Area charts are essentially bar charts with discontinuous breaks removed along the horizontal axis. Data is not broken into discrete bars, but is displayed in a continuous ebb and flow as defined against the y axis. Consequently, area charts are particularly useful for emphasizing the magnitude of change over time. In addition, area charts can be used for the same purpose as bar charts.
Because area charts do not break data along the horizontal axis, they are most useful for charting three dimensions of data. The z axis should be used to either project data into a third-spatial dimension, or to track two categories of data in a stacked area chart.
In the area chart, items on the y axis determine the height of the line, and items on the x axis itemize the line sections. You can create multiple lines by adding items to the z pane.
