![The icon used to represent this chart type in the ChartType drop-down in Visual Studio's properties window.](Images/Chart_About_3D_Area_Chart_01.png)
A 3D area chart emphasizes the amount of change over a period of time or compares multiple items. 3D area charts also shows the relationship of parts to a whole by displaying the total of the plotted values.
An area chart is a form of line chart, but the area between the x-axis (horizontal axis) and the line connecting the data markers is filled with color. This makes it easy to see where the points encompassed by the different data series overlap.