10/22/2019 Excel Chart Types: Pie, Column, Line, Bar, Area, and Scatter

Section: Excel Basics     Tutorial: Excel Chart Types

Excel Chart Types: Pie, Column, Line, Bar, Area, and

Scatter
Greetings. Today we will discuss the most common chart types supported by Microsoft
Excel and provide many sample charts. Also, for each chart type, we'll show you available
sub-types, such as stacked, 100% stacked, and 3-D.

We also discuss which chart types lend themselves best to what kind of data. Once you know
what chart type you need, see Beginner's Guide to Creating Excel Charts.

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Table of Contents

Pie Chart Bar Chart

Column Chart Area Chart
Line Chart Scatter Chart
Other Chart Types

The Pie Chart

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A Pie Chart can only display one series of data. A data series is a row or column of numbers used
for charting. Excel uses the series identi er (column or row heading) as the chart title (e.g.
Flowers) and displays the values for that series as proportional slices of a pie. If we had selected
multiple series of data, Excel would ignore all but the rst series. In the worksheet below, we have
outlined in red a single data series in a spreadsheet.

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There are sub-types of the Pie Chart available. The second chart below is the Pie Chart in 3-D and
the third chart is an Exploded Pie Chart; an Exploded Pie in 3-D is also available.

Several other sub-types include the Pie of Pie and Bar of Pie - in which a second pie is created
from certain values in the rst pie in order to emphasize them. To customize the values that the
second pie contains, right-click on the segment in the rst pie, select "Format Data Point," and
specify how to split the series.

Notice that the Pie Chart's legend contains the column headings from the worksheet. These can
be changed by editing the headings in the worksheet, or by editing the chart directly. The legend
can be moved to the top, bottom, left, right, or top right ("corner" in older versions of Excel) of the
chart.

It is possible to customize the design of the pie chart so either numeric values or their
percentages display on top of the slices of the pie.

The Column Chart

The Column Chart very effectively shows the comparison of one or more series of data points. But
the Clustered Column Chart is especially useful in comparing multiple data series.

In the rst chart image, we plotted the data points in all three series: Flowers, Shrubs, and Trees.
Because Excel uses a different color for each data series, we can easily see how a single series,

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Flowers for example, changes over time. But because the

columns are "clustered," we can also compare the three data
series for each time period.

In a Column Chart, the vertical

axis (Y-axis) always displays
numeric values, and the
horizontal axis (X-axis) displays time or other category. And by
default, Excel will always plot the category (row or column
heading) that contains the most entries on the horizontal axis (X-
axis).

However, we could opt to have our foliage type—Flowers, Shrubs, and Trees—run along the X-axis
and the value of the four quarters plotted on the vertical axis by customizing our Excel chart.

One variation of this chart type is the Stacked Column Chart. We show a 3-D Stacked Column
Chart above in the second image. In a Stacked Column Chart, the data points for each time period
are "stacked" instead of "clustered." This chart type lets us see the percentage of the total for each
data point in the series.

Also available is the 100% Stacked Column Chart, where each value in a series is shown as a
portion of 100%. An example of a 100% Stacked Chart is shown in the section on Bar Charts.

All the Column Charts have a version in which the columns display in three-dimension - as
illustrated by the 3-D Stacked Column Chart above. But one chart, the "3-D Column Chart," is
special because the chart itself is three-dimensional - displaying multiple series on the X-axis, Y-
axis, and Z-axis. The rst chart below is a 3-D Column Chart of our data series.

In newer versions of Excel, cylinders, pyramids, and cones can be used instead of bars for most of
the Column charts. The second chart above shows a 3-D Pyramid Chart.

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The Line Chart

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The Line Chart is especially effective in displaying trends. In a Line Chart,

the vertical axis (Y-axis) always displays numeric values and the horizontal
axis (X-axis) displays time or other category.

We selected the Line with Markers chart for our

single series chart at left. You may choose each
Line Chart type with or without markers. Markers
are circles, squares, triangles, or other shapes which mark the data
points. Excel displays a unique marker - different shape and/or color - for
each data series.

The Line Chart is equally effective in displaying trends for multiple series as shown in our chart at
right. As you will notice, each line is a different color. This image shows a Line Chart without
markers.

Though not as colorful as the other charts, it is easy to see how effective the Line Chart in
showing a trend for a single series, and comparing trends for multiple series of data values.

Besides the Line Chart, we have the Stacked Line Chart and the 100% Stacked Line Chart - with or
without markers. A 3-D Line Chart is available, but the Line Chart does not display data well in
three dimensions.

The Bar Chart

The Bar Chart is like a Column Chart lying on its side. The horizontal axis of a Bar Chart contains
the numeric values. The rst chart below is the Bar Chart for our single series, Flowers.

When to use a Bar Chart versus a Column Chart depends on the type of data and user preference.
Sometimes it is worth the time to create both charts and compare the results. However, Bar
Charts do tend to display and compare a large number of series better than the other chart types.

All of the Bar Charts are available in 2-D and 3-D formats, but only the bars are 3-D. There is no 3-D
Bar chart containing three axes.

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As with the other chart types, Excel provides the Stacked Bar Chart and 100% Stacked Bar Chart.
The second chart above is our 100% Stacked Bar Chart in 3-D. This chart type doesn't display
currency on the horizontal axis, but percentages. It allows us to see what percentage each data
point has out of 100%.

As with the other chart types, new versions of Excel provide the option of using cylinders,
pyramids, or cones instead of bars.

The Area Chart

Area Charts are like Line Charts except that the area below the plot line
is solid. And like Line Charts, Area Charts are used primarily to show
trends over time or other category. The chart at left is an Area Chart for
our single series.

There are three charts available:

the Area Chart, the Stacked Area Chart, and the 100%
Stacked Area Chart. Each of these charts come in 2-D
format and in true 3-D format with X, Y, and Z axes.

The chart at right is our 3-D Area Chart, and effectively

displays our three series.

In many cases, the 2-D version of the Area Chart can be

ineffective in displaying multiple series of data meaningfully. Series with lesser values may be
completely hidden behind series with greater values - as demonstrated in the rst chart below.
Flowers is totally hidden, and just a wee bit of Trees peaks through. Not a very effective chart!

This problem does not occur in the Stacked Area Chart (shown below) or the 100% Stacked Area
Chart.

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The Scatter Chart

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The purpose of a Scatter Chart is to observe how the values of two series compares over time or
other category. To illustrate the Scatter Chart, we will use the worksheet values shown below:

According to Scatter Plots (U. of Illinois), "Scatter plots are similar to line graphs in that they use
horizontal and vertical axes to plot data points. However, they have a very speci c purpose.
Scatter plots show how much one variable is affected by another. The relationship between two
variables is called their correlation."

The series pair has a Positive Correlation if they increase similarly, and a Negative Correlation if
they both decrease in like manner. Otherwise, they have No Correlation.

Excel does not use labels from the worksheet to label the horizontal axis; it just numbers the X-
axis chronologically.

The Scatter Chart comes in several different formats: markers can indicate the data points; and
the points can be unconnected, or connected with smooth or straight lines.

Take a look at our two sample Scatter Charts below. The rst chart is a Scatter Chart with Only
Markers, and the second chart is a Scatter Chart with Smooth Lines.

In general, markers work well when the number of data points is small, and smooth lines without
markers are often used when the number of data points is large. But it is best to try the different
sub-types to see which one best presents your data.

For another good discussion on Scatter Plots, see Scatter Plots - U. of Illinois.

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Other Chart Types

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