WHAT IS CHART IN EXCEL - TYPES OF CHART - HOW TO MAKE CHART IN EXCEL - HOW TO CHOOSE CHARTS IN EXCEL

 

                          CHARTING IN EXCEL (CHARTS )

How to Choose the Right Chart Type in Excel 2010 :- 

A picture is said to be worth a thousand words. This is because a picture or a chart is the best way to represent data. A chart tells us much more than a table of numbers. Presenting numbers in the form of a well-conceived chart can make a point much more effectively than pages and pages of text.

Charts are particularly useful for getting a visual representation of a lengthy series of numbers and their relationships. Creating a chart often shows us trends and patterns which are nearly impossible to spot in a range of numbers.

Excel provides us with extremely powerful charting tools. Though these tools are very easy to use, their sheer number and numerous possible permutations make it impossible to have a complete coverage of all the possibilities.

Following are the major chart types are available in Excel :- 

• Column Charts :-  A column chart is a graph that shows vertical bars with the axis values for the bars displayed on the left side of the graph. It is a graphical object used to represent the data in your Excel spreadsheet. You can use a column chart when: You want to compare values across categories.

• Line Charts :-  A line chart is a graph that shows a series of data points connected by straight lines. It is a graphical object used to represent the data in your Excel spreadsheet. You can use a line chart when: You want to show a trend over time (such as days, months or years). In this case, the time values would be your categories. The order of your categories (i.e.: time values) is important.

• Pie Chats :-  A Pie chart is type of circular excel chart which represents the visualization of data in circular format, in this circular chart every category of data has its own part and all the categories make it as a whole circular data, pie chart is a good type of chart for representation but there is a limited to pie chart as it takes only two axis of data to represent. There are 5 types in this,

1. Pie
2. 3-D Pie
3. Pie of Pie
4. Bar of Pie
5. Doughnut

• Bar Charts :-  A bar chart is a graph that shows horizontal bars with axis values for the bars displayed on the bottom of the graph. It is a graphical object used to represent the data in your Excel spreadsheet. You can use a bar chart when: 

1. You want to compare values across categories. 
2. The categories text is long and difficult to display in a column chart. 
3. You want to show duration in a graph.

• Area Charts :-  Area chart in Excel is basically a line chart where the data of various series are separated line and are present in different colors, area chart is used to show the impact and changes in various data series over time, there is no inbuilt chart for area chart in Excel instead we make this chart using the line chart

Selecting charts to show the graphical representations is too difficult if there are lots of choices. It is very much important to choose the correct chart type so that the results would be achieved or the aim would be achieved, It requires lots of experience and efforts to select the right chart.

An area is the chart like a Line chart which has one difference, the area which is below the line is filled with color, which makes it different. An area chart in excel is used to showcase the data, which depicts the Time-series relationship.

                    

• X Y (Scatter) Charts :-  Scatter (X Y) charts are typically used to showing and comparing numeric values, like scientific, statistical, and engineering data. 

A Scatter charts has two values axes- 

1. Horizontal (x) value axis
2. Vertical (y) value axis

It combines x and y values into single data points and shows them in irregular intervals, or clusters.

Consider using a Scatter chart when-

1. You want to change the scale of the horizontal axis.
2. You want to make that axis a logarithmic scale.
3. Values for horizontal axis are not evenly spaced.
4. There are many data points on the horizontal axis.
5. You want to adjust the independent axis scales of a scatter chart to reveal more information about the data that includes pairs or grouped sets of values.
6. You want to show similarities between large sets of data instead of the differences between the data points.
7. You want to compare many data points regardless of the time. The more data that you include in a Scatter chart, the better the comparisons.

• Stock Charts :-  Stock charts are used to plot stock quotes over a certain time period, such as a single business day or week. Stock charts show nearly any combination of a stock's highest and lowest values, its open and close values, and the volume of trade for that stock.

• Surface Charts :-  Surface charts plot trends in values across two dimensions in a continuous curve. In order to use a surface chart, you need at least two data series, both of which are numeric as with an XY (Scatter) chart.

• Doughnut Charts :-  A doughnut chart is similar to a pie chart expect for its ability to display more than one data series (pie charts always graph just a single data series).  The doughnut charts are meant to express a "part-to-whole" relationship, where all pieces together represent 100%. Doughnut charts work best to display data with a small number of categories. Doughnut charts should be avoided when there are many categories, or when categories do not sum to 100%.

Pros :-

1. Simple, compact presentation
2. Can be read "at a glance"
3. Excel will calculate percentages automatically

Cons :- 

1. Difficult to compare relative size of slices
2. Become cluttered and dense as categories are added
3. Limited to part-to-whole data
4. Poor at showing change over time

Tips :-

1. Limit categories
2. Consider other charts to show change over time

• Bubble Charts :-  Bubble charts compare sets of three values as kind of a combination of an XY (Scatter) chart with an Area chart. When you build a bubble chart, the size of each bubble represented on the x-y grid represents the third set of values being charted.

• Radar Charts :-   The radar chart is a built-in chart type in Excel. Radar charts, sometimes called spider charts, have one axis per category which all use the same scale. The axes of a radar chart radiate out from the center of the chart and data points are plotted on each axis using a common scale.

The radar chart in excel visualizes the performance and makes visible concentrations of strengths and weaknesses.

Different Types of Radar Chart in Excel  :-

1. Radar Chart
2. Radar Chart with Markers
3. Radar Chart with Fills (Filled Spider Chart)  

• Create a Chart in Excel 2007,2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019 :- 

Note:- In the new versions of excel, hover the cursor over a chart type or sub-type on the insert ribbon to display a description of the chart.

1. Click the Insert Tab.
2. Click the chart type from the charts section of the ribbon (see image). The sub-type menu displays.
3. Click the desired chart sub-type. The chart appears on the worksheet.
4. If you Want to create a second chart, click somewhere in the worksheet to "deselect" the current chart first, or the new chart will replace the current chart.

• Create a Chart in Excel 2003, 2000, and 98 :-

Note :- In older versions of Excel, click the chart type or sub-type in the Chart Wizard to display a description of the chart.

1. Click Insert chart. The Chart Wizard appears.
2. Click the desire chart type in the left column, and click one of the chart sub-types in the right column, click Next.
3. Excel assumes you wish to keep the series data in rows. You may click "Columns" to see how the chart changes. When finished, click Next.
4. Type a chart title. If you wish to add a title for the axes, do so. Then click Finish.
5. Excel assumes you want the chart placed on the worksheet. If you would like the chart placed in a new sheet, click the radio button, type a sheet name, and click Finish.

To select an existing chart, click on its border, or click in an empty space inside the chart. When selecting a chart, be careful not to click on an element inside the chart or that element will be selected instead. .

• Excel Chart Helpful Hints :- 

1. For best results, keep the excel chart simple and uncluttered. It is better to use multiple charts to express patterns and relationships between data than to use one chart that is too busy and over-complicated.
2. A colorful chart is ideal for online presentations or for printing on a color printer. But shades of gray are best monochrome printing of charts.