Remove shading from a surface chart in Excel 2007

Anonymous
2010-10-06T19:04:35+00:00

I have a data set that is fairly noisy and I find that the lighting and shading that is applied to the chart is distracting me from seeing the general contours of the data. Is there a way to turn off the lighting/shading so that there is a solid color for data within a band?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-10-07T08:26:04+00:00

    To remove the shading on surface charts requires a bit of code as there is no UI.

    Select the chart. ALT+F11 to open VBE. CTRL+G to open immediate window. Enter following command and press Enter.

    activechart.ChartGroups(1).has3dshading=false


    Cheers,

    Andywww.andypope.info

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  1. triptotokyo-5840 36,676 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2010-10-06T19:26:56+00:00

    Try this:-

    Click in the Chart.

    Chart Tools.

    Design contextual tab.

    Chart Styles group.

    Click on Style 2 (because this is pretty, “solid”).

    If my comments have helped please Vote As Helpful.

    Thanks.

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-10-06T19:32:48+00:00

    I actually have already chosen Style 19 as the best of the possible styles but I still have a problem with chart appearance. It is plotted as if there is a light in the upper right and the lower left side of every feature is lost in shadow.

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  3. triptotokyo-5840 36,676 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2010-10-06T19:34:17+00:00

    Sorry 2 not 19; my mistake. " 2 is much clearer and more, "solid".

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-10-07T18:13:41+00:00

    Thanks Andy,

    That did the trick but I am surprised that it isn't part of the user interface.

    I will have to save the command someplace for later use.

    -David

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