Using crosshatch fills in PowerPoint 2007/2010 graphs

In PowerPoint 2007, the ability to fill a column, bar, or pie wedge with a crosshatch pattern was removed. That feature is very useful to many people who need to print graphs in black and white. If you print a graph filled with different colors on a black and white printer, the shades of grey are hard to distinguish from one another. With different crosshatch patterns, it is easy to distinguish the different segments of a graph.

The way to fill graph segments with a crosshatch pattern is to use the feature in PowerPoint that allows you to fill a graph segment with a picture. I have created seven crosshatch images that you can use to fill columns, bars or pie wedges in PowerPoint graphs. You can see the patterns and download the image files by using the links below.

Boxes		Right-click here to download the Boxes crosshatch image file.
Diamonds		Right-click here to download the Diamonds crosshatch image file.
Dots		Right-click here to download the Dots crosshatch image file.
Horizontal lines		Right-click here to download the Horizontal Lines crosshatch image file.
Lines up to the left		Right-click here to download the Lines up to the left crosshatch image file.
Lines up to the right		Right-click here to download the Lines up to the right crosshatch image file.
Vertical lines		Right-click here to download the Vertical lines crosshatch image file.

Filling a column or bar graph with crosshatch images

To fill a column or bar with one of these images, first select the column or bar (or series of columns or bars). On the Format ribbon, click on the Format Selection button in the Current Selection section. In the Fill section of the dialog box, use the Picture or texture fill option and select the crosshatch image file you want to use. I have found it looks best if you select the option to stack the image instead of stretching it in the column/bar. Here is what the dialog box will look like when these options are selected.

Here is what a column chart looks like when using these crosshatch fill images.

Filling a pie wedge with a crosshatch image

To fill a pie wedge, select the pie wedge and on the Format ribbon, click on the Format Selection button in the Current Selection section. In the Fill section of the dialog box, use the Picture or texture fill option and select the crosshatch image file you want to use. I have found it looks best if you select the option to Tile the picture as a texture and set the X and Y scale for tiling to 50%. By setting these options, the fill looks best and the legend is easy to understand. Here is what the dialog box will look like when these options are selected.

Here is what a pie chart looks like when using these crosshatch fill images.