Excel 2010 Bible

Chapter 18: Getting Started Making Charts

419

The radar chart (lower right) is clearly inappropriate for this data. People aren’t accustomed to

viewing time-based information in a circular direction!

Fortunately, changing a chart’s type is easy, so you can experiment with various chart types until

you find the one that represents your data accurately, clearly, and as simply as possible.

The remainder of this chapter contains more information about the various Excel chart types. The

examples and discussion may give you a better handle on determining the most appropriate chart

type for your data.

Column

Probably the most common chart type is column charts. A column chart displays each data point as

a vertical column, the height of which corresponds to the value. The value scale is displayed on the

vertical axis, which is usually on the left side of the chart. You can specify any number of data

series, and the corresponding data points from each series can be stacked on top of each other.

Typically, each data series is depicted in a different color or pattern.

Column charts are often used to compare discrete items, and they can depict the differences

between items in a series or items across multiple series. Excel offers seven column-chart subtypes.

On the CD
A workbook that contains the charts in this section is available on the companion CD-ROM. The file is named
column charts.xlsx.

Figure 18.12 shows an example of a clustered column chart that depicts monthly sales for two

products. From this chart, it is clear that Sprocket sales have always exceeded Widget sales. In

addition, Widget sales have been declining over the five-month period, whereas Sprocket sales are

increasing.

FIGURE 18.12

This clustered column chart compares monthly sales for two products.