Effect Options for the Chart Area in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows

There are plenty of ways to make the Chart Area stand out on your slide. One method is to use the Fill and Line options to apply a fill and/or a border to the Chart Area. Additionally you can also apply any of the Effects that PowerPoint 2013 provides. Follow these steps to learn about the various Effects that can be applied to the Chart Area:

1. Select the chart that you want to format the Chart Area for. If you don't have a chart, insert a new chart.
2. Now, carefully right-click the Chart Area -- from the resultant context menu, select the Format Chart Area option, highlighted in red within Figure 1.
   
   
   Figure 1: Format Chart Area option
3. This opens the Format Chart Area Task Pane as shown in Figure 2. In this Task Pane, make sure that the Chart Options tab is selected (highlighted in red within Figure 2). Then click the Effects button (highlighted in blue within Figure 2).
   
   
   Figure 2: Format Chart Area Task Pane
   
   Here, you will find various Effects for the Chart Area (highlighted in green within Figure 2). Let us explore all of them. Do note that some of these options listed below link to further detailed tutorials. Although the linked tutorials pertain to shapes, the same principles hold good for Chart Area Effects:
   
   • Shadow: Includes options to add (and edit) a shadow to the Chart Area as shown in Figure 3. Learn more about this option in our Advanced Shadow Effect Options in PowerPoint 2013 tutorial.
   
   
   Figure 3: Shadow Effect options
   
   • Glow: This effect (see Figure 4) adds a nice halo around the selected Chart Area. Refer to our Advanced Glow Options in PowerPoint 2013 tutorial to learn more.
   
   
   Figure 4: Glow Effect options
   
   • Soft Edges: This effect adds an eaten-up, feathered edge to the selected Chart Area. To learn more about the Soft Edges effect options that you see in Figure 5, refer to our Advanced Soft Edges Options in PowerPoint 2013 tutorial.
   
   
   Figure 5: Soft Edges Effect options
   
   
   Note: Remember that you can not see the effect of selecting Soft Edges option on the Chart Area until you apply any fill to it.
   
   
   • 3-D Format: Among the 3-D Format options that you see in Figure 6, all are available for the Chart Area except Depth and Contour options. To learn more about 3-D Format options, refer to our 3-D Format Options for Shapes in PowerPoint 2013 tutorial.
   
   
   Figure 6: 3-D Format Effect options
4. Select the required Effect option and format the Chart Area as required. In Figure 7, you can see that the Chart Area of our sample chart is applied with a Shadow effect (compare with partially visible chart in Figure 1).
   
   
   Figure 7: Chart Area with a shadow applied
5. Save your presentation often.

See Also: Chart Area: Appearance Options in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac