In this sample chapter from MOS 2016 Study Guide for Microsoft Excel, learn about exam objectives related to presenting data in charts and enhancing worksheets through images, business diagrams, and text boxes. Charts (also referred to as graphs) are created by plotting data points onto a two-dimensional or three-dimensional axis to assist in data analysis and are therefore a common component of certain types of workbooks. Presenting data in the form of a chart can make it easy to identify trends and relationships that might not be obvious from the data itself. Different types of charts are best suited for different types of data. The following table shows the available chart types and the data they are particularly useful for plotting.
You can also create combination charts that overlay different data charts in one space. To plot data as a chart, all you have to do is select the data and specify the chart type. You can select any type of chart from the Charts group on the Insert tab. You can also find recommendations based on the selected content either on the Charts tab of the Quick Analysis tool or on the Recommended Charts tab of the Insert Chart dialog box. Before you select the data that you want to present as a chart, ensure that the data is correctly set up for the type of chart you want to create (for example, you must set up hierarchical categories differently for a box & whisker, sunburst, or treemap chart than for a bar or column chart). Select only the data you want to appear in the chart. If the data is not in a contiguous range of rows or columns, either rearrange the data or hold down the Ctrl key while you select noncontiguous ranges. A chart is linked to its worksheet data, so any changes you make to the plotted data are immediately reflected in the chart. If you want to add or delete values in a data series or add or remove an entire series, you need to increase or decrease the range of the plotted data in the worksheet.
Click to view larger image Change a chart by including more or less data Sometimes a chart does not produce the results you expect because the data series are plotted against the wrong axes; that is, Excel is plotting the data by row when it should be plotting by column, or vice versa. You can quickly switch the rows and columns to see whether that produces the desired effect. You can preview the effect of switching axes in the Change Chart Type dialog box. You can present a different view of the data in a chart by switching the data series and categories across the axis. You can swap data across the axis from the Change Chart Type dialog box or you can more precisely control the chart content from the Select Data Source dialog box.
Choosing the data to include in a chart To plot data as a chart on the worksheet
To modify the data points in a chart
To select the chart data on the linked worksheet
To change the range of plotted data in a selected chart
Or
To plot additional data series in a selected chart
To switch the display of a data series in a selected chart between the series axis and the category axis
Or
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