When it comes to working with data, most users prefer to use Excel. It is great for building databases. To visualize this very data, it is often customary to use charts. This function is also present in the office spreadsheet editor, even in several variations. This article will show you how to build a chart in Excel step by step.
Types of charts in Excel
Before proceeding to the instructions on how to build a chart in Excel, you should pay attention to their diversity. You can use six kinds in total:
- histogram;
- lined;
- spot;
- chart;
- with areas;
- circular.
Each of them is used for different purposes, often there are special requirements for entering a data record in the table to display a certain chart. All this will be discussed in detail later.
How to build a chart in Excel using a table
To create a chart, you need to make a table directly by entering the data necessary to display the chart itself. This must be done first. We will consider an example that involves the use of a table with two variables: “Product Name”, where the names of various products will be entered, and “Quantity”, respectively, where the number of these same products will be indicated in numerical format. So, in order to build a chart for a given table, you must do the following:
- Hold the left mouse button (LMB) to select a range of table cells.
- Go to the Insert tab.
- In the group of tools "Charts" on the toolbar their types will be located. Determine the appropriate one for yourself and click LMB on the appropriate button. If you were thinking about how to build a pie chart in Excel, then for this you need to click on the button of the same name. If necessary, you can click the "Other" button, after which a drop-down menu will appear, in which additional types of charts will be offered.
- Click on the "Charts" icon, a drop-down menu will appear, prompting you to select its subtype. To do this, click LMB on the desired one.
Do all the above steps, and the same chart will appear on the sheet of the Excel book. If you did everything right, it will display exactly the values that are written in the table.
Working withdiagrams
You already know how to build a chart in Excel from data, however, the result is not what you imagined in your head. In this case, you need to use special tools for editing diagrams. They are located in the "Chart Tools" group of tabs on the "Designer", "Layout" and "Format" tabs. Let's see how to use commonly used tools.
Often, the user needs to give the chart a name so that it immediately becomes clear what indicators it displays. For this you need:
- Go to the "Layout" tab.
- On the toolbar, click the "Chart Title" button.
- From the drop-down menu that appears, select the location of the inscription: above the diagram or in the center with overlap. If necessary, you can select another location, to do this, click on the "Additional heading options" button.
- A text box will appear within the chart. You need to enter its name directly into it and press Enter.
Besides the name of the chart itself, sometimes there is a need to rename the axes. This is done in a similar way, only instead of the "Chart Title" button, on the toolbar of the "Layout" tab, you must click the "Axis Title" button. A drop-down menu will open, in which you need to select the location of the titles and enter the text directly.
Display chart values as percentages
Sometimes it is vital for users that the data in a chartin addition to graphical and actual display of data, they were also displayed in percentage terms. Now it will be told how to build a chart in Excel of this type. We will perform all the actions on a pie chart, it is she who is best suited for this. However, no one forbids doing this on other types.
- Select the table data that will be used to build the chart.
- On the toolbar in the "Insert" tab, click on the "Pie" button located in the "Charts" tool group.
- From the drop-down menu, determine for yourself the most suitable look. It is recommended to choose the standard one (the first one in the list).
- A corresponding chart will appear on the sheet of the book, however, without displaying the percentage of data. To do this, go to the "Constructor" tab.
- Click the Express Layout button.
- From the drop-down menu, select the first item. It is he who implies the addition of the desired element.
As soon as you do this, new elements will appear on the diagram - the percentage of all variables in the table. Now you know not only how to build charts in Excel, but how to enable percentage display.
How to build a Pareto chart?
The Pareto chart is designed to visually show the most effective and profitable actions in one form or another. It is best to build on an example. So, let's add one more column to our table - "Profit". Having all theseindicators, it will turn out to build a Pareto chart. So:
- Select all table data.
- Click the "Histogram" button.
- In the menu that appears, select the very first item.
A histogram will appear based on the given values. As you can see, it displays two columns. To make a Pareto chart, you need to convert the red bar into a line. This is done as follows:
- Select all red bars.
- On the Design tab, click the Change Chart Type button.
- In the window that appears, go to the "Chart" category and select the very first item in this list.
Immediately after that, the red bars will turn into a line, respectively, the Pareto chart is built.
In closing
So we figured out how to build a chart in Excel. As you can see, this is not so difficult to do. The variety of chart types can be confusing, which is an undoubted plus of the program. For a better understanding of all the nuances of the construction, it is recommended to independently add all the charts to the sheet.
