How to make a bar Graph in Excel with multiple lines

When you create a line chart in Microsoft Excel, your chart may display only a single plot line. It's often helpful, however, to plot two or more lines on the same chart, for example you may have multiple data series that were collected at the same time, or you want to compare data taken at different times. To create an Excel chart with multiple lines, create a new chart with multiple plot lines or add plot lines to an existing chart.

Create a New Chart With Multiple Lines

When you create a new chart in Excel, you must specify the data to be plotted (for more information please see How to Make a Line Graph in Microsoft Excel). When you create a line chart using one column of data Excel adds only one plot line to the chart. But when you include two or more columns of data, Excel treats each column as a separate data series and automatically creates separate lines on the chart for the data in each column.

Enter Your Data

If you already have a spreadsheet with data entered into columns, skip to the next step (Create Your Chart, below).

In the first row of the worksheet, enter the labels for each of the data series to plot. Since each data series (the data for each separate line to be plotted) must be in a separate column, you must enter the labels for each data series in a separate column on the first row. Excel uses the labels in the first row of each column to label the lines in the chart for the data in that column.

Enter your data into each of your columns, in the rows below the labels.

Here's an example worksheet showing two data series. The data for each series is in a separate column, and the label to display on the chart for each is in the first row of each column.

1. Select all the cells in each column that contain your data.

If there is at least one empty row and one empty column between the data for your chart and any other data in the worksheet (or if the data for your chart is the only data in the worksheet), you can select all your data cells by selecting any cell of the data and typing Ctrl-A.

2. On the Office Ribbon select the Insert tab, click on Line in the Charts section of the ribbon, and then select the type of chart you want to create.

There are multiple types of line charts used for different purposes. If you're unsure what type of line chart to create, select either Line or Line with Markers. Don't worry if it's not right the first time, since you can change it later if you need to.

Excel creates a new chart that displays a separate plot line for each column of data.

Add a Line to an Existing Chart

If you already have a line chart, you may add a new plot line to it by editing the Data Source for the chart.

Enter or copy and paste the data for the new plot line into the column immediately to the right of the original data. Make sure to add a label to the first row of the new column so the chart can display a label for the new plot line.

Click on the chart that displays the original data to select it.

Right-click on the chart and choose Select Data... from the pop-up menu. Alternately, click Select Data from the Data section of the Office Ribbon in the Chart Tools Design tab.

The Select Data Source dialog opens. The data displayed in the chart is shown in the Chart data range field.

4. In the Chart data range field, change the last letter of the displayed range, to make it match the letter of the last column of the new data.

In the example, the Chart data range displays =Sheet2!$A$1:$A$12, but the new column of data is column $B. So the last A (in the cell reference $A$12) must be changed to a B. The resulting Chart data range displays =Sheet2!$A$1:$B$12.

After changing the Chart data range, press the OK button. The chart updates to display an additional plot line for the new data.

There are two other ways to include new data in the chart from the Select Data Source dialog.

1. Press the range selection button (the small button on the right side of the Chart data range field that looks like a grid), and then use your mouse to select all the chart data in the worksheet. Make sure to include both the old and new data, and to include the first row of both columns that includes the plot labels.

2. Press the Add icon in the Legend Entries (Series) list. You must then separately type in or select (using the range selection button on each field) only the first row of data in the new columns, and then all the other data in the new columns except the first row.

It's easy to graph multiple lines using Excel! If your spreadsheet tracks multiple categories of data over time, you can visualize all the data at once by graphing multiple lines on the same chart. You can either create a graph from scratch or add lines to an existing graph. This wikiHow article will teach you how to graph multiple lines.

1. 1

   Open Excel. Enter Excel by either opening the application downloaded to your device or on an internet browser through your Microsoft Office 365 account. If you do not have the Excel app or a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can buy it or start a free trial on the Microsoft website at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/excel.

   • Excel is available on Windows, Mac, and Android devices. You can use Excel on a computer, tablet, or phone.
   • A subscription to Microsoft 365 will give you access to Excel, Word, Powerpoint, and many other Microsoft applications. This subscription costs $69.99/year for an individual plan, and $99.99/year for the family plan. The family plan can be shared with up to 6 people.[1] X Research source Go to source

2. 2

   Start a new workbook. On your Excel home screen, click "New blank workbook". This action will open an empty spreadsheet where you can begin to enter your data.

   • If you have already started working on a spreadsheet which you would like to use for your graph, you can open that workbook from the Excel homepage under either the "All" or "My recent" categories.
   • Directly next to the "New blank workbook" option, you will see "Welcome to Excel". If you are new to Excel, consider clicking this option to learn the basics of using this application.

3. 3

   Arrange your data in columns. Plotting a line requires data for two different axes. On a line graph, these axes measure change in data over time. For example, if you were measuring distance over time, the x-axis would be time and the y-axis would be distance. Let the leftmost column, column A, represent time, your x-axis. Enter the points in time you want your x-axis to cover in column A. In the next column over, enter the data points for the first line you wish to plot over the time period in column A. Add the data for your next line in the next column over, and repeat this process until all of the data points you want to graph are listed under a column on the spreadsheet. These columns will all appear as lines plotted over time, the x-axis of your graph.[2] X Research source Go to source

   • All of the data points for the same line need to be listed in the same column.
   • Label your data categories in row 1. For column A, this label will be the metric of time you will graph your lines over. Label your other columns with the category of data they represent.
   • For example, if you were graphing the sales of different Honda models over the past decade, column A would be labeled "Year" and columns B, C, and D could be labeled "CR-V", "Civic", "Accord", and so on. Your lines would then be labeled as CR-V, Civic, and Accord, and plotted over the years you entered in column A.

1. 1

   Select the data you wish to graph. Click and drag your mouse over the columns of data you wish to graph. Drag your mouse from the top left corner to the bottom right corner of the data set you want to appear in your graph. The data you have selected will be highlighted in the spreadsheet.

   • Each column of data you select will be plotted as a different line on your graph.
   • Be sure to include the column headers in your selected data group. These categories will be shown on the legend of your line graph.

2. 2

   Click "Insert" in the menu at the top of your screen. Above the spreadsheet, you will see a menu of editing options for your spreadsheet. Find and click on the "Insert" option in this menu.

3. 3

   Choose the line graph icon from "Recommended Charts". Below the menu where you selected "Insert", you should see a new menu which will include a section of "Recommended Charts". In this section, select the line graph icon to insert a line graph of your data into the spreadsheet.[3] X Research source Go to source Inserting a line graph will automatically generate a graph of lines representing your data points. Each of your data columns will appear as a separate line on the graph.

   • If you wish to create a line graph with just one line, select only one column of data before inserting your graph.
   • Graphing multiple lines on the same chart is a great way to visually compare data sets.
   • If you labeled each of your data categories in row 1, these labels will appear in a legend at the bottom of your graph, showing which color line symbolizes which group of data.

1. 1

   Enter a new data column into your spreadsheet. Add your data into the column directly to the right of the last data column included in your graph.

   • Be sure to title this column in row 1 so that it is labeled on the graph.
   • You can create a new graph including this data by repeating the steps of highlighting a data set and inserting a line graph.[4] X Research source Go to source If you would rather add a new line to an existing graph, follow the steps below.

2. 2

   Select the graph and click the "Chart" option at the top of your spreadsheet. Click once on the line graph in your spreadsheet to select it. Then navigate to the "Chart" section in the menu at the top right corner of your spreadsheet.

   • In this menu, you can edit many components of your graph such as the title and style of your line graph.

3. 3

   Click the "Select Data" option in the drop-down menu. Opening the "Chart" section will drop down a menu of more specific options related to your graph. Choosing the "Select Data" option will pull up a window representing which range of data is represented by your line graph.

4. 4

   Change the data range to include the new data column(s). In the "Select Data" window, you should see a data range. Say, for example, your data range covers from column A, row 1, to column E, row 6 on the spreadsheet. This data range would appear as "=Sheet1!$A$1:$E$6". Add new data to this range by changing the second letter value of the range to the letter of the furthest right column you are adding plotting on your graph. Updating a graph's range of data will automatically plot that data on the graph.

   • If you had graphed lines for columns A through E, and wanted to make lines for data in columns F and G, you would change the second letter in the range to "G".
   • If you are adding a new row of data, change the second number value to include the new number row you want to graph.
   • Update your data range to include as many new columns of data as you want. Each column of data you add to the range will be plotted as a separate line.

Co-authored by:

wikiHow Technology Writer

This article was co-authored by Maddie Holleman. Maddie Holleman is a Technology Writing Intern for wikiHow. Alongside writing many articles on technology and social media, Maddie has previously worked as a social media strategist and publicist for two organizations and has been using social media for years. She is currently pursuing a degree in Anthropology and Digital Studies at Davidson College. This article has been viewed 8,254 times.

Co-authors: 3

Updated: November 7, 2021

Views: 8,254

Categories: Spreadsheets

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