Excel Chart Articles

  • Force a column, bar, or line chart in Excel to start at zero

    Excel changes the starting value for the measurement axis of column, bar, and line charts based on the values being graphed. This can cause a chart to be misleading just because the data got updated. In this video I show you how to add a second invisible data series that forces Excel to always start……

    Continue reading

  • Lessons in creating effective Excel charts from the October 2019 SWD Challenge

    Every month, Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic of storytelling with data posts a new challenge to help professionals think about how they can visually communicate a message from data. The October 2019 challenge is drawn from her new book and looks at how to communicate the message from a table of data related to revenue and number……

    Continue reading

  • How to create an Excel chart with a dynamic range that you select

    Basic dynamic charts A standard chart in Excel uses a defined set of cells for the category axis and the data values. This works for most charts. But what if you want to create a chart where the data range gets bigger or smaller based on criteria? That is where you will want to create……

    Continue reading

  • 3 Steps you can take to spend less time updating Excel charts each month (Hint: use a strategic approach to your Excel chart worksheet)

    With organizations measuring more metrics than ever before, the time it takes to update all the charts you create for senior managers seems to increase each month. You’ve streamlined the analysis using tools in Excel like Power Query, Pivot tables, and various formulas. Once you’ve identified the insights you need to communicate, it takes a……

    Continue reading

  • “Torn paper” look for non-zero axis; Issue #436 April 2 2019

    In my Twitter feed I saw a number of well respected data visualization experts liking a recent article by RJ Andrews for the Data Visualization Society. In it he talks about the issue of starting the axis of a graph at a value other than zero. This is a common topic in the dataviz world……

    Continue reading