Charts
What you need to understand
A chart is created from a data range you select first; the application then plots the values as one or more series, with categories taken from the row or column labels. You must know how to create a chart, change its type, move and resize it, move it onto its own chart sheet, and delete it.
Learn the common chart types and when each is appropriate: column/bar for comparing values across categories, line for trends over time, pie for the parts of a single whole, and scatter (XY) for the relationship between two numeric variables.
You must also be able to add, edit and remove chart elements: chart title, axis titles, legend, data labels, gridlines, and the axis scale. Know how to change the source data range and how to switch rows and columns so that the series are plotted the other way round.
Traps
- A pie chart can show only one data series; selecting two series produces a nonsense chart.
- Including a totals row in the selected range adds a giant extra bar that distorts the comparison.
- A chart does not automatically grow to include new rows typed below the original range - you must extend the source data.
- Deleting a chart is done by selecting its border and pressing Delete, not by clearing the cells underneath.
Rule of thumb: choose the chart type from the question's wording - compare means column or bar, trend over time means line, share of a total means pie.