Excel: Charts in Depth

Course details

Excel charts allow you to communicate information with much more impact than raw numbers and are surprisingly easy to generate. Instructor Dennis Taylor shows you how to create different kinds of Excel charts, from column, bar, line and pie to more recently introduced types like Treemap, Funnel, and Pareto. He explains what types of data work best with each so you can decide which type to choose for your specific information. Plus, learn how to fine-tune your chart's color and style; add titles, labels, and legends; insert shapes, pictures, and text boxes; and pull data from multiple sources.

Learning objectives
Chart essentials
Fine-tuning charts with design tab choices
Inserting pictures, shapes, and text boxes
Adding shape effects
Applying WordArt styles
Working with chart text
Changing the rotation of chart text
Changing a chart's data source
Printing and sharing charts
In-cell chart alternatives

Concepts

Introduction

Add power to your data with charts

Chart Essentials

Create charts with shortcuts and standard techniques
Overview of chart types
Choose styles and layouts
Change chart orientation
Move and resize worksheet charts

Fine-Tune Your Charts

Add a chart element
Change the location of source data
Deal with empty and hidden cells
Change the default chart type and create a template

Adjust Chart Elements

Modify axes
Work with chart and axes titles
Link titles to content
Add and edit data labels
Add a data table
Work with gridlines
Use legends
Add error bars, lines, and up-down bars
Analyze existing and future data with trendlines

Format Tab Options

Use pictures as chart elements
Work with shapes and arrows
Add shape styles and effects
Add floating text and text boxes
Work with chart text
Apply WordArt styles

Work with Popular Chart Types

Column and bar charts
Line and area charts
Pie charts and doughnut charts

Other Specialized Excel Charts

Combination charts
Stock charts
Scatter charts
Bubble charts
Radar charts
Gantt charts

New Excel Chart Types

Overview of new chart types
TreeMap charts
Sunburst charts
Histogram chart
Box and whisker chart
Pareto chart
Waterfall and funnel charts
Map charts based on geographic data

Change a Chart's Data Source

Create charts from multiple data sources
Use a table as source data for a chart

Print and Share Charts

Print charts
Copy and link charts with Word and PowerPoint

In-Cell Chart Alternatives

Create graphic-in-cell charts with sparklines
Use symbols and the REPT function for in-cell charts
Create in-cell bar charts with conditional formatting

Conclusion

Next steps