Revenue", typeof(double));
    dt.Columns.Add("Expenses", typeof(double));

    dt.Rows.Add(2020, 50000, 30000);
    dt.Rows.Add(2021, 65000, 35000);
    dt.Rows.Add(2022, 80000, 40000);

                // Configure Axes
    lineChart.XAxis.Title = "Year";
    lineChart.YAxis.Title = "Amount ($)";
    lineChart.ForceIntegerScale = true; // Prevent years like 2020.5

                // Bind: X Column = "Year", Y Columns = "Revenue" and "Expenses"
    lineChart.BindToDataTable(dt, "Year", new[] { "Revenue", "Expenses" });
    
                // Chart automatically creates 2 series with default colors
}

Example 3: Styling for Dashboard

Creating a modern, dark-themed dashboard chart with glow effects and custom markers.

C# - Styling

private void ApplyDashboardStyle()
{
                // Background & Plot Area
    lineChart.BackColor = Color.FromArgb(30, 30, 30);
    lineChart.PlotAreaBackColor = Color.FromArgb(40, 40, 40);
    lineChart.PlotAreaBorderColor = Color.Gray;
    lineChart.RoundedCorners = true;
    lineChart.ShadowDepth = 5;

                // Text Styling
    lineChart.TitleColor = Color.White;
    lineChart.LegendBackColor = Color.FromArgb(40, 40, 40);
    lineChart.LegendFont = new Font("Segoe UI", 9f, FontStyle.Bold);
    
                // Axis Styling
    lineChart.XAxis.LabelColor = Color.LightGray;
    lineChart.XAxis.GridColor = Color.FromArgb(60, 60, 60);
    lineChart.YAxis.LabelColor = Color.LightGray;
    lineChart.YAxis.GridColor = Color.FromArgb(60, 60, 60);

                // Interaction
    lineChart.EnablePointHighlight = true;
    lineChart.PointHighlightColor = Color.Cyan;
    lineChart.PointHighlightSize = 12;
    lineChart.ShowAdvancedToolTip = true;
    lineChart.ToolTipBackColor = Color.Black;
    lineChart.ToolTipForeColor = Color.White;
}

Enumerations

SiticoneLineChartLineStyle Enum

public enum SiticoneLineChartLineStyle
{
    Solid, 
    Dash, 
    Dot, 
    DashDot, 
                // ... includes specialized patterns like:
    HeartBeat, 
    ZigZag, 
    CircuitBoard, 
    Barcode
}

SiticoneLineChartAnimationType Enum

public enum SiticoneLineChartAnimationType
{
    None, 
    FadeIn, 
    SlideInFromLeft, 
    SlideInFromRight, 
    SlideInFromTop, 
    SlideInFromBottom, 
    ProgressiveDraw // Draws line point-by-point
}