Setting dots on chart to match points in gradient

jdballou,

I for one like the Compound Path way suggested by Peter because of:

Its keeping a horizontal gradient: the difference can be noticeable with a steep dot curve;

And its ease/accuracy (the gradient automatically fills the total width exactly);

And most of all its flexibility:

1) You can add/move dots and have the gradient adjust automatically,

2) If you Group the Compound Path with the gradient label, you can just change the gradient on either and have the change automatically applied to both; at least if the gradient lable is a filled path, which it can become by outlining the Stroke if the label is a stroked path; to avoid that, only relevant if you need to repeat the dot colouring/adjusting enough to justify it, you can apply a more elaborate way, using a copy of the gradient label with a large Stroke Weight behind the dot Compound Path and turn the set into a clipping set and reapply the strokes on the dots.

If you want to add the linear gradient, you can even do it without creating the compound path. You can select all dots, apply the gradient, and then set the gradient line through them (from left to right one) using the Gradient tool. I would suggest to group the dots but it's not necessary.