JFreeChart BarChart -> NO gradient

Question

my bar chart is always drawn with a gradient color by default. I just want a simple color without any styled effects.

Can anyone help ?

Code:

   final JFreeChart chart = ChartFactory.createBarChart(
        "",         // chart title
        xLabel,               // domain axis label
        yLabel,                  // range axis label
        dataset,                  // data
        PlotOrientation.VERTICAL, // orientation
        true,                     // include legend
        false,                     // tooltips?
        false                     // URLs?
    );

  final CategoryPlot plot = chart.getCategoryPlot();
  // SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE HERE

  showChart(chart); // Simply shows the chart in a new window

Thanks

Answer 1

The problem lies in the BarPainter you are using. The JFreeChart version 1.0.13 default is to use GradientBarPainter which adds a metallic-ish look to the bar. If you want the "old" look the solution is to use the StandardBarPainter.

final CategoryPlot plot = chart.getCategoryPlot();
((BarRenderer) plot.getRenderer()).setBarPainter(new StandardBarPainter());

That should do it.

Alternatively, if you want use JFreeChart's BarRenderer, you could force it to use the StandardBarPainter by calling the static method setDefaultBarPainter() before initializing your renderer.

final CategoryPlot plot = chart.getCategoryPlot();
BarRenderer.setDefaultBarPainter(new StandardBarPainter());
((BarRenderer) plot.getRenderer()).setBarPainter(new BarPainter());

If you want more control of the chart you can always build it from the ground up instead of using ChartFactory, but that does require a lot extra code.

Answer 2

Before you create the chart from ChartFactory you can set the chart theme:

ChartFactory.setChartTheme(StandardChartTheme.createLegacyTheme());

The default is the JFreeTheme which adds the gradient. The following themes are available:

ChartFactory.setChartTheme(StandardChartTheme.createJFreeTheme());
ChartFactory.setChartTheme(StandardChartTheme.createDarknessTheme());

Answer 3

The source code for org.jfree.chart.demo.BarChartDemo1 shows how to set the series colors. Just specify plain colors instead of gradients.

renderer.setSeriesPaint(0, Color.red);
renderer.setSeriesPaint(1, Color.green);
renderer.setSeriesPaint(2, Color.blue);

Correction: The key to @Jes's helpful answer may be found in the initialization of defaultBarPainter in BarRenderer.