Create a Graph in Excel

Graphs, also called charts, are incredibly useful tools, and Excel makes it quick and easy to add them to your spreadsheets in order to tell a visual presentation, story, e.t.c. Although graphs can seem intimidating, they are actually incredibly easy to make on Excel. In fact, Excel makes graphs so efficiently that it is considered a basic feature of the program. Therefore, it is important to learn how to make graphs if you are going to get the most out of it.

For art charts and graphs, you might also want to Search on "Microsoft Excel Imagery - category" to view many Excel charts where trigonometry, geometry and calculus have been turned into art.

Steps

Sample Graphs

Doc:Graph About Revenue,Pie Chart About Food,Gantt Chart

Creating Your Graph

  1. Enter your data into the Excel spreadsheet in table format. Your data should have column headers, row headers and data in the middle to make the most out of your graph.
    • In Excel, "columns" refer to vertical depth. If you look at the above pictures, the columns are labeled with letters, and go from top to bottom: "A," "B," "C," etc.
    • "Rows," on the other hand, refer to horizontal distance. They are labeled with numbers, and go from left to right: "1," "2," "3," etc.
  2. With your cursor, highlight the cells that contain the information that you want to appear in your graph. If you want the column labels and the row labels to show up in the graph, ensure that those are selected also.
  3. With the text selected, click Insert → Chart. In some versions of Excel, you can also try navigating to the Charts tab in the Ribbon tab and selecting the specific kind of graph you'd like to use. This will create your a graph on a “chart sheet.” A chart sheet is basically a spreadsheet page within a workbook that is totally dedicated to displaying your graph.
    • For Windows users, you can create a graph with a shortcut by hitting the F11 button on your keyboard.
  4. Change your graph to fit your needs. Select the perfect kind of graph depending on what information you have and how you want to present it — don't just settle for any old one. Different versions of Excel allow you to change the chart type in various different ways:
    • Change your chart on the Chart toolbar, which appears after your chart is created. Click on the arrow next to the Chart Type button and click on the whatever type of chart you'd like.
    • Manipulate the chart types in the Chart Layout tab in the Ribbon tab. Some versions of Excel won't have a "Chart Toolbar," but instead will keep the same basic information in a whole tab devoted to charts.

Editing

  1. Select from among six basic types of graphs (and many more in between). Excel has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to charts and graphs. This is usually a great thing, but it can also paralyze the user with choice. Which graph should I choose? the user asks herself. Here's a breakdown of the basic kinds of graphs or charts you can use in Excel:[1]
    • Column charts. These charts compare values across categories. Great for comparing sales and expenditures, for example, during a period of time.
    • Bar chart. These charts compare multiple values. They're similar to column charts, except their "columns" are twisted 90° and stick out to the side instead of up and down.
    • Line chart. These charts display trends over time. Use a line chart to track global production of steel from 1930 to present, for example.
    • Pie chart. These charts depict the contribution of each value to a whole. Use these charts to display the percentage breakdown of ethnicity in a given population, for example.
    • Area chart. These charts display differences in data sets over time. Use these charts to show how revenue and profit are linked for a year, for example.
    • Scatter plot. These charts compare pairs of values. Use these charts to plot the relationship between a person's weight and their height.
  2. Give your chart a title. Click on the "Chart Title" button in the Ribbon tab and select whether you want your title to overlap the graph or to sit solidly above it. Give your graph a useful name while still keeping it pithy. "GDP in Cuba, 1901-1945" is useful, while "The economic state (GDP) of Cuba, from 1901 to 1945" is probably a little too wordy.
  3. Pay attention to axis titles. What does your x-axis represent, and how about your y-axis? If you don't pay attention to labeling your chart's axes, it's like you're creating a novel without chapters or an instruction manual without pictures. Either way, it will be very hard to interpret your graph.
  4. Pay attention to the chart's legend. The legend is the sort of glue that holds a chart together. Without a legend, you're unlikely to know what the graph means because you won't know what information is plotted on the graph.
    • When you create a chart, Excel creates a legend by default, unless you specify not to. Your legend will be the column and row headers that you highlighted in the beginning while creating your graph.
    • Changing any column and row headers in their cells automatically changes their representation in the legend.
  5. Learn how to change your graph by switching the plotting. Maybe you've accidentally input your information into the cells wrong, and your rows are mixed up with your columns. Instead of inputting the information all over again, simply find the "Data" subsection in the Charts tab (in the Ribbon tab) and press either "plot series by row" or "plot series by column."

Excel Tricks

  1. Add a second y-axis to your graph in Excel. What if your data has multiple inputs, and you want to put multiple trends on a single graph? Use two y-axes!
  2. Create a chart from a pivot table. Once you start using pivot tables, your life will change. You'll be finding excuses to use them left and right. Visit this article to learn about the easy way to create a chart from a pivot table.
  3. Plot a break even chart. A break even chart helps you different profit potentials and pricing strategies; perfect for the businessman or -woman who wants to stay on top of future developments.
  4. Make a Graph. A histogram is a visual depiction of a distribution of data often used by statisticians.
  5. Do trend analysis. Trend analysis is as simple as plotting a graph and then using a trend line to try to determine how the graph will look in the future, with unknowns.

Tips

  • To add more detail to the bar graph click on the Chart Wizard on the Standard toolbar and fill-in the necessary information.
  • From Excel 2013, Microsoft has added a new feature as Recommended Charts Tool to automatically suggest charts for you.

Things You'll Need

  • Data with titles and figures
  • Computer with Microsoft Excel

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://cameron.econ.ucdavis.edu/excel/ex12charts.html
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