In a previous video (https://youtu.be/jqA5BUbgAFM) I showed how to replace the legend in a column chart with labels added using a scatter chart. Someone asked if this could also be done for a bar chart. This video shows you how. It is a slightly different approach because the scatter plot has to be placed on…
Category: Intermediate Excel Chart Skills
Create a graph in PowerPoint using data and formulas from Excel for increased functionality
Using the default copy and paste for an Excel graph into PowerPoint results in a link back to the Excel file. If that file is on a drive you can’t access, you can’t edit the graph. If you use the Embed workbook option when pasting the graph into PowerPoint you make the PowerPoint file large,…
Use this hack to add the data series names in the columns of a graph instead of using a legend in Excel
When you are using a clustered column graph in Excel that has two or more data series, how do you tell the viewer which set of columns is which data series? The default method is to use colors and the legend. This video shows you a way to add the data series names into one…
Fixing the “Values don’t add to 100% because of rounding” issue in Excel pie charts & tables
Too often I see a footnote on an Excel chart or table in a presentation that says “the values don’t add to 100% because of rounding.” Sometimes the values don’t add to 100% and there is no footnote, it just appears to be a mathematical mistake. Both of these situations cause doubt in the mind…
Excel/PowerPoint tip: Accurately estimating the values in a column/bar/line chart image
What do you do in this situation. You get a chart from another source, like a website or PDF and it doesn’t have data labels with the values. You need the values to incorporate into your analysis or your chart. How can you accurately estimate the values from an image of the graph? This video…
5 Tips for handling the increased financial reporting workload after colleagues get laid off
We are in another round of layoffs in many organizations. This time it is a slowing economy due to rising interest rates. In the past it has been different factors and the result is the same: fewer financial professionals doing the same (or more) work every month. Here are five tips to get those monthly…
Excel Chart Tip: Add a goal or target line to a bar chart
When you are showing ranked data in a bar chart you may want to add a goal or target line to easily identify those with performance above the goal and those below the goal. Instead of drawing the line on top of the chart, build the target or goal line as part of the chart…
Excel Tip: Color conditional formatting of directional indicator symbols in cells
A financial professional in one of my courses asked if it was possible to conditionally format the color of a symbol to indicate good or poor performance. The indicator direction and color needed to be set based on the value of the cell. This video shows you how to achieve this by combining formulas and…
The strategic use of color in Excel charts
A few dataviz experts tweeted about a great new article by Lisa Charlotte Muth called “10 ways to use fewer colors in your data visualizations”. I highly recommend you read it because it is very well written and has great ideas. If you create data visuals in Excel like many business professionals do, let me…
Conditional formatting of category in column chart; Issue #470 August 4, 2020
One of my most popular Excel Chart Tips videos is the one on conditional formatting of a column chart based on the values being categorized into ranges (video is here). Another option for conditional formatting is to visually focus the audience on one (or more) column based on a condition or a decision you make.…