The right way to Make a Chart or Graph in Excel [With Video Tutorial]

Constructing charts and graphs are top-of-the-line methods to visualize knowledge in a transparent and understandable method.

Nonetheless, it is no shock that some individuals get somewhat intimidated by the prospect of poking round in Microsoft Excel.

I assumed I would share a useful video tutorial in addition to some step-by-step directions for anybody on the market who cringes on the considered organizing a spreadsheet full of information right into a chart that really, you realize, means one thing. However earlier than diving in, we must always go over the various kinds of charts you may create within the software program.

Varieties of Charts in Excel

You can also make extra than simply bar or line charts in Microsoft Excel, and while you perceive the makes use of for every, you may draw extra insightful info on your or your staff’s tasks.

The steps you have to construct a chart or graph in Excel are easy, and right here’s a fast walkthrough on the right way to make them.

Obtain Demo Knowledge | Obtain Directions (Mac) | Obtain Directions (PC)

1. Enter your knowledge into Excel.

First, you have to enter your knowledge into Excel. You may need exported the information from elsewhere, like a chunk of advertising software program or a survey software. Or possibly you are inputting it manually.

Within the instance under, in Column A, I’ve an inventory of responses to the query, “Did inbound advertising reveal ROI?”, and in Columns B, C, and D, I’ve the responses to the query, “Does your organization have a proper sales-marketing settlement?” For instance, Column C, Row 2 illustrates that 49% of individuals with a service degree settlement (SLA) additionally say that inbound advertising demonstrated ROI.

2. Select from the graph and chart choices.

In Excel, your choices for charts and graphs embody column (or bar) graphs, line graphs, pie graphs, scatter plots, and extra. See how Excel identifies each within the high navigation bar, as depicted under:

To search out the chart and graph choices, choose Insert.

(For assist determining which sort of chart/graph is greatest for visualizing your knowledge, try our free e book, The right way to Use Knowledge Visualization to Win Over Your Viewers.)

3. Spotlight your knowledge and insert your required graph into the spreadsheet.

On this instance, a bar graph presents the information visually. To make a bar graph, spotlight the information and embody the titles of the X and Y-axis. Then, go to the Insert tab and click on the column icon within the charts part. Select the graph you want from the dropdown window that seems.

I picked the primary two dimensional column choice as a result of I want the flat bar graphic over the three dimensional look. See the ensuing bar graph under.

4. Swap the information on every axis, if needed.

If you wish to change what seems on the X and Y axis, right-click on the bar graph, click on Choose Knowledge, and click on Swap Row/Column. It will rearrange which axes carry which items of information within the record proven under. When completed, click on OK on the backside.

The ensuing graph would appear like this:

5. Modify your knowledge’s format and colours.

To alter the labeling format and legend, click on on the bar graph, then click on the Chart Design tab. Right here, you may select which format you favor for the chart title, axis titles, and legend. In my instance under, I clicked on the choice that displayed softer bar colours and legends under the chart.

To additional format the legend, click on on it to disclose the Format Legend Entry sidebar, as proven under. Right here, you may change the fill coloration of the legend, which is able to change the colour of the columns themselves. To format different components of your chart, click on on them individually to disclose a corresponding Format window.

6. Change the scale of your chart’s legend and axis labels.

While you first make a graph in Excel, the scale of your axis and legend labels could be small, relying on the graph or chart you select (bar, pie, line, and so forth.) As soon as you’ve got created your chart, you may wish to beef up these labels in order that they’re legible.

To extend the scale of your graph’s labels, click on on them individually and, as a substitute of showing a brand new Format window, click on again into the Residence tab within the high navigation bar of Excel. Then, use the font kind and dimension dropdown fields to broaden or shrink your chart’s legend and axis labels to your liking.

7. Change the Y-axis measurement choices if desired.

To alter the kind of measurement proven on the Y axis, click on on the Y-axis percentages in your chart to disclose the Format Axis window. Right here, you may determine if you wish to show items situated on the Axis Choices tab, or if you wish to change whether or not the Y-axis exhibits percentages to 2 decimal locations or no decimal locations.

As a result of my graph routinely units the Y axis’s most share to 60%, you may wish to change it manually to 100% to symbolize my knowledge on a common scale. To take action, you may choose the Most choice — two fields down underneath Bounds within the Format Axis window — and alter the worth from 0.6 to at least one.

The ensuing graph will appear like the one under (On this instance, the font dimension of the Y-axis has been elevated through the Residence tab so to see the distinction):

8. Reorder your knowledge, if desired.

To type the information so the respondents’ solutions seem in reverse order, right-click in your graph and click on Choose Knowledge to disclose the identical choices window you referred to as up in Step 3 above. This time, arrow up and right down to reverse the order of your knowledge on the chart.

When you have greater than two traces of information to regulate, it’s also possible to rearrange them in ascending or descending order. To do that, spotlight your whole knowledge within the cells above your chart, click on Knowledge and choose Type, as proven under. Relying in your desire, you may select to type based mostly on smallest to largest, or vice versa.

The ensuing graph would appear like this:

9. Title your graph.

Now comes the enjoyable and simple half: naming your graph. By now, you may need already discovered how to do that. Here is a easy clarifier.

Proper after making your chart, the title that seems will doubtless be “Chart Title,” or one thing related relying on the model of Excel you are utilizing. To alter this label, click on on “Chart Title” to disclose a typing cursor. You may then freely customise your chart’s title.

When you may have a title you want, click on Residence on the highest navigation bar, and use the font formatting choices to present your title the emphasis it deserves. See these choices and my remaining graph under:

10. Export your graph or chart.

As soon as your chart or graph is strictly the way in which you need it, it can save you it as a picture with out screenshotting it within the spreadsheet. This technique gives you a clear picture of your chart that may be inserted right into a PowerPoint presentation, Canva doc, or another visible template.

To avoid wasting your Excel graph as a photograph, right-click on the graph and choose Save as Image.

Within the dialogue field, title the photograph of your graph, select the place to reserve it in your pc, and select the file kind you’d like to reserve it as. On this instance, it’s saved as a JPEG to a desktop folder. Lastly, click on Save.

You’ll have a transparent photograph of your graph or chart you could add to any visible design.

Visualize Knowledge Like A Professional

That was fairly straightforward, proper? With this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll have the ability to rapidly create charts and graphs that visualize essentially the most sophisticated knowledge. Attempt utilizing this similar tutorial with totally different graph varieties like a pie chart or line graph to see what format tells the story of your knowledge greatest.

Editor’s notice: This publish was initially revealed in June 2018 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.