Manage Charts
Choosing and shaping the right chart
Chart questions test whether you can pick a type that fits the data and then control every element. Column and bar charts compare categories, line charts show trends over time, pie and doughnut charts show parts of a single whole, and XY scatter charts plot numeric pairs - the only correct choice for true x-y correlation. Modern types include waterfall, funnel, treemap, histogram and box-and-whisker. Know Chart Design and Format options: Select Data, Switch Row/Column, chart and axis titles, legend placement, data labels (including Value From Cells), gridlines, axis scale and number format, trendlines, and sparklines for in-cell mini charts.
Traps exam writers like
- A pie chart plots only one data series. If the range has several series, only the first appears - the fix is a different chart type, not reformatting.
- Data series that should be categories often appear swapped; Switch Row/Column on the Chart Design tab fixes it.
- To plot series with very different magnitudes, use a combo chart and move one series to a secondary axis; changing the whole chart's axis scale flattens the smaller series.
- Changing chart type keeps existing formatting, but deleting the source data leaves an empty chart.
- Charts built on a table expand automatically; charts on a plain range do not unless you use dynamic named ranges.
- Hidden and empty cells are controlled in Select Data > Hidden and Empty Cells - gaps, zero, or connecting lines.
Worked example
To show Revenue in dollars and Margin % together: select both series > Insert > Combo Chart > set Margin to Line with Secondary Axis ticked. Without the secondary axis the percentage line sits flat against the revenue scale.