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Many tutorials on the web addresses how to create visually stunning charts in Illustrator, but it's usually understood that only a few diagrams need to be made at a time. What happens if you have a job that requires hundreds of charts?

As I have said before, there are some limitations that determine whether it will work to fill in new table data without destroying the work you have done on the chart's appearance.

As an example, I will go through how to go about creating a line chart within the limitations. Remember that it is possible to do much more advanced changes without losing the ability to modify table data. This is a deliberately simple example. See the previous posts for a more general review of what works and what does not.

Create chart

Start by filling in a bit random numbers which generate a typical line chart. The chart is grouped and should remain so. If it's ungrouped, every opportunity to modify table data or graph type is lost.

Graph Designs

There is one important trick when you draw Graph Designs: draw an invisible square under the design. The relationship between the square and the design determines how large the design will be in the final chart and where it will be placed in relation to the default marker. This is especially important because the design will not be editable afterwards.

When you are finished with the design, click on Object/Graph/Design and give your new design a suitable name..

When the design is finnished, simply select the markers to be replaced in the graph with the Group Selection Tool (white arrow with a +) and click on Object/Graph/Marker.

Graphic Styles

I rarely use Graphic Styles in Illustrator. The function seems old fashioned and badly updated. All it does is it allows you to apply multiple graphic changes with just one click; there is no way to change your mind afterwards and get the changes to apply to everything that the style has been used on. But when it comes to charts, Graphic Styles are have to be used. It can work to edit objects directly in a chart, but the only way to do it reliably is by using styles.

Open the Graphic Styles window. Draw two lines and change their weight and color. Select them one by one and press the button New Graphic Style.

These can then be applied to lines in the chart by selecting them with the Group Selection Tool and clicking the button for the appropriate style.

Then draw a thin line and create a Graphic Style that can be used on the support lines.

Paragraph Styles

Unlike Graphics Styles, Paragraph Styles in Illustrator are up to date. They offer nearly the same possibilities as the same feature in InDesign, and everything works as you would expect from styles at this point.

In addition to size, color, font, etc -- settings like Baseline Shift can be very useful. You can't move objects the normal way in a chart -- not if you want the changes to endure changing table data -- so adjustments to the placement of text needs to be done from within paragraph styles.

Make sure to apply Paragraph Styles properly on all the text in the chart (no small + in the Paragraph Styles window). I usually mark one line at a time and press the Paragraph Syle twice to be on the safe side.

The finnished chart

Stylish, isn't it?

But what if the table data changes?

It went well, even if the values ​​I chose gave the lines a pretty erratic appearance.

Ok, this way you can go some way with a large number of graphs without having to make everything from scratch. Too bad the functions are so limited. Many will continue to ungroup their graphs into common objects to create the layout that they have in mind, until Adobe shapes up and provides the Graph Tool with a well deserved update.