Bar Chart Format X axis as months

[HughT]

I have googled and Peltiered this to no effect.

I am making a very simple floating stacked bar chart (in Excel 2003) to go in a dashboard to show the time scale for 3 processes over a period of months. There are 2 series: one with the actual data for the processes starting on 1 March and ending on 3 separate dates in the future, the other also starting on 1 March but to end at 'today' and formatted to 'white out' so that the other series is seen as 3 floating bars starting 'today' and ending at the appropriate end date.

The problem I have is making the horizontal axis (X normally, but as I understand it, actually the 'Y' axis on a bar chart) display months. Within the Format Axis / Scale menu there is the facility to select 'Time Scale' (days / months / years) which does the trick, but try as I might, I can't invoke it. All I get is the standard menu to format the Value (Y) axis scale. If I enter dates into this as maximum and minimum it demands a fixed value for the major and minor units. If I use 31 for major units it doesn't take into account 30 day months, and vice versa. The result is that the firstly the month names sit at the tick marks instead of between them, and secondly a process ending on 1 September looks as if it ends somewhere else.

Any ideas gratefully received as this is driving me mad!

 

[RoryA]

That sounds like a Gantt chart, in which case you will be better off using cells I think. (see for example here.)

 

[HughT]

Rory

Thanks - but I was trying to keep it as simple as possible. The real question, I suppose, is why does Excel not present the Days / Months / Years option in the Format Axis / Scale menu? Is this something to do with this being a bar chart, and therefore the X axis actually being the Y axis? If so, is there a workround?

Many thanks for your suggestion anyway.

 

[RoryA]

Basically yes - those options only apply to the X axis.

Perhaps you could use a line chart and for each project plot from start date to end date.