Charts Overview
To Change A Chart Type:
1. Select the chart, click the Design tab, and click Change Chart Type.
2. Choose a new chart type in the Change Chart Type box.
Charts can reside in either of two locations in a workbook:
On a worksheet as an embedded chart or
On a separate chart sheet.
Parts of a Chart:
Data Series, Gridlines, Plot Area, Chart Title, Chart Area, Vertical/Value Axis, Legend
Related points that are plotted in a chart and originate from datasheet rows or columns. Each data series in a chart has a unique color or pattern. You can plot one or more data series in a chart. Pie charts can have only one data series.
Lines you can add to a Chart that make it easier to view and evaluate data/ Gridlines extend from the tick marks on an axis across the plot area.
In a 2-D Chart, the area bounded by the axes, including all data series. In a 3-D Chart, the area bounded by the axes, including the data series, category names, tick-mark labels, and axis titles.
Title of the Chart on the top.
The entire Chart and all its elements.
A Chart axis that displays scaled numerical values.
A box that identifies the patterns or colors that are assigned to the data series or categories in a chart.
Objects: Embedded vs. Linked
You can add objects such as Bitmap Images, Mic. Graph Charts, Ppt. Presentations, Slides, Word Documents, OpenDoc. Presentations, Text, Organization Chart Add-In for Mic. Office Programs, Packages, or WordPad Doc. to an excel spreadsheet.
Linked Objects: The data is stored in the source file and is updated there, showing updates in your source file (ObjectLink).
Embedded Objects: Data is stored in the spreadsheet, without connection to the original (OwnerLink).
Chart Types:
Column Chart:
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 (category) axis and values along the vertical (value) axis, as shown in this chart:
Clustered Column and 3-D Clustered Column:
A clustered column charts values in 2-D columns. A 3-D clustered column chart shows columns in 3-D format, but it doesn’t use a depth axis.
Use this when you have chart categories that represent:
Ranges of values (i.e. item counts).
Specific scale arrangements (i.e. a Likert scale with entries like Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree).
Names that are not in any specific order (i.e. item names, geographic names, or people names).
Stacked Column and 3-D Stacked Column:
A stacked column chart shows values in 2-D stacked columns. A 3-D stacked column chart shows the stacked columns in 3-D format, but it doesn’t use a depth axis.
Use this chart when you have multiple data series and you want to emphasize the total.
100% Stacked Column and 3-D 100% Stacked Column:
A 100% stacked column chart shows values in 2-D columns that are stacked to represent 100%. A 3-D 100% stacked column chart shows the columns in 3-D format, but it doesn’t use a depth axis.
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.
3-D Column:
3-D column charts use three axes that you can change (a horizontal axis, a vertical axis, and a depth axis), and they compare data points along the horizontal and the depth axes.
Bar Chart:
Data is the same as in a column chart except it’s the data is displayed horizontally and there’s no depth axis option.
I prefer this over column sometimes when the labels are very length and tightly packed
Data is the same as in a column chart except it’s the data is displayed horizontally and there’s no depth axis option.
I prefer this over column sometimes when the labels are very length and tightly packed
Pie Chart:
Data that’s 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 ot the sum of the items. The data points in a pie chart are shows as a percentage of the whole.
Consider Using a Pie Chart When:
Almost none of the values in your data are zero values.
You have only one data series.
None of the values in your data are negative.
Pie and 3-D Pie:
Pie charts show the contribution of each value to a total in a 2-D or 3-D format. You can pull out slices of a pie chart manually to emphasize all or some slices.
Pie of Pie and Bar of Pie:
Pie of Pie or Bar of Pie charts show pie charts with similar values pulled out into a secondary pie or stacked bar chart, which makes them easier to distinguish.
Doughnut Chart:
Data that’s arranged in columns or rows only on a worksheet can be plotted in a doughnut chart. Like a pie chart except it can have multiple data series.
Doughnut charts show data in rings, where each ring represents a data series. If percentages are shown in data labels, each ring will total 100%.
Note: Doughnut charts aren’t easy to read. You may want to use Stacked Column charts or Stacked Bar charts instead.
Line Chart:
Data that's 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.
If there are many categories or the values are approximate don’t use markers.
Line charts show continuous data over time on an evenly scaled axis, so they're ideal for showing trends in data at equal intervals, like months, quarters, or fiscal years.
Line and Line with Markers:
Line chart 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.
Stacked Line and Stacked Line with Markers:
Stacked line charts can show the contribution of each value over time or evenly spaced categories.
Reading a Stacked Line Might Be Difficult Because:
They sum the data, which might not be the result you want.
It might not be easy to see that the lines are stacked.
100% Stacked Line and 100% Stacked Line with Markers:
100% stacked line charts can show the percent contribution of each category over evenly spaced intervals.
3-D Line:
3-D Line charts show each row or column of data as a 3-D ribbon. A 3-D line chart has horizontal, vertical, and depth axes that you can change.
Notes:
Line charts work best when you have multiple data series in your chart—if you have only one data series, consider using a scatter chart instead.
Stacked line charts sum 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.
Area Chart:
Data that’s been 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.
Area and 3-D Area:
Shown in 2-D or in 3-D format, area charts show the trend of values over time or other category data. 3-D area charts use three axes that you can change.
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.
Stacked Area and 3-D Stacked Area:
Stacked area charts show the trend of contribution of each value over time or other category data in 2-D format. A 3-D stacked area chart does the same, but it shows areas in 3-D format without using a depth axis.
100% Stacked Area and 3-D 100% Stacked Area:
100% stacked area charts show the trend of the percentage that each value contributes over time or other category data. A 3-D 100% stacked area chart does the same, but it shows areas in 3-D format without using a depth axis.
XY (Scatter) Chart:
A scatter chart combines x and y values into data points and shows them in irregular intervals, or clusters. They are useful for showing and comparing numeric values, like scientific, statistical, and engineering data.
Data that's arranged in columns and rows on a worksheet can be plotted in an xy (scatter) chart.
Consider Using a Scatter Chart When:
You want to change the scale of the horizontal axis.
You want to make that axis a logarithmic scale.
Values for horizontal axis are not evenly spaced.
There are many data points on the horizontal axis.
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.
You want to show similarities between large sets of data instead of differences between data points.
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.
Scatter:
Shows data points without connecting lines to compare pairs of values.
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 lots of data.
Scatter with Straight Lines and Markers and Scatter with Striaght Lines:
This chart shows straight connecting lines between data points. Straight lines can be shown with or without markers.
Bubble Chart:
Much like a scatter chart, a bubble adds a third column to specify the size of the bubbles it shows to represent the data points in the data series.
Bubble or Bubble with 3-D Effect:
Both of these bubble charts compare sets of three values instead of two, showing bubbles in 2-D or 3-D format (without using depth axis). The third value specifies the size of the bubble marker.
Stock Chart:
Stock charts, as the name indicates are useful to show fluctuations in stock prices. However, these charts are useful to show fluctuations in other data also, such as daily rainfall or annual temperatures.
High-Low-Close:
Uses three series of values in the following order: high, low, and then close.
Open-High-Low-Close:
Uses four series of values in the following order: open, high, low, and then close.
Volume-High-Low-Close:
Uses four series of data in the following order: volume, high, low, and then close. It measures volume by using two value axes: one for the columns that measure volume, and the other for the stock prices.
Volume-Open-High-Low-Close:
- Uses five series of values in the following order: volume, open, high, low, and then close.
Surface Chart:
Data that's arranged in columns or rows on a worksheet can be plotted in a surface chart. You can create a surface chart when both categories and data series are numeric values.
This chart is useful when you want to find optimum combinations between two sets of data. Like a topographic map, colors and patterns indicate areas that are in the same range of values.
3-D Surface:
Shows a 3-D view of the data, which can be imagined as a rubber sheet stretched over a 3-D column chart. It is typically used to show relationships between large amounts of data that may otherwise be difficult to see.
Wireframe 3-D Surface:
A Wireframe 3-D Surface chart is a 3-D Surface chart shown without color on the surface. This chart shows only the lines. A Wireframe 3-D Surface chart is not easy to read, but it can plot large data sets much faster than a 3-D Surface chart.
Contour:
A bird’s eye view of Surface charts.
Wireframe Contour:
A bird’s eye view of Wireframe Surface charts.
Data that's arranged in columns or rows on a worksheet can be plotted in a surface chart. You can create a surface chart when both categories and data series are numeric values.
This chart is useful when you want to find optimum combinations between two sets of data. Like a topographic map, colors and patterns indicate areas that are in the same range of values.
Shows a 3-D view of the data, which can be imagined as a rubber sheet stretched over a 3-D column chart. It is typically used to show relationships between large amounts of data that may otherwise be difficult to see.
A Wireframe 3-D Surface chart is a 3-D Surface chart shown without color on the surface. This chart shows only the lines. A Wireframe 3-D Surface chart is not easy to read, but it can plot large data sets much faster than a 3-D Surface chart.
A bird’s eye view of Surface charts.
A bird’s eye view of Wireframe Surface charts.
Radar Chart:
Data that’s been arranged in columns or rows can be plotted in a radar chart.
Radar charts compare the aggregate values of several data series.
Radar and Radar with Markers:
With or without markers for individual data points, radar charts show changes in values relative to a center point.
Ex.
Filled Radar:
In a filled radar chart, the area covered by a data series is filled with a color.
Ex.
Treemap Chart:
The treemap chart provides a hierarchical view of your data and an easy way to compare different levels of categorization. The treemap chart displays categories by color and proximity and can easily show lots of data which would be difficult with other chart types. The treemap chart can be plotted when empty (blank) cells exist within the hierarchal structure and treemap charts are good for comparing proportions within the hierarchy.
Sunburst Chart:
The sunburst chart is ideal for displaying hierarchical data and can be plotted when empty (blank) cells exist within the hierarchal structure.
Each level of the hierarchy is represented by one ring or circle with the innermost circle as the top of the hierarchy. A sunburst chart without any hierarchical data (one level of categories), looks similar to a doughnut chart. However, a sunburst chart with multiple levels of categories shows how the outer rings relate to the inner rings. The sunburst chart is most effective at showing how one ring is broken into its contributing pieces.
Note: There are no chart sub-types for sunburst charts.
Histogram Chart:
Data plotted in a histogram chart shows the frequencies within a distribution. Each column of the chart is called a bin, which can be changed to further analyze your data.
Histogram:
The histogram chart shows the distribution of your data grouped into frequency bins.
Pareto Chart:
A pareto is a sorted histogram that contains both columns sorted in descending order and a line representing the cumulative total percentage.
Ex.
Box and Whisker Chart:
A box and whisker chart shows distribution of data into quartiles, highlighting the mean and outliers.
The boxes may have lines extending vertically called “whiskers”. These lines indicate variability outside the upper and lower quartiles, and any point outside those lines or whiskers is considered an outlier. Use this chart type when there are multiple data sets which relate to each other in some way.
Note: There are no chart sub-types for box and whisker charts.
Waterfall Chart:
A waterfall chart shows a running total of your financial data as values are added or subtracted. It's useful for understanding how an initial value is affected by a series of positive and negative values. The columns are color coded so you can quickly tell positive from negative numbers
Ex.
Funnel Chart:
Funnel charts show values across multiple stages in a process.
Ex.
Combo Chart:
Data that's arranged in columns and rows can be plotted in a combo chart. Combo charts combine two or more chart types to make the data easy to understand, especially when the data is widely varied. Shown with a secondary axis, this chart is even easier to read.
In this example, we used a column chart to show the number of homes sold between January and June and then used a line chart to make it easier for readers to quickly identify the average sales price by month.
Map Chart:
You can use a Map Chart to compare values and show categories across geographical regions. Use it when you have geographical regions in your data, like countries/regions, states, counties or postal codes.
For example, Countries by Population uses values. The values represent the total population in each country, with each portrayed using a gradient spectrum of two colors. The color for each region is dictated by where along the spectrum its value falls with respect to the others.
Ex.
Yeah so that’s pretty much most of what you have to know for all the charts Excel offers. Thanks for reading my blog : - )
You can use a Map Chart to compare values and show categories across geographical regions. Use it when you have geographical regions in your data, like countries/regions, states, counties or postal codes.
For example, Countries by Population uses values. The values represent the total population in each country, with each portrayed using a gradient spectrum of two colors. The color for each region is dictated by where along the spectrum its value falls with respect to the others.
Ex.
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