Microsoft® Office Excel 2007
Working with Charts
Lesson Objectives
• use charts
• create charts
• change the chart type
• work with pie charts
• change the chart layout
• move and resize charts
• customize charts
• create and modify trendlines
Creating a Basic Chart
• Pictorial representation of data in worksheet
• Select data in worksheet to create chart
– Display on same sheet as data, or in its own sheet
• Each set of data in chart is called series
• Horizontal line referred to as X-Axis and vertical line is
Y-Axis
• Legend explains meaning of each line in chart
• To create chart, select cells and on Home tab, in
Illustrations group, click Chart
Creating a Basic Chart
• Chart Tools Ribbon displays with chart
Changing Chart Types
• Type of chart to use depends on data
• Variety of chart types, including 2-D and 3-D
• To change chart type, double-click chart and
then:
– Under Chart Tools, on Design tab and in Type
group, click Change Chart Type, or
– right-click in chart plot area and then click Change
Chart Type
Working with Pie Charts
• Useful to display relative sizes (or percentage) of each
piece of sum total
• Can only have one data series
• Enhance chart by exploding or moving out portion
Changing the Chart Layout
• Choose a different chart layout at any time
Moving and Resizing Charts
• To move chart, drag chart to new location
• To resize chart, click and drag handles around chart
• Chart sheets can contain only one chart, and chart
cannot be moved
– must move or resize entire workbook window
Resizing handle
Formatting the Legend
• Legend Options
– select where legend to
be positioned
– for more compact
appearance, overlap
legend on chart
Formatting the Legend
• Fills
– Change color and style
of border around
legend
– Can also change color
and pattern of legend
background
Formatting the Legend
• Border Color
– Change the color and
style of the border
around the legend.
Formatting the Legend
• Border Styles
– Choose border line
width, style as well as
other style options.
Formatting the Legend
• Shadow
– Set and place shadow
behind legend
Formatting an Axis
• Horizontal (X) axis at bottom of chart
• Vertical (Y) axis on left side of chart
• The axis and axis title are separate, and
formatted separately
– Each can have different font sizes, fill patterns,
displayed or not.
Formatting an Axis
• Axis Options
– different
options for tick
marks and axis
labels for tick
marks on axis
line
– shows settings
for horizontal or
vertical axis
Formatting an Axis
• Number
– select number formatting
for axis labels
– format codes same as
Format Cells dialog box
Formatting an Axis
• Fill, Line Color, Line
Style Shadow
– same as Format
Legend dialog box
• 3-D Format
– Create 3-D
appearance for axis
Formatting an Axis
• Alignment
– Orientation of labels in
axis
– angled between 90 and
-90 degrees, or with
letters stacked on top
of each other
Formatting Title Text
• Can have chart title, as well as title for each axis
• Use consistent fonts, colors, and patterns with all chart
text
• Formatting options for titles are to text labels, not the
axis labels
• To change only text, click twice on text
– then use keys to insert, delete,
and move around text
• To apply basic formatting:
– On Home tab, in Font group, or
– click option on Mini toolbar
Formatting Data Series
• Series Overlap
– Set distance between each
data point in chart
• Gap Width
– Set distance between each
group of bars
• Plot Series On
– Choose which axis to scale
• Other formatting options
• Pay special attention to how to use color in your charts
Formatting Plot and Chart Area
• Default plot area
– light gray color and white chart area
– Under Chart Tools, on
Layout tab, in
Background group,
click Plot Area, click
More Plot Area Options
Adding New Data
• New data may be added after chart
– Under Chart Tools, on Design tab, in Data group click Select Data
– Copy new data into clipboard, and then Paste Special into chart
– With chart selected, drag boundary of data range on worksheet to
include new data
Applying QuickStyles to Charts
• Charts formatted with colors and fill patterns
• Choose from variety of built-in styles
– consistent set of colors and patterns, or
– use style you created and saved
• Under Chart Tools, on Design tab, in Chart Styles
group, click style to use
Creating a Trendline
• Common method of analyzing data
• Can be easily added to existing
chart when selected
• Choice of six types of trendlines
– based on different statistical
calculation methods
• Under Chart Tools, on Layout tab,
in Analysis group, click Trendline,
click More Trendline Options
Choosing Trendline Options
• Select option to forecast beyond time period
specified in data
• Change trendline colors to make chart more
readable
• Under Chart Tools,
on Layout tab, in
Layout group, click
Trendline, More
Trendline Options
Using the Error Checking Tool
• Reduces time spent auditing formulas for
accuracy
• If background error checking enabled
– Excel displays dark green triangle in upper
left corner of cell to indicate if formulas:
• inconsistent with others in same row or
column
• refer to range but omit cell within or
adjacent to range
• evaluate to error
• numbers stored as text
• Trace Error button
– Click arrow to display problem identified
Lesson Summary
• use charts
• create charts
• change the chart type
• work with pie charts
• change the chart layout
• move and resize charts
• customize charts
• create and modify trendlines
Review Questions
1. Provide examples of when to use a chart to show the
data in the worksheet.
2. Provide examples of when to use a column or bar
chart.
3. Provide examples of when to use a pie chart to
represent the data.
4. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
exploding pieces from the pie on a pie chart.
5. Provide examples of how you can change the layout
of a chart.
Review Questions
6. Provide examples of some chart elements you can
adjust in a chart.
7. Provide examples of how you can change the design
of a chart.
8. How would you select only two or three rows or
columns of data to be included in a chart?
9. Why would you want to include a legend?
10. Why is it important to format the axis and axis titles
separately?
Review Questions
11. Give an example of why you might need to add or
remove a data series from a chart.
12. How can using Quick Styles be helpful with charts?
13. Why would you want to include a trendline in a chart?
14. Give an example of why you might want to change
the options for a trendline.