Excel 2010 Bible

Chapter 19: Learning Advanced Charting

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FIGURE 19.8

These options are available for a Value Axis.

Adjusting the scale of a value axis can dramatically affect the chart’s appearance. Manipulating the

scale, in some cases, can present a false picture of the data. Figure 19.9 shows two line charts that

depict the same data. The chart on the left uses Excel’s default (Auto) axis scale values, which

extend from 7,400 to 9,400. In the chart on the right, the Minimum scale value was set to 0, and

the Maximum scale value was set to 10,000. The first chart makes the differences in the data seem

more prominent. The second chart gives the impression that there is not much change over time.

FIGURE 19.9

These two charts show the same data, but use a different Value Axis scales.