Line of Balance Properties dialog - Drawing Style tab

Click this radio button to specify that you want the lines that represent stages in the graph to be displayed as continuous lines, as illustrated below:

Specifying the drawing style of a Line of Balance graph

Click this radio button to specify that you want the lines that represent stages in the graph to be displayed as broken lines, with a separate line segment being drawn for each task, as illustrated below:

Specifying the drawing style of a Line of Balance graph

Click this radio button to specify that you want the lines that represent stages in the graph to be displayed as filled trapeziums, with a separate trapezium being drawn for each task, as illustrated below:

Specifying the drawing style of a Line of Balance graph

Click this radio button to specify that you want the lines that represent stages in the graph to be displayed as outlined trapeziums, with a separate trapezium being drawn for each task, as illustrated below:

Specifying the drawing style of a Line of Balance graph

Select this check box to highlight progressed tasks in the Line of Balance graph, or clear the check box to omit progress information from the graph.

The way in which progress is highlighted depends on the line style you choose:

• If you select Join ends or One line each task, lines that relate to complete tasks are drawn dashed and lines that relate to partially-complete tasks are drawn dashed in proportion to their progress - for example, if a task is 50% complete, the first half of its corresponding line will be drawn dashed.
• If you select Solid trapezium, the fill colour or pattern of trapeziums that relate to progressed tasks is drawn with a darker shade, with the shading being progressively darker depending on the amount of progress.
• If you select Open trapezium, trapeziums that relate to complete tasks are filled with the colour or pattern of the appropriate stage code and trapeziums that relate to partially-complete tasks are partially filled in proportion to their progress - for example, if a task is 50% complete, the first half of its corresponding trapezium will be filled with the colour or pattern of the appropriate stage code.

Select this check box to display breaks in the lines that represent stages in the graph where gaps appear for any of the following reasons:

• Where a 'location' code has not been assigned to a bar or summary task that represents the corresponding unit network.
• Where a 'stages' code has not been assigned to an activity that represents the corresponding stage.
• Where a unit network does not include a particular stage.
• Where a stage in one unit network does not start immediately after the finish of the same stage in the previous unit network.

Clear the check box to draw the lines through such gaps as if they did not exist.

The way in which discontinuities are displayed depends on the line style you choose:

• If you select One line each task, this field has no effect, as discontinuities are always shown.
• If you select Join ends, lines are drawn as if you were using the One line each task style where a gap exists.
• If you select Solid trapezium or Open trapezium, the base of a trapezium that follows a gap is drawn to the same length as its top, as the task in the previous location - which would normally be used to determine the length of the trapezium base - is absent.

Select this check box to display labels that identify stages, gangs or trades in Line of Balance graphs. These labels can help you to differentiate between different build stages, gangs or trades, especially when printing Line of Balance graphs.

If you choose to display labels, they appear at the bottom of each stage in Line of Balance graphs, as illustrated below:

Select 'From font' to colour labels according to the font settings that you specify on this dialog, or select 'From line' to colour labels according to the fill colour of the corresponding 'stages' code library entries. If you choose to colour labels according to the fill colour of code library entries, the foreground fill colour is used unless this is set to white, in which case the background fill colour is used.

Some colours are more legible than others, so you may need to experiment with the font settings, or with the colours of your 'stages' codes, to make the labels as legible as possible. Darker colours tend to be more legible than lighter colours; it may also help to use a bold font.