The Basics of Excel Charting: Part II
This is the second of a Four (4) Part series on the Basics of Charting with Microsoft Excel 2010. Yesterday, we set up our Data Set to be used for the Chart. Today, in Episode #1406, Bill begins creating the Chart from the Data Set. Also, learn how to access your Charting Tools in Excel once your Chart is created.
...This episode is the video podcast companion to the book, "Charts And Graphs: Microsoft Excel 2010", by Bill Jelen a.k.a. MrExcel.
For more Excel 2010 knowledge, check out "Excel 2010 In Depth", by Bill Jelen a.k.a. MrExcel.
For all of your Microsoft Excel needs visit MrExcel.com -- Your One Stop for Excel Tips and Solutions.
This is the second of a Four (4) Part series on the Basics of Charting with Microsoft Excel 2010. Yesterday, we set up our Data Set to be used for the Chart. Today, in Episode #1406, Bill begins creating the Chart from the Data Set. Also, learn how to access your Charting Tools in Excel once your Chart is created.
...This episode is the video podcast companion to the book, "Charts And Graphs: Microsoft Excel 2010", by Bill Jelen a.k.a. MrExcel.
For more Excel 2010 knowledge, check out "Excel 2010 In Depth", by Bill Jelen a.k.a. MrExcel.
For all of your Microsoft Excel needs visit MrExcel.com -- Your One Stop for Excel Tips and Solutions.
Transcript of the video:
MrExcel podcast is sponsored by Charts and Graphs. Thank you.
Learn Excel form MrExcel episode, 1406 Create the Chart.
Oh, hey, welcome back to the MrExcel netcast.
I'm Bill Jelen.
This is a four part podcast series on someone completely new to charts we're in step 2.
Yesterday episode 1405 we took some data in words some text from word and set up our data in Excel.
Now, remember we wanna have labels going across the top row labels going down the left-hand side it's, we didn't do this because we were talking the data from word, but if you're getting data from somewhere else, it's very likely there's a label up here in that top left corner cell it's very important to press the, choose that cell press the.
So, there was something here choose that cell press the Delete key to make that be blank that's the key to having your charts working a lot of the time.
We'll select all of the data to be charted and we go to the insert tab.
Now, here we're comparing two different populations that people are actually a subset of the entire population of people over time I hope to have time going across the bottom and we're going to compare.
As you go to the insert tab there's a bunch of different dropdowns here as you go to these various dropdowns you're going to see a repeating pattern over and over and over again.
They always show up in in sets of three the first one is called a Clustered Chart.
That's where we're comparing two different values then a Stacked Chart where we're putting the values on top of each other it's not what we want to do here and then a hundred percent stacked where it always adds up to one hundred percent and you'll see this repeat again and again and again same thing here in the column chart those three different icons appear you'll see that all the time even have a line chart they do the same thing.
So, here we're comparing to, here we're stacking to, here we're stacking to and the second one that always adds up to a hundred percent every time.
So, we want the Clustered Column Chart, click OK and look how simple that is.
We get a chart, beautiful.
Okay now, you're new to charts one thing I want you to be aware of look up here in the right hand corner of the ribbon.
So, you usually have data review, view you probably don't have developed will probably don't have it and might not have PowerPivot and then it just ends, but now, that we have a chart and the chart is selected Design, Layout and Format.
All of your charting tools are here for what's very frustrating.
It's very likely you're gonna come back to this worksheet or you're just going to click out of the chart and look all those charting tools have disappeared.
So, to get to the charting tools you have to make sure to click on the chart don't agree with this decision by Microsoft I've had arguments with a guy from Microsoft, but that's the way it is.
You have to click on the chart or you lose the tools.
All right now, let's talk about some things that I don't like about this chart that we can start to fix tomorrow.
First thing is the scale it's looking like the employees who took power Excel did dramatically better they did six points better but they didn't do like a whole third better and that's because they've zoomed in on the scale and this is a decision Microsoft makes.
We'll talk about that tomorrow some other things I would like to fix while we need a title the legend is taking up way too smudged space over here at a great solution for that and red, red is just negative why do they always choose red for the second color in most charts.
It's just beyond me.
So, take a look at fixing those episodes 1407 and 1408.
Okay I wanna thank you for stopping by.
We'll see you next time another netcast from MrExcel.
Learn Excel form MrExcel episode, 1406 Create the Chart.
Oh, hey, welcome back to the MrExcel netcast.
I'm Bill Jelen.
This is a four part podcast series on someone completely new to charts we're in step 2.
Yesterday episode 1405 we took some data in words some text from word and set up our data in Excel.
Now, remember we wanna have labels going across the top row labels going down the left-hand side it's, we didn't do this because we were talking the data from word, but if you're getting data from somewhere else, it's very likely there's a label up here in that top left corner cell it's very important to press the, choose that cell press the.
So, there was something here choose that cell press the Delete key to make that be blank that's the key to having your charts working a lot of the time.
We'll select all of the data to be charted and we go to the insert tab.
Now, here we're comparing two different populations that people are actually a subset of the entire population of people over time I hope to have time going across the bottom and we're going to compare.
As you go to the insert tab there's a bunch of different dropdowns here as you go to these various dropdowns you're going to see a repeating pattern over and over and over again.
They always show up in in sets of three the first one is called a Clustered Chart.
That's where we're comparing two different values then a Stacked Chart where we're putting the values on top of each other it's not what we want to do here and then a hundred percent stacked where it always adds up to one hundred percent and you'll see this repeat again and again and again same thing here in the column chart those three different icons appear you'll see that all the time even have a line chart they do the same thing.
So, here we're comparing to, here we're stacking to, here we're stacking to and the second one that always adds up to a hundred percent every time.
So, we want the Clustered Column Chart, click OK and look how simple that is.
We get a chart, beautiful.
Okay now, you're new to charts one thing I want you to be aware of look up here in the right hand corner of the ribbon.
So, you usually have data review, view you probably don't have developed will probably don't have it and might not have PowerPivot and then it just ends, but now, that we have a chart and the chart is selected Design, Layout and Format.
All of your charting tools are here for what's very frustrating.
It's very likely you're gonna come back to this worksheet or you're just going to click out of the chart and look all those charting tools have disappeared.
So, to get to the charting tools you have to make sure to click on the chart don't agree with this decision by Microsoft I've had arguments with a guy from Microsoft, but that's the way it is.
You have to click on the chart or you lose the tools.
All right now, let's talk about some things that I don't like about this chart that we can start to fix tomorrow.
First thing is the scale it's looking like the employees who took power Excel did dramatically better they did six points better but they didn't do like a whole third better and that's because they've zoomed in on the scale and this is a decision Microsoft makes.
We'll talk about that tomorrow some other things I would like to fix while we need a title the legend is taking up way too smudged space over here at a great solution for that and red, red is just negative why do they always choose red for the second color in most charts.
It's just beyond me.
So, take a look at fixing those episodes 1407 and 1408.
Okay I wanna thank you for stopping by.
We'll see you next time another netcast from MrExcel.
