1 of 1 Intro Charts are a useful feature of Excel and can present your data in a visually effective way. However, the process of creating them has changed in the new version of Excel. Excel 2007 has dropped the chart wizard of old and instead has broken each step into a separate tab. For some this new change can be quite confusing. This help document will help you learn how to create a chart in Excel 2007 and become just as good at creating them as you were in Excel 2003. Chart Elements Before this help document explains how to create a chart it is useful to know what the various elements of a chart are so that when they are referred to within this document you will know. Please refer to the table below if you are unsure of a term: Chart Elements Description Chart Area The entire area inside the Chart window, including all elements of the chart such as text, axes, titles, data points, the legend, etc. Chart Title A specific name given to the chart X-Axis Horizontal axis along which data categories are plotted Y-Axis Vertical axis along which the data values are plotted Axis Title Text used to label the items on the respective axis Data Points A bar, point, or symbol that marks a single data value; related data points makeup a chart data series Data Series A group of related values (data points) that share the same pattern or colour Legend A key that identifies the data points/series Plot Area An area bounded by and including the two axes and all points that represent data points A sample chart shown below with the appropriate labels clarifies things even further:
2 of 2 Step I: Creating the Data This step is fairly simple and does not need a lot of explanation. Within a worksheet simply enter the data that you want to be in your chart. If you already have data in your worksheet then simply skip to step II. It is important to remember that it is easier to format the data to fit the requirements of the chart before you go about creating your chart. Once you have all the data inputted into the worksheet you are ready to move onto step II. Note: That the data is not set in stone and you can come back and change it after and it will be reflected in your chart.more on this later. Step IIa: Adding the Chart This would have been step I of the chart wizard in the old version of Excel. The process is fairly straightforward and is fairly similar to the old way of doing things: 1. First highlight the data that you want to be contained in your chart 2. Go to the Insert tab 3. Once in the tab find the area in it called Charts 4. Find the chart category that you want 5. Click on the drop-down menu for you specified category and choose the specific type of chart you want in that category 6. Once you clicked on the type of chart it should appear in the current worksheet you are in 7. You have just added a chart! Step IIb: How do I edit? You will notice that when the chart is added just the default formatting has been applied and you were never given a dialogue screen that allowed you to change it. This is where the chart design process in drastically different. You will notice that a few new tabs have appeared under a category called Chart Tools and weren t there before. As you probably have already guessed this is where you go to change everything about your chart. The next three steps will explain each tab in detail so you are familiar with exactly how to change all aspects of your chart. Let s begin! Step III: The Design Tab The design tab is used for the most basic changes to your chart such as changing where it is located and the different colours of it. Each of its areas are explained in full below: The Type Area This area allows you to change the type of chart you want quickly and easily. To do this you simply click on the Change Chart Type drop-down menu and choose the new chart style that you want and click OK. Excel will do all the work for you and your data will be presented in the new way you wanted. Don t be thrown off by the new dialogue box. Instead of separating all the different chart categories it just lists them all for ease of use (it is very similar to the first step of the chart wizard).
3 of 3 The Data Area The data area is what you saw in step II of the chart wizard in Excel 2003. The first button in the area called Switch Row/Column allows you to switch the data so they are shown on different axes. This button is similar to the radio button options where you choose where the series was in the chart wizard in 2003. The other buttons allow you to change what data is contained in the chart. A picture below with corresponding labels explains things further: 1. This area is showing what cells are being used to make up the data in the chart. This can be changed by clicking on the button at the right and selecting a range of cells 2. The next button allows you to change where the data is placed on the different axes 3. The third button allows you to change the data that is being used to create the legend (note: you need two sets of data to create an effective legend) 4. The last button allows you to change the range of cells used for the x-axis labels (so in this example change the different fruit labels) The Chart Layouts Area This area allows you to choose a specific layout that you want applied to your chart. From this menu you choose from a variety of different layout possibilities. Different layouts will provide different features. For example, some layouts will include an area for a chart title and a legend while some layouts won t include a chart title but will include a legend and axis labels. Simply choose the layout that works best for you. Even if you don t find exactly what you are looking for choose one that matches closest to what you want as you can change it after (wait until step IV for this ) The Chart Styles Area This area is very similar to the Chart Layouts Area because you are modifying some basic elements of the chart look except this time it is the colours used in the chart. Once again the same idea applies as above. You can change the various colours to your liking after (wait until step V for this) The Location Area This is perhaps one of the most important areas to you and is identical to step IV of the chart wizard in older version of Excel. This area simply allows you to move the location of your chart; whether as an object in specified workbook or to a new sheet by itself
4 of 4 Step IV: The Layout Tab This tab contains all the elements contained in step III of the chart wizard in older versions. It is a more complicated tab and contains many more features and buttons that allow you to customize your chart even further. Each of the following areas are explained below: The Current Selection The Current Selection Area allows you to easily select various pieces of the chart quickly without having to try to click on the exact area of the chart. Once a piece of the chart has been selected you have the option of formatting the selection through a robust dialogue box or set it back to the original. This area is included in this tab as it allows you to quickly and easily select various aspects of your chart The Insert Area The insert area is self-explanatory and allows you to insert text, a picture or an object onto your chart. These objects are special additions and can be used when you want to add something special to your chart The Labels Area The labels area are an important area of the layout tab and allow you to add, change and choose to not show various labels on your graph. Specifically it is broken down into buttons for each of the different labels that you can add to your chart. Each button is a drop-down menu and provides options of how you want to show them, hide them and each provides the option of editing them and changing them to your liking (More Title Options ). Just remember that if some labels have text, you must click on the label once it has been added to your chart to add text. An example of what one of the drop-down menus looks like is shown beside the text (this dropdown is for the legend label) The Axes Area This area is similar to the labels area and allows you to modify how the axes look and the gridlines appear. For the first drop-down button (Axes) you are given two list menus for the x and y axis. These list menus give you options to modify how the axis displays information. You are given default options but are also able to change a lot more through the (More.) button at the bottom of each menu. An example of the x-axis menu is shown. The other chart aspect in this area lets you change how the gridlines look in the chart. Similar to the
5 of 5 axes button it is broken down into two different list menus that allow you to change the x and y gridline attributes. As with the axes you are able to change a lot more through the (More.) button at the bottom of each list-menu The Background Area The background area is primarily used for modifying charts if they are in 3-D but there is a useful button that allows you to change the background (plot area) of the chart. You want to leave the default selected and then use the (More.) button at the bottom of the drop-down menu to modify the background using a very detailed dialogue box that appears. The two middle buttons perform in a similar way and allow you to modify aspects of a 3-D chart and the last button allows you to change how the chart is rotated on its 3-D plane. An image of the dialogue box is shown The Analysis Area The analysis area allows you to add additional information to your chart to allow the user to learn more from it. Specifically you use this area to add trendlines, lines, up/down bars, and error bars. Each different aspect of analysis you can add to your chart is chart category specific meaning that some types of analysis can be applied to certain charts and others can t. Similar to the other buttons in this tab you are given default options for each of the drop-down buttons in this area that provide default options to choose from but also allow you to customize and add the analysis tools added to your chart. An example of the drop-down menu for the trendline analysis button is shown Step V: The Format Tab This last step and last tab is used for refining and changing individual aspects of your chart. The last two steps were broad steps in which you would add the various pieces and get your chart laid out and looking the way you want. But not everyone gets everything right the first time this is why the format tab is included in the set of tabs and is the last major step in the chart creation process. The Current Selection Area This area functions the exact same as the area found in the layout tab and is used to easily select the various aspects of the chart you have created The Shape Styles Area This area allows you to modify anything to do with how a shape ( box surrounding text, data series, etc.) looks in your chart. The primary aspect of it comes with default styles that you can choose from to make your shape jump. But you are also able to change the shape to your liking through the three smaller buttons on the side that allow you to change the shape fill, outline and effects. The image of this area is shown below: The
6 of 6 WordArt Area Whereas the previous area was used for editing shapes this area is used for editing the text contained in your chart. The previous area allowed you to edit the invisible box surround all the text in your chart (think of all the text as being contained in textboxes) and modify its attributes but didn t allow you to change the actual text itself. This area does that. It is structured the same way by having the main part of it default styles you can choose from but also allows you to manually change the text s fill, outline and effect. You will know when you can use this area because if you have anything but text (and its variants) selected it will be greyed out. The image for this area is shown beside this text The Arrange Area This area is used primarily for objects that have been put onto the chart area manually. From this area you area able to choose how the object appears on the chart, its position, choose to align it with other objects and modify is appearance as well. For the most part this area will be greyed out unless you have an object that you have put onto to your chart selected. The image of this area is shown beside the text The Size Area This area is confusing and may throw some people off. This area is used for sizing the chart area and plot area only. To size other aspects of your chart you must manually change them by clicking and dragging Conclusion So there you have it you have just created a great chart in Excel! Just remember that certain types of data fit certain chart categories better than others. For a refresher on the different chart categories refer to the other help doc on this. Other than that you are armed with all the tools you need to create great charts in Excel. Good luck and happy charting!