Microsoft Excel Webinar: Charts and Graphs

Microsoft Excel is used by organizations of all sizes and across all industries to store data. While spreadsheets are essential for data management, they can be extremely inconvenient and may not always provide team members with an ideal outlook on relationships and data trends. Microsoft Excel plays a part in transforming your Microsoft Excel spreadsheet data into charts and graphs to create an overview of your data which will enable you to make smart business decisions.

What Are Charts and Graphs in Microsoft Excel?

Charts and graphs boost your data by providing a comprehensible visualization of numeric values. Graphs are the most fundamental way to visually represent data. Graphs also typically display data point values over a length of time. On the other hand, charts are often a little more complex because charts can be used to compare pieces of a data set respective to the other data. Compared to graphs, charts are often viewed as more visual than graphs.

Charts and graphs are often used in presentations to provide a quick outlook into the progress you are making or the finished results. Charts and graphs can be used to represent quantitative data. When you do this, you will save yourself a significant amount of time and you will reduce the frustration of navigating through multiple spreadsheets to find trends and relationships.

Creating charts and graphs in Microsoft Excel is not a complex process, especially since data can be stored directly in a Microsoft Excel Workbook instead of importing data from another application. Microsoft Excel has a variety of charts and graphs that you can choose from, based on what best represents the data relationships or trends you want to spotlight.

When Can You Use Graphs and Charts in Microsoft Excel?

As mentioned previously, Microsoft Excel has preset charts and graph types to help you present your data. While using a variety of chart and graph types may work for a specific data set, it’s essential to select a chart or graph type that is the perfect match for the story you want to tell using the data you have. With the use of graphs and charts, you can add graphical components to strengthen and customize a graph or chart.

There are a few main categories of charts or graphs in Microsoft Excel, including the following:

Column Charts
Bar Charts
Pie Charts
Line Charts
Scatter Charts
Line Graphs

Generate a Chart or Graph in Excel

To generate a chart or graph in Excel, do the following:

Enter data into a worksheet
Select Range to create a chart or graph from Workbook Data

Once you input your data and select the cell range, you can select your chart type to display your data.

Choose the type of chart or graph you want to create
Begin creating your chart or graph
Add elements
Make adjustments to the layout
Change the colors and the style
Switch row/column
Select Data
Change Chart Type
Move Chart
Change Formatting

To delete a chart, click on the chart and click Delete.

How to Create the Best Microsoft Excel Graphs and Charts

While Excel provides a variety of layouts and formats to improve the overall look and comprehensibility of your graphs and charts, using the presets will not mean that you will fully maximize the effectiveness of your graph or chart. Here are some of the best practices to follow to ensure your chart or graph is always clear and precise:

Make Your Graphs and Charts Clean: Charts and graphs that are filled with clutter can be difficult to read.
Choose Fitting Themes: While creating your charts and graphs, make sure you consider your audience.
Use Text Carefully: Charts and graphs are visual tools, but you will likely want to use text in your charts and graphs. However, you should make sure you use text carefully.
Use Elements Wisely: Pay close attention to where you place elements. You do not want any elements you use to detract from it your chart or graph.
Sort Data First: Don’t forget to sort data before creating the graph or chart.

Empower your teams to go a step further with a platform that has been designed to match their needs and easily adapt as those needs change. K2 Technologies provides tips to help your teams be more effective and get more work done. Contact us today for more tips on how certain applications and tools can be used to keep your team connected and informed.

Microsoft Excel Webinar: Charts and Graphs