how to make a graph presentation in excel

Excel Tutorial: How To Make Graphical Presentation In Excel

Introduction.

When it comes to analyzing and presenting data, graphical presentations in Excel can be a game-changer. These visual representations of data not only make it easier to understand complex information but also help in making informed decisions. In this tutorial, we will take you through the process of creating graphical presentations in Excel and explore the benefits of incorporating visuals into your data analysis.

Key Takeaways

• Graphical presentations in Excel are crucial for understanding complex data and making informed decisions.
• Understanding the basics of creating graphical presentations is essential, including the different types of graphs and charts available in Excel.
• Selecting the appropriate data and organizing it effectively is key to creating effective graphical presentations.
• Utilizing Excel's advanced features and customization options can elevate the visual appeal and insights provided by graphical presentations.
• Adding finishing touches such as visual elements and annotations can enhance the overall look and clarity of graphical presentations.

Understanding the basics of creating graphical presentations in Excel

Graphical presentations are an essential tool for visualizing data and conveying information in a clear and concise manner. In Microsoft Excel, creating graphical presentations is a straightforward process that can greatly enhance the impact of your data. In this tutorial, we will explore the basics of creating graphical presentations in Excel.

Excel offers a wide range of graph and chart types, each suited for different data sets and presentation purposes. Some of the most commonly used graph and chart types in Excel include:

• Column and Bar Charts: These charts are used to compare values across different categories.
• Line Charts: Line charts are useful for showing trends and changes over time.
• Pie Charts: Pie charts are ideal for displaying the proportion of different categories in a data set.
• Scatter Plots: Scatter plots are used to show the relationship between two variables.

When creating a graphical presentation in Excel, it's important to include key components that help convey the information effectively.

The title of the graph or chart should clearly indicate the subject of the presentation.

Axis Labels

Axis labels are essential for providing context to the data being presented. The x-axis and y-axis should be clearly labeled to indicate what each represents.

The data being used for the graphical presentation should be clearly defined and organized to ensure accuracy and relevance.

By understanding the different types of graphs and charts available in Excel and the key components of a graphical presentation, you can effectively create visual representations of your data that are both impactful and easy to understand.

Selecting the appropriate data for your graphical presentation

When creating graphical presentations in Excel, it is essential to carefully choose the data that best suits the intended visualization. Here are some key points to consider:

• Look for trends or patterns: Data that shows clear trends or patterns are ideal for graphical representation. This can include sales figures over time, survey responses, or market trends.
• Comparing data: Data that needs to be compared across different categories or variables, such as product sales by region or customer demographics, can be effectively presented graphically.
• Highlighting relationships: If you want to showcase the relationship between different sets of data, such as correlation between variables or cause-and-effect relationships, graphical representation can be very effective.
• Clean and structured data: Ensure that your data is clean and well-structured before importing it into Excel. This includes removing any unnecessary columns or rows, and organizing the data in a logical manner.
• Use proper labels and headers: Clearly label your data and use headers to identify different categories or variables. This will make it easier to interpret and visualize the data in Excel.
• Convert text to numerical values: If your data includes text that needs to be represented graphically, such as categories or labels, consider converting them to numerical values or using a numerical equivalent for easier graphing in Excel.
• Remove outliers or irrelevant data: If there are outliers or irrelevant data points that could skew the visualization, consider removing them or addressing them separately to ensure the accuracy of the graphical presentation.

Step-by-step guide to creating graphical presentations in Excel

Excel is a versatile tool not only for data analysis and calculations but also for creating visually appealing graphical presentations. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of creating simple bar or pie charts using Excel's chart tools and then show you how to utilize Excel's graph customization features to enhance the visual appeal of your presentation.

A. Creating a simple bar or pie chart using Excel's chart tools

Excel's chart tools make it easy to create visually stunning bar or pie charts to represent your data. Follow these simple steps:

• Select your data: Start by selecting the data that you want to include in your chart. This will typically be a range of cells containing your data.
• Insert a chart: Once you have selected your data, go to the "Insert" tab and select the type of chart you want to create, such as a bar chart or a pie chart.
• Customize your chart: Excel will automatically generate a basic chart based on your selected data. You can then customize the chart by adding titles, labels, and modifying the colors and styles to suit your presentation.
• Finalize your chart: Once you are happy with the appearance of your chart, you can further customize it by adding data labels, adjusting the axis scales, or adding a trendline.

B. Utilizing Excel's graph customization features to enhance the visual appeal of your presentation

Excel offers a range of graph customization features that allow you to enhance the visual appeal of your presentation. Here's how to make the most of these features:

• Modify chart elements: Excel allows you to modify various elements of your chart, such as the axis titles, data labels, and gridlines. You can also add or remove chart elements to make your chart more visually appealing.
• Change chart styles: Excel provides a range of pre-set chart styles that you can apply to your chart to change its appearance. You can also manually adjust the colors, fonts, and effects to create a custom look for your chart.
• Add visual effects: Excel allows you to add visual effects to your chart, such as shadows and glows, to make it stand out. You can also adjust the transparency of chart elements to create a more subtle and polished look.
• Format data series: Excel enables you to format individual data series within your chart, allowing you to highlight specific data points or make certain elements stand out.

Adding the finishing touches to your graphical presentation

Once you have created your graphical presentation in Excel, it's time to add the finishing touches to make it visually appealing and easy to understand for your audience.

Visual elements play a crucial role in making your graphical presentation stand out. Here are a few tips on how to use colors and fonts effectively:

• Use a cohesive color scheme: Select a color palette that complements your data and helps in conveying your message effectively. Avoid using too many colors that can make the presentation look cluttered.
• Choose readable fonts: Use clear and legible fonts for your titles, labels, and annotations. Make sure the font size is appropriate for the audience to read comfortably.
• Emphasize important data points: Use different colors or fonts to highlight important data points or trends in your presentation.

Titles, legends, and annotations help provide context and clarity to your graphical presentation. Here's how to effectively incorporate these elements:

• Include a descriptive title: A clear and concise title helps the audience understand the purpose of the graphical presentation. It should convey the main message or insight from the data.
• Utilize legends for clarity: If your graphical presentation includes multiple data series or categories, use a legend to provide clarity on what each element represents.
• Add annotations for additional information: Annotations can help provide additional context or explanations for specific data points. They can be used to highlight outliers, trends, or any other important details in the visualization.

Utilizing trendlines, sparklines, and other advanced chart elements to provide deeper insights

When creating graphical presentations in Excel, it's important to go beyond basic charts and graphs to provide deeper insights. Utilizing advanced features such as trendlines and sparklines can help you achieve this.

• Adding trendlines to your charts can help you identify and visualize patterns and trends in your data. This can be especially useful for predicting future values based on historical data.
• Customizing trendlines allows you to further refine your graphical presentation, adjusting the type of trendline (e.g., linear, exponential, polynomial) to best fit your data.
• Interpreting trendlines is essential for understanding the implications of the data. You can use the equation of the trendline to make predictions or analyze the relationship between variables.
• Integrating sparklines into your data tables or dashboards can provide a quick and concise visualization of trends and variations, without taking up too much space.
• Customizing sparklines allows you to adjust the appearance and layout to best suit your graphical presentation, ensuring clarity and effectiveness.
• Interpreting sparklines involves understanding the patterns and variations they display, providing quick insights into the data at a glance.

Exploring additional tools and features to further customize and polish your graphical presentation

Excel offers a range of additional tools and features to help you further customize and polish your graphical presentation, elevating it to a professional level.

Data Labels and Callouts

• Adding data labels to your charts can provide additional context and clarity, allowing viewers to easily interpret the data points.
• Using callouts to highlight specific data points or trends can draw attention to key insights, making your graphical presentation more impactful.

Interactive Elements

• Utilizing interactive elements such as drop-down menus, buttons, or sliders can make your graphical presentation more engaging and dynamic, allowing viewers to interact with the data.
• Creating interactive dashboards with linked charts and tables can provide a comprehensive view of the data, allowing for seamless exploration and analysis.

Formatting and Design

• Applying consistent formatting across all elements of your graphical presentation can create a cohesive and professional look, enhancing visual appeal and readability.
• Using design elements such as color schemes, fonts, and shapes can help convey a specific message or theme, adding depth and personality to your graphical presentation.

In conclusion, this tutorial covered the essential steps for creating graphical presentations in Excel . We discussed the process of selecting the data, choosing the appropriate chart type, customizing the design, and adding final touches to enhance the visual appeal. Now that you have the knowledge and tools at your disposal, I encourage you to start creating your own graphical presentations in Excel. Practice makes perfect, and with a little creativity, you can transform your data into compelling visuals that effectively communicate your message.

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Excel Visualization: A Guide to Clear Data Presentation for Beginners

I once struggled with dull data tables.

Numbers clustered in rows and columns become a blur. But with Excel visualization , you can empower your audience to make informed decisions based on the data presented. Excel charts and graphs replace chaos, revealing patterns and trends.

Convey ideas efficiently with the right visual. It’s not just about creating a chart; it’s about making data understandable and engaging.

In this article, I’ll guide you step-by-step on transforming your Excel data into insightful visuals.

Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

Understanding the Basics of Excel Visualization

Excel provides various visualization options, whether 2D or 3D versions, standard, stacked, or 100% stacked options. It’s all about finding the right fit that best represents your data and message.

The Excel Charting Interface

Let’s start with creating a chart in Excel.

When you click on the Insert tab in Excel, you’ll see various chart types that you can use to visualize your data.

The Excel charting interface provides a wide range of options, from line and area charts to bar and column charts. When you click on a chart, the ‘ Chart Tools ’ contextual tab provides additional features for customizing your charts.

Types of Data for Visualization

Excel visualization data can be broadly categorized into numerical, categorical, and time-series data.

• Numerical data includes values that can be measured, such as sales figures or temperature readings.
• Categorical data includes information such as names, labels, or groups.
• Time-series data involves values measured over time, such as stock prices or website traffic.

Excel offers different chart types depending on your data type.

Selecting the Right Chart Type

Selecting the right chart type is half the battle for effective data visualization in Excel.

Pie charts are best for part-to-whole comparisons. Use line charts for time series or trends. Bar or column charts are the most suitable for categorical comparisons.

However, consider more advanced chart types for more complex data sets.

Scatter plots are excellent for correlation analysis , while histograms and box plots are ideal for distribution analysis of quantitative data.

It’s all about understanding your data and determining the best way to display it.

Steps for Visualizing Data in Excel – Creating Basic Charts

Creating basic charts in Excel is a fundamental skill for anyone looking to present data in a visual format.

Excel offers a variety of chart types, each with unique properties and use cases. The key to successful chart creation in Excel is understanding these different chart types and knowing how to present your data most effectively with them.

Organizing Your Data

Before you dive into creating Excel charts, it is crucial to organize your data correctly . 

Well-organized data will make the charting process easier and the resulting charts more meaningful. Ensure your data is clean, error-free, and arranged clearly and logically.

This will make it easier to select the data for your charts and create visuals that effectively communicate your data analysis results.

Pie and Donut Chart

Pie charts are popular for showing the proportion of different categories within a whole. While visually appealing, they are often misused and can lead to misleading interpretations.

Generally, they are most effective when comparing a few categories representing parts of a whole.

On the other hand, donut charts are a variation of pie charts with a hole in the middle (as the name implies!). Like pie charts, they can display multiple data series, but they should be used sparingly.

To create a pie chart in Excel:

• Select the data you want to visualize
• From the “ Insert ” tab, choose “ Pie ” from the chart options.
• You can customize your chart by changing the colors, adding labels, and adjusting other settings in the “ Format Chart Area ” pane.

Here’s a video guide on how to create a donut chart:

Line and Area Chart

Line and area charts are handy when dealing with time-series data . These charts plot data points on a graph and connect them with a line, allowing you to see trends over time. 

Check out this video for a step-by-step guide on how to create a line chart:

One of the business essentials when working with line and area charts is customizing the axis and gridlines. This can help make your chart more readable and meaningful .

The “ Format Axis ” pane allows you to customize the axis labels, adjust the scale, and add gridlines.

Column and Bar Graph

Bar and column charts are Excel’s most commonly used chart types. They are excellent for comparing different categories of data.

While bar charts and column charts are often used interchangeably, there is a difference: A bar chart presents data horizontally , while a column chart presents data vertically . This distinction can influence how easily your audience interprets the chart.

You can also choose between a stacked or clustered bar and column chart layout.

In a stacked chart , data series are stacked on each other, while in a clustered chart , they are placed side by side.

To create a bar or column chart:

• Select the data
• Then choose either “Bar” or “Column” from the chart options in the “ Insert ” tab
• Remember to format the chart and the axis labels to make the chart easier to understand

Advanced Charting Techniques

In this section, I’ll describe how to present complex data in a visually appealing and easily understandable format. Since each dataset is unique, treat these charts as ideas for meaningfully presenting your data.

Combination Charts

This type of chart combines the features of line and column charts, allowing you to present mixed data more comprehensively.

For example, when you have a target and actual data for comparison , a combination chart can be the perfect tool for visualization.

Clicking the Chart Design tab on the ribbon allows you to change the chart type and create a customized combination chart.

This allows you to have your target values in columns and the actual values marked along the line, which provides a clearer visualization of your data.

Trendlines and Data Analysis

Another essential feature of Excel charts is the ability to add trendlines. These can be linear, polynomial, or moving average trendlines.

A trendline graphically displays trends in your data , and you can extend it beyond the actual data to predict future values.

Along with trendlines, interpreting R-squared values is also crucial in data analysis. This will help you understand the relationship between your dependent and independent variables, thus enhancing your analysis results.

Check out our detailed how-to post on adding trendlines to Excel charts .

Conditional Formatting in Charts

Conditional formatting is another advanced charting technique in Excel that can enhance your data visualization. You can also add data bars, color scales, and icon sets.

These features allow you to customize your charts based on certain conditions, making it easier for your audience to understand your data. Applying these formatting options enables you to create more engaging and visually appealing charts for your data presentation.

Creating a Tornado Chart in Excel

Tornado charts are particularly effective when comparing and contrasting different variables . A well-crafted tornado chart can help you visualize how changes in several factors can impact a specific outcome – for example, the impact of inflation on NPV and IRR results.

Here’s a video showing you how to create a tornado chart:

Designing a Funnel Chart in Excel

Funnel Charts in Excel are highly effective tools for monitoring sales processes or any other process that narrows down over time.

Here are two quick methods for designing funnel charts in Excel:

Building a Waffle Chart in Excel

Waffle charts, also known as square pie or waffle bar charts, are a great way to visualize individual data points compared to the whole data set. They are a fun and engaging way to present percentages or proportions.

Here is a simple method for creating waffle charts:

Data Visualization Tips – Enhancing Chart Aesthetics

The aesthetics of your Excel chart play a significant role in how effectively your data is communicated.

A visually appealing chart is easier to understand and engages your audience. Enhancing chart aesthetics involves working with various chart elements and features, such as colors, styles, and data labels.

Adding data labels, for instance, provides additional information on your chart, making it easier to interpret.

Besides, you can customize the chart’s colors and styles to match your presentation theme or company branding.

Check out this post for more information on good dashboard design principles .

Working with Chart Elements

Working with chart elements can significantly improve the readability and effectiveness of your data visualization.

Some key chart elements you can manipulate include titles, legends, and data labels.

• Data labels provide additional context to your data and can be customized to suit your chart
• Modify axis labels and gridlines to adjust their appearance and improve readability. Check out this video on how to add gridlines to your Excel charts:

These chart elements can enhance your aesthetic appeal and make your data easier to interpret.

Customizing Chart Colors and Styles

Spicing up your Excel charts is easier than you think.

The ‘ Chart Design ‘ tab in the Excel ribbon allows you to alter your charts’ aesthetics significantly.

Navigate to the ‘ Chart Styles ‘ section, and you’ll see various styles for your chart. 

Looking for a bit more customization? No problem! Simply click the ‘ Change Colors ‘ dropdown and choose a color scheme.

You can use Excel’s preset color schemes or create a custom color palette for brand consistency. Minor visual changes can significantly affect your chart’s overall look and feel.

3D Charts and Effects

Adding a third dimension to your charts can make them pop . But be careful.

While 3D effects can add a specific wow factor, they can also lead to misinterpretations of your data if they are not used properly.

To add 3D effects to your charts, click the ‘ Chart Styles ‘ and choose a style with 3D effects. 

Remember, though, that 3D effects should be used sparingly and only when they can enhance the understanding of the data. Overuse of these effects can lead to cluttered, confusing charts. When it comes to 3D effects, less is often more .

Advanced Excel Graphics

Beyond the basic charts, Excel offers advanced graphics capabilities to take your data presentation to the next level.

This includes using Sparklines, shapes, and icons, among other features.

Sparklines are mini-charts within individual cells, each representing a row of data. They give a quick snapshot of trends, helping you understand your data at a glance.

Excel offers line, column, and win/loss types of Sparklines that you can add with the Quick Analysis tool.

Using Shapes and Icons

Remember to appropriately format these shapes and icons to convey the right message and not distract from the data.

Portraying a Story Through Data

Excel visualization is not just about creating charts or diagrams; it’s about telling a story with your data. This is where the concept of data storytelling comes in.

It’s about using visualization tools to highlight key points and trends in your data, making it easier for your audience to understand and absorb.

It’s not unlike creating a plot in a novel where rows and columns of data are the characters, and the chart is the narrative arc. Every element should convey your story effectively and compellingly, from simple bar charts to intricate trend analysis.

Exporting and Sharing Your Visualizations

Once you’ve created your data visualization in Excel, it’s important to know how to share it! This involves exporting the visual representation of data in a format that others can easily access.

Whether you’re sharing a simple bar graph or a complex infographic, the export method will depend on the intended use of the chart/graphic.

This process can be as simple as saving your chart as an image or embedding Excel visuals in PowerPoint presentations and documents.

Saving Charts as Images

One of the simplest ways to share visualizations is by saving them as images .

To do this, right-click the chart and select ‘Save as Picture.’ Several image formats are available, each with its uses.

For instance, JPEG is great for photographic images, while PNG is ideal for images with transparent backgrounds. However, it’s important to consider the resolution of your image. High resolution is crucial for clear, crisp images, especially if they’re intended for print.

Embedding Excel Visuals in Presentations and Documents

Embedding them in presentations and documents is another way to share your Excel visualizations.

This can be done in two ways: linking and embedding .

• Linking refers to connecting the original Excel file and the document where it’s inserted. Any changes made to the original file will automatically update in the document (assuming the link isn’t broken ).
• Embedding involves inserting a copy of the chart into the document. While this won’t update automatically, it ensures that the chart will always be available, regardless of the status of the original file.

Both methods have advantages and should be chosen based on your specific needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some common mistakes for beginners to avoid in data visualization with excel.

Common mistakes include overcrowding the chart with too much data, using inappropriate chart types, neglecting to label axes or data points clearly, and choosing colors or styles that reduce readability.

What are the best practices for presenting Excel data visually to a non-technical audience?

Focus on simplicity and clarity .

Use straightforward chart types, avoid technical jargon, and highlight key takeaways. Ensure your charts are well-labeled, and use annotations or callouts to draw attention to important data points.

What are some resources to learn more about Excel visualization? 

For more tips and tricks, visit my YouTube channel . Alternatively, look at Chandoo’s training, where I learned many excellent dashboard design ideas.

Can Excel visualization help in career development?

Absolutely! Proficiency in Excel visualization is a valuable skill in many industries.

It’s especially relevant in fields like data science, finance, marketing, and others involving large amounts of data. Effectively communicating data through graphical representation can give you a significant advantage in your professional journey.

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Microsoft Excel

9 minute read

The Beginner’s Guide to Excel Charts

Kat Boogaard

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You’ve probably heard that Excel is a great tool for storing and analyzing a bunch of data. But, let’s face it—rows and rows of digits can be plain hard to look at. This is where our Excel chart tutorial comes in.

While spreadsheets themselves aren’t that interpretive and can be challenging to wade through, charts enable you to display that data and any trends or results in a visual way. In doing so, that seemingly complex data is far easier to digest, comprehend, and ultimately take action on.

Here's the amazing thing: Excel charts look awesome, but they really aren’t that complicated to create. And, the even better news? We’re here to walk you through the process step-by-step with an Excel chart tutorial.

Step up your Excel game

Download our print-ready shortcut cheatsheet for Excel.

Growth in email subscribers: An Excel charts case study

Meet Lucy. She works on the marketing team at her company and is primarily responsible for all of the email marketing campaigns.

She has to deliver a presentation to her organization’s leadership team, where she’ll highlight the growth of email subscribers over the past 12 months. She really wants to knock the presentation out of the park—because, when you boil it down, this information proves that she’s doing her job well.

Currently, she has the total number of email subscribers for each month of 2017 in a simple Excel spreadsheet that looks like this:

Sure, the numbers themselves show impressive growth, and she could simply spit out those digits during her presentation. But, she really wants to make an impact—so, she’s going to use an Excel chart to display the subscriber growth she’s worked so hard for.

How to build an Excel chart: A step-by-step Excel chart tutorial

1. get your data ready.

Before she dives right in with creating her chart, Lucy should take some time to scroll through her data and fix any errors that she spots—whether it’s a digit that looks off, a month spelled incorrectly, or something else.

Remember, the charts you build within Excel are going to pull directly from your data set. So, whatever errors you have there will also appear in your chart. Taking even just a little bit of time to check over your data could prevent you from having to go back and make changes after you see something off in your chart.

You should also ensure that you have descriptive column headers for your data. In this case, it’s pretty straightforward: Lucy has a column header for the month and a column header for the number of email subscribers.

TIP: Checking over data is pretty simple when you have a really small data set like Lucy, but it can become a little more cumbersome when you have hundreds or thousands of rows of data.

If you spot an issue, use Excel’s “find and replace” feature to correct all instances of that error. Go to the edit menu at the top of the page, and then type in the mistake you want to find and what it should be replaced with.

For example, if Lucy realized she spelled “September” as “Setpember” she could use this feature to replace all instances where it’s spelled incorrectly.

2. Insert chart and select chart type

With her data cleaned up, Lucy is ready to insert her chart into her spreadsheet. To do so, she’ll highlight all of the data (including column headers!) she wants included in her chart.

Once her data is highlighted, she’ll head to the “Insert” menu in the ribbon and select what type of chart she wants to use to display her data.

Excel offers tons of different types of charts to choose from, including:

• Scatter plot
• Numerous other more advanced charts

Want to learn more about column charts in particular? Check out this video.

If you’re unsure what type of chart to use, you can click the “Recommended Charts” button to see options that Excel suggests based on what appears in your data. This isn’t foolproof, but it can certainly help to give you some direction.

In this case, because Lucy wants to display a trend in her data over time, she knows that a line chart is probably her best bet. So, she selects a line chart from those options.

After doing so, her chart instantly appears within the same tab of her Excel workbook. That’s it—she’s just created her chart. Pretty easy, right?

3. Double-check your chart

Now with her chart is created, it's a good time for Lucy to take another quick peek and make sure nothing is unexpected or looks out of place.

In this case, since we’re working with such a small data set, it’s not a huge issue. But, when you’re working with a much larger set of data, mistakes can slip past much easier.

If you see a huge spike that you weren’t expecting or anything else that makes you hesitant, it’s best to return to your original data set to confirm there aren’t any errors that you didn’t catch the first time.

4. Customize your chart

At this point, the chart is created—and, you can stop here if you’re happy with it.

But, since Lucy works in marketing, she wants to make some changes to the colors to match her company’s branding, as well as add axis titles and a legend to make her point explicitly clear.

Let’s start by changing the colors. Here’s the important thing to remember about customizing a chart within Excel: You should click directly on the portion of the chart that you want to edit. So, if Lucy wants to change the line from orange to blue, she should click directly on the line—so that those formatting dots appear all around it.

When she’s clicked on the item that she wants to change, she’ll right-click on the line and select “Format Data Series.”

A quick note: The exact language here can vary depending on what portion of the chart you’re clicked into (for example, if you’re changing the white space around the chart, it’ll say “Format Chart Area”). In short, just look for the “Format” option.

After selecting “Format Data Series,” Lucy clicks the paint can for the color and then selects orange. Her line then changes from blue to orange.

To do so, she clicks within her chart and then visits the “Chart Design” tab in the ribbon (you must be clicked in your chart for this “Chart Design” tab to appear!). Within that menu, she’ll click “Add Chart Element” and select “Axis Titles”.

She’ll insert each axis title—the horizontal and the vertical—separately and enter the appropriate name for each. After doing so, they’ll appear on her chart.

Finally, Lucy wants to add a legend. It’s not really necessary on a data set like this (since there’s only one line displaying data). But, for clarity’s sake, we’ll go through the steps to add one.

Again, Lucy will click within the chart, head to the “Chart Design” tab, click the “Add Chart Element” button, and select “Legend.”

She’ll need to select where she’d like it to appear on her chart. This is all up to personal preference, so Lucy selects the right side of her chart.

When she does so, her new legend appears.

But, wait… what if you regret your chart choice?

Sometimes it can be hard to visualize what your data will look like in chart form until you’ve actually created the chart.

So, what happens if Lucy had created this line chart—but, after seeing it, she thinks that a bar chart would be better? Does she have to start all over again from scratch?

Absolutely not! Excel makes it easy to swap out the type of chart you’re using—even after it’s created.

To do so, click within the chart, go to the “Chart Design” tab, find the “Change Chart Type” button, and select the type of chart you want to swap to.

Take note that after doing so, you might have to reformat some of the colors selected (since Lucy chose to have lines displayed in orange when editing her line graph , that’s what’s showing up even in the column graph).

But, otherwise, swapping out your chart type is as easy as that.

Ready to build your own charts?

Charts are a great way to visualize your data and present it in a way that’s far more digestible than endless rows of digits. And, the best part? Excel charts really aren’t challenging to create.

Follow this step-by-step guide, and you’ll end up with a chart that summarizes your data in a way that’s painless to analyze.

Ready to try some advanced techniques? Check out this advanced Excel charts tutorial .

Ready to become a certified Excel ninja?

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Kat is a writer specializing in career, self-development, and productivity topics. When she escapes her computer, she enjoys reading, hiking, golfing, and dishing out tips for prospective freelancers on her website.

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