Find the Best Chart Type for Your Data

There are 14 chart types to choose from, and each has a number of possible variations; experiment to find the one that presents your data most effectively. Sometimes combining chart types, such as columns and lines, can help provide clarity and emphasis.

Change the chart type by clicking Chart Type (Chart menu) and then selecting the type you want. If you need to display the Chart toolbar, click Toolbars (View menu). To change the chart type for one data series, select the series before clicking the Chart Type command.

Does the chart show different kinds of data?   In addition to varying the chart types, you can display a secondary value axis and associate some of the data series with that value axis. For example, show price along one value axis and volume along the other. To do so, click the data series you want to plot on the secondary axis and then click Selected Data Series (Format menu). On the Axis tab, click Secondary axis. What if the data has no categories?   Use the xy (scatter) chart, which displays values along both the x and y axes. For more information, see Display Scientific Data in a Chart.

Change the Look of a Chart Automatically

Want a “new” chart in a hurry? Change the way your chart looks all at once, without changing individual items, by applying a custom chart type. Similar to a template or style, a custom chart type changes the look but does not affect the chart’s data.

For example, you can apply a custom chart type to quickly get a chart combining column and line data markers, a scatter chart with logarithmic gridlines, or a line chart with curve smoothing.

To apply a custom chart type, activate the chart and then click Chart Type (Chart menu). On the Custom Types tab, select a chart type.

Create a custom look for a chart and reuse it later   You can save your own custom chart formatting to apply to other charts. Activate the chart, and then click Chart Type (Chart menu). On the Custom Types tab, click User-defined, and then click Add. Type the name and description for your custom chart type.

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Want to know more?   Look up Getting Results - Worksheet Charts in Help.