When working with numerical data in Excel, sometimes a chart is just what you need to
show the meaning behind the numbers.
In this video, we're going to look at some of the different types of charts, and also
some ways that you can customize them to best represent your data.
Column charts are good all-around charts—they work with many different types of data…
Whereas line charts are best for showing trends over time...
Pie charts are unique because they let you see your data in proportion, instead of on
a graph…
We also have the bar chart, which is basically just a column chart turned on its side…
And finally area charts, which are similar to line charts, except the areas under the
lines are filled in.
In this example, I have a table of sales figures for a bookstore.
They're organized by genre and month, but it's hard to see any trends without looking
at the numbers one-by-one.
A chart would make things much easier.
To create a chart, select your data, including any headers that you want to use.
Then go to the Insert tab… and look to the commands in the Charts group.
For this data, I think I'll go with something in the column category...
This one looks nice and simple.
Now this is a lot clearer.
I can see that Romance has the strongest sales, with an all-time high in February.
How do I know this column is from February?
Well, below the chart, there's a type of key called a legend, and this tells us what each
color represents.
Right now the columns are grouped by genre, but you might prefer to see them grouped by
month instead.
There's an easy way to make this change.
Just make sure the chart is selected, then click Switch Row/Column on the Design tab.
See how the chart has been rearranged?
Basically, it's the same data, but the months and the genres have switched places.
You can always experiment with this to see which option is going to work best for your
data.
If you want to try a different chart all together, click the Change Chart Type command on the
far right of the tab… then pick something else from the dialog box.
I think I'll go with a line chart this time.
Line charts work well for data like this.
For example, we can see right away that Mystery novels are starting to catch up to Romance.
But Sci-Fi & Fantasy sales have stayed consistently low.
If you want, you can change the chart style to give your chart a different look and feel.
As you can see, you have several different options to choose from.
You can also change the chart layout itself.
Just go to the Quick Layout command… and make a selection from the menu.
Not all of these options will work well for the data in your chart.
Just keep going until you find something you like.
Let’s go with something a little bit like this…
You can make further adjustments using the Add Chart Element command… or the Chart
Elements shortcut—just look for the button with the plus sign.
Here, you can add or remove elements from your chart, depending on your preferences…
Or you can click the arrow to the right to access even more options.
To edit one of your chart elements (like the chart title in this example), all you have
to do is select the placeholder… then replace the text.
Finally, whenever you insert a chart, it appears on the same sheet as the source data by default.
If you want, you can move it to a different worksheet by following these steps.
First, make sure your chart is selected, then click the Move Chart command.
Next, select the sheet where you want the chart to go.
In this example, we'll choose new sheet.
When you're ready, click OK… and now the chart appears in whatever location you chose.
Charts are a great tool for presenting numerical data and also enhancing your worksheets in
Excel.
With so many options to choose from, you can achieve exactly the result you want.