Chart

You can chart the data in a range of cells. The chart displays in a separate window. A variety of chart styles are available to choose from with this command.

When designing a chart, you need to consider how the size of all the chart elements will interact within a static size area for the chart object. The chart elements (plot, legend, title, axes, etc.) is laid out with respect to each other and the provided size and shape of the object. The amount of data and text chosen may not fit cleanly in a particular size window. If, for instance, there are a large number of chart series, the legend size is bigger to accommodate those series and there is less room for the chart plot. A large number of chart divisions or long text strings for the names of series and divisions also impacts the size and readability of the chart plot.

When creating a chart, you must manage the amount of text and data in a chart with respect to the size of the chart object. If a chart becomes unreadable from too much information in too little an area, you can enlarge the chart window or decrease the amount of data in the chart.

To create an ad-hoc chart:

  1. Highlight the data you want to chart.
  2. Right-click the highlighted cells, and then select Chart.
  3. Select a chart type.
  4. Choose a direction. By Row specifies that the selected members from the grid's down dimension becomes the chart series members. By Column specifies that the selected members from the grid's across dimension becomes the chart series members.
  5. If a bar chart is selected, select a bar style to customize the shape of the bars.
  6. If a stacked chart is desired, check the Stacking option. Stacking is available for bar, area and horizontal bar charts.