Excel 2010 Bible

Chapter 19: Learning Advanced Charting

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FIGURE 19.39

You can create a simple Gantt chart from a bar chart.

Column A contains the task name, column B contains the corresponding start date, and column C

contains the duration of the task, in days.

Follow these steps to create this chart:

1. Select the range A2:C13, and create a stacked bar chart.


2. Delete the legend.


3. Select the category (vertical) axis and display the Format Axis dialog box.


4. From the Format Axis dialog box, specify Categories in Reverse Order to display
   the tasks in order, starting at the top. Choose Horizontal Axis Crosses at Maximum
   Category to display the dates at the bottom.


5. Select the Start Date data series and display the Format Data Series dialog box.


6. Still in the Format Data Series dialog box, click the Series Options tab and set the
   Series Overlap to 100%. From the Fill tab, specify No Fill. From the Border Color
   tab, specify No Line. These steps effectively hide the data series.


7. Select the value (horizontal) axis and display the Format Axis dialog box.


8. In the Format Axis dialog box, adjust the Minimum and Maximum settings to
   accommodate the dates that you want to display on the axis. Unfortunately, you must
   enter these values as date serial numbers, not actual dates. In this example, the Minimum