Beginner tutorial for excel

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Things You Should Know

• Use Quick Analysis in Excel to perform quick calculations and create helpful graphs without any prior Excel knowledge.
• Adding your data to a table makes it easy to sort and filter data by your preferred criteria.
• Even if you’re not a math person, you can use basic Excel math functions to add, subtract, find averages and more in seconds.

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   Create or open a workbook. When people refer to «Excel files,» they are referring to workbooks, which are files that contain one or more sheets of data on individual tabs. Each tab is called a worksheet or spreadsheet, both of which are used interchangeably. When you open Excel, you’ll be prompted to open or create a workbook.

   • To start from scratch, click Blank workbook. Otherwise, you can open an existing workbook or create a new one from one of Excel’s helpful templates, such as those designed for budgeting.

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   Explore the worksheet. When you create a new blank workbook, you’ll have a single worksheet called Sheet1 (you’ll see that on the tab at the bottom) that contains a grid for your data. Worksheets are made of individual cells that are organized into columns and rows.

   • Columns are vertical and labeled with letters, which appear above each column.
   • Rows are horizontal and are labeled by numbers, which you’ll see running along the left side of the worksheet.
   • Every cell has an address which contains its column letter and row number. For example, the top-left cell in your worksheet’s address is A1 because it’s in column A, row 1.
   • A workbook can have multiple worksheets, all containing different sets of data. Each worksheet in your workbook has a name—you can rename a worksheet by right-clicking its tab and selecting Rename.
   • To add another worksheet, just click the + next to the worksheet tab(s).

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   Save your workbook. Once you save your workbook once, Excel will automatically save any changes you make by default.^[1]
   This prevents you from accidentally losing data.

   • Click the File menu and select Save As.
   • Choose a location to save the file, such as on your computer or in OneDrive.
   • Type a name for your workbook. All workbooks will automatically inherit the the .XLSX file extension.
   • Click Save.

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   Click a cell to select it. When you click a cell, it will highlight to indicate that it’s selected.

   • When you type something into a cell, the input text is called a value. Entering data into Excel is as simple as typing values into each cell.
   • When entering data, the first row of your worksheet (e.g., A1, B1, C1) is typically used as headers for each column. This is helpful when creating graphs or tables which require labels.
     • For example, if you’re adding a list of dates in column A, you might click cell A1 and type Date into the cell as the column header.

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   Type a word or number into the cell. As you’re typing, you’ll see the letters and/or numbers appear in the cell, as well as in the formula bar at the top of the worksheet.

   • When you start practicing more advanced Excel features like creating formulas, this bar will come in handy.
   • You can also copy and paste text from other applications into your worksheet, tables from PDFs and the web.

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   Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return. This enters the data into the cell and moves to the next cell in the column.

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   Automatically fill columns based on existing data. Let’s say you want to make a list of consecutive dates or numbers. Or what if you want to fill a column with many of the same values that follow a pattern? As long as Excel can recognize some sort of pattern in your data, such as a particular order, you can use Autofill to automatically populate data into the rest of your column. Here’s a trick to see it in action.

   • In a blank column, type 1 into the first cell, 2 into the second cell, and then 3 into the third cell.
   • Hover your mouse cursor over the bottom-right corner of the last cell in your series—it will turn to a crosshair.
   • Click and drag the crosshair down the column, then release the mouse button once you’ve gone down as far as you like. By default, this will fill the remaining cells with the value of the selected cell—at this point, you’ll probably have something like 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3.
   • Click the small icon at the bottom-right corner of the filled data to open AutoFill options, and select Fill Series to automatically detect the series or pattern. Now you’ll have a list of consecutive numbers. Try this cool feature out with different patterns!
   • Once you get the hang of AutoFill, you’ll have to try flash fill, which you can use to join two columns of data into a single merged column.

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   Adjust the column sizes so you can see all of the values. Sometimes typing long values into a cell hides the value and displays hash symbols ### instead of what you’ve typed. If you want to be able to see everything, you can snap the cell contents to the width of the widest cell. For example, let’s say we have some long values in column B:

   • To expand the contents of column B, hover the cursor over the dividing line between the B and C at the top of the worksheet—once your cursor is right on the line, it will turn to two arrows pointing in either direction.^[2]
     
   • Click and drag the separator until the column is wide enough to accommodate your data, or just double-click the separator to instantly snap the column to the size of the widest value.

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   Wrap text in a cell. If your longer values are now awkwardly long, you can enable text wrapping in one or more cells. Just click a cell (or drag the mouse to select multiple cells), click the Home tab, and then click Wrap Text on the toolbar.

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   Edit a cell value. If you need to make a change to a cell, you can double-click the cell to activate the cursor, and then make any changes you need. When you’re finished, just press Enter or Return again.

   • To delete the contents of a cell, click the cell once and press delete on your keyboard.

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   Apply styles to your data. Whether you want to highlight certain values with color so they stand out or just want to make your data look pretty, changing the colors of cells and their containing values is easy—especially if you’re used to Microsoft Word:

   • Select a cell, column, row, or multiple cells at once.
   • On the Home tab, click Cell Styles if you’d like to quickly apply quick color styles.
   • If you’d rather use more custom options, right-click the selected cell(s) and select Format Cells. Then, use the colors on the Fill tab to customize the cell’s background, or the colors on the Font tab for value colors.

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   Apply number formatting to cells containing numbers. If you have data that contains numbers such as prices, measurements, dates, or times, you can apply number formatting to the data so it will display consistently.^[3]
   By default, the number format is General, which means numbers display exactly as you type them.

   • Select the cell you want to format. If you’re working with an entire column or row, you can just click the column letter or row number to select the whole thing.
   • On the Home tab, click the drop-down menu at the top-center—it’ll say General by default, unless you selected cells that Excel recognizes as a different type of number like Currency or Time.
   • Choose one of the formatting options in the list, such as Short Date or Percentage, or click More Number Formats at the bottom to expand all options (we recommend this!).
   • If you selected More Number Formats, the Format Cells dialog will expand to the Number tab, where you’ll see several categories for number types.
   • Select a category, such as Currency if working with money, or Date if working with dates. Then, choose your preferences, such as a currency symbol and/or decimal places.
   • Click OK to apply your formatting.

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   Select all of the data you’ve entered so far. Adding your data to a table is the easiest way to work with and analyze data.^[4]
   Start by highlighting the values you’ve entered so far, including your column headers. Tables also make it easy to sort and filter your data based on values.

   • Tables traditionally apply different or alternating colors to every other row for easy viewing. Many table options also add borders between cells and/or columns and rows.

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   Click Format as Table. You’ll see this at the top-center part of the Home tab.^[5]
   

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   Select a table style. Choose any of Excel’s default table styles to get started. You’ll see a small window titled «Create Table» once selected.

   • Once you get the hang of tables, you can return here to customize your table further by selecting New Table Style.

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   Make sure «My table has headers» is selected and click OK. This tells Excel to turn your column headers into drop-down menus that you can easily sort and filter. Once you click OK, you’ll see that your data now has a color scheme and drop-down menus.

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   Click the drop-down menu at the top of a column. Now you’ll see options for sorting that column, as well as several options for filtering all of your data based on its values.

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   Choose which data to display based on values in this column. The simplest way to do this is to uncheck the values you don’t want to display—if you uncheck a particular date, for example, you’ll prevent rows that contain the selected date in from appearing in your data. You can also use Text Filters or Number Filters, depending on the type of data in the column:

   • If you chose a numerical column, select Number Filters, then choose an option like Greater Than… or Does Not Equal to be extra specific about which values to hide.
   • For text columns, you can choose Text Filters, where you can specify things like Begins with or Contains.
   • You can also filter by cell color.

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   Click OK. Your data is now filtered based on your selections. You’ll also see a small funnel icon in the drop-down menu, which indicates that the data is filtering out certain values.

   • To unfilter your data, click the funnel icon, click Clear filter from (column name), and then click OK.
   • You can also filter columns that aren’t in tables. Just select a column and click Filter on the Data tab to add a drop-down to that column.

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   Sort your data in ascending or descending order. Click the drop-down arrow at the top of a column to view sorting options—these allow you to sort all of your data in order based on the current column.

   • If you’re working with numbers, click Smallest to Largest to sort in ascending order, or Largest to Smallest for descending order.^[6]
     
   • If you’re working with text values, Sort A to Z will sort in ascending order, while Sort Z to A will sort in reverse.
   • When it comes to sorting dates and times, Sort Oldest to Newest will sort with the earliest date at the top and the oldest date at the bottom, and Newest to Oldest displays the dates in descending order.
   • When you sort a column, all other columns in the table adjust based on the sort.

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   Select the data in your worksheet. Excel’s Quick Analysis feature is the easiest way to perform basic calculations (including totals, averages, and counts) and create meaningful tables or graphs without the need for advanced Excel knowledge.^[7]
   Use your mouse to select your data (including your column headers) to get started.

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   Click the Quick Analysis icon. This is the small icon that pops up at the bottom-right corner of your selection. It looks like a window with some colored lines.

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   Select an analysis type. You’ll see several tabs running along the top of the window, each of which gives you different option for visualizing your data:

   • For math calculations, click the Totals tab, where you can select Sum, Average, Count, %Total, or Running Total. You’ll be able to choose whether to display the results at the bottom of each column or to the right.
   • To create a chart, click the Charts tab, then select a chart to visualize your data. Before you settle on a chart, just hover the cursor over each option to see a preview.
   • To add quick chart data to individual cells, click the Sparklines tab and choose a format. Again, you can hover the cursor over each option to see a preview.
   • To instantly apply conditional formatting (which is usually a little more complex in Excel) based on your data, use the Formatting tab. Here you can choose an option like Color or Data Bars, which apply colors to your data based on trends.

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   Quickly add data with AutoSum. AutoSum is a built-in Excel function that makes it easy to find the total of one or more columns in a few clicks. Functions or formulas that perform calculations and other tasks based on the values of cells. When you use a function to get something done, you’re creating a formula, which is like a math equation. If you have a column or row of numbers you want to add:

   • Click the cell below the numbers you want to add (if a column) or to the right (if a row).^[8]
     
   • On the Home tab, click AutoSum toward the upper-right corner of the app. A formula beginning with =SUM(cell+cell) will appear in the field, and a dotted line will surround the numbers you’re adding.
   • Press Enter or Return. You should now see the total of the numbers in the selected field. This is here because you created your first formula—which you didn’t have to write by hand!
   • If you change any numbers in your data after using AutoSum, the AutoSum value will update automatically.

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   Write a simple math formula. AutoSum is just the beginning—Excel is famous for its ability to do all sorts of simple and complex math calculations on data. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a math whiz to create simple formulas to create everyday math formulas, like adding, subtracting, and multiplying. Here’s some basic formulas to get you started:

   • Add: — Type =SUM(cell+cell) (e.g., =SUM(A3+B3)) to add two cells’ values together, or type =SUM(cell,cell,cell) (e.g., =SUM(A2,B2,C2)) to add a series of cell values together.
     • If you want to add all of the numbers in a whole column (or in a section of a column), type =SUM(cell:cell) (e.g., =SUM(A1:A12)) into the cell you want to use to display the result.
   • Subtract: Type =SUM(cell-cell) (e.g., =SUM(A3-B3)) to subtract one cell value from another cell’s value.
   • Divide: Type =SUM(cell/cell) (e.g., =SUM(A6/C5)) to divide one cell’s value by another cell’s value.
   • Multiply: Type =SUM(cell*cell) (e.g., =SUM(A2*A7)) to multiply two cell values together.

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   Select a cell for an advanced formula. What if you need to do something more complicated than just adding numbers? Even if you don’t know how to write formulas by hand, you can still create useful formulas that work with your data in various ways. Start by clicking the cell in which you want to display your formula.

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   Click the Formulas tab. It’s a tab at the top of the Excel window.

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   Explore the Function Library. Several function categories appear in the toolbar, such as Financial, Text, and Math & Trig. Click the options to check out the types of functions available, though they might not make a whole lot of sense just yet.

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   Click Insert Function. This option is in the far-left side of the Formulas toolbar. This opens the Insert Function window, which gives you a more detailed breakdown of each function.

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   Click a function to learn about it. You can type what you want to do (such as round), or choose a category to filter the list of functions. Then, click any function to read a description of how it works and view its syntax.

   • For example, to select the formula for finding the tangent of an angle, you would scroll down and click the TAN option.

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   Select a function and click OK. This creates a formula based on the selected function.

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   Fill out the function’s formula. When prompted, type in the number or select a cell for which you want to use the formula.

   • For example, if you select the TAN function, you’ll type in the number for which you want to find the tangent, or select the cell that contains that number.
   • Depending on your selected function, you may need to click through a couple of on-screen prompts.

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   Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return to run the formula. Doing so applies your function and displays it in your selected cell.

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   Set up the chart’s data. If you’re creating a line graph or a bar graph, for example, you’ll want to use one column of cells for the horizontal axis and one column of cells for the vertical axis. The best way to do this is to place your data in a table.

   • Typically speaking, the left column is used for the horizontal axis and the column immediately to the right of it represents the vertical axis.

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   Select the data in your table. Click and drag your mouse from the top-left cell of the data down to the bottom-right cell of the data.

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   Click the Insert tab. It’s a tab at the top of the Excel window.

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   Click Recommended Charts. You’ll find this option in the «Charts» section of the Insert toolbar. A window with different chart templates will appear.

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   Select a chart template. Click the chart template you want to use based on the type of data you’re working with. If you don’t see a chart type you like, click the All Charts tab to explore by category, such as Pie, Bar, and X Y Scatter.

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   Click OK. It’s at the bottom of the window. This creates your chart.

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   Use the Chart Design tab to customize your chart. Any time you click your chart, the Chart Design tab will appear at the top of Excel. You can adjust the chart style here, change colors, and add additional elements.

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   Double-click a chart element to manage it in the Format panel. When you double-click something on your chart, such as a value, line, or bar, you’ll see options you can edit in the panel on the right side of excel. Here you can change the axis labels, alignment, and legend data.

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Video

Did this summary help you?

A spreadsheet lets you organize data and calculations.

My friend Sarah has been practicing her typing speed, and she’s given me some data on her timed typing tests: how many words she typed, and how many minutes she had to type them in.

In a spreadsheet, you always put each piece of data in its own cell, so I’ll put the labels in different cells in the top row.

In Row 2, I’ll pick one of her typing tests and record the number of words she typed, in cell A2, and how long it took, in cell B2. I’ll put the data from each of her tests in a new row, until they’re all in the spreadsheet.

My goal will be to calculate her typing speed in words per minute for each test.

Before I do the calculations, I’d like to style my data. I’ll add a cell border so it’s easier to see where my data is.

I can style the headers myself by making them bold or changing a font, or I can use a preset setting.

Either way, it’s nice to draw attention to what I measured.

You can see some of my labels are too long for the cell, so I can resize them by hovering between two columns until I get a double-sided arrow, then I can click and drag to change the column’s width.

You can see that words are aligned on the left side of the cell, and numbers are all pushed to the right.

If I want, I can put them all on either side or in the middle.

Now I’m ready to calculate the words per minute for each typing test.

I can start any calculation in a spreadsheet by typing the equals sign, then I just click on the cells I want to use; so the first words per minute calculation will be «= A2/B2».

I can copy this formula and paste it into all the other cells in the table.

Then, if I click one of those cells, I can see which numbers it is using in its calculation.

Some of my results have decimals and some don’t. I think it looks cleaner for all of them to have the same number of decimal places.

I can select the values and specify that they are numbers. Then I can decrease to only show 1 decimal place.

Now that I have the words per minute for each of Sarah’s tests, I’d also like to find her average words per minute.

I could calculate this by adding up each of her words per minute results and dividing by the total number of tests she took.

If I do that, I’ll want to be sure to include parentheses because the order of operations always applies.

To make things simpler, I can use a function, by typing = Average() , and selecting the cells I want to average out.

I can use functions to find Sarah’s minimum and maximum typing rates as well.

So that’s an intro on some of the functionality you can use with spreadsheets. They give you a lot of great options.

Check out our videos for tips and tricks to go a little deeper.

There’s some cool graph options out there. Let’s see which one’s best for you.

First, think about what kind of information you have. What are your inputs and your outputs?

There’s 3 kinds of input. It could be time, like if you measured the temperature of water every 5 minutes.

There’s numerical, like if you measured the height of a catapult projectile at different distances away from the catapult.

And there’s categories, like if you measure the pH of different kinds of liquids.

Once you know which kind of input you have, there’s just one more question to ask yourself.

Is your output—what you actually measured—a number, like the temperature of water or the pH of a liquid?

Or is it more like a tally of responses, like how many people preferred one scenario over another?

Take a minute to think about your data from your experiment, then pick the chart type that matches it.

If your input is time, a line graph is a great choice.

If your input is numerical, check out an XY scatter plot.

If your input is different categories, try using a bar graph, column chart, or pictograph.

And if you have survey results or you want to show the percent of a whole, look at using a Pie chart.

Finally, if you want to show how survey results or the percent of a whole changed over time, check out a time-based area chart.

Once you know which chart type would showcase your results well, check out the video that walks you through how to create that chart yourself.

We start with the title. We want to be as descriptive as possible.

Imagine someone is going to find your chart, without any explanation of what it’s about. Help them figure out what they’re looking at.

Then we’ll organize our data into columns.

The first column holds the Date or Time values, which will be listed across the X axis of your chart.

Then, you’ll put each set of data you recorded in its own column to the right of the X values.

For example, I recorded the daily high and low temperature, and I’d like one line to show the high, and one line to show the low.

It’s very important to label your data with the units you measured in. For mine, are these degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius?

If you measured a distance, was it in inches, centimeters, or thousands of miles?

Just showing numbers by themselves isn’t as easy to understand as if you include their units.

Now that our columns are labeled, we just fill in all the data. The times should match up with the data we recorded at those times.

Once our data is in the spreadsheet, we’re ready to make the line graph!

This is easy. We select our data.

Click Insert > Line Graph > Line with Markers.

Voila! We have a line chart.

It even gave us a legend with our labels.

Now, we add a chart title and axis titles.

We can link the chart title to the one we already wrote.

Select the box the title is in.

In the formula bar type «=A1»

Now we’ll add a label for the X axis, and link it to the label we wrote.

In the formula bar, type «=A2»

For the Y axis, if we have more than one line we need a generic label to show what the numbers on the side mean.

For mine, I can say Temperature (F).

Yours might be Plant Height (cm).

Our last step is to make the chart look nice.

For some charts, you don’t need the Y axis to start at 0.

Like for temperature, we can zoom in on the data I measured, instead of squishing it all to the top.

If that works for your data, we’ll select the axis and change the minimum.

At this point, our chart is looking really good.

We can easily add more lines.

Just insert a new column and add the data.

Excel automatically adds a line with those values to the chart.

Now for my favorite part.

We can style our chart with different colors and designs by selecting the chart > Design, pick settings that we like.

For more specific changes to the lines on your chart, you can go to the paint bucket, officially the «Fill and Line» menu.

Here, you can change the color, size, and other details for each line individually.

Now we have a great-looking line graph.

It shows what we measured, the units we recorded them in, and how the values changed over time.

If you want a head start on creating your own line graph, you can download the Excel file I used for this video.

You’ll label 2 columns: the first is the kind of categories you have, and the second is what you measured for those categories.

It’s very important to label your data with the units you measured in. For mine, the rainfall is measured in inches, but I have to label it or someone could think it was centimeters.

Next, you’ll type your categories in the first column, and put their values in the second column.

Once your data is in the spreadsheet, you are ready to make the column chart!

This is easy. We select our data.

Then all we have to do is go to the Insert tab, find the Column Chart option, and choose Clustered Column.

If you want to do a bar chart instead, you can select that here—the only difference is that your bars go side-to-side instead of up and down.

You will automatically get a title, but you can change it if you’d like.

The only thing you have to add is labels for the axes. You already wrote the label of the X axis, so you can link to it by going to the formula bar and typing equals, then selecting the cell with the name of your categories.

For the Y axis, you can either link to the value you wrote before, or you can type a different description of your measurement.

Either way, be sure to include the units.

You can display more than one value for each category.

If you’ve already created a chart, the easiest way to add data is to type the category title and all of the values in the next column.

Then, you can select the chart; that will highlight the data it’s using.

Find the lower-right corner of the highlighted area, and drag it to include your new data.

Then you’ll want to check that your Chart Title and Axis Title are still correct.

If you have more than one column for each category, you should add a legend to you chart, to make it clear what each column represents.

You can change your chart type at any time, if you decide a bar chart would be better than a column chart for your data.

Select the chart, then go to Design, Change chart Type. Then you’ll find Bar on the side menu.

Now our chart has all the information it needs—everything else I’ll show you is styling.

You can adjust how many decimal places the Y axis shows by selecting the axis and going to Axis Options > Number. Select Number from the dropdown list, and type the number of decimal places you’d like to display.

You can also specify the maximum value of your Y axis—just be sure that it’s high enough to show all your data.

You can style the chart with different colors and designs by selecting the chart, go to Design, and pick from a good selection of pre-set styles.

One especially cool feature of column charts is that you can use a picture instead of a solid color.

Select one of your column series, then go to the bucket fill and line menu. Choose Picture or Texture fill.

Find a picture you’d like to use, and then change it from Stretch to Stack. You can add different pictures for each of the column series.

Technically, this kind of chart is called a pictograph, and you can make it from either a column chart or a bar chart.

So that’s how you make a column chart!

If you want a head start on creating your own column chart, you can download the Excel file I used for this video.

Looking at it, I can see that the trees that are bigger around than other trees are also taller than other trees.

Scatter graphs can compare any 2 numbers—you could look at people’s height vs weight, city size vs population, or the amount of time students studied vs their grade on a test.

Whatever you want to show on the scatter graph, you start with putting your data in Excel.

You’ll label 2 columns: the first will be your X axis, and the second will be your Y axis.

If you had any control over one of the variables, you’ll want to put that one first.

For example, if you gave different amounts of water to each tree, that’s an «independent» variable you controlled, and should go across the bottom of your graph, and in the first column of your data.

If you didn’t have anything to do with either measurement, you can pick either one for this first column.

It’s very important to label your data with the units you measured in.

For mine, the circumference and height were both measured in meters, but I have to label it or someone might assume I measured in feet.

Once your data is in the spreadsheet, you are ready to make the scatter chart!

This is easy. First, you will select your data.

Then go to the Insert tab, find the XY Scatter Chart option, and choose Scatter.

The first thing to do is add a title. You want to describe both of your measurements, usually in the format of «Y Measurement» vs «X Measurement», with units at the end.

Next, you’ll add labels for the axes.

If you want to use the same wording you used when you labeled your data, you can link to that text by going to the formula bar and typing equals, then selecting the cell that has your data label.

If you would like to change the wording, you can select the Axis Title and type a different description of your measurement; be sure to include the units here as well.

At this point, you have a nice looking graph that has the data and the labels. Let’s take a look at how you would display more than one set of data on your chart.

There’s 2 different ways you could add data to your chart, and it depends on whether the new data uses the same X values you already recorded, or if it has different X values.

Let’s first look at adding data with the same X values.

Suppose that for each Circumference of my trees, I knew the average height of Douglas Firs in the area, and wanted to include those values on my chart.

I’d record these values in a new column to the right of my data, so for the 0.30 meter circumference tree, the average height is 8.40 meters, and so on.

Now I can select the graph and find where my data is highlighted.

I’ll find the lower right corner of the highlighting, then drag it to include my new data.

You can see it gets added as a new dataset with its own color.

I would want to add a legend to my chart to make it clear which dataset was which, and I might need to update my Title and Axis labels.

Now, let’s look at how we would add data if the X values are not the same.

Suppose I went to a different forest and measured the circumference and height of trees there.

I’d record the data in a different area of my sheet, including both the X and the Y values.

I need to be sure that the headers of my first dataset apply to my new dataset—so for mine, I’d record circumference in the first column and height in the second column, and since the units for my first dataset were measured in meters. I’d need to record the new data in meters as well.

Once you have your second dataset in the workbook, you select the chart, and on the Design tab go to «select data.»

You will add a series and name it—whatever you want to appear in the legend.

Then you’ll select the X values and the Y values of your dataset.

When you’re done, you may also want to update the name of your original series.

Again, you’d want to add a legend to your chart. You may need to update your Title and Axis labels.

You can show a trendline of each dataset.

If you select a series, right click, and choose Add Trendline, it will add a straight line that shows the general trend of your data.

If your data looks more like a curve than a straight line, some of the other options might be a better match.

When you’ve found the trendline type you want to use, you can check the box to display the trendline’s equation on your chart—this may be especially helpful for future analysis of your data.

You can style the chart with different colors and designs by selecting the chart, go to Design, and pick from a selection of pre-set styles.

If you want a head start on creating your own scatter graph, you are welcome to download the Excel file I used for this video, and then add your own data to it.

Out of the students in this survey, you can see that more than half prefer horses, and about a third prefer dolphins.

The remaining students had a lot of different favorite animals.

Pie charts are best when you’d like to emphasize one especially big value or one especially small value.

This chart would be great for showing that a lot of students like horses, or for calling out that my hypothesis was wrong, if I thought that most students would prefer dogs.

It’s important to know that pie charts are not always the right answer for making comparisons.

If your numbers are closer together, like 25%, 30%, and 40%, it’s hard to tell from a pie chart which values are bigger.

A column chart is usually a better option, since it’s easier to compare similar values, and it’s easier to read when you have lots of categories.

If you do want to make a pie chart, you’ll label 2 columns: the first is the kind of categories you have, and the second is what you measured in those categories.

Next, you’ll fill in the categories in the first column, and their values in the second column.

Once your data is in the spreadsheet, you are ready to make the pie chart!

This is easy. You select your data. Then all you have to do is go to the Insert tab, find the pie chart option, and choose pie.

Now you’re going to update your title.

You want it to be descriptive enough that if someone found your chart without any explanation, they’d know what they were looking at.

If you’ve already created a chart and you want to add another slice to your pie, the easiest way to do that is to type the missing category and number at the bottom of your dataset.

Remember that if you’re using percentages, they need to add up to 100%, so be sure your data is still accurate after you add a new value.

Then, you can select the chart; that will highlight the data it’s using.

Find the lower-right corner of the highlighted area, and drag it to include your new data.

You can change your chart type at any time, if you decide a column chart would be better than a pie chart for your data, especially as you start adding more categories.

Select the chart, then go to Design, Change Chart Type. Then you’ll find Column on the side menu.

You can preview other chart options to experiment with as well.

Now your chart has all the information it needs—everything else I’ll show you is styling.

You can style the chart with different colors and designs by selecting the chart, go to Design, and pick from a good selection of pre-set styles.

Now you can do more customization on top of the styling.

You can add labels by right-clicking the chart and choosing add data callouts.

On the label options section, you can change the separator to a space so it doesn’t take up as much vertical room.

You may want to emphasize one slice of the pie chart more than the others.

If so, you can select the slice, and the side bar will say «Format Data Point».

Then under series options, you can increase the point explosion to pull it out from the rest of the pie.

On the fill and line bucket menu, you can change the colors of the whole pie, and you can change one slice at a time.

So that’s how to create a pie chart!

If you want a head start on creating your own chart, you can look in the description for a link to download this file.

There’s the basic print, which will print everything exactly as you see it in Excel—except of course without the gridlines that separate each cell.

This is the default if you have a cell selected when you print.

If you select a chart before you print, Excel will only print the chart—and it will automatically fit the chart onto one page.

If you want to print a specific part of your worksheet, then you can select the cells you want to print.

And then make sure that under the print settings you are printing the selection.

If you want Excel to remember where your print selection was so you can re-print the same selection later, you can save it as a print area.

You will go to Page Layout > Print Area > set print area.

If you are printing for a poster, you may want everything to print larger than it shows on your screen.

In that case, you can use custom scaling to increase the size of everything you print.

One note is you can’t do that if you select a chart first, so you’ll have to either print a selection or a range in order to change the custom scaling.

If you’re not going to print straight from Excel, and instead you’re going to copy your chart into a Word report or a Power Point presentation, I would recommend pasting it as a picture.

This will keep all the formatting and numbers the same, even if you update your Excel file later on.

So that’s how to print a chart!