Excel 2016 - Charts: Chart Terms
Excel 2016 - Charts: Chart Terms
Charts are used make it easier to understand large quantities of data and the relationship between
different series of data by displaying series of numeric data in a graphical format. When you create a
chart in Excel you will first enter the data on a worksheet and then create the chart. Excel automatically
links the data to the chart so that if data is altered, added or deleted, the chart will update accordingly.
Chart Terms
You should be familiar with chart terminology so you will know the name of the object you wish to
modify/add, etc. A typical style of chart would have an X-axis (horizontal) and a Y-axis (vertical).
Types of Charts
Below are some general guidelines for selecting the best type of chart for the data you wish to present.
• Column - Shows data changes over a period of time or illustrates comparisons among
items
• Line - Shows trends in data at equal intervals
• Pie - Shows proportional size of items that make up a data series; only shows 1 data
series
• Bar - Illustrates comparisons among individual items
• Area - Emphasizes the magnitude of change over time
• XY (scatter) - Shows relationships among numeric values in several data series or plots
two groups of numbers as one series of XY coordinates.
• Stock - Measures volume and has two axes; one for measuring volume, the other for
stock prices
• Surface - Shows optimum combinations between two sets of data (like a topographic
map)
• Doughnut - Shows the relationships of parts to a whole, like a pie, but can contain >1
data series
• Bubble - Type of scatter chart; compares 3 sets of values with the 3rd displayed as a size
of a bubble
• Radar - Each category has its own value axis radiating from the center point
• Cone, cylinder & pyramid - Creates the specified effects by using shaped data markers
in 3-D column and bar charts
Create a Chart
Select the cells that contain the data and text you want to include in the chart. Select both the numeric
data and adjacent row and column headings. Make sure
there are no blank rows or columns between the title and
category headings and the body of the data or Excel will plot
the blank spaces. Navigate to the Insert tab, Charts group,
and select a chart type from the Ribbon.
To use the Quick Analysis Tool, select your data, on the bottom right of you selection you
will see the Quick Analysis Tool icon. Click on the icon to see what options you have.
Recommended Charts
New in Excel 2013 is a feature called Recommended
Charts. Recommended charts will look at your data and
provide some recommendations for chart types to
display your data. To use Recommended Charts, select
the data that you want to display, click on the Insert Tab,
and then select Recommended Charts.
From the All Charts tab, you are able to see all of the charts that are available, the different options for
each type and a Preview. Once you have found the chart type that you like, either double click on it, or
select it and hit the OK button. The chart will now be displayed in your worksheet.
From the Select Data Source window, make sure your cursor is in the
Chart data range text box, now navigate your mouse back to the
worksheet holding your data. Now click hold and drag your cursor to
select the data that you want to be displayed in your chart. When you have the correct data, hit the OK
Button.
This will bring up the All Charts tab which will allow you to see every chart
available. You will also have the Recommended Charts tab that you can
use to Preview the options that Excel provides to you. When you have
found a chart that you like, double click on it or select it and hit the OK
button.
On the Edit Series window, we have two text boxes, Series name and series values. When you are
manually adding series to an existing chart, make sure you keep the data consistant. When you look at
the existing series, make sure you
are adding a similar series. For
example, if the existing series are
departments, you wouldn’t want to
add in a new series called Senior.
Series values is the values that will be plotted on the chart. Before
you select the values, make sure all data that is in the series values
textbox is deleted, this includes the default setting of ={1}. If the ={1}
is not deleted, Excel will add this to your selection, which will result in an error.
The series are displayed on the chart bases on how the legend series is set up. The series on the Top,
will be displayed on the left, the series on the bottom, will be displayed on the right.
To move the chart within the same worksheet, simply click on the chart
until your cursor turns into a plus sign with 4 arrows. Now click hold and
drag the chart to a new location.
When the chart is active, you will see 3 icons on the upper right side of the chart.
Chart Elements: Add, remove, or change chart elements such as title, legend, and
gridlines
Chart Style: Set a style and color scheme
Chart Filter: Edit what data points and names are available on your chart
Some the elements will have more options for their location on the chart.
Any time you see a grey right arrow, you will have more options for the
elements.
Remember: You are still able to move the Elements on the chart if you don’t like
the exact locations of where they are located.
Note: These options are also available on the Chart Tools Design tab, under the
Add Chart Element icon.
Chart Elements Options
Some Elements will have a More Options… option. This option will allow for
formatting of the Box that the element is in as well as the text in the element.
The options that are available are dependent on which element you have selected the More Options
option from. This is a good way to change the look of your chart elements.
The color option will allow you to change the colors of the chart. You are able to preview how they will
look on the chart by clicking on the color options.
Note: Style and Color are both separate but can be used in conjunction with each other or on their own.
Note: These options are also available on the Chart Tools Design Tab.
To change the theme, click on the Page Layout tab and then select the Themes dropdown. You will have
several theme options that are available to use. You are able to mouse over the name of the theme and
see how your chart will change before actually selecting the theme.
If you only want to change the color/format of a single element on the chart, you are able to do this by
selecting the element within the chart, then navigating to the Chart Tools Format tab. From the format
tab, you are able to change the fill, outline, or effects of text and shapes.
You are able to see a live preview of any of the Layouts by moving
your mouse over a particular layout. To select a layout to use on your
chart, just click on the one that you want and your chart will be
updated. If there are some elements on the chart that you don’t
want, you can easily delete them or add in new elements.
To select another element to adjust, you can choose that element from
the dropdown, or you can click on the element within the chart.
Sometimes the names aren’t easy to determine exactly what element is
going to be changes, so it may be easier to click within the chart to
select the specific element that you would like to adjust.
• - Fill & Line – Adjusts the color and fill of the line, the line
width, dash type, etc.
• - Effects – Adjusts the effects of the chart element, adding a shadow, glow, 3-D, etc.
On the Format Data Series task pane, click on the Fill & Line icon
(paint bucket). You will see an option for line and marker. To
change the entire plotted data, so the line and the markers (dots),
there are three pieces that need to be changed. On Line, you will
see an option for color, click on the icon to the right of color to change the line color. If you look at your
chart, you will see now that only the line itself has changed.
You will notice that the legend is also updated when you change a
data series.
Note: Make sure when you are changing the colors of a data
series that you verify that all options are changed to the new color.
By default, the copied chart is linked back to the Excel worksheet. What this means is that any changes
you make to the data in Excel, will be reflected on the chart in your Word Document. If you do not want
the chart to change based on the data in Excel. After you have pasted your chart, in the lower right
hand corner, you will see an icon with a clipboard and Ctrl. If you click on the Ctrl icon,
you have the option to select different paste options. Click on the last icon, the Picture
icon. This will paste a picture of your chart as it looks right now.