One of the fastest ways to impress impressionable people is to create a chart from worksheet data. Excel makes it very, very easy to create charts. All you have to do to create a chart is select data and choose a few menu commands. And if you’re fickle and don’t like the chart you created, you can simply choose another type of chart. And if you’re in the mood to do something out of the ordinary with a chart, you can do that, too. This article explains how to create a chart and customize it in various ways to make the chart your very own.

Building Charts from Your Data

Herewith is an explanation of creating a chart. Believe me, creating a chart is easier than you think. All you have to do is paint by numbers. You will also find an explanation here for positioning a chart on the page.

Creating a chart with the Chart Wizard

As you fill in the dialog boxes, you watch your chart take shape. You can always go back to the Chart Wizard dialog boxes and edit your chart, as the rest of this article explains in excruciating detail. Follow these steps to create a chart:

1. Select the data that you want to chart. Don’t select a totals column or row for your chart. The purpose of a chart is to compare and contrast data. Including a totals column or row creates an unrealistic comparison because the totals data is inevitably much, much larger than the other data and you end up with an extralarge pie slice or bar, for example, in your chart.

2. Click the Chart Wizard button or choose Insert -> Chart.

3. Clicking the Next button as you go along, construct your chart. And don’t worry about getting it right the first time. Charts usually need a bit of tinkering before they can be made into masterpieces. You encounter four dialog boxes in your journey to a perfect chart: Chart Type, Chart Source Data, Chart Options, and Chart Location. Keep reading.

The Chart Type dialog box

Choose a chart type. You can click the Press and Hold to View Sample button to see what the data you selected looks like in the chart type you chose. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the list to look at all the chart types. The Custom Types tab offers some interesting choices. The Chart Source Data dialog box From here, you can select source data from your chart, but you already did that in Step 1 if you followed my directions. Choose a Series In option to change the data series on which the chart is plotted. Keep your eye on the sample chart it shows what your choices mean in real terms. If you choose the wrong cell range for a data source or you want to choose a different cell range, follow these steps:

1. Select the Series tab in the Chart Wizard dialog box.

2. In the Series box, select the data series that needs replotting.

3. Select the Go to Worksheet option button next to the Values text box. The dialog box shrinks so that you can see your worksheet.

4. Drag to select a different data series in your worksheet.

5. Press Esc to return to the Chart Wizard dialog box.

The Chart Options dialog box

This is where you decide what your chart looks like. There are six tabs in this dialog box:

 -  Titles: Enter a title for your chart in the Chart Title text box. If need be, enter descriptive labels for the data being plotted in the Category (X) and Axis, Value (Y) Axis text boxes (pie and doughnut charts don’t have axes). However, axes descriptions aren’t absolutely necessary. Sometimes including them crowds the chart and makes it smaller. Again, keep your eye on the sample chart to see what your choices mean in real terms.

 -  Axes: This is where you tell Excel how to scale the chart. In most cases, Excel recognizes whether it’s dealing with category labels or time values, but if the program gets it wrong, select the correct option button.

 -  Gridlines: Select check boxes to decide how many vertical and horizontal gridlines you want.

 -  Legend: Select an option button to decide where on the chart to place the legend, if the chart needs a legend. The legend is the explanatory list of the symbols on the chart.

 -  Data Labels: If you so desire, select a check box to attach a data label to one of the data markers in the chart. Keep your eye on the Preview chart. It shows plainly what your choices are. If you choose a data label, choose one, not two or three. Two or three data labels per chart element can congest a chart and make it hard to understand, but if you have to choose two or three, open the Separator drop-down list and choose a punctuation mark for separating the labels.

 -  Data Table: Select the Show Data Table option if you want a replica of your Excel worksheet to appear on the page with the chart. If you make a decision on the Chart Options dialog box that you regret later on, you can return to the Options tab by choosing Chart -> Chart Options.

The Chart Location dialog box

Choose where to place the new chart, on the worksheet where the data is or on another worksheet in the workbook. Later in this article, “Editing a Chart” explains how to alter different parts of a chart, but if you want to start all over again, you can always do so by revisiting the Chart Wizard dialog boxes. Just select your chart and click the Chart Wizard button.

Adjusting a chart’s position on the page

If you opted to place the chart on the same worksheet as the data from which you created the chart, your chart probably needs to be moved down the page. Click the perimeter of the chart to select it and then drag to move the chart elsewhere. While you’re at it, select the chart and use one of these techniques to change the chart’s size:

 -  Drag a corner handle to make it larger or smaller but keep its proportions.

 -  Drag a corner handle while holding down the Ctrl key to keep the center of the chart in the same position as you change its size. By default, Excel creates a two-dimensional column chart. If you prefer a different kind of chart to be the default chart, create the kind of chart you like, select it, choose Chart -> Chart Type, and click the Set As Default Chart button in the Chart Type dialog box.

Editing a Chart

Most charts need to be retooled, kneaded, massaged, and prodded a few times before they are just-so. These pages explain the specifics of editing a chart. The Chart toolbar appears on-screen after you create a chart (click your chart if you don’t see the toolbar, or right-click any toolbar and choose Chart). As the following pages explain, the Chart toolbar comes in handy for fiddling with a chart’s appearance.

Choosing a different chart type

So you chose the wrong chart type? It happens in the best of families. To undo the damage, click to select your chart and do one of the following:

 -  Click the arrow beside the Chart Type button and choose a new type from the drop-down list.

 -  Click the Chart Wizard button or choose Insert -> Chart to open the Chart Wizard dialog box. On the Standard Types or Custom Types tab, choose a new chart type and click the Finish button. To select a chart, click its outermost border. If you click inside the chart, you’re liable to select a part of the chart the legend, a data series rather than the chart itself. You know when you have selected a chart because the black selection handles appear on the chart’s corners and sides.

Adding and removing chart elements

Suppose that you construct a chart with the Chart Wizard but discover to your dismay that you forgot to include a title or legend? Suppose that you include a title or legend but regret doing so? Don’t despair. With Excel, you always get a second chance. Click to select your chart and follow these steps to add or remove a title, legend, or other element:

1. Click the Chart Wizard button. You see the Chart Wizard dialog box. Does it look familiar? This is the same dialog box you used to create the chart in the first place.

2. Revisit the different tabs in the Chart Wizard dialog box, and be careful this time to include or exclude chart elements.

3. Click the Finish button. Earlier in this article, “Creating a chart with the Chart Wizard” explains the Chart Wizard. You can click the Legend button on the Chart toolbar to add or remove the chart’s legend, the box with explanations as to what everything on the chart is. If you’re in a hurry to remove an element from a chart, simply select it and press the Delete key. If you know which part of a chart you want to alter, select it and choose Chart -> Chart Options. This command opens the third of the four Chart Wizard dialog boxes, the one that pertains to the chart’s appearance.

The basics of changing a chart’s appearance

A chart is composed of different so-called objects the legend, the plot area, the different data series, and others. To see for yourself, try clicking part of the chart. Black selection handles appear around the object, or part of the chart, that you clicked. You can open the Chart Objects drop-down list on the Chart toolbar to see a list of all the objects in your chart. To change the size, shape, fonts, or colors of any part of a chart, follow these basic steps:

1. Select the part of the chart you want to change by clicking it or by choosing its name on the Chart Objects drop-down list. You find this drop-down list on the Charts toolbar.

2. Open the Format dialog box to start giving Format commands. Excel offers no fewer than five ways to open the Format dialog box: • Click the Format button on the Chart toolbar. • Double-click the part of the chart you selected. • Right-click the part of the chart you selected and choose Format on the shortcut menu. • Press Ctrl+1. • Choose Format -> Selected object name.

3. Change formats in the Format dialog box. Again, which options you get in the dialog box depends on which part of your chart you selected in Step 1. You can find options in the Format dialog box to change the font, color, border, background, and alignment of text. Choose Edit -> Undo (or press Ctrl+Z) and start all over if your changes to the chart didn’t work out. Usually, you have to wrestle with Format dialog boxes for five minutes or so before the chart starts smelling like a rose. Seeing as how all parts of a chart are objects, you can select and drag them to new locations. When you see the black selection handles, start dragging. A dotted line shows where the object will land when you release the mouse button. You can click the By Row or By Column button on the Chart toolbar at any time to experiment with changing the data axes of the chart. To make one slice in a pie chart stand out from the rest, click to select it, and then drag. Be sure to select a single slice and not the whole pie.