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Microsoft Excel 2002
Tutorial 4 – Working With Charts and
Graphs
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Excel 2002 Tutorial 4
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Create column and pie
charts in Excel
• Charts, or graphs, provide visual representations of the
workbook data.
• A chart may be embedded in an existing worksheet, or can
be created on a separate chart sheet, with its own tab in the
workbook.
• You can use Excel’s Chart Wizard to quickly and easily
create charts.
• The Chart Wizard is a series of dialog boxes that prompt
you for information about the chart you want to generate
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Create a chart using
the Chart Wizard
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• To create a chart with the Chart Wizard:
– Select the data you want to chart, which will be your data source
– Click the Chart Wizard button on the standard toolbar
– In the first step of the chart wizard, select the chart type and subtype
– In the second step of the Chart Wizard, make any additions or
modifications to the chart's data source
– In the third step, make any modifications to the chart's appearance
– In the fourth and final step, specify the location for the chart, then
click the OK button
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Chart Wizard dialog box 1
Choose a chart type and view examples of that type in dialog box 1.
Choose which type of chart
you want in this pane.
Select a sub-type of
that chart in this pane.
Click and hold this
button down to see a
preview of your chart.
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Choosing a data series
• You can alter the data source during step 2 of the Chart
Wizard and also choose whether to organize the data
source by rows or by columns.
• The data source is organized into a collection of data
series.
– A data series consists of data values, which are plotted on the
chart's vertical, or Y-axis
– The data series’ category values, or X values, are on the horizontal
axis, called the X-axis
• A chart can have several data series all plotted against a
common set of category values.
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Chart Wizard dialog box 2
During the second step of the
Chart Wizard, you specify
the data to be displayed
in the chart, which is also
known as the chart's data
source.
Specify the cell range and
whether the data series is in
rows or columns.
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Modify the appearance of a chart
• The plot area contains data markers, examples of which
include the columns of a column chart, pie slices in a pie
chart, or the points used in an XY (scatter) chart.
• An axis covers a range of values, called a scale.
• The scale is displayed by placing values alongside the
axes.
• A chart may also contain gridlines by extending the tick
marks into the plot area.
• Whenever there are several data series for a chart, a legend
can be placed next to the plot area to uniquely identify
each series with a different color or pattern.
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Chart Wizard dialog box 3
The third step of the Chart Wizard provides some
options for controlling the appearance of the chart.
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Chart Wizard dialog box 4
The final step is to choose the location of the chart. The chart can be saved as
an embedded chart into the current worksheet, or, create a new sheet called
a chart sheet that contains only the chart. Both options are shown below.
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Resize and move an embedded chart
• An embedded chart is an object that you can move,
resize or copy.
• Select the embedded chart to make it active; the
selection handles will appear. To resize the chart:
– Drag the selection handles to increase or decrease the size of the
chart
– To keep the chart proportions the same as you resize, hold the Shift
key as you drag one of the selection handles
– To move the chart, make it active and then move the pointer over a
blank area. Click and drag the embedded chart to the new location
and release the mouse button
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Moving and resizing tips
• When you select the chart to make it active, be sure you
have clicked the entire chart, and not just one of its
elements.
– You will be able to tell by the selection handles, which will appear
at the outermost edges of the chart
• When you move the pointer over a blank area of the chart
after you have selected it, you should see the label Chart
Area appear.
• These tips will help you select and move the entire chart,
and not just one of its elements.
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A selected embedded chart
This figure shows an embedded chart that has been
selected, resized and moved beneath its data source.
A chart is linked to the data
in the worksheet. If you
change data in the
worksheet that appears on
the chart, Excel will
automatically update the
chart with the new
information. This is the
case for data values and
also category labels.
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Create a chart sheet
• Create a chart sheet by using the two options in
the fourth step of the Chart Wizard:
– One option lets you place the new chart as an object in
any existing sheet, which you can select from a drop
down list box
– The other option is to place the chart as a new sheet,
which is called a chart sheet
• When you select this option, the chart will appear in a new
worksheet with its own tab in the workbook.
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Create a pie chart
• Pie charts are very useful for comparing values in a
data series to each other, but can only use one data
series at a time.
• One feature of a pie chart is called exploding, in
which you can slightly separate a particular pie slice
from the other slices.
• You can explode any or all of the slices of the pie.
This is referred to as an exploded pie chart.
• Exploding a pie chart adds emphasis to a particular
area of the chart and makes it easier to notice.
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Explode a pie chart
• You can explode all of the slices by selecting the
entire pie itself so that all the individual pieces
have selection handles.
• As you click and drag any portion, all the slices
of the pie will explode outward from each other.
• When the pie is exploded out to the size you
desire, release the mouse button.
• A fully exploded pie chart is also one of the subtype options of the pie chart type that you will
see when you use the Chart Wizard.
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A pie chart with an exploded slice
This area of the pie has
been selected and drawn
away, or exploded, from
the rest of the pie.
You can also rotate a pie
chart by double-clicking
the pie to open the
Format Data Series dialog
box and setting options to
rotate the chart by a
specified number of
degrees.
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Modify the properties of your charts
• After you create a chart, you can edit the data that
is used in the chart by changing it in the data
source worksheet cells.
• If you wanted to remove a data series from all
categories, you could delete that particular data
series from the worksheet in many cases.
• If you want to remove a slice of a pie chart, you
cannot just delete the data in the data source, but
rather you must change the cell reference of the
data series for the chart.
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Modify a pie chart
• Make the pie chart active and then click Chart on the menu bar.
• Click Source Data. Edit the series in this dialog box, or click the
Collapse Dialog button to temporarily collapse the dialog box so you
can drag the pointer over a new range of cells.
– Whatever you select will replace the existing range listed in the current
data series you are editing
• You can then expand the dialog box again with the Expand Dialog
button, make other changes as desired, and click the OK button.
• To move an embedded chart to a new chart sheet, select the chart, click
Chart on the menu bar and click Location. The same dialog box of
Step 4 of the Chart Wizard will appear and you can click the option to
place the chart as a new sheet and give it a name.
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Use the Chart menu to modify charts
• All of the dialog boxes used in the Chart Wizard are available
through the Chart menu.
• Step 1 of the Wizard, the chart type, is available on the Chart
menu as the option Chart Type.
• Step 2 of the Chart Wizard, the data source, is available on the
Chart menu as the option Source Data.
• Step 3 of the Wizard is also available on the Chart menu as Chart
Options.
• Step 4 of the Wizard is shown as Location on the Chart menu.
• Some problems, such as overlapping labels that are too difficult to
read, have to be corrected by formatting the individual elements
within the chart.
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Format chart elements
• To format an individual chart element, select the element
by clicking it and then format its appearance using the
same tools on the Formatting toolbar you used to format
worksheet cells.
• You can also double-click the chart element to open a
dialog box containing formatting options, or right-click the
element and then select the Format command from the
shortcut menu to open the dialog box.
• There are three basic types of text in an Excel chart:
– Label text
– Attached text
– Unattached text
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Excel chart text types
• Label text includes category names, tick mark
labels, and legend text, which is linked to or
derived from cells in the worksheet.
• Attached text is not linked to any cells in the
worksheet; examples include the chart title and the
axes titles.
• Unattached text is any additional text that you
want to include in the chart.
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Format colors and patterns
• To work with colors and fills, double-click an element and
the Format Data Series dialog box opens.
• You can use options provided on the Patterns tab to change
both the border style and the interior of a data marker.
• You can also edit an axis scale by double-clicking any
value on an axis to open the Format Axis dialog box.
• In the Format Data Series dialog box, the Pattern tab
includes a Fill Effects button that provides a full range of
options to create sophisticated colors and patterns, such as
gradient, texture or even a picture.
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The Fill Effects dialog box
The Fill Effects dialog box
can be opened from the
Pattern tab of the Format
Data Series dialog box. You
can specify many options to
customize the appearance of
many chart elements.
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Add a graphic to a chart
• You can set a graphic image as a background for a chart using
options on the Picture tab of the Fill Effects dialog box.
• This can be done for a data marker, but is often more
appropriate for a larger portion of the chart itself, such as the
plot area.
• You could also place graphics within the data markers, such as
the columns in a Column chart.
• The Fill Effects dialog box options for inserting a picture are the
same for data markers as they are for other areas of the chart.
• You can choose to stretch the graphic over the entire size of the
column, or choose to stack the graphic up to the height of the
column.
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Change the axis scale
• There are four values that comprise the y-axis scale: the
minimum, maximum, major unit, and minor unit.
• The minimum and maximum values are the smallest and
largest tick marks that will appear on the axis.
• The major unit is the increment between the scale's tick
marks.
• The chart has a second set of tick marks, called the minor tick
marks, which may or may not be displayed; if shown, their
positioning is determined by the minor unit setting.
• Major tick marks are displayed alongside an axis value,
whereas minor tick marks, if present, are not alongside an
axis value.
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The Scale tab of the Format AxisXP
dialog box
The Scale tab of the Format Axis dialog box is shown in this figure. The x-axis
addresses categories, not values, so there are no units to set for this axis.
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Create 3-D charts
• To create a 3-D chart, you may choose to do so during the
first step of the Chart Wizard, as three-dimensional charts
are sub-types of most other charts, such as the pie chart.
• To change a chart to a 3-D chart, select the chart, click
Chart on the menu bar, and then click Chart Type.
• Choose the 3-D option sub-type of whichever chart type
you prefer.
• There are also several 3-D charts on the Custom Types tab
of the Chart Type dialog box.
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Modify 3-D chart options
• A 3-D chart has several options for modifying the 3-D effect.
– Perspective is the illusion that parts of the 3-D chart that are farther away
from you decrease in size
– Elevation is the illusion that you are looking at the 3-D chart from some
particular height—either above or below the chart
– You may also rotate the 3-D chart to bring different parts of the chart to
the forefront
• Elevation and rotation are options that you can change with the 3-D
View dialog box, available from the Chart menu.
• Excel creates each 3-D chart with a default elevation, rotation and
height.
• To change the appearance of a 3-D chart once you have created one,
make sure it is an active chart then click Chart on the menu bar and
then click 3-D View.
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The 3-D View dialog box
The 3-D View dialog box is shown in this figure. Through the use of buttons
or entering values in the appropriate text boxes of the 3-D View dialog box,
you may change the appearance of the chart quickly and easily.
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Insert drawing objects
into your workbook
• The Drawing toolbar helps you create many types
of graphical shapes.
• Use the Drawing toolbar to add text boxes, lines,
block arrows and other objects to charts and
worksheets.
• If the Drawing toolbar is not already displayed,
choose to display it by clicking View on the menu
bar, pointing to Toolbars, and then clicking
Drawing.
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Use Drawing toolbar AutoShapes
• The Drawing toolbar contains a list of predefined shapes,
called AutoShapes, which can be anything from simple
squares to complicated objects like flow charts or block
arrows.
• Once you select a shape from the toolbar, click and drag an
area on your chart or worksheet where you want to insert
the object and Excel will draw it for you.
• Once you insert a drawing object onto a chart or
worksheet, you can resize or move it just like any other
object.
• You can also modify the fill color and border style of an
AutoShape, and even insert text.
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The Drawing toolbar
Another way to display (or close) any toolbar is by right-clicking anywhere on an
existing toolbar or the menu bar. When the shortcut menu pops up, choose the
toolbar you want to open (or close) by clicking its name. The Drawing toolbar is
depicted in this figure.
Clicking the AutoShapes button list arrow will display a menu of AutoShape
types. Each menu option has a submenu displaying shapes of that category.
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Sizing and rotating an AutoShape
• When you select an AutoShape on a chart or worksheet:
– The selection handles appear as open circles
– There is also a diamond tool for some shapes, which you can use
to change the shape of the AutoShape by dragging it either in
towards the center or away from it
• A green selection handle attached to the AutoShape
through a vertical line is a rotation handle.
– You can rotate the AutoShape by clicking and dragging on this
handle
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A chart with a selected AutoShape
The open circles are
sizing handles.
The diamond can be used to
change the shape of the
AutoShape by dragging it
outward or into the center of
the shape.
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Print a chart sheet
• Printing a chart sheet is much the same as printing a worksheet, but in
place of the Sheet tab that you would normally see for a worksheet
there is a Chart tab.
– The Chart tab includes options for Printed chart size and quality
• Excel provides three choices for defining the size of a chart printout:
Use full page, Scale to fit page, and Custom.
• As with worksheets, you should preview the printout before sending
the chart to the printer.
• You can print multiple sheets at once without printing the entire
workbook. Press and hold the Shift key, then click on each sheet you
want to print. When finished selecting, release the Shift key and then
print.
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Choose a chart printing option
• When you select the Use full page choice for Printed chart
size:
– The chart is resized to fit the full page, extending out to the borders
of all four margins, which may change the proportions
– This is the default option
• The Scale to fit page choice resizes the chart
proportionately until one of the edges reaches a margin
border.
– When using this choice, the chart may not fit the entire page
• For the Custom choice, dimensions of the printed chart are
specified on the chart sheet outside of the Print Preview
window.
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The Chart tab of the Page Setup XP
dialog box
Be careful when selecting the
Printed chart size option.
Each option has a different
effect on how the chart will
look when printed. Always
preview the chart before
printing it to be sure the
option you selected has not
altered or truncated the
chart.
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