Charts help you visualize your data in a way that creates maximum impact on your audience. Learn to create a chart and add a trendline. You can start your document from a recommended chart or choose one from our collection of pre-built chart templates.
Create a chart
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Select data for the chart.
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Select Insert > Recommended Charts.
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Select a chart on the Recommended Charts tab, to preview the chart.
Note: You can select the data you want in the chart and press ALT + F1 to create a chart immediately, but it might not be the best chart for the data. If you don’t see a chart you like, select the All Charts tab to see all chart types.
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Select a chart.
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Select OK.
Add a trendline
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Select a chart.
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Select Design > Add Chart Element.
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Select Trendline and then select the type of trendline you want, such as Linear, Exponential, Linear Forecast, or Moving Average.
Note: Some of the content in this topic may not be applicable to some languages.
Charts display data in a graphical format that can help you and your audience visualize relationships between data. When you create a chart, you can select from many chart types (for example, a stacked column chart or a 3-D exploded pie chart). After you create a chart, you can customize it by applying chart quick layouts or styles.
Charts contain several elements, such as a title, axis labels, a legend, and gridlines. You can hide or display these elements, and you can also change their location and formatting.
Chart title
Plot area
Legend
Axis titles
Axis labels
Tick marks
Gridlines
You can create a chart in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. However, the chart data is entered and saved in an Excel worksheet. If you insert a chart in Word or PowerPoint, a new sheet is opened in Excel. When you save a Word document or PowerPoint presentation that contains a chart, the chart’s underlying Excel data is automatically saved within the Word document or PowerPoint presentation.
Note: The Excel Workbook Gallery replaces the former Chart Wizard. By default, the Excel Workbook Gallery opens when you open Excel. From the gallery, you can browse templates and create a new workbook based on one of them. If you don’t see the Excel Workbook Gallery, on the File menu, click New from Template.
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On the View menu, click Print Layout.
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Click the Insert tab, and then click the arrow next to Chart.
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Click a chart type, and then double-click the chart you want to add.
When you insert a chart into Word or PowerPoint, an Excel worksheet opens that contains a table of sample data.
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In Excel, replace the sample data with the data that you want to plot in the chart. If you already have your data in another table, you can copy the data from that table and then paste it over the sample data. See the following table for guidelines for how to arrange the data to fit your chart type.
For this chart type
Arrange the data
Area, bar, column, doughnut, line, radar, or surface chart
In columns or rows, as in the following examples:
Series 1
Series 2
Category A
10
12
Category B
11
14
Category C
9
15
or
Category A
Category B
Series 1
10
11
Series 2
12
14
Bubble chart
In columns, putting x values in the first column and corresponding y values and bubble size values in adjacent columns, as in the following examples:
X-Values
Y-Value 1
Size 1
0.7
2.7
4
1.8
3.2
5
2.6
0.08
6
Pie chart
In one column or row of data and one column or row of data labels, as in the following examples:
Sales
1st Qtr
25
2nd Qtr
30
3rd Qtr
45
or
1st Qtr
2nd Qtr
3rd Qtr
Sales
25
30
45
Stock chart
In columns or rows in the following order, using names or dates as labels, as in the following examples:
Open
High
Low
Close
1/5/02
44
55
11
25
1/6/02
25
57
12
38
or
1/5/02
1/6/02
Open
44
25
High
55
57
Low
11
12
Close
25
38
X Y (scatter) chart
In columns, putting x values in the first column and corresponding y values in adjacent columns, as in the following examples:
X-Values
Y-Value 1
0.7
2.7
1.8
3.2
2.6
0.08
or
X-Values
0.7
1.8
2.6
Y-Value 1
2.7
3.2
0.08
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To change the number of rows and columns included in the chart, rest the pointer on the lower-right corner of the selected data, and then drag to select additional data. In the following example, the table is expanded to include additional categories and data series.
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To see the results of your changes, switch back to Word or PowerPoint.
Note: When you close the Word document or the PowerPoint presentation that contains the chart, the chart’s Excel data table closes automatically.
After you create a chart, you might want to change the way that table rows and columns are plotted in the chart. For example, your first version of a chart might plot the rows of data from the table on the chart’s vertical (value) axis, and the columns of data on the horizontal (category) axis. In the following example, the chart emphasizes sales by instrument.
However, if you want the chart to emphasize the sales by month, you can reverse the way the chart is plotted.
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On the View menu, click Print Layout.
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Click the chart.
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Click the Chart Design tab, and then click Switch Row/Column.
If Switch Row/Column is not available
Switch Row/Column is available only when the chart’s Excel data table is open and only for certain chart types. You can also edit the data by clicking the chart, and then editing the worksheet in Excel.
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On the View menu, click Print Layout.
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Click the chart.
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Click the Chart Design tab, and then click Quick Layout.
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Click the layout you want.
To immediately undo a quick layout that you applied, press
+ Z .
+ Z .Chart styles are a set of complementary colors and effects that you can apply to your chart. When you select a chart style, your changes affect the whole chart.
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On the View menu, click Print Layout.
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Click the chart.
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Click the Chart Design tab, and then click the style you want.
To see more styles, point to a style, and then click
.To immediately undo a style that you applied, press
+ Z .
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On the View menu, click Print Layout.
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Click the chart, and then click the Chart Design tab.
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Click Add Chart Element.
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Click Chart Title to choose title format options, and then return to the chart to type a title in the Chart Title box.
See also
Update the data in an existing chart
Chart types
Create a chart
You can create a chart for your data in Excel for the web. Depending on the data you have, you can create a column, line, pie, bar, area, scatter, or radar chart.
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Click anywhere in the data for which you want to create a chart.
To plot specific data into a chart, you can also select the data.
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Select Insert > Charts > and the chart type you want.
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On the menu that opens, select the option you want. Hover over a chart to learn more about it.
Tip: Your choice isn’t applied until you pick an option from a Charts command menu. Consider reviewing several chart types: as you point to menu items, summaries appear next to them to help you decide.
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To edit the chart (titles, legends, data labels), select the Chart tab and then select Format.
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In the Chart pane, adjust the setting as needed. You can customize settings for the chart’s title, legend, axis titles, series titles, and more.
Available chart types
It’s a good idea to review your data and decide what type of chart would work best. The available types are listed below.
Data that’s arranged in columns or rows on a worksheet can be plotted in a column chart. A column chart typically displays categories along the horizontal axis and values along the vertical axis, like shown in this chart:
Types of column charts
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Clustered column A clustered column chart shows values in 2-D columns. Use this chart when you have categories that represent:
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Ranges of values (for example, item counts).
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Specific scale arrangements (for example, a Likert scale with entries, like strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree).
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Names that are not in any specific order (for example, item names, geographic names, or the names of people).
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Stacked column A stacked column chart shows values in 2-D stacked columns. Use this chart when you have multiple data series and you want to emphasize the total.
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100% stacked column A 100% stacked column chart shows values in 2-D columns that are stacked to represent 100%. Use this chart when you have two or more data series and you want to emphasize the contributions to the whole, especially if the total is the same for each category.
Data that is arranged in columns or rows on a worksheet can be plotted in a line chart. In a line chart, category data is distributed evenly along the horizontal axis, and all value data is distributed evenly along the vertical axis. Line charts can show continuous data over time on an evenly scaled axis, and are therefore ideal for showing trends in data at equal intervals, like months, quarters, or fiscal years.
Types of line charts
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Line and line with markers Shown with or without markers to indicate individual data values, line charts can show trends over time or evenly spaced categories, especially when you have many data points and the order in which they are presented is important. If there are many categories or the values are approximate, use a line chart without markers.
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Stacked line and stacked line with markers Shown with or without markers to indicate individual data values, stacked line charts can show the trend of the contribution of each value over time or evenly spaced categories.
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100% stacked line and 100% stacked line with markers Shown with or without markers to indicate individual data values, 100% stacked line charts can show the trend of the percentage each value contributes over time or evenly spaced categories. If there are many categories or the values are approximate, use a 100% stacked line chart without markers.
Notes:
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Line charts work best when you have multiple data series in your chart—if you only have one data series, consider using a scatter chart instead.
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Stacked line charts add the data, which might not be the result you want. It might not be easy to see that the lines are stacked, so consider using a different line chart type or a stacked area chart instead.
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Data that is arranged in one column or row on a worksheet can be plotted in a pie chart. Pie charts show the size of items in one data series, proportional to the sum of the items. The data points in a pie chart are shown as a percentage of the whole pie.
Consider using a pie chart when:
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You have only one data series.
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None of the values in your data are negative.
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Almost none of the values in your data are zero values.
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You have no more than seven categories, all of which represent parts of the whole pie.
Data that is arranged in columns or rows only on a worksheet can be plotted in a doughnut chart. Like a pie chart, a doughnut chart shows the relationship of parts to a whole, but it can contain more than one data series.
Tip: Doughnut charts are not easy to read. You may want to use a stacked column or stacked bar chart instead.
Data that is arranged in columns or rows on a worksheet can be plotted in a bar chart. Bar charts illustrate comparisons among individual items. In a bar chart, the categories are typically organized along the vertical axis, and the values along the horizontal axis.
Consider using a bar chart when:
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The axis labels are long.
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The values that are shown are durations.
Types of bar charts
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Clustered A clustered bar chart shows bars in 2-D format.
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Stacked bar Stacked bar charts show the relationship of individual items to the whole in 2-D bars
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100% stacked A 100% stacked bar shows 2-D bars that compare the percentage that each value contributes to a total across categories.
Data that is arranged in columns or rows on a worksheet can be plotted in an area chart. Area charts can be used to plot change over time and draw attention to the total value across a trend. By showing the sum of the plotted values, an area chart also shows the relationship of parts to a whole.
Types of area charts
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Area Shown in 2-D format, area charts show the trend of values over time or other category data. As a rule, consider using a line chart instead of a non-stacked area chart, because data from one series can be hidden behind data from another series.
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Stacked area Stacked area charts show the trend of the contribution of each value over time or other category data in 2-D format.
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100% stacked 100% stacked area charts show the trend of the percentage that each value contributes over time or other category data.
Data that is arranged in columns and rows on a worksheet can be plotted in an scatter chart. Place the x values in one row or column, and then enter the corresponding y values in the adjacent rows or columns.
A scatter chart has two value axes: a horizontal (x) and a vertical (y) value axis. It combines x and y values into single data points and shows them in irregular intervals, or clusters. Scatter charts are typically used for showing and comparing numeric values, like scientific, statistical, and engineering data.
Consider using a scatter chart when:
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You want to change the scale of the horizontal axis.
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You want to make that axis a logarithmic scale.
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Values for horizontal axis are not evenly spaced.
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There are many data points on the horizontal axis.
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You want to adjust the independent axis scales of a scatter chart to reveal more information about data that includes pairs or grouped sets of values.
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You want to show similarities between large sets of data instead of differences between data points.
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You want to compare many data points without regard to time — the more data that you include in a scatter chart, the better the comparisons you can make.
Types of scatter charts
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Scatter This chart shows data points without connecting lines to compare pairs of values.
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Scatter with smooth lines and markers and scatter with smooth lines This chart shows a smooth curve that connects the data points. Smooth lines can be shown with or without markers. Use a smooth line without markers if there are many data points.
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Scatter with straight lines and markers and scatter with straight lines This chart shows straight connecting lines between data points. Straight lines can be shown with or without markers.
Data that is arranged in columns or rows on a worksheet can be plotted in a radar chart. Radar charts compare the aggregate values of several data series.
Type of radar charts
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Radar and radar with markers With or without markers for individual data points, radar charts show changes in values relative to a center point.
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Filled radar In a filled radar chart, the area covered by a data series is filled with a color.
Add or edit a chart title
You can add or edit a chart title, customize its look, and include it on the chart.
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Click anywhere in the chart to show the Chart tab on the ribbon.
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Click Format to open the chart formatting options.
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In the Chart pane, expand the Chart Title section.
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Add or edit the Chart Title to meet your needs.
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Use the switch to hide the title if you don’t want your chart to show a title.
Add axis titles to improve chart readability
Adding titles to the horizontal and vertical axes in charts that have axes can make them easier to read. You can’t add axis titles to charts that don’t have axes, such as pie and doughnut charts.
Much like chart titles, axis titles help the people who view the chart understand what the data is about.
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Click anywhere in the chart to show the Chart tab on the ribbon.
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Click Format to open the chart formatting options.
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In the Chart pane, expand the Horizontal Axis or Vertical Axis section.
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Add or edit the Horizontal Axis or Vertical Axis options to meet your needs.
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Expand the Axis Title.
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Change the Axis Title and modify the formatting.
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Use the switch to show or hide the title.
Change the axis labels
Axis labels are shown below the horizontal axis and next to the vertical axis. Your chart uses text in the source data for these axis labels.
To change the text of the category labels on the horizontal or vertical axis:
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Click the cell which has the label text you want to change.
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Type the text you want and press Enter.
The axis labels in the chart are automatically updated with the new text.
Tip: Axis labels are different from axis titles you can add to describe what is shown on the axes. Axis titles aren’t automatically shown in a chart.
Remove the axis labels
To remove labels on the horizontal or vertical axis:
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Click anywhere in the chart to show the Chart tab on the ribbon.
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Click Format to open the chart formatting options.
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In the Chart pane, expand the Horizontal Axis or Vertical Axis section.
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From the dropdown box for Label Position, select None to prevent the labels from showing on the chart.
Need more help?
You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community.
A picture is worth of thousand words; a chart is worth of thousand sets of data. In this tutorial, we are going to learn how we can use graph in Excel to visualize our data.
What is a chart?
A chart is a visual representative of data in both columns and rows. Charts are usually used to analyse trends and patterns in data sets. Let’s say you have been recording the sales figures in Excel for the past three years. Using charts, you can easily tell which year had the most sales and which year had the least. You can also draw charts to compare set targets against actual achievements.
We will use the following data for this tutorial.
Note: we will be using Excel 2013. If you have a lower version, then some of the more advanced features may not be available to you.
| Item | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desktop Computers | 20 | 12 | 13 | 12 |
| Laptops | 34 | 45 | 40 | 39 |
| Monitors | 12 | 10 | 17 | 15 |
| Printers | 78 | 13 | 90 | 14 |
Different scenarios require different types of charts. Towards this end, Excel provides a number of chart types that you can work with. The type of chart that you choose depends on the type of data that you want to visualize. To help simplify things for the users, Excel 2013 and above has an option that analyses your data and makes a recommendation of the chart type that you should use.
The following table shows some of the most commonly used Excel charts and when you should consider using them.
| S/N | CHART TYPE | WHEN SHOULD I USE IT? | EXAMPLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pie Chart | When you want to quantify items and show them as percentages. |
|
| 2 | Bar Chart | When you want to compare values across a few categories. The values run horizontally |
|
| 3 | Column chart | When you want to compare values across a few categories. The values run vertically |
|
| 4 | Line chart | When you want to visualize trends over a period of time i.e. months, days, years, etc. |
|
| 5 | Combo Chart | When you want to highlight different types of information |
|
The importance of charts
- Allows you to visualize data graphically
- It’s easier to analyse trends and patterns using charts in MS Excel
- Easy to interpret compared to data in cells
Step by step example of creating charts in Excel
In this tutorial, we are going to plot a simple column chart in Excel that will display the sold quantities against the sales year. Below are the steps to create chart in MS Excel:
- Open Excel
- Enter the data from the sample data table above
- Your workbook should now look as follows
To get the desired chart you have to follow the following steps
- Select the data you want to represent in graph
- Click on INSERT tab from the ribbon
- Click on the Column chart drop down button
- Select the chart type you want
You should be able to see the following chart
Tutorial Exercise
When you select the chart, the ribbon activates the following tab
Try to apply the different chart styles, and other options presented in your chart.
Download the above Excel Template
Summary
Charts are a powerful way of graphically visualizing your data. Excel has many types of charts that you can use depending on your needs.
Conditional formatting is also another power formatting feature of Excel that helps us easily see the data that meets a specified condition
Home / Excel Charts / Interactive Charts
A chart is a perfect tool to present data in an understandable way. But sometimes it sucks because we overload it with data. Yes, you heard it right.
I believe that when it comes to charts it should be neat and clean and the best solution to this problem is using interactive charts. By using interactive charts in Excel, you can present more data in a single chart, and you don’t even have to worry about all that clutter.
It’s a smart way. Look at the below chart where I am trying to show target vs. achievement, profit, and market share.
Do you think this is a decent way to present it? Of course not. And now check out this, where have an interactive chart which I can control with option buttons.
What do you think? Are you ready to create your first interactive chart in Excel?
Steps to Make an Interactive Chart in Excel
In today’s post, I’m going to show you the exact steps which you need to follow to create a simple interactive chart in Excel. Please download this file from here to follow along.
1. Prepare Data
- First of all, copy this table and paste it below the original table.
- Now, delete the data from the second table.
- In the Jan month cell of target and achievement, insert the following formulas and copy those formulas into the entire row (Formula Bar).
=IF($A$1=1,B3,NA()) - After that, into the Jan month of profit and copy it into the entire row.
- In the end, Jan month of market share copy it into the entire row.
Your interactive data table is ready.
All the cells in this table are linked with A1. And when you enter “1” in the A1 table will show you data for target and achievement only. For “2” it will show profit and market share for “3”.
2. Insert Option Buttons
- Go to developer tab ➜ Control ➜ Insert ➜ Option button.
- Insert three option buttons and name them as following.
- Button-1 = TGT Vs. ACH
- Button-2 = Profit
- Button-3 = Market Share
- After that, right-click on any of the buttons and select “format control”.
- In format control options, link it to the cell A1 and click OK.
- Now, you can control your data with these option buttons.
3. Insert Secondary Axis Chart
- First of all, select your table and insert a column chart.
- After that, select your data bars & click on “change chart type”. Go to Design Tab ➜ Design ➜ Change Chart Type.
- Now for profit and market share, change the chart type to the line with markers and tick the secondary axis for both.
Congratulations! your interactive chart is ready to rock. You can also make some formatting changes to your chart if you want.
Sample File
Download this sample file from here to learn more.
Conclusion
In the end, I just want to say that with an interactive chart you can help your user to focus on one thing at a time.
And you can save a lot of space in the dashboards as well. Sometimes you feel that it’s a lengthy process but it’s a one-time setup that can save you a lot of time. I hope this tip will help you to get better at charting, but now, tell me one thing.
What kind of interactive charts do you use? Share with me in the comment section, I’d love to hear from you, and please don’t forget to share this tip with your friends, I’m sure they will appreciate it.
More Charting Tutorials
- How to Add a Horizontal Line in a Chart in Excel
- How to Add a Vertical Line in a Chart in Excel
- How to Create a Bullet Chart in Excel
- How to Create a Dynamic Chart Range in Excel
- How to Create a Dynamic Chart Title in Excel
- How to Create a Sales Funnel Chart in Excel
- How to Create a HEAT MAP in Excel
- How to Create a HISTOGRAM in Excel
- How to Create a Pictograph in Excel
- How to Create a Milestone Chart in Excel
- How to Insert a People Graph in Excel
- How to Create PIVOT CHART in Excel
- How to Create a Population Pyramid Chart in Excel
- How to Create a SPEEDOMETER Chart [Gauge] in Excel
- How to Create a Step Chart in Excel
- How to Create a Thermometer Chart in Excel
- How to Create a Tornado Chart in Excel
- How to Create Waffle Chart in Excel
Any information is easier to perceive when it’s represented in a visual form. It’s particularly relevant for numeric data that needs to be compared. In this case, charts are the optimal variant of representation. We will work in Excel.
Moreover, we will learn to create dynamic charts and graphs, which are updated automatically when you change the data. The link at the end of the article will allow you to download a sample template.
How to build a chart off a table in Excel?
- Create a table with the data.
- Select the range of values A1:B5 that need to be presented as a chart. Go to the «INSERT» tab and choose the type.
- Click «Insert Column Chart» (as an example; you may choose a different type). Select one of the suggested bar charts.
- After you choose your bar chart type, it will be generated automatically.
- Such a variant isn’t exactly what we need, so let’s modify it. Double-click on the bar chart’s title and enter «Total Amounts».
- Add the vertical axis title. Go to «CHART TOOLS» — «DESIGN» — «Add Element» — «Axis Titles» — «Primary Vertical». Select the vertical axis and its title type.
- Enter «AMOUNT».
- Change the color and style. Choose a different style number 9.
- Specify the sums by giving titles to the bars. Go to the «DESIGN» tab, select «Data Labels» and the desired position.
Done!
As a result, we have a stylish presentation of the data in Excel.
How to add data in an Excel chart?
- Add new values to the table – the «Plan» column.
- Select the new range of values, including the heading. Copy it to the clipboard (by pressing Ctrl+C). Select the existing chart and paste the fragment (by pressing Ctrl+V).
- As it’s not entirely clear where the figures in our bar chart come from, let’s create the legend. Go to «DESIGN» — «Legend» — «Right». This is the result:
There is a more complicated way of adding new data into the existing graph through the «DESIGN» «Select Data» menu (open it by right-clicking and selecting «Select Data»).
After you click «Add» (legend elements), there will open the row for selecting the range of values.
How to reverse axes in an Excel chart?
In the menu you’ve opened, click the «DESIGN»-«Switch/Column» button.
The values for rows and categories will swap around automatically.
How to lock controls in an Excel chart?
If you need to add new data in the bar chart very often, it’s not convenient to change the range every time. The optimal variant is to create a dynamic chart that will update automatically. To lock the controls, let’s transform the data range into a «Smart Table».
- Select the range of values A1:C5 and click «Format as Table» on «HOME» tab.
- Select any style in the drop-down menu. The program suggests you select the range for the table – agree with the suggested variant. The values for the graph will appear as follows:
- As soon as you begin to enter new information in the table, the chart will also change. It has become dynamic:
We have learned how to create a «Smart Table» off the existing data. If the spreadsheet is blank, start off with entering the values in the table: «INSERT» — «Table».
How to build a percentage chart in Excel?
Pie charts are the best option for representing percentage information.
The input data for our sample chart:
- Select the range A1:B8. «INSERT» — «Insert Pie or Doughnut Chart» — «3D-Pie».
- Go to the tab «DESIGN» — «Styles». Among the suggested options, there are styles that include percentages. Choose the suitable 9.
- The small percentage sectors are visible poorly. To highlight them, let’s create a secondary chart. Select the pie. Go to the tab «DESIGN» — «Change Chart Type». Select a pie with a secondary graph.
- The automatically generated option does not fulfill the task. Right-click on any sector. The dots designating the boundaries will become visible. Click «Format Data Series». Enter the following row parameters:
- We have obtained the desired variant:
Gantt chart in Excel
The Gantt chart is way of representing information in the form of bars to illustrate a multi-stage event. It’s a simple yet impressive trick.
- We have a (dummy) table containing the deadlines for different reports.
- To create a chart, insert a column containing the number of days (column C). Fill it in with the help of Excel formulas.
- Select the range to contain the Gantt chart (E3:BF12). That is, the cells to be filled with a color between the beginning and end dates.
- Open the «Conditional Formatting» menu (on the «HOME» tab). Select «New Rule» — «Use a formula to determine which cells to format».
- Enter the formula of the following type: =AND(E$2>=$B3,E$2<=$D3). Excel uses the operator «И» to compare the date in the current cell with the beginning and end dates. Then, click «Format» and select the fill color.
When you need to build a presentable financial report, it’s better to use the graphical data representation tools.
A simple Gantt graph is ready. You can also download the template with a sample:
Download all examples
If the information is represented in a graphical way, it’s perceived visually much quicker and more efficiently than texts and numbers. It makes it easier to conduct an analytic analysis. It makes the situation clearer – both the whole picture and particular details.
Charts and graphs were specifically developed in Excel for fulfilling such tasks.
List of All Excel Charts & How to Use Them (2023 Tutorial)
One of the big reasons that make Microsoft Excel a great spreadsheet software is the charts that it has to offer 📊
Yes, people, you heard that right! Charts.
Microsoft Excel has a huge variety of charts to offer. You cannot only use Excel to store data but also to represent your data – in many shapes and forms.
What are the charts offered by Excel? And how and when can you use them? I will walk you through that in the guide below. Stay tuned.
To practice making a chart along with the guide download our free sample workbook here 📩
How to create a chart in Excel
Excel has simplified creating charts like something. To create a chart in Excel, you must have your data organized in rows or columns, and that’s it.
For example, here we have a dataset that tells the preferences for different brands among people 🛒
To turn this dataset into a chart:
- Select the data (don’t mind including the headers.)
- Go to the Insert tab > Recommended charts.
- Go to All Charts.
- Select any desired chart (from the list on the left side). We are making a pie chart out of it 🥧
Hover your cursor on any chart to see a preview of how your data would look when presented in that chart type.
Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office Specialist- Click Okay and there comes your chart.
Alt-text:
It is only that easy to create a chart in Excel. Try creating different charts similarly in Excel.
But! Must know that different chart types suit different data types. The right chart for your data will depend upon your needs and your dataset 🤔
Change chart layout and design
When you create a chart in Excel, you’ll see it coming in the default chart style.
But you don’t have to go with those colors, styles, and layouts. You can instantly change them using the (so many) editing options offered by Excel 🎨
However, changing the colors, elements (and so much more) individually across the entire chart might cost you hours.
To your good, Excel has many layouts and styles for you to instantly change how your chart looks. And honestly speaking, it is only about a click🖱
Changing the Chart Layout
As the name suggests, chart layout changes the overall layout of your chart. It will reposition the elements, change how they look, add some, or even delete some of them under different layouts 😍
To change the layout of your chart:
- Select your chart (taking the same one from our example above).
Once you have selected the chart, you’d see two new tabs appearing on the Ribbon. The Chart Design tab and the Format tab.
- Go to the Chart Design tab > Quick Layouts button.
- Hover your cursor over the Quick Layouts button. And you’d see a menu of layouts 👁
- Hover the cursor over any layout to preview how it looks.
- Choose the layout you like by clicking on it.
Like we have chosen layout 7 here 7️⃣
Changing the Chart Design
Now that we have seen how to change the layout of any chart in Excel, let me tell you – changing chart designs in Excel is equally easy 🎭
You can try applying a wide variety of designs to your charts in Excel by following the steps below:
- Select the Chart.
- Go to the Chart Design Tab > Chart Styles Group.
You see that large drawer of designs. Those are not all.
- Click on the drop-down menu icon to the right of these styles to see more of them 🙈
- Hover your cursor over different chart styles to have a quick preview of each of them.
- Click on the one you like to have applied to your chart.
Like we tried Style 8 here 💡
List of all Excel chart types
We are off on a rollercoaster ride that won’t be ending anytime soon. Coming next is a long (very long) list of charts offered by Excel 💁♀️
So fasten your seat belts and here we go.
Bar Chart
A bar chart represents data in the form of bars (can be horizontal or vertical) 📊
To make a bar chart out of your dataset, it must be organized in the form of rows or columns.
Here is what a bar chart looks like.
All of these charts can be made in both, 2-D and 3-D styles 🕶
Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office SpecialistColumn Chart
If you have your data plotted in columns (or even rows), you can plot a column chart out of it.
Like a bar chart representing each category of data in the form of horizontal bars, a column chart does the same in the form of vertical bars. Here is what it looks like 🧐
A column chart can take different shapes like stacked column charts where columns are stacked over one another.
Or a 100% stacked column chart where data is plotted in percentages. For all these charts, you can choose a simple 2D or 3D chart type 😍
Learn more about making Column Charts in Excel here.
XY Scatter Charts
If you have two-dimensional data in Excel, there’s a high chance a scatter plot will visualize it the best. Simply arrange your data into rows or columns with the data for any one axis in one row (or column) and the data for the other axis in the corresponding row (or column).
Excel will mark dots on each intersecting point of the X and Y axis values and return a scatter plot that looks like below 🕊
With large datasets, scatter plots make comparisons a lot easier. To learn how to make a scatter plot in Excel, hop on here.
Line Chart
If your data talks about time – a line chart is the best to visualize it like a trend over time.
In a line chart, categories are distributed across the y-axis. And time is spread across the y-axis. A line chart will show the distribution of data over time in the form of a continuous line.
This way line charts are ideal for showing trends over time 🏹
Here is what a line chart looks like:
You can make a line chart with markers where each data point is highlighted with markers (prominent dots).
Pro Tip!
A line chart works best with multiple datasets. If you have only a single dataset (trend) to show, a scatter plot may also work 👩🏭
However, for multiple datasets, a line chart is better. This is because it helps make a comparison between different trends displayed together.
Line charts are of the following types:
- Stacked Line charts
- 3-D Line charts
- 100% Stacked Line charts
Doughnut/Pie Chart
A doughnut chart is called such because it looks like a doughnut. No jokes – it does. 🍩
Check it out here.
And a Pie chart looks just like a round pie with slices 🍕
Both these charts represent data in the form of slices. And so, they are used to show the proportion of different categories in the whole dataset.
Bigger the category, the bigger the slice, and vice versa.
This helps data visualization as you can take a look into the chart to readily tell which item makes the biggest (or the smallest) part of the dataset 🔎
How to make a pie chart/doughnut chart in Excel? Learn here.
A pie chart only suits a dataset with 7 categories (at most). If your data has too many categories to present, the doughnut/pie chart may become a mess with too many slices to it.
Such a tightly packed pie chart makes it hard to visualize the data ❌
Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office SpecialistBubble Chart
A bubble is a chart with bubbles – yes, here’s what it looks like.
A bubble chart is an enhanced version of a scatter plot. Just like a scatter plot, all data points are presented as scatter points on the graph.
However, here’s the difference: a bubble chart has bubbles that are of variable sizes. The size of each bubble is proportionate to the size of the value it represents. So if your data has three columns (three sets to compare), a bubble chart is your best choice💭
You can make various types of bubble charts in Excel like simple and 3D bubble charts.
Adding chart elements (like data labels) to the bubbles can enhance the readability of your Bubble Chart.
Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office SpecialistStock Charts
Just like the name suggests, a stock chart shows fluctuations in data. The idea of a stock chart originates from the idea of a chart showing fluctuations in stock prices 🏪
However, by no means is a stock chart only limited to showing stock prices. You can use it to show any fluctuating data – could be annual performance scores, GDP, temperatures, or anything.
Here is what a stock chart looks like:
To make the perfect stock chart, arrange your data in the right order. There are different types of stock charts, like the ones listed below:
- High-Low-Close
- Open-High-Low-Close
- Volume-High-Low-Close
- Volume-Open-High-Low-Close
Histogram Charts
A Histogram makes a unique chart when it comes to data presentation. It displays data frequencies. Each column of the chart shows a bin (bin is a range, like 5 to 50) 🌂
You can change the size of the bins as desired. The length of each column shows the proportion of data relating to that bin (or range).
A Pareto chart is also a histogram, but with a line that shows the cumulative total percentage. See here:
Learn more about histogram charts in Excel here.
Sun Burst Chart
The sunburst chart is a hierarchal chart based on the idea of the sun with a broad radius of its rays 🌞
To make a sunburst chart, replace these rays with different hierarchies of the data that you want to be plotted.
If your data has different hierarchies, for example, if you want to show the sale of cars > ABC Brand & XYZ Brand > Sedan, hatchback, and SUV.
A sunburst chart will make one ring outside the chart for each of these hierarchies. The first hierarchy will make the innermost ring, and every next hierarchy will come next as another outer ring 💍
Treemap Chart
If you call this chart more of a set of hieratically arranged boxes – you are right.
A Treemap chart looks no different than that 💁♀️
It offers a helicopter view of a dataset with multiple categories. Each category has a different color that makes it easy to comprehend data.
Box & Whisker Charts
A box and a whisker chart in Excel looks like the one below:
It distributes data into different quartiles and shows together their mean and outliers. You’d see lines extending out of each box. What are those?
These lines are used to show the potential variability in data across their upper and lower quartiles 🚁
Learn more about Box & Whisker Plots in our blog here.
Area Chart
An area chart plots data by showing the area covered by it on the chart. See here.
Area charts are the best when it comes to comparing different streams of data together. Or when you want to show changes in data over a given period.
You can also plot the sum of your data on an Area chart to show much each category of the data contributes towards the whole 💪
Area charts can take different forms like the ones listed here:
- Stacked Area Chart
- 100% Stacked Area Chart
- 3-D Area Chart
Funnel Charts
Funnel charts are one of my top favorite charts in Excel. They are simple, easy to make, and represent the data in a fine, readable way 📖
You can use it to show values across multiple stages. For example, if you want to map the movement of a company’s revenue to its net profit, a funnel chart can help you with that.
It will show how much the revenue shrinks down after each expense. As the revenue keeps thinning down, the chart takes the shape of an inverted triangle (a funnel) 🔻
Here is what a funnel chart looks like:
Map Chart
When it comes to visuals, nothing beats the map chart. Needless to mention, a map chart looks like a map 🌐
It represents different categories of data and their sizes in the form of geographical regions on a map. It is best to use a map chart when you are showing geographical data that involves different regions, states, etc.
Each category in a map chart is shown using a different color that is defined through legends.
Frequently asked questions
More than 50. To mention a few, the bar chart, line chart, pie chart, column chart, and many more.
This number includes several varieties of each chart type. Like the clustered column chart, stacked column chart, etc. under the Column Chart type.
Kasper Langmann2023-02-02T18:44:11+00:00
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