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# Customize chart background and style

You can customize the styles of chart elements to add a background color, background image, border, or padding, as well as change the corner shape of the element.

Styles can also be set as part of the [workbook theme](/docs/workbook-settings-overview), and you can customize the design of individual chart elements to improve accessibility, create a visual hierarchy, and ensure alignment with company branding.

## User requirements

The ability to customize the style of chart elements requires the following:

* To customize a chart in a workbook, you must be assigned an [account type](/docs/account-type-and-license-overview) with **Full explore** or **Create, edit, and publish workbooks** permission enabled.
* To customize a chart in a report, you must be assigned an [account type](/docs/account-type-and-license-overview) with the **Create, edit, and publish reports** permission enabled.
* You must be the document owner or be granted **Can explore** or **Can edit** [access to the document](/docs/folder-and-document-permissions).

## Add padding to a chart

You can add padding to chart elements to adjust the amount of space between the edge of the element box and the chart itself.

You cannot add padding to [maps](/docs/maps).

1. Open a document for editing or customizing.
2. Select the chart element you want to modify.
3. In the editor panel, select **Format**, then click **Element style** to expand the section.
4. Select the **Padding** checkbox to add padding around the element. To remove padding, deselect the checkbox.

## Customize the background color of a chart

You can add or change a background color for a chart to create more complex or visually appealing charts.

If you configure a background color for a map, the color only applies to the background of the map's legend.

1. Open a document for editing or customizing.
2. Select the chart element you want to modify.
3. In the editor panel, select **Format**, then click **Element style** to expand the section.
4. Click the **Background color** dropdown, then configure the background color for the chart:
   * To add or change the background color, enter a hex value or select an option from the color palette or picker.
   * To remove the background color and make the chart background transparent, select **None**.

## Configure a custom background image for a chart (Beta)

This documentation describes one or more public beta features that are in development. Beta features are subject to quick, iterative changes; therefore the current user experience in the Sigma service can differ from the information provided in this page.

This page should not be considered official published documentation until Sigma removes this notice and the beta flag on the corresponding feature(s) in the Sigma service. For the full beta feature disclaimer, see [Beta features](/docs/sigma-product-releases#beta-features).

You can add a background image to certain chart elements in order to build more complex visualizations, such as heat maps, or to further customize the appearance of your chart.

The following chart types support custom background images:

* [Bar charts](/docs/build-a-bar-chart)
* [Line charts](/docs/build-a-line-chart)
* [Combo charts](/docs/combo-charts)
* [Area charts](/docs/area-charts)
* [Scatter charts](/docs/build-a-scatter-plot)
* [Box and whisker charts](/docs/box-and-whisker-charts)
* [Waterfall charts](/docs/build-a-waterfall-chart)

### Add a custom background image to a chart

1. Open a document for editing or customizing.
2. Select the chart element you want to modify.
3. In the editor panel, select **Format**, then click **Background image** to expand the section.
4. To set the source of the background image, select **Upload** or **URL**, then configure the remaining options:

   * For **Upload**, select **Upload image** and select an image file using the file browser.
   * For **URL**, enter the URL in the **Image URL** field. To configure a URL using dynamic text, referencing a control value or column, press `=` to open the formula bar and enter a formula.

   You can dynamically change the image based on your data. For example, you can reference a table column, the current user's email, the date, or other workbook data in the **Image URL** field. To provide a customized background image to your users based on their first and last name, you can use a formula like `"https://example.com/users/" & CurrentUserFullName() & "/dashboard-bg.png"`. See the [function index](/docs/function-index) for more information on writing formulas in Sigma.

### Manage a custom background image for a chart

You can remove a background image, upload a different image, or modify the image URL for a chart element. You can also switch between using an image upload and a URL as the image source.

1. Open a document for editing or customizing.
2. Select the chart element you want to modify.
3. In the editor panel, select **Format**, then click **Background image** to expand the section.
4. Modify the background image:
   * To remove the background image, click **Reset to default**.  Or, select **Upload**, then click **Remove image**.
   * To upload a new image or change the image source, set the toggle to **Upload** and select **Upload image** to select an image from the file browser.
   * To modify the image URL or change the image source, set the toggle to **URL** and enter the URL in the **Image URL** field. To configure or modify a URL that uses dynamic text, press `=` to open the formula bar and enter or modify the formula.

## Add a border to a chart

You can add a border to chart elements. To add a border to a chart element, you must turn on the **Padding** toggle. See [Add padding to a chart](#add-padding-to-a-chart).

You cannot add a border to [maps](/docs/maps).

1. Open a document for editing or customizing.
2. Select the chart element you want to modify.
3. In the editor panel, select **Format**, then click **Element style** to expand the section.
4. For **Border**, open the dropdown menu and select a border that is **1**, **2**, or **3** pixels wide.
5. (Optional) To choose a color for the border, click the color dropdown next to **Border** and select a color.

To remove the border, select the border width dropdown and choose **None**.

## Change the corner shape of a chart

You can change the corner shape of any chart element.

1. Open a document for editing or customizing.
2. Select the chart element you want to modify.
3. Select **Format** in the editor panel, then click the **Element style** header to expand the section.
4. For **Corner**, select square, round, or pill shaped corners for your element.