In the 2006 Volume 3 release, you can now change the appearance of the background layer of the WinChart™ control without affecting the other layers of the chart (e.g., border, title, grid, chart, etc.). Using the new properties, Axis.PE (for non-composite charts) and ChartArea.GridPE (for composite charts), you can customize the background layer of the chart by specifying a background image, gradient effect, hatch style, texture effect, etc.
In the example screenshot below (left), the background PE property is set to its default settings. In the example screen shot below (right), a gradient effect has been applied to the background PE only, giving the chart a much more polished look and feel.
