What is chart in ms excel

A picture is worth of thousand words; a chart is worth of thousand sets of data. In this tutorial, we are going to learn how we can use graph in Excel to visualize our data.

Inhaltsverzeichnis Show

What is a chart?
Types of Charts in MS Excel
The importance of charts
Step by step example of creating charts in Excel
Tutorial Exercise

What is a chart?

A chart is a visual representative of data in both columns and rows. Charts are usually used to analyse trends and patterns in data sets. Let’s say you have been recording the sales figures in Excel for the past three years. Using charts, you can easily tell which year had the most sales and which year had the least. You can also draw charts to compare set targets against actual achievements.

We will use the following data for this tutorial.

Note: we will be using Excel 2013. If you have a lower version, then some of the more advanced features may not be available to you.

Item	2012	2013	2014	2015
Desktop Computers	20	12	13	12
Laptops	34	45	40	39
Monitors	12	10	17	15
Printers	78	13	90	14

Types of Charts in MS Excel

Different scenarios require different types of charts. Towards this end, Excel provides a number of chart types that you can work with. The type of chart that you choose depends on the type of data that you want to visualize. To help simplify things for the users, Excel 2013 and above has an option that analyses your data and makes a recommendation of the chart type that you should use.

The following table shows some of the most commonly used Excel charts and when you should consider using them.

S/N	CHART TYPE	WHEN SHOULD I USE IT?
1	Pie Chart	When you want to quantify items and show them as percentages.
2	Bar Chart	When you want to compare values across a few categories. The values run horizontally
3	Column chart	When you want to compare values across a few categories. The values run vertically
4	Line chart	When you want to visualize trends over a period of time i.e. months, days, years, etc.
5	Combo Chart	When you want to highlight different types of information

The importance of charts

Allows you to visualize data graphically
It’s easier to analyse trends and patterns using charts in MS Excel
Easy to interpret compared to data in cells

Step by step example of creating charts in Excel

In this tutorial, we are going to plot a simple column chart in Excel that will display the sold quantities against the sales year. Below are the steps to create chart in MS Excel:

Open Excel
Enter the data from the sample data table above
Your workbook should now look as follows

To get the desired chart you have to follow the following steps

Select the data you want to represent in graph
Click on INSERT tab from the ribbon
Click on the Column chart drop down button
Select the chart type you want

You should be able to see the following chart

Tutorial Exercise

When you select the chart, the ribbon activates the following tab

Try to apply the different chart styles, and other options presented in your chart.

Download the above Excel Template

Summary

Charts are a powerful way of graphically visualizing your data. Excel has many types of charts that you can use depending on your needs.

Conditional formatting is also another power formatting feature of Excel that helps us easily see the data that meets a specified condition

Many chart types are available to help you display data in ways that are meaningful to your audience. Here are some examples of the most common chart types and how they can be used.

Data that is arranged in columns or rows on an Excel sheet can be plotted in a column chart. In column charts, categories are typically organized along the horizontal axis and values along the vertical axis.

Column charts are useful to show how data changes over time or to show comparisons among items.

Column charts have the following chart subtypes:

Clustered column chart Compares values across categories. A clustered column chart displays values in 2-D vertical rectangles. A clustered column in a 3-D chart displays the data by using a 3-D perspective.
Stacked column chart Shows the relationship of individual items to the whole, comparing the contribution of each value to a total across categories. A stacked column chart displays values in 2-D vertical stacked rectangles. A 3-D stacked column chart displays the data by using a 3-D perspective. A 3-D perspective is not a true 3-D chart because a third value axis (depth axis) is not used.
100% stacked column chart Compares the percentage that each value contributes to a total across categories. A 100% stacked column chart displays values in 2-D vertical 100% stacked rectangles. A 3-D 100% stacked column chart displays the data by using a 3-D perspective. A 3-D perspective is not a true 3-D chart because a third value axis (depth axis) is not used.
3-D column chart Uses three axes that you can change (a horizontal axis, a vertical axis, and a depth axis). They compare data points along the horizontal and the depth axes.

Data that is arranged in columns or rows on an Excel sheet can be plotted in a line chart. Line charts can display continuous data over time, set against a common scale, and are therefore ideal to show trends in data at equal intervals. In a line chart, category data is distributed evenly along the horizontal axis, and all value data is distributed evenly along the vertical axis.

Line charts work well if your category labels are text, and represent evenly spaced values such as months, quarters, or fiscal years.

Line charts have the following chart subtypes:

Line chart with or without markers Shows trends over time or ordered categories, especially when there are many data points and the order in which they are presented is important. If there are many categories or the values are approximate, use a line chart without markers.
Stacked line chart with or without markers Shows the trend of the contribution of each value over time or ordered categories. If there are many categories or the values are approximate, use a stacked line chart without markers.
100% stacked line chart displayed with or without markers Shows the trend of the percentage each value contributes over time or ordered categories. If there are many categories or the values are approximate, use a 100% stacked line chart without markers.
3-D line chart Shows each row or column of data as a 3-D ribbon. A 3-D line chart has horizontal, vertical, and depth axes that you can change.

Data that is arranged in one column or row only on an Excel sheet can be plotted in a pie chart. Pie charts show the size of items in one data series, proportional to the sum of the items. The data points in a pie chart are displayed as a percentage of the whole pie.

Consider using a pie chart when you have only one data series that you want to plot, none of the values that you want to plot are negative, almost none of the values that you want to plot are zero values, you don't have more than seven categories, and the categories represent parts of the whole pie.

Pie charts have the following chart subtypes:

Pie chart Displays the contribution of each value to a total in a 2-D or 3-D format. You can pull out slices of a pie chart manually to emphasize the slices.
Pie of pie or bar of pie chart Displays pie charts with user-defined values that are extracted from the main pie chart and combined into a secondary pie chart or into a stacked bar chart. These chart types are useful when you want to make small slices in the main pie chart easier to distinguish.
Doughnut chart Like a pie chart, a doughnut chart shows the relationship of parts to a whole. However, it can contain more than one data series. Each ring of the doughnut chart represents a data series. Displays data in rings, where each ring represents a data series. If percentages are displayed in data labels, each ring will total 100%.

Data that is arranged in columns or rows on an Excel sheet can be plotted in a bar chart.

Use bar charts to show comparisons among individual items.

Bar charts have the following chart subtypes:

Clustered bar and 3-D Clustered bar chart Compares values across categories. In a clustered bar chart, the categories are typically organized along the vertical axis, and the values along the horizontal axis. A clustered bar in 3-D chart displays the horizontal rectangles in 3-D format. It does not display the data on three axes.
Stacked bar and 3-D Stacked bar chart Shows the relationship of individual items to the whole. A stacked bar in 3-D chart displays the horizontal rectangles in 3-D format. It does not display the data on three axes.
100% stacked bar chart and 100% stacked bar chart in 3-D Compares the percentage that each value contributes to a total across categories. A 100% stacked bar in 3-D chart displays the horizontal rectangles in 3-D format. It does not display the data on three axes.

Data that is arranged in columns and rows on an Excel sheet can be plotted in an xy (scatter) chart. A scatter chart has two value axes. It shows one set of numeric data along the horizontal axis (x-axis) and another along the vertical axis (y-axis). It combines these values into single data points and displays them in irregular intervals, or clusters.

Scatter charts show the relationships among the numeric values in several data series, or plot two groups of numbers as one series of xy coordinates. Scatter charts are typically used for displaying and comparing numeric values, such as scientific, statistical, and engineering data.

Scatter charts have the following chart subtypes:

Scatter chart Compares pairs of values. Use a scatter chart with data markers but without lines if you have many data points and connecting lines would make the data more difficult to read. You can also use this chart type when you do not have to show connectivity of the data points.
Scatter chart with smooth lines and scatter chart with smooth lines and markers Displays a smooth curve that connects the data points. Smooth lines can be displayed with or without markers. Use a smooth line without markers if there are many data points.
Scatter chart with straight lines and scatter chart with straight lines and markers Displays straight connecting lines between data points. Straight lines can be displayed with or without markers.
Bubble chart or bubble chart with 3-D effect A bubble chart is a kind of xy (scatter) chart, where the size of the bubble represents the value of a third variable. Compares sets of three values instead of two. The third value determines the size of the bubble marker. You can choose to display bubbles in 2-D format or with a 3-D effect.

Data that is arranged in columns or rows on an Excel sheet can be plotted in an area chart. By displaying the sum of the plotted values, an area chart also shows the relationship of parts to a whole.

Area charts emphasize the magnitude of change over time, and can be used to draw attention to the total value across a trend. For example, data that represents profit over time can be plotted in an area chart to emphasize the total profit.

Area charts have the following chart subtypes:

Area chart Displays the trend of values over time or other category data. 3-D area charts use three axes (horizontal, vertical, and depth) that you can change. Generally, consider using a line chart instead of a nonstacked area chart because data from one series can be obscured by data from another series.
Stacked area chart Displays the trend of the contribution of each value over time or other category data. A stacked area chart in 3-D is displayed in the same manner but uses a 3-D perspective. A 3-D perspective is not a true 3-D chart because a third value axis (depth axis) is not used.
100% stacked area chart Displays the trend of the percentage that each value contributes over time or other category data. A 100% stacked area chart in 3-D is displayed in the same manner but uses a 3-D perspective. A 3-D perspective is not a true 3-D chart because a third value axis (depth axis) is not used.

Data that is arranged in columns or rows in a specific order on an Excel sheet can be plotted in a stock chart.

As its name implies, a stock chart is most frequently used to show the fluctuation of stock prices. However, this chart may also be used for scientific data. For example, you could use a stock chart to indicate the fluctuation of daily or annual temperatures.

Stock charts have the following chart sub-types:

High-Low-Close stock chart Illustrates stock prices. It requires three series of values in the correct order: high, low, and then close.
Open-High-Low-Close stock chart Requires four series of values in the correct order: open, high, low, and then close.
Volume-High-Low-Close stock chart Requires four series of values in the correct order: volume, high, low, and then close. It measures volume by using two value axes: one for the columns that measure volume, and the other for the stock prices.
Volume-Open-High-Low-Close stock chart Requires five series of values in the correct order: volume, open, high, low, and then close.

Data that is arranged in columns or rows on an Excel sheet can be plotted in a surface chart. As in a topographic map, colors and patterns indicate areas that are in the same range of values.

A surface chart is useful when you want to find optimal combinations between two sets of data.

Surface charts have the following chart subtypes:

3-D surface chart Shows trends in values across two dimensions in a continuous curve. Color bands in a surface chart do not represent the data series. They represent the difference between the values. This chart shows a 3-D view of the data, which can be imagined as a rubber sheet stretched over a 3-D column chart. It is typically used to show relationships between large amounts of data that may otherwise be difficult to see.
Wireframe 3-D surface chart Shows only the lines. A wireframe 3-D surface chart is not easy to read, but this chart type is useful for faster plotting of large data sets.
Contour chart Surface charts viewed from above, similar to 2-D topographic maps. In a contour chart, color bands represent specific ranges of values. The lines in a contour chart connect interpolated points of equal value.
Wireframe contour chart Surface charts viewed from above. Without color bands on the surface, a wireframe chart shows only the lines. Wireframe contour charts are not easy to read. You may want to use a 3-D surface chart instead.

In a radar chart, each category has its own value axis radiating from the center point. Lines connect all the values in the same series.

Use radar charts to compare the aggregate values of several data series.

Radar charts have the following chart subtypes:

Radar chart Displays changes in values in relation to a center point.
Radar with markers Displays changes in values in relation to a center point with markers.
Filled radar chart Displays changes in values in relation to a center point, and fills the area covered by a data series with color.

You can use a Map Chart to compare values and show categories across geographical regions. Use it when you have geographical regions in your data, like countries/regions, states, counties or postal codes.

For more information, see Create a map chart.

Funnel charts show values across multiple stages in a process.

Typically, the values decrease gradually, allowing the bars to resemble a funnel. For more information, see Create a funnel chart.

The treemap chart provides a hierarchical view of your data and an easy way to compare different levels of categorization. The treemap chart displays categories by color and proximity and can easily show lots of data which would be difficult with other chart types. The treemap chart can be plotted when empty (blank) cells exist within the hierarchal structure and treemap charts are good for comparing proportions within the hierarchy.

There are no chart sub-types for treemap charts.

For more information, see Create a treemap chart.

The sunburst chart is ideal for displaying hierarchical data and can be plotted when empty (blank) cells exist within the hierarchal structure . Each level of the hierarchy is represented by one ring or circle with the innermost circle as the top of the hierarchy. A sunburst chart without any hierarchical data (one level of categories), looks similar to a doughnut chart. However, a sunburst chart with multiple levels of categories shows how the outer rings relate to the inner rings. The sunburst chart is most effective at showing how one ring is broken into its contributing pieces.

There are no chart sub-types for sunburst charts.

For more information, see Create a sunburst chart.

A waterfall chart shows a running total of your financial data as values are added or subtracted. It's useful for understanding how an initial value is affected by a series of positive and negative values. The columns are color coded so you can quickly tell positive from negative numbers.

There are no chart sub-types for waterfall charts.

For more information, see Create a waterfall chart.

Data plotted in a histogram chart shows the frequencies within a distribution. Each column of the chart is called a bin, which can be changed to further analyze your data.

Types of histogram charts

Histogram The histogram chart shows the distribution of your data grouped into frequency bins.
Pareto chart A pareto is a sorted histogram chart that contains both columns sorted in descending order and a line representing the cumulative total percentage.

More information is available for Histogram and Pareto charts.

A box and whisker chart shows distribution of data into quartiles, highlighting the mean and outliers. The boxes may have lines extending vertically called “whiskers”. These lines indicate variability outside the upper and lower quartiles, and any point outside those lines or whiskers is considered an outlier. Use this chart type when there are multiple data sets which relate to each other in some way.

For more information, see Create a box and whisker chart.