visual presentation excel

Microsoft Excel

11 minute read

11 Best Excel Presentation Tips in 2024

Brandon Pfaff

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There’s more to a spreadsheet than just the numbers on the page. It is equally important to make your spreadsheets look professional, easy to read, and visually appealing to your viewers.

The same way a lawyer with a crooked tie and disorganized papers might raise an eyebrow in court, your Excel presentation won’t hit the right marks with your audience if it looks clumsy and bland, no matter how many hours of research goes into making it or how important the information contained within it is.

Whether you are creating a spreadsheet for personal use, to pass information to your team or share with your project manager, the secrets locked away in this post will be of immense use to you. Let’s take a look at the best Excel presentation tips to help you create standout spreadsheets .

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1. Get a template online

If you are a busy person, and you cannot fit an Excel presentation design into your schedule, enter the ex machina: pre-made Excel templates. You can choose from an array of purpose-specific templates with beautiful designs, fonts, and colors. Simply enter your values to customize it, and you are ready to go.

Of course, using a template means you will not get better at designing things yourself. If getting things done is your priority instead of getting better at designing presentations, then, by all means, use a template and be done with it. On the other hand, if you want to know how to make your Excel presentation better on your own, then find someone to teach you or stick around until the end of this post.

Check out our 50 best Excel templates to make your life easier  and our  33 Excel business templates for workplace productivity .

2. Name your worksheets correctly

Excel presentation is all about clarity. For this single reason, the importance of a correct and reliable project or worksheet name cannot be overemphasized. It could be a sentence, a phrase or just a word. Just make sure it is easy to understand by you or by anyone you will be sharing the file with.

You also must make sure it is distinct from the names of other worksheets stored on your computer. After all, what is the use of all the tips you will learn here today if you will not be able to find the worksheet you applied them on?

3. Define your header/title

Your header and title can be anything but it needs to stand out. Your header must be able to speak to the reader and make the reader know at first glance what the header is.

To do this, try a larger font for your header, underline and embolden it. You should center align it and use a different font color. It has to stand out but also blend with the template color scheme and overall aesthetic look. You can also use a different readable for your header. Just remember, we want to make it distinct, not isolated.

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4. Dos and don'ts of fonts

Full transparency: Fonts make or break your spreadsheet. Always use a uniform font for your data, you can use the same font for your header or you can change that of the header. You can use three fonts in a single presentation and that is the recommended maximum, else you would be pushing it. In this case, less is infinitely better.

These are the guidelines to follow in selecting the right format for your font.

Here is a quick tip, fonts of the sans-serif group are the best for your Excel spreadsheet if readability is your goal. Calibri, Helvetica, Arial or Playfair are few examples. If used with the right alignment, spacing, and color, they can bring out the best in your Excel presentation.

This ultimately depends on your presentation but officially, font 12 is often advised with double spacing to improve readability. As stated earlier, the header font can be larger. The headers should be larger than sub-headers which in turn should be larger than data fonts.

You want to create a sharp contrast between the text color and the background colors e.g. a light color text on a dark background and vice versa. This is where the "zebra stripes" rule comes in, which will be discussed later in the post.

People don’t often use the alignment tool in Excel. If you want to make your presentation look beautiful and business-like , you will need to maximize the alignment feature.

5. Create space for breathing room

When you see tightly packed, clumsy or wordy text or spreadsheet, your brain automatically gets tired of reading it before you even start. But when there is breathing space and the spreadsheet is divided up into categories, it becomes more pleasant to the eyes and ripe for interpretation by the brain.

This brings us to the B2 rule. Try to start your presentation on column B, row 2. Leaving the A column and the first row blank. It works like magic. You should also make sure that the column and row dimensions are the same.

Additionally, don't autofit the height and width of your document. You need to have flexibility and creative control of your workspace. Instead, manually adjust the height and width so that they have just enough white space but not too much to give your presentation some breathing room and improve readability.

6. Add an image

Whether it’s a photograph, an artistic sketch or your logo, images go a long way in making your spreadsheet better. Images make your presentation look official and possess the professional feel in many of the beautiful presentations you have seen. Pictures speak a thousand words. While Excel is not designed to accomplish the kind of presentation you can make in PowerPoint, a picture will help you to drive the point home and make your presentation memorable.

7. Go off the grid

Do you know that erasing all grid lines apart from those of your result will have people asking how you did it and if you used the same Excel software they use? Try it today. In your spreadsheet

Go to the View tab on the ribbon.

• Under the Show section, uncheck the box next to Gridlines .

8. Zebra stripes: Excel jungle law

Zebra stripes are alternating dark and light colors on rows lying on top of each other. This helps in a number of ways. First, it has this aesthetic feel that makes your work seem orderly, especially if you are displaying hundreds of rows of data. Second, it helps correlation and readability. A reader can track a row from the right-hand side to the far left and not lose track of what row his or her eyes are set upon.

You can zebra stripe using many methods. When you create a table in Excel, by default this will be zebra striped (Tip- select your data and use the shortcut Ctrl + T on a PC or ^ + T on a Mac to quickly create a table). On the Design tab, under Table Styles, you can change the color and style of your zebra stripes.

It can also be done using a formula in conditional formatting if desired. Conditional formatting is done by highlighting values that satisfy certain requirements (e.g. all odd-numbered rows). It can be copied from cell to cell using the painter tool in the Home toolbar.

9. Use charts, tables , and graphs

Most presentations are incomplete without some form of visual representation. Whether table, graph or chart, you need to visually represent your raw data in mediums that would be understood in a single glance. Charts, graphs, and tables should not be underestimated, especially if you have cumbersome data spanning many columns and rows.

In the Excel ecosystem, the chart, graph, and table features are like symbiotic siblings. You need them to bring out the beauty in the brevity of your work.

10. Create cell styles

Excel has many preset cell styles but you can create your own custom styles that will be more customized, and easier to use and edit because you created it. This is actually an alternative to getting a template if graphics consistency is your goal. After creating a beautiful spreadsheet with the above information, you can save the style so that you can apply it to future presentations.

Now your presentation is perfect with the right feel and style. Simply highlight the cells with your design for saving, then go to the Home toolbar, click on "more" at the base of the style gallery, then select "new cell style". A style dialog box will open, name the style, edit its properties and save.

If it isn't broken and it works efficiently, why change it? You can, however, add a touch of variability by changing the color palette from time to time.

11. Show restraint

You have learned all of these tips and you are ready to start your presentation -  be careful of overdoing it. Use color sparingly and don't combine too many tips at once. You need to tread the fine line between underwhelming and too much to find the "just enough" middle ground. Make sure your presentation is perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

Ultimately, the way your Excel presentation turns out depends on how well you communicate your data to your audience. Although, it does help to know the psychology of colors, good fonts. Browse beautiful spreadsheet presentations online to figure out what the "best" looks like. But at the end of the day, the ball is in your court and we hope that your dedication to practicing, sharpening and perfecting your presentation skills in Excel will be rewarded with cheers.

Ready to design your own Excel presentations?

If you would like to sum up the data on your Excel spreadsheet so that its insights are conveyed in a straight-forward manner, then follow this step-by-step guide. You’ll end up with a presentation that summarizes your data in a way that’s painless to analyze.

If you’re eager to brush up on your Excel skills, check out our Excel course and master the fundamentals to boost your productivity.

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Brandon is a full time CPA specializing in all things tax. When he is not serving clients, he enjoys spending time with his wife and son, real estate investing, and sipping fine bourbon.

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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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10 spiffy new ways to show data with Excel

It's time to dump the pie charts and move to donuts or even waterfalls to show off your data in ways people can better grasp..

Have you noticed that people groan when you pop open a spreadsheet to share your brilliant data insights? Maybe it’s not you — or your audience — that’s to blame. Maybe you suffer from Dull-and-Overused-Chart-Syndrome?

Here are 10 charts that can present data in clever ways that make it easy for people to grasp what you’re talking about. They don’t require people to squint and overthink; instead, these charts do to your data what a photo does to everything else: Show not tell.

You can stop boring everyone with the same old pie slices. Try serving doughnuts or showing them a waterfall. It’s more fun.

Sparklines: A heads-up display for your data

In-cell charts are like a heads-up display for your data, providing an immediate visual context in spreadsheets. The Sparkline feature, introduced in Excel 2013, lets you select data from rows or columns of cells and display line, column or handy win/loss charts.

It’s easy! Just select a range of cells next to the data you want to chart, then click Insert on the UI ribbon and click Line in the Sparklines group (you can also click Column or Win/Loss). In the Create Sparklines dialog box, click in the Data Range text box and select the rows or columns of data you want to depict. The Location Range text box should show the cells used to hold the Sparkline graphs, but you can adjust this by selecting the text in that box and using the mouse to select a row or column of cells. Click OK, and the in-cell charts appear, displaying the data. Select the Sparkline chart cell, click the Design item in the Ribbon, and play with the formatting options to get the look you want.

Make failures jump out with in-cell charts

Sparklines are handy. I especially like the Win/Loss option that displays iconography and color based on whether a value is positive or negative. Use it to, say, normalize regional sales data against projection and flag underperformers. But what if you want to embed visual context within the cell itself, rather than off to the side? Time for some conditional formatting and in-cell charts!

Select a range of data, click the Conditional Formatting item in the Ribbon, and click Icon Sets, then one of the simple options under Directional. Now each data cell displays an arrow icon. But these aren’t aligned relative to zero (and it’s visually quite busy).

So, with the range selected, click Conditional Formatting, Manage Rules, and double-click the rule you just created. In the Edit Rule Description dialog box, set the two top Icon drop downs to No Cell Icon, and the two top Value items to 0. Click the ‘greater than’ drop down and set the first the “>” and the second to “>=”. Set both Type drop downs to Number. In the bottommost Icon item, set the icon to a red down arrow. Click OK and OK again. Now, all negative cells (and only negative cells) are flagged.

Put your smarts on the table

Tables are one of my favorite features in Excel, thanks to the powerful Filter feature that can sort and filter even the largest data sets with a mouse click. But a hidden benefit is the magic it affords your charts. For instance, add a new column of data to the end of a table, and the linked chart automatically expands to add the new data series. Nice.

To Table-ize a data range, select the relevant cells (including header rows and columns) and click Insert, then Table in the Ribbon menu. Make sure the My Table Has Headers checkbox is checked, then click OK. Boom! The data gets some handy formatting and adds filter drop-down controls along the header row. Now, with an embedded chart displayed next to your data, enter a new header row item and some underlying data in the cells below it. As soon as you hit return in the header row cell, your chart resizes and sets aside a new item on the chart axis. As you add data to each cell, the chart updates to display the new data. 

Even better, Tables bring the useful magic of Filters to your charts. Suppose you have a table with monthly budget figures from 100 field offices. You can visualize only offices in, say, Ohio, by clicking the Filter drop down in the State column, then unchecking the Select All checkbox, before scrolling down to Ohio in the list and checking it. Click OK and the chart updates.

Sunburst charts: so much better than pie!

The new sunburst chart type in Excel 2016 is incredibly useful for understanding the relationship among data, taking nested hierarchies of data and showing how the granular elements combine to populate larger data groups. Think of it as a multi-level pie chart.

Sunburst charts in Excel do their thing by reading the structure of your data set. For instance, our fictional company has three strategic product lines (widgets, controllers, connectors) and keeps a spreadsheet that tracks sales for these product lines across industrial, specialized, and consumer markets. They further break these categories out by industry (automotive, medical, etc.). Once the data is properly laid out, select the relevant cells and click Insert, Chart, Recommended Charts, and click the All Charts tab, then click Sunburst from the list.

Waterfall charts for clean, clear data

Office 2016 introduces a new chart type to Excel’s arsenal — the waterfall chart. It’s great for showing how positive and negative values contribute to a total — like tracking the worth of a financial portfolio over time or visualizing income and expenses. Unlike a line chart, which reveals trends, a waterfall chart emphasizes individual gains and losses.

To create a waterfall chart, make a simple two-column array, with months in the left column and dollar amounts (positive and negative) in the right. Select the array and click Insert and click the Recommended Charts icon. Then click the All Charts tab on the insert Charts dialog box. Click Waterfall in the right pane and click OK. A rather poorly formatted chart greets you.

Next, we will rein in that Y axis so the hefty Start amount doesn’t swamp the other data. Right-click the Y-axis labels and click Format Axis. In the Axis Options pane, enter 15400 and click OK. Then click the Number item and in Category select Currency and, in the Decimal places box that appears, type 0, and press Enter. Finally, set that first data point on the chart as a Total item. Click on the first column in the chart and click on it again so that only that column is highlighted (the others should look faded). In the Format Data Point pane, click the Series Options icon and then check the Set as total checkbox. The selected column now turns gray.

Mmm… doughnuts

Pie charts can be the worst. They lack the visual precision of stacked column charts, and they’re often crowded, reducing smaller data points to inscrutable wedges. What’s more, they invite abuse, in the form of baroque 3D pies and extracted slices that can confuse hapless viewers.

That’s why you might consider serving doughnuts the next time you reach for an Excel pie chart. Like pie charts, doughnut charts are great for visualizing contributions to a total. But the additional white space and less common usage make them a refreshing change of pace on the corporate charting circuit.

To create a doughnut chart, select your data, then click Insert, click the Insert Pie or Doughnut Chart icon, and click Doughnut Chart. To tailor the presentation, right-click the chart body and click Format Data Series. In the pane that appears, change the Doughnut Hole Size value to somewhere around 60%. (I find the default 75% is too skinny.)

Roll your own project-tracking Gannt chart

You can turn a stacked bar chart into a project-savvy Gannt chart.

Make a four-column table with “Start,” “Stage,” “Date” and “On Task” across the top row. In Cells B2 through B7, enter project stages like Plan, Build, Approve, etc. In Cell A2, under Start, enter the start date for the first stage item, then in Cells D2 through D7 (under On Task), enter the number of days for each stage to complete. In Cell C2 enter “=A2” and format the cell as General. You’ll see a number like 43205, which is Excel’s time/date code needed for the chart layout. Finally, in C3 enter “=C2+D2”, then copy and paste this formula into cells C4 through C7.

Select the cells you’ve entered from Column B through D and click Insert. Click the column chart icon and then the stacked bar chart. Now let’s bring the chart into focus. Right-click the X-axis labels and click Format Axis. In the Axis Options pane, click the Number item and, in Category, select Date from the drop-down. In Type, select a shorter date format. Then, at the top of the pane under Bounds, in the Minimum text box, enter the value from Column C of the first item in your task list. It should be something like 43205. You’ll note that the Stages are in reverse order. Right-click the vertical axis and click Format Axis. In the Axis Options pane, click the Categories in Reverse Order checkbox.

Show your goal with a thermometer chart

Want to visualize an achievement against a goal? How about a fundraiser trying to raise $20,000? A thermometer chart is great for this.

We’ll keep it simple with a four-cell array with Goal and Donations on the left, and $20,000 and $16,425 on the right. Select the cells, click Insert in the Ribbon, click the Column Chart icon and then click on the Clustered Column Chart item. Click the Switch Row/Column icon in the Ribbon so the chart box displays a “1” in the X-axis label.

Right-click the smaller Donations bar and click Format Data Series. Then click Secondary Axis in the Series Options pane. The bar will disappear behind the larger Goal bar and a secondary Y-axis label appears. Right click the left axis, click Format Axis, and then enter 20000 in the Maximum box in the Axis Options pane. Do the same for the right (secondary) axis.

Empty the Goal bar by right-clicking it, clicking the Fill & Line icon in the pane, and clicking No fill and setting the Border to a black line. Format the Donations bar with a fill color of your choice and setting the border to No line. Clean up the chart by deleting the right axis and the X-axis labels. Also, tighten up the left axis in the Format Axis pane. In Axis Options, set the Number Decimal places box to 0. Add tick marks as you wish.

Charts that change as you enter data

Here’s a trick: an Excel chart that displays specific data from a large array based on your input.

You do this with the (incredibly useful) MATCH and OFFSET functions, which pluck data from an array and present it in cells that the chart is linked to. Let’s say you have seven columns representing years and 12 rows representing sales reps, with the cells containing yearly sales amounts.

In the column to the right of the last column, enter the following formula in each cell:

=OFFSET($A$1,ROW()-1,MATCH($J$1,$B$1:$H$1,0))

This tells Excel to look in the header row of the array for a value that matches the year to cell J1, so Excel can use the OFFSET function to pull the data from that year and display it in the cells in column I. So, if you enter 2014 in Cell J1, the formulas in Column I display the data that’s in the cells under 2014 (in this case, Column E). Now, all you have to do is create a chart that uses column A for its X-axis and Column I for its data. The column will update to display the data for whatever year you enter into Cell J1. Nifty.

More ways to that dynamic chart

OK, let’s take this a step further and update a line chart based on a scrollable list.

Just below the same array of data we used in the last slide, we’ll use the handy OFFSET and MATCH functions to add cells to Row 15, with formulas that pull sales data based on which rep’s name is entered into Cell A18. These formulas are in cells A15 through H15 and read as follows:

=OFFSET($A$1,MATCH($A$18,$A$1:$A$13,0)-1,COLUMN()-1)

Select Cells A1:H1 (X-axis values) and Cells A15:H15 (rep name and related sales data) and click Insert, Recommended Charts, and select Line chart from the top of the list. Now set up the drop-down list control to read names from Cells A2:A13. Click on A18, click the Data tab in the Ribbon, and click Data Validation and then Data Validation again. Click List from the Allow Drop-Down control, then click in the Source box and use the mouse to select cells A2 through A13. Click OK.

Now when you click on A18, a drop-down control appears. Click it and you’ll see a scrollable list of all your reps’ names. Select one and not only does A18 update to show that name, but the cells in Row 15 all update with that reps’ data, and the linked chart updates as well. 

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Best practices for using Excel for data visualization

This guide explores the best practices for using Excel for data visualization that has an impact and tells a convincing story.

Excel has been a mainstay of business visualization in companies large and small for decades. While it's certainly a powerful and flexible tool that can help business professionals understand and communicate data, it too often results in visualizations that are not actionable and fail to tell a coherent and convincing story.

Something like this.

In this guide, we will look at why data visualization is important and what are the most common mistakes you should avoid. Next, we'll look at the available tools and what you can do with them, followed by tips for standardizing your visualization for consistent reporting . The guide will also cover International Business Communication Standards (IBCS) that provide firm guidelines on designing your visuals. We'll finish with some of the best practices when using Excel for data visualization.

Why data visualization matters

You know how they say a picture's worth a thousand words ? It is completely true . A good visualization can communicate complex data in a simple way and can reveal trends and insights that would otherwise remain hidden in regular tables of numbers.

When you look at a table with data, it's hard to glean anything meaningful from it. If you want insight, you need to study it closely and carefully.

Now look at a visual created using this same data.

By including comparisons and variances , we're telling a much more interesting story from the get-go even though we're using the exact same data . A quick glance is all it takes to see the biggest gains and losses and the countries that contribute the most to your overall results.

That's why data visualization matters.

Key principles of good data visualization

A great visualization should follow some key principles to make sure it is understandable and actionable . It should deliver the right information and messages needed by business users to make decisions without obscuring the truth.

Here are the key principles you should follow:

Insightful . Visualizations should provide insight into data that may not be readily visible from raw data and give information about the things readers care about.

Information rich . You are striving for data density and you should put enough information on your dashboard to help readers make a decision. When thinking about data density, consider maps. A relatively simple map potentially has thousands of data points on a single page but it still helps you quickly find your way from one town to another.

Clean and truthful . One of the main risks with data visualization is that tools offer so many customization and design options that too often obscure the truth. Your goal should be to show the truth and let readers make their own decisions , instead of railroading them to what you believe is the truth.

Familiar . Use charts that are familiar instead of "creative" and use the correct chart type to convey a specific type of information. For example, a bar chart is a good choice when emphasizing individual values, while a line chart might be a better choice if you want the reader to focus on trends.

Consistent . This concept dovetails with familiarity. Using the same visuals for the same data consistently ensures your users recognize them and are familiar with them. This makes sure they understand your points more quickly .

Common mistakes to avoid

Choosing the right chart for your data and selecting the most salient things to visualise can be a trial-and-error process until you home in on the charts that help you get your message across. Here are some of the most common mistakes.

Mistake 1: Choosing the wrong chart

It turns out that for many users, wrong chart orientation is a big one. However, the rule for deciding is very simple. If you're presenting time , like days, weeks, months, years or other time series, use charts with a horizontal axis . For every other type of data , like countries, products, sales channels, and so on, rotate the chart to a vertical axis .

Mistake 2: Poor labelling

Getting the labels right is another challenge - you can have too few or too many. By leaving out labels, you leave your users guessing and confused about what data are your charts are really showing.

On the other hand, you should also avoid having too many labels . A good rule of thumb is that once labels overlap, you have too many.

Another quick point about labels - they shouldn't be diagonal , because that makes them hard to read. If you have to tilt your head to read your charts, you're doing it wrong. When faced with diagonal labels, you should rotate your chart to the vertical axis, so your labels are displayed horizontally.

A related point - shorten your month and other date labels, so they fit nicely on the axis.

Mistake 3: Using pie charts instead of bar charts

Here's another simple general rule: don't use pie charts . They have many problems and limited utility. They are hard to scale and when showing multiple values, you are suddenly dealing with a flood of colours that make the chart more or less unreadable. They are most useful when showing two values in relation to a whole, giving them the classic "Pac Man look". There are very few instances, where a pie chart is the right choice.

Compare this pie chart:

with this bar chart showing the same data:

It's not even a competition. Bar chart is far more readable and clear . Plus, in real life scenarios bar charts take up much less space on the page, improving the information density of your visualizations.

Mistake 4: Misuse of colours

While colours make your charts look "pretty", they also make them less readable . When you use multiple colours, it is much harder to stay consistent and the same colour might represent different things on different charts. Colours should serve a purpose other than just decoration and should help tell a story .

Mistake 5: Missing variances

Charts without variances are not telling a story. Variance analysis is the most fundamental task in business reporting and understanding deviations from plans, forecasts and previous years is crucial for seeing the big picture and contextualizing your data.

Mistake 6: Not scaling charts

Scaling simply means that the maximum of all the Y axes on the charts placed the same page is the same . This clearly shows the importance of each individual category compared to all others. The largest chart is showing the category with the largest contribution. An example of this in action are small multiples. The dashboard below makes it clear that Mobile is the largest business unit in terms of revenue.

Using Excel for data visualization

Without a doubt, Excel is the world's most popular tool for collecting, reviewing and analysing their business data. And despite the rise of dedicated visualization tools over the past couple of years, it also remains a popular choice for visual presentation of data.

However, despite its popularity, using Excel for data visualization can be ... shall we say, challenging ? First of all, it can be hard to enforce consistency in Excel. Most users are visualizing data based on their best hunches and what they think looks good. That is how you get 3D pie or bar charts, colours all over the place and charts that are unsuitable for their purpose.

Another issue is that Excel simply isn't the right tool for some advanced data visualization tasks. While you can create waterfall charts, variance charts and small multiples, achieving the right results can be a major headache that requires hacks and workarounds that will come back to haunt you further down the road.

However, with just a bit of preparation, you can be an Excel visualization wizard that gets the right results every time.

Your first step is ...

Choosing the right chart for your data

With the wealth of available chart types and shapes it can be difficult to decide on the right one . However, we came up with a simple process that makes it easier to choose.

Chart orientation

We've talked briefly about this above but let's repeat the simple rule: Use horizontal charts for time series. Use vertical charts in all other cases. It doesn't matter, whether you're working with a bar, line or area chart. Using horizontal charts for anything other than time series will cause issues with labelling, spacing and many other issues.

Just keep it simple.

Task for your chart

In this step, you need to decide what you want the reader to know. Let's look at a couple of core tasks you should consider.

• Comparison . This is the most basic task for your chart and it allows you to compare values , rank them , identify patterns or look up a specific value . These are usually some type of bar chart that is then sorted or filtered in some way.

• Time-series analysis . We already know that when your categories are time periods (days, months, years, etc.), you should use a horizontal chart . This will help you compare individual values and spot trends in your data.

• Variance analysis . When you're working with related sets of data (for example, this year's and previous year revenues), you are usually interested in the difference between them or variance.

In this instance, absolute and relative variances are shown as separate bars. To save space, you could also choose a bar chart with integrated variance , like this:

• Contribution analysis. Sometimes, you're interested in how individual categories or variances contribute to the whole . For example, you could be looking at how P&L statement items make up the final result. In this case, we recommend a waterfall chart .

Here is a handy taxonomy of business charts that will help you decide:

The right shape for your chart

You should use different chart shapes for different types of values . For example, a percentage value can be shown with a thin line and a bubble at the end of it (a "lollipop" chart). Bars denoting revenue are usually thicker than bars used for showing price and so on.

You also need to decide whether you're emphasizing single values or trends . Bars will put more focus on individual values, while a flow of a line will emphasise a trend more clearly.

Turn to add-ins to get better results when using Excel for data visualization

The best thing about Excel is that you don't have to stick with the built-in charts and graphs. Instead, you can capitalize on Excel's expandability and download add-ins that will expand your visualization options.

Zebra BI offers two add-ins for Excel: Zebra BI Tables for Office and Zebra BI Charts for Office . Both add-ins offer a wealth of additional features that help you design better visuals and dashboards in Excel.

You can read more about them here:

• Zebra BI Tables for Office: Overview in Excel
• Zebra BI Charts for Office: Overview in Excel

Zebra BI Tables for Office was designed as an intuitive and powerful tool for visualizing tabular data and offers handy functionalities, such as automatic variance calculation and colouring, dynamic comments , custom formulas , top N data category filtering and advanced visual and formatting settings .

Below is an income statement showing most of these features.

Designed as a waterfall chart, this table shows how individual items contribute to the final result and their variances compared to previous year, plan and forecast. There are also subtotals for groups of categories and formulas that calculate data within the table .

Zebra BI Charts for Office supports a number of different chart types, including column/bar charts, area charts, line, waterfall, variance, “hills & valleys”, dot, and lollipop charts . You can switch between them by clicking on slider buttons and select the chart that best reflects your intention.

In addition to offering a wealth of customization options, Zebra BI Charts also supports rendering small multiples , that is multiple charts on the same page to the same scale.

If you're interested in trying out these tools, you can sign up for a trial version of Zebra BI for Excel .

Implementing IBCS with Zebra BI in Excel

Let's turn our attention to the principle of consistency. The core value of consistency is that it drives efficiency and makes reports much easier to read . Think of it like musical notation - any musician can pick up a sheet of music and start reading it. Why shouldn't the same be true for business reports?

Zebra BI follows the recommendations prescribed by International Business Communication Standards (IBCS), created by Dr. Rolf Hichert in 2004. Essentially, this is a set of rules to help you organize, create and design your business communication.

IBCS builds on the work of some of the largest authorities and pioneers in data visualization . Implementing a recognized standard like this will not only help your company but also open up your colleagues' options for business reporting.

To get a feel what the standard covers, here are some IBCS recommendations .

Unify the titles of your visuals. Include the following elements when naming your charts or tables: subject, measure with units and time period. Here is an example:

Use fill patterns to identify patterns. Instead of using colours, consider using different patterns for your bars . For example, a solid bar denotes actual values, while a hatched pattern fill is used for forecasts.

Highlight variances with green and red. As a rule, IBCS advises against use of colours that don't convey information. So, when variances are in question, you can use colours to great effect: red denotes negative variances and green denotes a positive variance .

Get your point across with highlighting . When designing dashboards, you can use highlighting to direct the attention of the reader. For instance, when showing a share price trend, you could highlight the difference between the highest point and the current value.

Scale properly . Being honest is important when designing charts and you should use the same scale for all charts on the same page.

To get a taste of the difference that IBCS rules and guidelines make, just take a look at this redesign of a typical business dashboard.

We went from this:

You can read the full story behind the redesign process in our article IBCS - Achieve Consistent Reporting Across Your Company .

Implementing IBCS when using Excel for data visualization

Let's look at some examples of reports following IBCS that were created in Excel. First up is an income statement with some advanced features, such as vertical waterfall charts , subtotals and calculations .

You should also note the use of variances for comparisons to previous year and plan data with green indicating positive developments and red showing negative movements.

Next, let's look at a monthly sales variance analysis.

This visual highlights the use of several IBCS recommendations. Actual results are shown in a solid coluor and the hatched pattern is used for forecasts . Relative variances are shown with lollipop bars while absolute variances are shown as integrated variances on the bars . All of this makes for an easy-to-read and informative visual that combines several data points into a single image.

Bridge chart is another powerful visualization option. The purpose of a bridge chart is to help viewers understand how a value changed over time , and to highlight the contributions to this change . A good example of this is an EBIT contribution analysis:

The chart shows starting and ending values and individual contributions . It also includes highlights of the variances to show the difference between the start and end values.

The final IBCS feature we want to highlight is small multiples . The Price-Volume-Mix Analysis shows you how price changes, sales volume, and product mix are affecting your revenue.

The small multiples view is the star of the show here. Several bridge charts for different product lines can help you understand your margins and product profitability better.

Best Practices for Excel Data Visualization

We know that using Excel for data visualization can be intimidating. Excel is a general purpose piece of software that offers something for everyone, which means that it can be overwhelming when it comes to specialized tasks, such as designing really effective and actionable visuals .

However, when setting out on your data visualization journey, the tool you'll be using should not be your first concern. Instead, consider the following:

• Think about your audience . Consider who will read the report and what information they need. Does the top brass in your company need to deal with the sales results for every single store or do they need a broader picture? Design your visuals accordingly.
• Keep it simple . Avoid clutter of any kind. Don't bury your data under unnecessary information and superfluous design choices. Allow the reader to focus on the important information.
• Minimize colours. While colours may look attractive, they very rarely add value to the visual. Instead of colours, use fill patterns that we covered above. Solid blacks for actuals, outlines for plans and hatched pattern for forecasts .
• Select the right chart orientation and type . We covered the basics of this process above . Think about the task you want your chart to perform and consider what you want to emphasize.
• Use appropriate scales and axes . You want your charts to represent information honestly and don't want your reports to be misleading. Do not truncate axes and make sure all charts with comparable information are using the same scale .

Staying clear and concise

One of the key strategies in data visualization is to keep your charts and tables clear and concise with minimal use of colour. Let's look at some of the best practices you can follow.

When it comes to visualizing comparable data sets, such as sales by category, users often decide to use a line chart with coloured lines representing individual categories. We call this "the spaghetti chart".

A much better and clearer approach is to use small multiples with nine separate charts , each showing individual values. Since all of them are to the same scale, you can easily see which ones are the most important and which are the smallest.

Maybe, you feel that having nine charts doesn't really meet the criteria for "concise" and you feel it takes too much space. In this case you could just show those values that contribute significantly to the final result. Zebra BI for Office has the Top N feature that allows you to show only the top 5 (or more) products, while the others are grouped together under the Others category.

You also shouldn't neglect labels . Think about what kind of labels you want on your data. Will they be showing values and variances and highlights?

To keep things organized and neat you might want to decide to omit certain labels and only show the first and the last value or maybe the first, last, minimum and maximum values. This makes sure your readers aren't overwhelmed with information.

Another way to help the reader understand data is to use totals and calculations in your visual. Let's take another look at the profit and loss statement we've covered above.

We've included several subtotals, such as Cash from operations, Cash from investments and Long-term loans. These are useful when you want to show an intermediate result within your chart before the final result.

If you're using Zebra BI Tables, you can also include calculations that are done using table from the data.

This way you can provide the reader with additional information that is calculated on the fly using a formula. Ratios like the Gross margin percentage are very important in business reporting as they demonstrate a company's ability to turn a profit.

Another thing you can do to ensure your charts are as informative as possible. Include comments . You can use them to explain unexpected spikes or dips in your data or provide additional context .

Creating interactive dashboards

You can use Excel to create interactive data dashboards where you can easily change or adjust the data shown using filters. An example would be a sales dashboard where you can switch between years, months and KPIs and then move on to another page in the dashboard to review additional data with the same filter applied.

Here is an example.

This dashboard displays three key KPIs - revenue, costs, and gross profit - broken down by countries, product groups and time. It utilizes most of the concepts that we've discussed in this post previously. There is a time series to show revenue over time, a bar chart to show results by countries and a waterfall chart to show how product categories contributed to the total.

However, this dashboard also allows you to manipulate the view. You can switch between individual KPIs (revenue, gross profit and cost) and select the month and year for which you want to review data.

This ability to switch between views requires a couple of advanced techniques using PivotTables and slicers . You can read more about creating it in our article Must-Know Tricks for Interactive Excel Dashboards in 2023 .

Another important part of having an interactive dashboard is providing a way for users to navigate through the report to drill into more detailed data. You can achieve this by using hyperlinks that link from the main page to the relevant pages in your report.

Once a user clicks the link, they are taken to a page with a detailed breakdown of sales by individual countries.

Excel is a valuable tool for data visualization, but creating effective visualizations requires more than just technical proficiency . Zebra BI for Office add-ins enable you to automatically follow the best practice principles of data visualization and IBCS guidelines . This enables you to effortlessly create impactful and meaningful visualizations that support decision-making and drive results.

Are you ready to get started?

Try Zebra BI for Office for free & automatically receive an instructional file that will help you kick off your data visualization journey in Excel.

Related Resources

The Ultimate 2023 Bar Chart Guide

Excel Report Templates: Build Better Reports Faster

Excel Waterfall Charts: How To Create One That Doesn't Suck

How to create a Horizontal Waterfall Chart in Power BI: Ultimate 2023 Guide

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Improve Your PowerPoint Presentation with Excel Data Visualizations

Nothing makes information more vivid than a great visualization. We show you how to prepare your data in Excel and import the charts into PowerPoint for a lively presentation.

Ready to present your findings? Find out how to visualize your data using Excel and PowerPoint.

We've all sat through boring PowerPoint presentations at one point or another, and they're no fun. You can use countless ways to liven things up  and something as simple as a chart made with Excel can go a long way.

Here's everything you need to know about creating a data visualization in Excel and exporting that content directly to a PowerPoint presentation — you might be surprised by just how easy it is.

Prepare Your Data

The first step to a professional chart is ensuring that we have all the necessary data arranged correctly. The following section will show you how to do just that for all the most common types of data visualization produced with Excel.

Column, Bar, Line, and Area Charts

The data for these charts doesn't require much processing, just ensure that your data is separated into columns or rows, and properly labelled. These two examples below demonstrate that you can use either a vertical or horizontal layout for your data.

Pie and Doughnut Charts

For a single data series, lay out your data in one column or row, with labels in a separate column or row.

If you're charting more than one data series using a doughnut chart, just add another column or row containing the additional figures. Giving each series a label isn't mandatory, but it will help you keep track of your information.

Scatter and Bubble Charts

For scatter charts, place your data for the X and Y axes in adjacent columns.

For a bubble chart, include what size you want individual bubbles to be in a further adjacent column.

Create Your Chart

Next, we're going to create the chart in Excel — my example will  be a pie chart about pies, but the same concepts will apply no matter what kind of visualization you're aiming for.

Above, you can see that I've arranged my data in the correct format for a pie chart and highlighted the entire selection. With that done, it's time to head to the Insert tab and click the pop-out button on the Charts section.

The resulting window is split into two tabs; recommended charts and all charts. The former option is helpful if you're not sure what's the best way to visualize your data , but otherwise you can simply pick the correct option from the full list. The All Charts tab offers up lots more options, so it's really worth poring through the list to find the most appropriate chart.

Once you've selected your desired option, Excel will create a basic version of the chart — but it's likely that you'll want to make some edits for yourself.

First, let's change that title to something a little bit more informative. All we need to do is click the text once to select the text box, and another to drop our cursor into it so that we can make edits.

Next, let's take a look at the three icons that show up on the edge of our chart when we click on it. The box with a plus symbol helps us adjust Chart Elements , like its title and its legend. Marking the checkbox confirms that these elements should be included, while clicking the small arrow will offer up some more in-depth options.

The paintbrush icon lets us adjust the chart's color scheme , either choosing from pre-made styling templates or picking out individual shades. I'm not completely happy with the default color palette, so I'm swapping it out for a monochromatic chart.

The third icon allows us to filter the data that goes into the chart, which is particularly handy if you're working with more than one series. However, there are plenty of other uses — below, I've used the tool to quickly create a chart that only looks at dessert pies.

Once you're all set with these adjustments, we can export the chart into PowerPoint.

Transfer Your Chart to PowerPoint

Exporting your chart from Excel to PowerPoint is as easy as copying and pasting it across — but there are a couple of pitfalls to avoid. Select your chart in Excel by clicking on the background, making sure that you're not accidentally selecting a particular element, then use CTRL + C to copy the data to your clipboard. You can also right-click on its background to copy from the context menu.

Once this is done, open up PowerPoint and navigate to the slide that you want the chart to appear on. Use CTRL + V to paste the chart in place.

However, there's one more step to complete if you want to do the job properly. While the chart might already look correct, now's the time to make an important decision about how it's placed in the presentation.

This small dropdown will help you decide if your chart is linked to the Excel spreadsheet it's based on, a straightforward way of making your data available to viewers. Choosing one of the options featuring the phrase Link Data will link your visualization to the spreadsheet, whereas those that feature the phrase Embed Workbook will make that document available as part of the presentation itself .

You can also opt to paste the chart as a picture, but this doesn't offer any of the same fact-checking benefits as the other two. Once you've made this selection, you're free to integrate the visualization into your presentation however you see fit.

Visualize It to Realize It

It's not difficult to turn data from an Excel spreadsheet into a chart for your PowerPoint presentation — but this kind of visualization can really help your audience digest the information .

Microsoft has gone to great lengths to make its Office suite work as a cohesive unit, so using individual programs in tandem can produce great result. Just consider the strengths of each of its component parts; PowerPoint is great for presenting to an audience, but working with data is definitely a job for Excel.

While this guide put the focus on PowerPoint, you can use the exact same method to export charts to other programs in the Office suite — keep that in mind next time you want to include a visualization in an essay written in Word, or add it to  your OneNote notebook .

Do you have more questions about using Excel charts in your PowerPoint presentation? Or are you confident enough to offer help to other users? Either way, head to the comments section below to join the discussion.

Excel for Data Visualization in Business Presentations

Excel is a versatile tool for data visualization in business presentations, allowing professionals to create impactful visual representations of data insights. With various chart types, pivot tables, and conditional formatting, Excel enables the transformation of complex data into easily understandable visuals. These visualizations can be seamlessly integrated into business presentations to communicate trends, comparisons, and key findings effectively. Excel's familiarity and accessibility make it a valuable asset for professionals to display data-driven information, enabling informed decision-making and enhancing the overall impact of business presentations.

Introduction

In the fast-paced world of business, effective data visualization is paramount for conveying insights, making informed decisions, and presenting complex information in a clear and compelling manner. Microsoft Excel, a ubiquitous spreadsheet software, offers powerful tools for data visualization in business presentations. With its array of charts, graphs, and interactive features, Excel empowers professionals to transform raw data into visually engaging representations that resonate with stakeholders.

Excel's charting capabilities allow users to create a wide range of visualizations, such as bar charts, line graphs, pie charts, and scatter plots , to highlight trends, comparisons, and patterns in data. PivotTables offer a dynamic way to summarize and analyze large datasets, providing a quick overview of complex information.

Conditional formatting in Excel enables users to apply custom styles and colors to data cells, emphasizing significant data points and adding visual context to tables and charts. This feature helps in creating heat maps, traffic light indicators, and color scales for intuitive data interpretation.

Excel's seamless integration with other Microsoft Office applications, like PowerPoint, makes it convenient to embed visualizations directly into business presentations. Furthermore, Excel's widespread usage in the business world ensures that data visualization remains accessible and familiar to users across different organizations.

Understanding Excel’s Data Visualization Features

1. Excel’s chart types and options

• Column Charts: Ideal for comparing data across categories. Users can choose from clustered, stacked, or 100% stacked column charts.
• Bar Charts: Similar to column charts but with the x and y-axis roles reversed. Suitable for displaying data horizontally.
• Line Charts: Useful for showing trends over time or continuous data. Users can create single or multiple series line charts.
• Pie Charts: Effective for illustrating the proportion of different categories in a dataset. Users can also create 3D pie charts for added visual appeal.
• Area Charts: Suitable for displaying data trends over time, similar to line charts but with the area beneath the lines shaded.
• Scatter Plots: Ideal for visualizing the relationship between two variables. Useful for detecting correlations or outliers.
• Bubble Charts: Similar to scatter plots, but with an additional dimension represented by varying bubble sizes. Useful for displaying three sets of data.
• Radar Charts: Suitable for comparing multiple quantitative variables. Users can create spider-like graphs for easy comparison.
• Stock Charts: Designed for visualizing stock market data, including high, low, open, and close prices.
• Surface Charts: Useful for representing three-dimensional data sets, displaying the data in a 3D surface format.

Excel's chart options allow users to customize chart elements, such as titles, data labels, legends, and axes. Users can adjust colors, fonts, and styles to match their presentation or branding. Additionally, Excel's pivot tables provide a dynamic way to summarize and analyze large datasets, offering a quick overview of complex information.

2. Customization capabilities for charts and graphs

Excel provides extensive customization capabilities for charts and graphs, enabling users to tailor visualizations to their specific needs and preferences. Here are the key customization options available:

• Chart Types: Excel offers a wide range of chart types, including column, bar, line, pie, area, scatter , and more. Users can choose the most suitable chart type for their data representation.
• Chart Elements: Users can customize various chart elements, such as chart titles, data labels, axis titles, legends, and data tables , to provide context and enhance data understanding.
• Data Series Formatting: Customize individual data series by selecting specific colors, line styles, markers, or patterns , making it easier to differentiate data sets within the chart.
• Axis Settings: Adjust axis labels, scales, and units to ensure that the chart displays data accurately and meaningfully.
• Conditional Formatting: Use conditional formatting to apply specific colors or styles to data points based on predefined rules or thresholds, highlighting important data trends or outliers.
• Chart Styles and Themes: Apply predefined chart styles and themes or create custom styles to match the overall look and feel of the presentation or report.
• 3D Rotation and Perspective (for 3D Charts): Users can modify the 3D rotation and perspective of 3D charts to change the viewing angle and enhance visual impact.
• Trendlines and Error Bars: Add trendlines to visualize data trends and regression analysis. Include error bars to display data variability and uncertainty.
• Secondary Axes: Incorporate secondary axes to plot different data series with different scales on the same chart, enabling better comparisons.
• Chart Animation (for 3D Maps): When using Power Map (3D Maps), create time-based animations to visualize data changes over time.

3. Integration with other Excel features

Excel's integration with other features enhances its functionality and enables a seamless workflow for data analysis and visualization. Here are some key integration points:

• PivotTables: PivotTables allow users to summarize, analyze, and pivot data in a dynamic and flexible manner. Excel charts can be directly linked to PivotTables, updating automatically when the underlying data changes.
• Power Query: Power Query allows users to clean, transform, and reshape data from various sources before importing it into Excel. This ensures that the data is in the desired format for visualization.
• Power Pivot: Power Pivot is an Excel add-in that enables users to work with large datasets and create more complex data models. It allows for the creation of relationships between tables and advanced calculations.
• Conditional Formatting: Conditional formatting can be applied to Excel charts to highlight specific data points based on predefined criteria, making it easier to identify trends or outliers.
• Slicers and Filters: Slicers and filters can be added to Excel charts to allow users to interactively explore and analyze data, focusing on specific subsets of information.
• Data Validation: Data validation rules can be set up in Excel to ensure that data entered into charts is accurate and conforms to predefined criteria.
• VBA and Macros: Excel's Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) enables users to automate tasks and create customized solutions for data analysis and charting.
• Power BI Integration: Power BI, a business intelligence tool from Microsoft, can be used to create interactive dashboards and reports with Excel data and charts.
• SharePoint and OneDrive: Excel workbooks with charts and data can be saved to SharePoint or OneDrive for easy collaboration and sharing with others.

Selecting the Right Chart Type According to Your Data

Common chart types for business presentations

When selecting the right chart type for your data in business presentations using Excel, it's crucial to choose the chart that best represents and highlights the patterns and relationships within your data. Here are some common chart types that are widely used in business presentations:

• Column Chart: Suitable for comparing data across different categories or time periods. Clustered or stacked column charts can be used for visualizing multiple data series.
• Bar Chart: Similar to column charts, but with the axes reversed. Ideal for displaying data horizontally, especially for long category names.
• Line Chart: Effective for showing trends over time or continuous data. Useful for illustrating patterns and changes in data values.
• Pie Chart: Ideal for representing proportions or percentages of a whole. Best for displaying data with few categories.
• Area Chart: Similar to line charts, but the area beneath the lines is filled. Suitable for showing data trends over time and comparing multiple data series.
• Scatter Plot: Useful for displaying the relationship between two variables, identifying correlations or outliers.
• Bubble Chart: A variation of the scatter plot, with an additional dimension represented by varying bubble sizes. Suitable for visualizing three sets of data.
• Radar Chart: Effective for comparing multiple quantitative variables. Useful for showing performance across different categories.
• Waterfall Chart: Ideal for illustrating how values contribute to an overall total, particularly in financial analyses.
• Gantt Chart: Useful for project management, showing task schedules, durations, and dependencies.

Column and bar charts for comparisons

Column and bar charts are excellent choices for visualizing and comparing data in Excel. Both chart types are ideal for displaying categorical data and showcasing the relationships between different data sets. Here's when to use column and bar charts:

Column Chart:

• Use column charts when the categories you want to compare are positioned along the horizontal axis (x-axis).
• The vertical bars represent the values of each category, making it easy to compare the magnitude of data points.
• Column charts are effective for displaying data with time-based or numerical categories on the x-axis.
• They are especially suitable for showing comparisons between discrete data points or for time-series data.
• Use bar charts when the categories you want to compare are positioned along the vertical axis (y-axis).
• The horizontal bars represent the values of each category, allowing for quick comparison between data points.
• Bar charts are effective for comparing data with text-based or non-numeric categories on the y-axis.
• They are particularly useful when you have long category names that might not fit well along the x-axis in a column chart.

Line charts for trends and patterns

Line charts are ideal for visualizing trends and patterns in data over time or any continuous variable. Here's how to use line charts in Excel to represent trends:

• Organize Data: Arrange your data in columns or rows, with the time or continuous variable in one column and the corresponding data values in another column.
• Select Data: Highlight the data range you want to visualize, including both the time or continuous variable and the corresponding data values.
• Insert Line Chart: Go to the "Insert" tab on the Excel ribbon, click on the "Line Chart" icon in the Charts group, and choose the desired line chart subtype (e.g., Line, Stacked Line, or Line with Markers).
• Customize Chart: After inserting the line chart, customize it by adding chart titles, data labels, axis labels, and other elements to make it more informative and presentable.
• Format Data Series: Format the line and marker styles, colors, and sizes according to your preference or to match the overall theme of your presentation.

Pie and doughnut charts for proportions

Pie and doughnut charts are ideal for representing proportions and percentages in Excel. They visually display how individual components contribute to the whole, making them effective for showcasing data with distinct categories. Here's how to use pie and doughnut charts in Excel:

• Select the data range containing the categories and corresponding values.
• Go to the "Insert" tab on the Excel ribbon.
• Click on the "Pie Chart" button in the "Charts" group and choose the desired pie chart style.
• Excel will generate a pie chart with slices representing each category's proportion of the whole.
• Doughnut Chart:
• The doughnut chart is a variation of the pie chart with a hole in the center.
• Follow the same steps as for the pie chart to create the initial chart.
• Once the pie chart is generated, right-click on it and select "Change Chart Type."
• Choose the doughnut chart style from the options available.

Scatter plots for relationships and correlations

Here's how scatter plots are used for data analysis:

• Relationships: Scatter plots help identify relationships between two variables. If the data points tend to form a pattern that follows a particular direction (positive or negative slope), it indicates a linear relationship between the variables. For example, in a scatter plot of sales revenue (y-axis) against advertising spend (x-axis), a positive slope suggests that higher advertising spend is associated with higher revenue.
• Correlations: Scatter plots assist in determining the strength and direction of correlations between variables. A clustered group of data points indicates a strong correlation, while a dispersed group suggests a weak or no correlation. The line of best fit, or regression line, can be added to the scatter plot to quantify the correlation and predict future values.
• Outliers: Scatter plots help identify outliers, which are data points that significantly deviate from the general pattern of the data. These outliers may indicate errors in data collection or represent unique cases worth investigating.
• Clusters and Patterns: Scatter plots can reveal clusters or patterns within the data, highlighting distinct groups or trends.

Data Characteristics and Message Clarity

• Data Structure: Consider the data's structure, such as categorical, numerical, or time-series, to determine the most suitable chart type.
• Data Distribution: Understand the data distribution to choose between bar/column charts for comparing categories or line charts for showing trends over time.
• Relationships: Use scatter plots to visualize relationships between two variables or bubble charts to include a third dimension of data.
• Hierarchical Data: Represent hierarchical data using tree maps or sunburst charts to show the breakdown of data categories.

Audience preferences and comprehension

• Familiarity: Consider the audience's familiarity with chart types and their preferences for understanding data visually.
• Complexity: Choose a chart type that strikes a balance between simplicity and complexity, ensuring the audience can grasp the information easily.
• Accessibility: Opt for chart types that are accessible to all, including individuals with visual impairments, by providing alternative text and proper labeling.

Presentation context and objectives

• Presentation Medium: Consider the medium in which the chart will be presented, such as print, digital, or projection, as it may impact the chart's size and resolution.
• Presentation Time: Choose chart types that allow for quick data interpretation during short presentations or detailed analysis for longer discussions.
• Objectives: Align the chart type with the presentation's objectives, whether it's to compare data, show trends, or display proportions.

Creating Effective Visualizations in Excel

1. Designing visually appealing charts

• Choose the Right Chart Type: Select a chart type that best represents your data and conveys the intended message clearly. Consider options like bar/column charts for comparisons, line charts for trends, pie charts for proportions, and scatter plots for relationships.
• Simplify and Focus: Avoid cluttering your charts with unnecessary elements. Keep the design clean and focus on the key data points to prevent visual distractions.
• Color Selection: Use a consistent color scheme that complements your data and aligns with your presentation or company branding. Avoid using too many colors and ensure color choices are accessible to all audiences.
• Fonts and Text: Choose clear and readable fonts for axis labels, titles, and data labels. Ensure that the text size is appropriate for the chart size and doesn't obstruct the data.
• Gridlines and Axes: Utilize gridlines and axes to guide data interpretation, but keep them subtle to avoid overwhelming the chart.
• Data Labels and Annotations: Include data labels or annotations to provide context and aid in data interpretation. Avoid cluttering the chart with excessive labels.
• Chart Titles: Use descriptive and concise titles to highlight the chart's main message and focus.
• Visual Hierarchy: Organize data elements in a logical visual hierarchy. Highlight the most important data points with appropriate formatting.

2. Choosing appropriate colors and fonts

• Consistency: Maintain consistency in color usage across charts and graphs within the same presentation to create a cohesive and professional look.
• Data Contrast: Use contrasting colors for data points and categories to ensure clear differentiation and easy identification of data trends.
• Color Meanings: Be mindful of color meanings and associations. For example, use green for positive values, red for negative values, and neutral colors for neutral or insignificant data.
• Avoid Overuse: Avoid using too many colors in a single chart, as it can make the visualization cluttered and confusing. Stick to a limited color palette for a clean and organized appearance.
• Colorblind Accessibility: Ensure that the colors you choose are easily distinguishable for individuals with color vision deficiencies. Test your visualizations using colorblind simulation tools.
• Readability: Choose fonts that are easy to read, even at smaller sizes. Sans-serif fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Verdana are generally more readable on screens and presentations.
• Consistency: Use a consistent font throughout your visualizations and the entire presentation for a professional and unified look.
• Hierarchy: Use font sizes and styles to create a visual hierarchy, emphasizing important elements like titles, headers, and data labels.
• Avoid Decorative Fonts: Avoid using overly decorative or stylized fonts that may distract from the data and reduce readability.
• Accessibility: Ensure that the font size and style provide sufficient contrast against the background for individuals with visual impairments.

3. Adjusting chart elements

• Chart Title: Add a descriptive and concise chart title that provides context and summarizes the chart's purpose.
• Data Labels: Include data labels on data points or bars to display specific values, aiding in data interpretation.
• Axes Titles: Label the x-axis and y-axis with clear titles to indicate the data represented on each axis.
• Legends: Add a legend to identify different data series or categories in the chart, especially useful for multi-series charts.
• Gridlines: Adjust gridlines to enhance readability and aid in data comparisons.
• Axis Scaling: Adjust the axis scaling to ensure that data points are evenly distributed and displayed accurately.
• Trendlines: Add trendlines to visualize data trends and make predictions, especially useful in line charts and scatter plots.
• Color and Style: Choose appropriate colors and styles for chart elements to make the visualization visually appealing and consistent.
• Formatting Data Series: Customize data series with different colors, line styles, and markers for better distinction.

4. Using data labels and callouts for clarity

Data labels

• Display Values: Add data labels to data points in charts to show exact values directly on the data markers, making it easy for viewers to interpret the data.
• Series Names: Include data series names in the chart to help identify different data categories and understand the context of each data point.
• Customization: Customize data labels by changing font size, color, position, and format to ensure they are clear and visually appealing.
• Annotations: Use callouts to annotate specific data points or data regions with additional information, explanations, or insights, providing valuable context to the audience.
• Arrows and Leader Lines: Connect callouts to the corresponding data points using arrows or leader lines to visually establish the relationship between the callout and the data.

5. Enhancing visualizations with Excel’s formatting options

• Colors and Themes: Choose appropriate colors and themes that complement the data and match the overall presentation style. Excel's predefined color schemes and themes provide consistency across visualizations.
• Font Styles and Sizes: Use clear and legible font styles and sizes for chart titles, axis labels, and data labels. Consistent font choices help maintain a professional look.
• Data Labels and Callouts: Display data labels on data points to provide context and clarify values. Use callouts or data cards to highlight specific data points or add supplementary information.
• Conditional Formatting: Apply conditional formatting to color-code data points based on predefined rules, making it easier to identify patterns and outliers.
• Legends and Data Tables: Position legends and data tables appropriately to avoid clutter and ensure ease of data interpretation.
• Axis Formatting: Customize axis labels, titles, and scales to better communicate data trends and insights. Consider using a secondary axis for different data series with different scales.
• Chart Titles and Captions: Create clear and descriptive chart titles and captions to provide context and help viewers understand the chart's purpose.

6. Applying chart styles and themes

• Select the Chart: First, create or select the chart you want to format in your Excel workbook.
• Chart Styles: In the "Chart Styles" group on the "Chart Design" tab of the Excel ribbon, you'll find various chart styles to choose from. Hover your mouse over each style to see a live preview of how it will look on your chart.
• Apply a Style: Click on the desired chart style to apply it to your selected chart. Excel will instantly update the chart's appearance with the selected style.
• Customize Chart Elements: After applying a style, you can further customize individual chart elements such as data labels, axis labels, legend, plot area, and chart title to fine-tune the visualization.
• Chart Themes: In addition to chart styles, Excel offers chart themes that consist of complementary colors and fonts. To apply a theme, go to the "Chart Design" tab, and in the "Chart Styles" group, click the "Change Colors" or "Change Chart Type" button to select a theme.
• Customizing Themes: If you want to create a custom theme, you can do so by clicking the "Customize" button within the "Change Colors" or "Change Chart Type" options. This allows you to adjust the colors, fonts, and effects to match your specific preferences or your organization's branding.

7. Adding textures, gradients, and transparency

• Excel allows users to add textures and gradients to elements like bars, columns, or backgrounds in charts. These visual effects can enhance the aesthetics and make the charts more visually appealing.
• Transparency can be applied to data points, shapes, or backgrounds, helping to overlay multiple data series and make the chart elements more distinguishable.

8. Using Data-Driven Visuals:

• Data-driven visuals, such as data bars and color scales in conditional formatting, enable users to highlight data trends and variances directly within the cells of the worksheet.
• Sparklines, a feature in Excel, allows for the creation of small, data-intense charts directly within a cell, providing a quick overview of data trends without the need for a separate chart.

Advanced Excel Techniques for Data Visualization

Creating advanced charts and graphs

• Waterfall Charts: Use waterfall charts to visualize cumulative changes in data over time, ideal for displaying financial data and highlighting positive and negative contributions.
• Radar Charts: Represent multiple variables in a radial format, making it easier to compare different data points across categories.

Combining multiple chart types in a single visualization

• Combo Charts: Combine two or more chart types in a single visualization. For example, use a combination of a bar chart and a line chart to display different data series with varying scales.

Utilizing Advanced Formatting Options:

• Trendlines: Add trendlines to scatter plots or line charts to identify and visualize data trends and projections.
• Error Bars: Display variability and uncertainty in data by adding error bars to charts.

Incorporating External Data Sources:

• Power Query: Import and transform data from external sources directly into Excel. Create dynamic visualizations that update automatically when the source data changes.
• Web Queries: Fetch data from web pages and combine it with your existing data to create dynamic visualizations based on real-time information.
• Excel's data visualization features offer a powerful and accessible platform for creating impactful charts and graphs to present data-driven insights in business presentations.
• A wide range of chart types, customization options, and integration with other Excel features enable users to tailor visualizations to their specific needs and preferences.
• Excel's pivot tables facilitate dynamic data analysis, providing quick overviews of complex information and supporting data exploration.
• Data-driven visuals , such as conditional formatting and sparklines, enhance data clarity within cells, eliminating the need for separate charts.
• Excel's seamless integration with PowerPoint allows users to embed visualizations directly into presentations, creating comprehensive and data-rich slides.
• The familiarity and widespread usage of Excel make it an invaluable tool for professionals across different organizations, ensuring accessibility and familiarity with data visualizations.

How to Use Timeline in Excel? (A Visual Presentation)

In this Excel tutorial, you will learn how to -Create a timeline using a template. -Use Excel’s built-in Scatter chart , SmartArt and PivotChart features to create a timeline. -Use Excel command to create a timeline.

Besides that, we have discussed some built-in timeline templates available in Excel that you can use to create timeline in Excel.

While preparing this article, we have used Microsoft 365. However, the methods in this article are also applicable in the other versions as well.

A timeline is a representation of events in chronological arrangement. It provides a simple summary of a series of events in time.

Download Practice Workbook

How to Create a Timeline in Excel?

There are several ways to create a timeline in Excel. We will be using the following dataset as an example to describe some most convenient methods of creating a timeline in Excel. The dataset represents one company’s plan for developing a website. Now the company wants to illustrate this plan within a timeline.

1. How to Create a Timeline Using a Template?

There are many timeline templates already available in Microsoft Excel. You can insert one while opening a new Excel file or from the  File  tab. From there on, you can select your template type, which is the timeline in this case.

Creating a timeline in Excel using a template makes it more satisfying to go through. Here, we will utilize that feature to develop a timeline.

• First, click on File in the toolbar.

• Go to the New option.
• In the Search for online templates bar, type Timeline , and press Enter .

• You will find many timeline templates there such as project timeline, work plan timeline, wedding planning timeline, etc.
• We selected the Detailed project timeline template as it seemed to be more convenient for our example.

• Something as follows will appear on your screen.
• Click on Create .

• The template will appear within a new workbook as follows.

• Now, you just need to modify the Project details section with your data.
• Here, we have inserted the Start Date of each task into the DATE column and the Tasks into the MILESTONE column from our dataset.

• After inserting all our data, the timeline is created as follows within the template.

2. How to Use Scatter Chart to Create a Timeline?

Using the Excel Scatter Chart feature, we can also create a timeline chart. The secret is to use and modify the error bars. You can

• To make our timeline exquisitely presentable within an Excel chart, add a Position column as follows.

• Select the range C4:D10 .
• Follow these steps as shown below: Insert >> Insert Scatter (X, Y) or Bubble Chart >> Scatter .

• A chart will be created as follows.

• At the top-rightmost of the chart, click on the Plus ( + ) icon.
• Mark the Error Bars  box.

• Right-click on the dates along the horizontal axis.
• Select the Format Axis  option.

• A sidebar titled Format Axis will appear on your worksheet.
• From there, click on the Axis Options  first.
• Select Series “Position” X Error Bars .

• Go to the Fill & Line  section.
• Select No line .

• Now, click on Error Bar Options .
• Select Series “Position” Y Errors Bars .

• Go to the Error Bars Options  section.
• Mark Minus from the direction part.
• At the Error Amount section, mark Percentage and set the percentage as 100 .

• Following all these will make your chart look as follows.
• Click on the Plus ( + ) icon again.
• Mark Data Labels .

• Go to the Format Axis sidebar again.
• Click on Axis Options .
• Select Series “Position” Data Labels .

• Go to the Label Options .
• Unmark Y Value .
• Mark Value From Cells .

• After marking Value From Cells , you will be asked to select a range.
• Select range B5:B10 .
• Click on OK .

• Finally, the timeline you have created using the scatter chart feature will look as follows.

3. How to Use Excel SmartArt Feature to Create Timeline?

The SmartArt feature in Excel is used to visually represent information and data in a more engaging and easy-to-understand way. There are built-in shapes available to create timelines. This is true not only in Excel but also in some other Office applications. Later on, you can add other details depending on your case.

In this example, we are going to use the basic timeline shape.

• First, go to the Insert  tab.
• Then, click on SmartArt .

• A dialog box titled Choose a SmartArt Graphic will appear on your worksheet.
• Now, go to the Process  section.
• Then, select Basic Timeline and click on OK .

• A SmartArt as follows will appear.
• You are now required to fill in the Type your text here section with your data.

• We have inserted our data as follows.
• The timeline is as follows after inserting our data.

• You can customize your created timeline.
• Right-click on your timeline and you will see many options to customize your timeline. You can format fonts, colors, and much more from there.

• We have customized our timeline as follows to make it more elegant.

4. How to Utilize PivotChart Feature to Make a Timeline?

PivotChart allows us to sum values based on dates. We can utilize this feature to plot total values for dates in a graph and represent a timeline.

• Select range B4:D10 .
• At the toolbar, go to the Insert tab.
• Click on PivotChart .

• From the appeared Create PivotChart dialog-box, select Existing Worksheet .
• Select any cell you want. We have selected cell F4 as the location and click on OK .

• A sidebar PivotChart Field will appear on your worksheet.

• Drag the Tasks option in the Axis (Categories)  section.
• Drag the Start Date and End Date options in the Values  bar.
• Drag the Days (Start Date) , Months (Start Date) , Days (End Date) & Months (End Date) options in the Legend (Series)  bar.

• At the Values section, click on Count of Start Date .
• Select Value Field Settings .

• At the Summarize values By section, select Sum .
• Then click on Number Format .

• After that, in the Format Cells dialog box, go to the Date  menu.
• Select any date format as you want.
• We have selected the following date format.

• Again click on OK from the Value Field Settings dialog-box.

• Go through the exact same procedure by clicking on the Count of End Date from the Values  section.

• Following all these will make your timeline as follows.

• Let’s add labels to the timeline.
• Click on the Plus (+) icon at the side of your timeline.
• Mark the Data Labels .

• Finally, a stunning timeline is now created as follows.

5. How to Use Excel Command to Create Timeline Chart?

If you don’t want to go in-depth with plots and charts, you can also modify your dataset to create a timeline. Adjusting alignments, cell size and fills, we can make our dataset to represent timeline too.

• Follow these steps: Home >> Orientation >> Angle Counterclockwise .

• Your dataset will look as follows.

• Now go through these steps: Home >> Cells >> Format >> Row Height .

• Set the Row Height as 60 .

• After that, follow these steps: Home >> Alignment >> Wrap Text .

• Your timeline is created as follows.

• Finally, add some colors to your timeline to make it more presentable.

What Are Some Built-in Timeline Templates Available in Excel?

In Excel, there are multiple timeline templates that you may find really useful while creating a timeline for your work. Most of them are powered by Microsoft Corporation.

Let’s explore some of those.

Project Timeline

You can track your project schedule with this premium timeline template in Excel. You can simply input activities into the table below and watch how your timeline template generates.

Work Plan Timeline

You can plan your work around outcomes and activities with this template. You simply enter data and the template automatically updates.

Milestone Infographic Timeline

You can track up to five milestones of your project development with this premium milestone infographic timeline template. Simply enter your information in one sheet and the template in another sheet will automatically update on its own.

Wedding Planning Timeline

This wedding timeline template is customizable with the details of your wedding project. Excel has made life really easy in too many ways. This one is also provided by Microsoft Corporation.

Event Planner and Timeline

A timeline is an essential part of managing and organizing events as an event planner. A well-planned timeline enables you to successfully explain the event schedules to your team, keeps you organized, and guarantees that all tasks are performed on time. You can get an Excel template for this kind of timeline as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. which chart is best for timeline.

Excel Scatter Chart is good for creating a timeline though you can make a timeline using the rest of the Excel chart features as well. Because of scatter charts’ sequential representation, clear visualization and flexibility with dates and times make scatter chart really useful for making a timeline in Excel.

2. What is the difference between slicer and timeline in Excel?

Slicer in Excel: A slicer is an Excel visual control element that enables users to filter data in a pivot table or pivot chart by choosing particular values from a predefined list. It offers a convenient method for interactively filtering data without the need to manually change filter parameters.

Timeline in Excel: A timeline is a visual control element in Excel that enables users to filter data in a PivotTable or PivotChart based on a specified date or time range. Without having to manually modify date filters, it offers an easy way to analyze data collected over a range of time periods.

3. What is project timeline?

A project timeline is a diagram or schedule that shows the development of activities, tasks, and milestones related to a project. It gives a comprehensive overview of the project’s schedule, including start and finish dates, significant outcomes, and project dependencies.

4. What is a timeline spreadsheet?

Specifically created to build and manage timelines, a timeline spreadsheet is a form of spreadsheet. It gives you an organized structure to arrange things systematically and present them. A timeline spreadsheet focuses on the visual representation of time-based data compared to a conventional spreadsheet, which places a greater priority on numerical data and calculations.

We have already seen some easy methods of creating a timeline in Excel. The use of Excel’s features like timeline templates, SmartArt , PivotChart , etc. allows you to make a timeline quickly and efficiently. We have gone through each process in detail. We have also added different types of timeline templates available in Excel. Hope you have found what you were looking for. Visit our site ExcelDemy to explore more relevant topics.

Timeline in Excel: Knowledge Hub

• Create a Timeline Chart
• Create a Timeline With Milestones
• Create a Timeline with Dates
• Create a Project Timeline

<< Go Back to  Learn Excel

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Raiyan Zaman Adrey, armed with a BSc in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, efficiently combines engineering skills with a passion for Excel. In his role as an Excel & VBA Content Developer at ExcelDemy, he not only tackles complex issues but also demonstrates an enthusiastic mindset, efficiently managing critical situations with patience, showcasing his commitment to excellence. He is interested in C, C++, C#, JavaScript, Python, Microsoft Office, AutoCAD, Adobe Illustrator, Data Entry, and... Read Full Bio

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Home » Free Excel Tips » Visual Presentation of Data

Visual Presentation of Data

I recently stumbled over a book called  Visual Explanations  by Edward R. Tufte (Graphics Press, Cheshire, CT, 1997). The New York Times called him "the Leonardo da Vinci of data." Tufte says:

There are right ways and wrong ways to show data; there are displays that reveal the truth and displays that do not.

Space Shuttle Challenger

Tufte tackles the data and presentation used by Morton Thiokol to show O-ring damage on previous shuttle flights. The graphs used cute little rockets to show O-ring damage  over time :

The temperature at time of launch is shown on rocket A and the O-ring damage on the recovered boosters shown as gray or hatched areas. As you can imagine, put 50 of these in a row and it's hard to tell what's really going on.

If, however, you use the O-ring data to draw a scatter plot shown below, you can use the trend line to back into the potentially catastrophic problems awaiting the space shuttle Challenger:

If you use a c chart to plot the damage index, you get a chart that tells you that the one 53 degree launch is special cause variation, but also that the entire launch sequence is unstable:

If the process was this unstable, maybe it needed some serious root cause analysis  before  liftoff.

The Right Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Information displays should serve the analytic purpose at hand.

Here are some of Tufte's insights:

• Numbers become evidence by being in relation t o something . The numbers indicating the temperature on the rockets aren't really in relationship to anything. Similarly, numbers on a spreadsheet can be hard to read.
• The Disappearing Legend  - When the legend on a chart is lost (in this case the meaning of the gray areas on the rockets), the insights can be lost as well.
• Chartjunk  - good design brings absolute attention to data. Bad design loses the insights in the clutter.
• Lack of clarity in depicting cause and effect.  In the rocket charts, no matter how cute, the cause and effect of temperature vs. O-ring damage is lost.
• Wrong order -  a fatal flaw can be in ordering the data. A time series (i.e., a control chart) may not reveal what a bar chart (i.e., a histogram) might reveal. In this case, a scatter diagram reveals all you need to know

Here's my point

I usually draw as many different charts from the same data as I can to see which one tells the best story. You should too. Every picture tells a story, but some pictures are better than others at telling the story. QI Macros make it easy to draw one chart after another so that you can quickly discard some of them and select others that engage the eye in the real issues.

As Tufte would probably say: Don't let your charts become  disinformation . There's enough of that in the world already.

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Excel Charts In Powerpoint

Key takeaway:.

• Excel Charts in PowerPoint can be a powerful tool for enhancing presentations: Using Excel Charts in PowerPoint can help to present data in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand manner, making presentations more effective and engaging.
• Inserting Excel Charts in PowerPoint is simple and straightforward: Excel Charts can be easily inserted into PowerPoint using either the copy and paste method or the Excel Object insertion method, both of which are simple to execute and offer flexibility in terms of editing and customization.
• A few best practices can help ensure the best results when using Excel Charts in PowerPoint: Consistency in chart design, choosing appropriate chart types for data, and ensuring data accuracy are all key factors that can help make Excel Charts in PowerPoint more effective and impactful.

Have you ever wanted to use data visuals to make a point in a presentation? Excel Charts in PowerPoint makes it easy for you to create a professional, dynamic presentation that captivates your audience. With a few simple steps, you can turn data into powerful visuals to help bolster your message.

Overview of Excel Charts in PowerPoint

Excel charts are a powerful tool for creating visual representations of data. They can help communicate complex information quickly and effectively. When used in PowerPoint presentations, Excel charts can enhance the overall impact of the presentation and convey the information more clearly.

Here are six key features of using Excel charts in PowerPoint:

• Excel charts are easily customizable in PowerPoint. Users have access to a range of chart styles and formatting options that can be tailored to the specific needs of the presentation.
• Excel charts can be updated easily. Users can update charts directly within PowerPoint and the changes will be reflected in real-time. This saves time and effort, as there is no need to create new charts each time data is updated.
• Excel charts can be animated in PowerPoint. Animation can help to engage the audience and draw attention to important data points.
• Excel charts can be excellently manipulated in PowerPoint. Users can arrange the charts on the slide and resize them as desired to make them stand out or fit in with the overall design of the presentation.
• Excel charts are seamlessly integrated into the PowerPoint presentation. Users can embed the charts directly into the presentation without having to switch between different applications.
• Excel charts allow for data-driven presentation design. Users can create a presentation based on data insights and showcase the data in an easily digestible format using Excel charts.

In addition to these benefits, Excel charts offer a level of flexibility that allows users to create the precise visual representation needed to convey the data effectively.

It’s worth noting that Microsoft first introduced Excel charts in PowerPoint in 1993, and since then, they have become an integral feature of the software. The seamless integration of Excel and PowerPoint has been a core focus of Microsoft, and it is clear that users appreciate the convenience and functionality of using Excel charts in PowerPoint.

Benefits of using Excel Charts in PowerPoint

Excel Charts in PowerPoint: Professional Benefits Explored

Excel Charts in PowerPoint enhance the visual appeal of presentations, and assist in better data comprehension, especially in professional settings.

Advantages of Integrating Excel Charts in PowerPoint

• Excel Charts help in displaying complex data sets in a visually informative and easy-to-understand format.
• Excel Charts keep the data point consistent and ensure accuracy in presentation.
• Excel Charts allow for better presentation customization, including style, colors, and fonts.
• Excel Charts can be easily updated and edited to reflect new data sets.
• Excel Charts offer an efficient and impressive way to present quantitative information.

Unique Details about Excel Charts in PowerPoint Integration

Essentially, incorporating Excel Charts in PowerPoint means more than just inserting data from Excel, but using it as an embedded data sheet in the PowerPoint. Such integration guarantees data consistency and easy update, while allowing formatting changes to be done on both platforms simultaneously.

Suggestions for Enhancing PowerPoint Presentations with Excel Charts

Incorporation of clear and concise titles, axis labels, and legends make it significantly easier for audience comprehension. Similarly, it is essential to select the correct chart type for the data presentation in order to maximize visual impact, and also optimize colors for better visual appeal.

How to Insert Excel Charts in PowerPoint

Want to place Excel charts in PowerPoint? No worries! Copy and paste them , or use the Excel Object in PowerPoint. You’ll be able to add your data quickly and without difficulty. Easy-peasy!

Copying and Pasting Excel Charts in PowerPoint

Selecting and Placing Excel Charts in PowerPoint

To embed and display charts created in Excel within the presentation slides of PowerPoint, users should follow a simple procedure:

• Copy your desired chart from the Excel worksheet by either right-clicking on it or pressing ‘CTRL + C.’
• Then, go to your desired slide location in PowerPoint and select either ‘Paste’ or ‘Paste Special’ options from the ‘Home’ tab.
• Finally, adjust size and formatting options for each specific chart as necessary.

It is important to note that depending on the type of data visualization used to create a chart, adjusting colors or size may be necessary to cater to your audiences needs.

Ensuring clear visual aids can support powerful narratives helps make for more effective presentations. Making sure visuals are large enough for audience members to see and understand ensures that everyone can get the most out of all presentations they attend! When PowerPoint and Excel collide, it’s like the ultimate power couple. Inserting Excel charts into PowerPoint? Piece of cake, even for technologically-challenged individuals.

Inserting Excel Charts using Excel Object in PowerPoint

Inserting Excel Charts in PowerPoint using Excel Object is a seamless way to enhance your presentations with rich data visuals that are easy to update and manipulate. Here’s how you can do it in just 6 simple steps:

• Open both Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint applications.
• Select the chart you want to insert into PowerPoint from your Excel spreadsheet.
• Click on Copy or press Ctrl+C on your keyboard.
• Go to the slide where you want to insert the chart in your PowerPoint presentation.
• Press Ctrl+V on your keyboard
• Right-click and select Paste from the context menu.
• Your chart will now appear in your slides, and you can format it as desired using various design tools available in PowerPoint.

When pasting an Excel chart into a PowerPoint presentation, ensure that both applications are open simultaneously. Make sure there are no confidential data present while copying the charts.

Did you know that Excel charts embedded in PowerPoint presentations were introduced back in 1997 with Microsoft Office? The feature has evolved significantly over time with newer versions of Office offering more advanced visual design tools for charts!

Editing Excel charts in PowerPoint: where you can finally fix all those mistakes you made in your data entry.

Editing Excel Charts in PowerPoint

Make your Excel charts look great in your PowerPoint presentations! To do this, you need to edit them. In this section, we’ll show you how to refine your charts. It’s called “Editing Excel Charts in PowerPoint” .

We will also teach you “Updating Chart Data in PowerPoint from Excel” and “Customizing Chart Elements in PowerPoint” . Match the look and feel of your presentation with these solutions!

Updating Chart Data in PowerPoint from Excel

To update chart data in PowerPoint from Excel, you can edit the charts directly from the presentation.

Follow these 4 simple steps to Update Chart Data in PowerPoint from Excel using Semantic NLP variation:

• On the slide with the chart, click on it to select it.
• In the ribbon menu, choose “ Chart Tools ” and then select “ Design “.
• Click “ Edit Data ” to open up the Excel spreadsheet containing the chart’s data.
• Make necessary changes in the Excel sheet then click outside of the spreadsheet window to automatically update the chart in PowerPoint.

It is worth noting that this method applies equally for bar graphs, pie charts as well as other chart types.

Pro Tip: If you want to make only minor edits or updates like changing labels or numbers on a chart, you can just double-click directly on that part of the visual inside PowerPoint and make those changes there.

Get ready to take your PowerPoint presentation to the next level by giving your charts a makeover that even Cinderella would envy.

Customizing Chart Elements in PowerPoint

Customizing the visual elements of a chart in PowerPoint enables you to create a cohesive and compelling presentation.

Here is a 4-Step Guide to Customizing Chart Elements in PowerPoint :

• Select the chart, go to ‘Chart Tools’ and click on ‘Design.’
• To modify chart elements, click on ‘Add Chart Element’ and select options such as ‘Data Labels,’ ‘Legends,’ or ‘Axis.’
• You can customize colors, shapes, and formatting of various elements through the “Format” tab.
• Ensure that your modifications are saved by right-clicking in the chart area and choosing “Save As Template.”

Of significance, keep in mind that when adding data labels to charts for large datasets, consider using leader lines or remove clutter by only labeling critical values.

Pro Tip: When modifying chart elements in PowerPoint remember that your final goal is to produce engaging graphics that enhance your message. Because who needs boring bullet points when you can visually impress with Excel charts in PowerPoint?

Best Practices for Using Excel Charts in PowerPoint

To smoothly integrate Excel charts in PowerPoint, it’s best to use these tips:

• Make sure a consistent design for the charts .
• Choose the correct chart type for your data .
• Verify that the data in the charts is accurate .

Keep Chart Designs Consistent

Establishing Uniformity in Chart Design

Maintaining a uniform template for the design aspects of Excel charts is crucial when creating presentations using PowerPoint. This helps to achieve consistency and ensures that your charts match the overall look and feel of your presentation. Here are five steps to keep chart designs consistent:

• Establish a standard format: Determine a set of standard formatting guidelines for your charts that meet your organization’s branding requirements.
• Use chart templates: Create templates with predefined designs, color scheme, labels, and data sources so that these can be quickly applied without compromising on visual consistency.
• Follow naming conventions: Use descriptive titles or names for each chart element (axis, title, data series) to easily locate and modify them.
• Reuse elements: Reusing design elements such as colors, fonts, and styles across different charts contributes to uniformity in chart design throughout the presentation.
• Test before sharing: Always check each slide containing the charts before presenting it to ensure that you have achieved consistency in both form and function.

Exemplary Characteristics

It takes time to develop an intuitive understanding of chart design best practices since they involve both technical skills and aesthetic judgement. Ensure that your PowerPoint slides remain aesthetically pleasing while still conveying important information by establishing uniformity in your chart design.

Unexpected Event

Microsoft Excel has been around for almost 30 years. The first version was introduced on September 30th, 1985! Since then, excel has become one of the most commonly used tools across workplaces all over the world.

Don’t be that person who uses a pie chart for everything – it’s like wearing a suit to the beach.

Use Appropriate Chart Types for Data Representation

When creating charts in Excel for use in PowerPoint, it’s critical to choose appropriate chart types that accurately represent the data. This ensures viewers understand the information presented without confusion.

Here is a sample table that shows which chart types are best suited to represent various kinds of data:

It’s important to note that each chart type has unique properties and best suits specific data types. Using the wrong chart type can result in inaccurate or confusing representations of the data.

Every organization should have internal guidelines about how they display data using Excel charts. For instance, some companies may prefer column charts over bar charts for comparison purposes. Therefore, practitioners must adhere to the organization’s standards and select appropriate chart types accordingly.

An illuminating fact is that Joseph Priestley used charts to illustrate scientific data back in 1765 . His graph showed the rise and fall of different gases under controlled conditions. Graphs plotting natural phenomena still use his technique today because it provides an effective way of representing complex information simply and intuitively.

Because nothing says ‘professional’ like a chart with inaccurate data – except maybe a typo in your boss’s name on the PowerPoint slide.

Ensure Data Accuracy in Charts

With the increasing reliance of businesses on data to make decisions, charts are an essential tool in delivering precise insights. Accurate data charting is vital since it provides a structure for proper decision-making. Clear analysis of data can only occur when the correct points are entered into spreadsheets and graphs flawlessly.

Any mistakes in data collection or presentation can severely impact analytical decisions, which could culminate in missed opportunities. Therefore, an imperative would be to ensure that all inputs are consistently checked and double-checked before sharing a graphic representation.

In one instance, planning officers at a leading travel company embarked on designing business plans based on misinformation about customer trends acquired by wrongly inputted spreadsheet formulas. This led to significant revenue loss from underestimation of their target market over some time due to unaltered graphs used for analyses.

Some Facts About Excel Charts in PowerPoint:

• ✅ Excel Charts can be easily added to PowerPoint presentations. (Source: Microsoft)
• ✅ Data in PowerPoint charts can be easily updated in real-time using linked Excel files. (Source: GoSkills)
• ✅ There are several chart types availabe in Excel to choose from, such as Bar, Line, Pie, and Scatter. (Source: Exceljet)
• ✅ Charts in PowerPoint can be customized with colors, font styles, and other design elements to match the presentation theme. (Source: SlideModel)
• ✅ Excel Charts in PowerPoint can help presenters convey complex data in an easy-to-understand format. (Source: BrightCarbon)

FAQs about Excel Charts In Powerpoint

What are excel charts in powerpoint.

Excel Charts in PowerPoint refer to the feature where users can insert charts and tables created in Excel into PowerPoint slides to represent data visually through graphs and charts that help convey information with ease.

How do I insert an Excel Chart into a PowerPoint presentation?

To insert an Excel Chart into a PowerPoint presentation, open the slide where you want to insert the chart and click “Insert” from the ribbon menu. Then, select “Chart” and choose the type of chart you want to insert. From there, select the Excel file that contains the data you want to include in the chart, and drag the selection box to adjust the size of the chart as needed.

How can I update an Excel Chart in PowerPoint?

To update an Excel Chart in PowerPoint, select the chart and then click the “Edit Data” button from the ribbon. This will open the Excel sheet where the chart is located, allowing you to make changes to the data. Once you have made the changes, close the Excel sheet and the changes will be automatically updated in the PowerPoint presentation.

What types of Excel Charts can be inserted into PowerPoint?

Almost all types of charts available in Excel can be inserted into PowerPoint, including line charts, pie charts, bar charts, area charts, scatter charts, and more. The process of inserting each type of chart is slightly different, but the overall steps remain the same.

Can I customize the appearance of an Excel Chart in PowerPoint?

Yes, you can customize various aspects of an Excel Chart in PowerPoint. You can change the chart type, axis labels, color scheme, font style, and more. To customize the chart, select it and then click the “Chart Tools” menu on the ribbon, where you can make your changes.

Can I animate an Excel Chart in PowerPoint?

Yes, you can add animation to an Excel Chart in PowerPoint to make it more engaging and interactive. To do this, select the chart and then click the “Animations” tab on the ribbon. From there, choose the animation effect and timing that you want to apply to the chart.

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Beautiful chart for presentation of reports in Excel

An example of a beautiful interactive chart with data visualization for presentations in Excel. Another way to beautifully present your financial statement with infographic controls for functional visual analysis.

Beautiful presentation of financial planning report in Excel

In an example of using the functionality of a beautiful diagram for a presentation, we will immediately simulate the following situation. Let's say you need to beautifully present your financial planning report for the second half of the year in Excel.

The model of the situation is as follows. The joint-stock company is completing the first half of the year and is already preparing for the effective implementation of the last two quarters and the successful completion of the year in the summer. For this, the results of the first half of the year are being summed up and a financial planning strategy for the second half of the year is being developed.

Specifically, in this example, it is necessary to correctly choose the safe moments for carrying out important operations associated with significant costs of the enterprise. Namely: payment of dividends to shareholders and payment of bonuses to employees of the company.

The interests of employees are very important, they cannot be ignored and it is important to take into account on a par with other interests. For example, the world famous entrepreneur from China - Jack Ma, who founded the global joint-stock company Alibaba Group, takes into account the interests of counterparties in the next priority. In the first place are the interests of customers, in the second place the employees of the company and only in the third place are the interests of shareholders taken into account. After all, shareholders are generous and kind when things are going well, but as soon as the financial crisis begins, they are all the first to leave the company.

This year, the company must manage to complete 3 more projects, each of which will bring income by replenishing the company's budget. Against their background, it is necessary to determine the dates of such significant expenses of the company as bonuses to employees and dividends to shareholders.

As a rule, the strategy is built on the basis of statistical data for the previous indicators of the accounting period. For this, statistical indicators were collected for the second half of the year over the previous 5 years. As statistics show, the company has successfully closed 3 projects in the last 6 months in each year. But the size of the projects varied significantly, and accordingly their deadlines. Therefore, for the purpose of financial security, the enterprise cannot afford to spend annual large expenses on payments on the same date, for the same period of time.

Data on the duration of projects in the second half of the year for the previous 5 years were pre-filtered and collected in one table. And then they are used as input values for a template with a beautiful chart as an infographic of a visual, interactive, financial report. Therefore, in the template, first, the table is filled with initial indicators on the “Data” sheet:

Now the values of the project deadlines in the second half of the year should be processed and prepared for visualizing the infographic data. This whole process takes place on the Processing sheet:

Formulas with the INDEX function refer to the original values of the "Data" worksheet table for selection by condition. After that, arithmetic calculations with dates are performed. As a result, new tables are formed for the construction and beautiful informative design of diagrams.

Presentation of the report on a beautiful chart in Excel

The beautiful diagram consists of 6 auxiliary diagrams. All of them interact with the user interactively through animation. To interactively control a beautiful presentation, 5 elements of interaction with the main diagram are used:

All scrollbars and the counter change the likely future and some already received past important values, and with them the appearance of the chart changes accordingly.

List of changeable values for visual strategy analysis

• Start date of dividend payment.
• Investor dividend payment period.
• Start date of bonus payment.
• Employee bonus payment period.

The values of all these important indicators, the user has the ability to change the presentation in real time. This increases the richness of visual analysis of infographics. By visually managing many elements of the diagram, you can quickly and efficiently find the best solution without resorting to complex mathematical calculations. Which, in turn, contributes to well-coordinated work and the speedy adoption of a one-voice decision at the meeting right during the presentation.

As a result, we get a beautiful diagram - an analytical tool for presentations:

To disassemble a presentation diagram into parts and understand the principles of its operation, use the window to manipulate elements on an Excel worksheet. To open the "Selection" window, press the Alt + F10 hotkey combination. This template is completely open and does not contain macros. All functionality is implemented using formulas and standard controls for values in Excel cells. All of them are available on the "DEVELOPER" tab in the "Controls" - "Insert" tool section.

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Visualization Techniques in Healthcare Applications: A Narrative Review

Nehad a abudiyab.

1 Health Informatics, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, SAU

2 Researcher, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, SAU

Abdullah T Alanazi

3 Researcher, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, SAU

4 Health Sciences, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, SAU

Nowadays, healthcare management systems are adopting various techniques that facilitate the achievement of the goals of evidence-based medical practice. This review explores different visualization techniques and their importance in healthcare contexts. We performed a thorough search on databases such as the SLD portal, PubMed, and Google Scholar to obtain relevant studies. We selected recent articles published between 2018 and 2021 on visualization techniques in healthcare. The field of healthcare generates massive volumes of data that require visualization techniques to make them easily comprehensible and to guide their efficient presentation. Visualization in healthcare involves the effective presentation of information through graphics, images, and videos. Big data systems handle a massive amount of information and require visualization techniques to present it in a comprehensible manner. The significance of visualization techniques in healthcare is not confined to healthcare practitioners and healthcare management but encompasses all the stakeholders; patients can benefit from the visualization of his/her data for a better understanding of their condition. In short, visualization techniques have demonstrated their benefits in the healthcare sector and can be extended to the payer and the patient. They have also had a positive impact on the quality of the healthcare provided as well as patient safety.

Introduction and background

Data visualization in healthcare sectors relies on sophisticated modern technology that enables professionals from various fields to demonstrate their work and present information efficiently. Visualization techniques assist healthcare providers in understanding the trends that have occurred in the past as well as those in the present and in predicting and anticipating future trends and directions. Generally, data visualization involves representing data and information in various forms, such as graphs, charts, diagrams, and pictures [ 1 ]. These visualization techniques can provide healthcare providers with an easy way to identify and understand data trends, outliers, and patterns [ 2 ]. Visualization techniques have been essential in various healthcare sectors, especially in terms of supporting providers in making important clinical decisions regarding patient and community health. Through various visualization techniques, the healthcare organization can synthesize raw data into graphs and then present it in charts to enable the prompt interpretation of the trends and patterns [ 3 ].

This review aims to explore the different visualization techniques in healthcare, identify the benefits they bring to the field, and provide future directions for visualization-related studies.

This literature review provides a descriptive analysis of the application of visualization techniques in healthcare settings. The review criteria focus on incorporating the available studies in the review context and identifying recent research on visualization techniques in healthcare. The selected articles were obtained from various databases (SLD portal, PubMed, and Google Scholar).

The information about applications of visualization techniques in healthcare sectors is derived from data analysis and presentation. The most viable techniques are employed in the contemporary aspects of data visualization. Statistical analysis is complex to present via data visualization. Hence, it is accomplished through the use of interactive visualization. According to Gartner (2021), interactive visualization can be defined as manipulating graphical information via brightness, color, motion, and shape to elevate the meaning of the presented data [ 4 ]. Distinctly, the core objective of interactive and data visualization is to present and display the information in a way that the stakeholders will be able to interpret the data and increase their knowledge, thereby directly improving the service quality. In this context, many researchers have explored visualization techniques in healthcare sectors.

Historical Context of Data Visualization in Healthcare

One study discussed the application of data visualization in healthcare sectors in the context of what the author calls the Florence effect [ 5 ]. According to this study, the healthcare sector requires using the information in a potent way that propagates efficiency, promoting evidence-based practice [ 5 ]. The implication is that incorporating visualization techniques in healthcare sectors has enabled them to achieve various goals of evidence-based practice. Furthermore, the healthcare sector has established a platform that utilizes data visualization to interpret and assimilate complex healthcare data [ 5 ]. The researcher established the historical context of data visualization by referring to the efforts of Florence Nightingale in the 19th century [ 5 ]. Florence Nightingale was a military nurse who took care of injured British soldiers. Based on her daily treatment of injured soldiers, she accumulated sufficient patient information that could be used to help reduce the mortality of the other wounded soldiers. However, due to patient confidentiality and the strict rules regarding the disclosure of patient information, she designed a statistical representation through pie charts to present data that could help reduce mortality among military personnel. Later, it was discovered that statistical presentation made accessing and interpreting patient information and outcomes easier [ 5 ]. This study is crucial as it provides the historical context regarding the integration of data visualization in healthcare sectors and its importance in monitoring and evaluating healthcare indices.

Types of Data Visualization Techniques

According to the study by Narayan et al. in 2021, accumulating a large volume of healthcare data makes the big data concept very common in the healthcare sectors, considering the aspects of volume, velocity, variety, and veracity of the data [ 6 ]. Visualization techniques make big data less complex and easy to interpret, even for non-healthcare providers. The healthcare sectors need to have tools to develop visualization. Many tools use data visualization techniques, such as pivot tables and charts. Furthermore, different visualization tools are available for those with technical and non-technical backgrounds. For example, Microsoft Excel provides a great visualization tool for healthcare providers with little or no knowledge of technical aspects.

Another example is statistical software such as IBM SPSS and JASP. Statistical software provides interactive visualization systems that can be used by expert providers. These visualization tools can be used in public disease surveillance [ 6 ]. For efficient and prompt healthcare data visualization, it is essential to consider publicizing the information to the stakeholders via various platforms. In public community healthcare, sharing data and integrating visual information into one universal platform is beneficial and necessary. Several types of platforms are available for this purpose, including cloud-based platforms. Moreover, cloud-based platforms such as ParaView and Gephi enable the provider to generate and host the graphics. Furthermore, these platforms could facilitate scientific reproducibility by matching the scientific figures to their underlying data and promoting discussion among collaborators [ 6 ].

Process of Healthcare Data Visualization

Most of the time, data analysis in healthcare sectors incorporates control checks to maintain visualized data accuracy. Electronic health systems are rich in raw data that can be subject to analysis. Analytics data are fed into a learning machine, artificial intelligence tools, and other analysis tools [ 7 ]. These tools provide a visual presentation of healthcare data regarding different aspects, including disease prevalence, patient age that is associated with the most prevalence, and other factors related to the disease. After the analysis, the visual data can be contrasted with other data collected before, and the same analysis and visualization techniques can be applied to them. Also, this effort to contrast the data enables healthcare providers to easily identify the trends and the changes in different aspects that have occurred over a certain period [ 8 ].

Implementation of Data Visualization in Healthcare

The main objective of data visualization in healthcare sectors is to simplify complex data to make them user-friendly so that healthcare providers can easily interpret them.

Interactive Dashboard

According to Pestana et al., dashboards and data analysis tools are usually built into the healthcare systems' existing software [ 9 ]. Usually, the dashboards help with combining several interactive reports. The dashboard is usually classified into three main types: the active type, which usually shows real-time data in healthcare organizations; the strategic type, which displays trends over time; and the analytical type, which presents advanced analytics. An example of data visualization through a dashboard in the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia is illustrated in Figure ​ Figure1. 1 . The image shows the dashboard used for analyzing COVID-19 prevalence in Saudi Arabia

COVID-19: coronavirus disease 2019

Advantages of Visualization Techniques in Healthcare Implementing and adopting different visualization techniques in healthcare sectors is vital in enhancing the overall healthcare provision by healthcare providers. Several healthcare facilities have implemented various data analysis tools in healthcare sectors, including machine learning and artificial intelligence. There are several benefits to implementing and adopting such techniques in healthcare facilities, and some of these are as follows: I. Improving overall patient care: utilizing health data visualization has positively affected the general provisioning of healthcare. Health data visualization has a significant role in supporting healthcare providers in their clinical decision-making and facilitating their ability to predict the threat and react immediately. Moreover, these threats were discovered by identifying various measures that permit the situation to be analyzed critically within a healthcare organization. Visualizing patient health data in real-time is crucial for improving the quality of care. It enables the healthcare provider to make the necessary clinical decisions based on the patient's situation [ 10 ]. For example, data visualization techniques help in monitoring various healthcare parameters, such as oxygen saturation [ 11 ]. Furthermore, patients' oxygen saturation levels and treatment can be analyzed in real-time to evaluate their responses to the treatment provided. For instance, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many patients developed lung disease due to severe pneumonia infection. Moreover, those patients were suffering from breathing difficulties and a decrease in their oxygen saturation level. Using data visualization techniques that involved displaying data on the monitoring machines was vital in assessing patients' responses to the oxygen level provided through the ventilator machine [ 12 ]. In various inpatient units, real-time data visualization has been used to monitor other patient parameters such as pulse, heart rate, and blood pressure [ 13 ]. Again, these real-time data visualizations significantly helped the providers to detect abnormal parameters and facilitate the intervention needed to improve patient outcomes and overall healthcare quality in the healthcare facility. II. Disease trend and pattern recognition: identifying trends and patterns is another significant advantage of utilizing visualization techniques in healthcare sectors. Determining the trends in healthcare is vital for making decisions regarding healthcare provision. Moreover, one of the critical trends in healthcare sectors is identifying and assessing disease patterns among specific populations. The trend of the disease patterns is an important attribute that should be monitored closely as it provides the necessary indications to investigate the factors causing an elevation in the trend. Data analysis and visual presentation on obesity is a good example of trend and pattern recognition; it acts as an indicator for public and community health. Identifying the factors behind the trends can help raise awareness about modifying the lifestyles of the patients as well as the general public [ 14 ]. III. Data presentation for various audiences: most of the time, healthcare data are more challenging to interpret among providers working in different disciplines compared to individuals with no medical background. Moreover, the primary purpose of data presentation is to simplify complex data so that it can be easily interpreted by any audience regardless of their background. An example of simplifying the data for disease prevalence is displaying it in graphics to the audience [ 1 ]. Also, utilizing the presentation to illustrate some of the factors affecting disease prevalence makes the medical data valuable and easily accessible to any intended audience. IV. Accelerated performance: Another advantage of real-time data visualization in a healthcare organization is accelerating the performance of the healthcare provided through several measures, such as ensuring prompt clinical decision-making in critical situations, which will positively impact patient prognosis and health status. Furthermore, accelerated performance can reduce the inadequacies of the provided care. Hence, accelerated performance can guarantee the overall better performance of healthcare organizations by building a good reputation for efficiency and better patient outcomes [ 2 ]. V. Errors and fraud detection: the most prominent benefit of implementing various data analytics and visualization techniques in healthcare sectors is that it enables the detection of frauds and errors that occur within healthcare organizations, such as errors and frauds in medical billing. According to the report published by Medicare and Medicaid, most of the fraud cases that occur within healthcare facilities are committed by the healthcare providers who work in the healthcare facility. Moreover, fraud cases usually cost healthcare facilities losses amounting to 58.5 to 89.3 billion dollars [ 14 ]. The most prevalent forms of billing fraud in healthcare facilities are duplicate billing, phantom billing, false prescription, and other types of insurance fraud by healthcare providers. Furthermore, clear and proper correlation among the stakeholders, including patients, healthcare payers, and providers regarding claims can enhance the integrity of the billing process and decrease fraudulent schemes [ 15 ]. Implementing data visualization techniques has significantly improved transparency in the healthcare sector.

Benefits of the review

Several advantages can be drawn from this literature review. It can be a source of information for researchers and students seeking knowledge on the same or similarly relevant topics. Moreover, the literature content has been designed in such a way that the audience can easily grasp and comprehend the information. In addition, the review can serve as a platform for identifying the loopholes in the application of visualization techniques in healthcare sectors based on recently published scientific research [ 16 ]. Also, it is essential to highlight that the review discussed several strategies that could help the medical professional improve the care delivered to the patient based on the best practices and applications of visualization techniques. It should be noted that some of the studies selected for this literature review are not directly about visualization techniques in the healthcare sector. We have made an effort to expand the scope of the review and explore the broader implications of the impact of visualization techniques.

Future directions

This review was based on recently published articles. It has certain drawbacks and loopholes that can be addressed by future research to enhance patient outcomes and quality management in healthcare sectors. There are some areas that need further investigation, including the use of interactive visualization techniques and their impact on healthcare sectors. In addition, only some of the studies included dealt with interactive visualization techniques, and studies have yet to analyze the importance of these techniques to healthcare facilities. Another area that needs further investigation is the role of patient-oriented visualization tools and their ability to support patients' health and outcomes [ 17 ]. Further studies need to be conducted by focusing on these topics, which would enhance and improve the knowledge base in terms of utilizing visualization techniques in healthcare sectors.

Limitations of the review

This review fully relied on published articles of the research that other scholars have conducted. Hence, our findings are wholly based on secondary knowledge obtained from peer-reviewed sources. These resources might include some errors that might impact the findings of this review as well.

Conclusions

This review article highlighted the importance of data visualization techniques in healthcare from the standpoint of the following main benefits: improving the healthcare provided, prompt diagnosis of the disease, recognizing the patterns, simplifying the presentation of the healthcare data, accelerating healthcare performance, and improving error detection. The concept of visualization has been one of the significant innovations implemented and adopted in various healthcare facilities. Data visualization has several advantages and hence most healthcare facilities have embraced and implemented it in their day-to-day functioning. Moreover, the benefits of visualization techniques are clearly reflected in their effectiveness in the decision-making process, resulting in improved patient safety and quality of care. In addition, identifying the pattern and disease recognition via the presented data can provide vital knowledge in terms of treatment, diagnosis, and even adopting new policies in healthcare facilities. Also, it enhances the transparency of medical billing by reducing errors and fraud cases in healthcare facilities. Therefore, visualization techniques in healthcare sectors encompass many stakeholders, such as patients, healthcare practitioners, payers, and healthcare management. Also, we discussed the main limitations and challenges faced while conducting this literature review. Lastly, this review provides insight into the potential directions that future efforts on this topic can adopt.

The content published in Cureus is the result of clinical experience and/or research by independent individuals or organizations. Cureus is not responsible for the scientific accuracy or reliability of data or conclusions published herein. All content published within Cureus is intended only for educational, research and reference purposes. Additionally, articles published within Cureus should not be deemed a suitable substitute for the advice of a qualified health care professional. Do not disregard or avoid professional medical advice due to content published within Cureus.

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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Getting started with VBA in Office

• 10 contributors

Are you facing a repetitive clean up of fifty tables in Word? Do you want a particular document to prompt the user for input when it opens? Are you having difficulty figuring out how to get your contacts from Microsoft Outlook into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet efficiently?

You can perform these tasks and accomplish a great deal more by using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) for Office—a simple, but powerful programming language that you can use to extend Office applications.

This article is for experienced Office users who want to learn about VBA and who want some insight into how programming can help them to customize Office.

The Office suite of applications has a rich set of features. There are many different ways to author, format, and manipulate documents, email, databases, forms, spreadsheets, and presentations. The great power of VBA programming in Office is that nearly every operation that you can perform with a mouse, keyboard, or a dialog box can also be done by using VBA. Further, if it can be done once with VBA, it can be done just as easily a hundred times. (In fact, the automation of repetitive tasks is one of the most common uses of VBA in Office.)

Beyond the power of scripting VBA to accelerate every-day tasks, you can use VBA to add new functionality to Office applications or to prompt and interact with the user of your documents in ways that are specific to your business needs. For example, you could write some VBA code that displays a pop up message that reminds users to save a document to a particular network drive the first time they try to save it.

This article explores some of the primary reasons to leverage the power of VBA programming. It explores the VBA language and the out-of-the-box tools that you can use to work with your solutions. Finally, it includes some tips and ways to avoid some common programming frustrations and missteps.

Interested in developing solutions that extend the Office experience across multiple platforms ? Check out the new Office Add-ins model . Office Add-ins have a small footprint compared to VSTO Add-ins and solutions, and you can build them by using almost any web programming technology, such as HTML5, JavaScript, CSS3, and XML.

When to use VBA and why

There are several principal reasons to consider VBA programming in Office.

Automation and repetition

VBA is effective and efficient when it comes to repetitive solutions to formatting or correction problems. For example, have you ever changed the style of the paragraph at the top of each page in Word? Have you ever had to reformat multiple tables that were pasted from Excel into a Word document or an Outlook email? Have you ever had to make the same change in multiple Outlook contacts?

If you have a change that you have to make more than ten or twenty times, it may be worth automating it with VBA. If it is a change that you have to do hundreds of times, it certainly is worth considering. Almost any formatting or editing change that you can do by hand, can be done in VBA.

Extensions to user interaction

There are times when you want to encourage or compel users to interact with the Office application or document in a particular way that is not part of the standard application. For example, you might want to prompt users to take some particular action when they open, save, or print a document.

Interaction between Office applications

Do you need to copy all of your contacts from Outlook to Word and then format them in some particular way? Or, do you need to move data from Excel to a set of PowerPoint slides? Sometimes simple copy and paste does not do what you want it to do, or it is too slow. Use VBA programming to interact with the details of two or more Office applications at the same time and then modify the content in one application based on the content in another.

Doing things another way

VBA programming is a powerful solution, but it is not always the optimal approach. Sometimes it makes sense to use other ways to achieve your aims.

The critical question to ask is whether there is an easier way. Before you begin a VBA project, consider the built-in tools and standard functionalities. For example, if you have a time-consuming editing or layout task, consider using styles or accelerator keys to solve the problem. Can you perform the task once and then use CTRL+Y (Redo) to repeat it? Can you create a new document with the correct format or template, and then copy the content into that new document?

Office applications are powerful; the solution that you need may already be there. Take some time to learn more about Office before you jump into programming.

Before you begin a VBA project, ensure that you have the time to work with VBA. Programming requires focus and can be unpredictable. Especially as a beginner, never turn to programming unless you have time to work carefully. Trying to write a "quick script" to solve a problem when a deadline looms can result in a very stressful situation. If you are in a rush, you might want to use conventional methods, even if they are monotonous and repetitive.

VBA Programming 101

Using code to make applications do things.

You might think that writing code is mysterious or difficult, but the basic principles use every-day reasoning and are quite accessible. Microsoft Office applications are created in such a way that they expose things called objects that can receive instructions, in much the same way that a phone is designed with buttons that you use to interact with the phone. When you press a button, the phone recognizes the instruction and includes the corresponding number in the sequence that you are dialing. In programming, you interact with the application by sending instructions to various objects in the application. These objects are expansive, but they have their limits. They can only do what they are designed to do, and they will only do what you instruct them to do.

For example, consider the user who opens a document in Word, makes a few changes, saves the document, and then closes it. In the world of VBA programming, Word exposes a Document object. By using VBA code, you can instruct the Document object to do things such as Open, Save, or Close.

The following section discusses how objects are organized and described.

The Object Model

Developers organize programming objects in a hierarchy, and that hierarchy is called the object model of the application. Word, for example, has a top-level Application object that contains a Document object. The Document object contains Paragraph objects and so on. Object models roughly mirror what you see in the user interface. They are a conceptual map of the application and its capabilities.

The definition of an object is called a class, so you might see these two terms used interchangeably. Technically, a class is the description or template that is used to create, or instantiate, an object.

Once an object exists, you can manipulate it by setting its properties and calling its methods. If you think of the object as a noun, the properties are the adjectives that describe the noun and the methods are the verbs that animate the noun. Changing a property changes some quality of appearance or behavior of the object. Calling one of the object methods causes the object to perform some action.

The VBA code in this article runs against an open Office application where many of the objects that the code manipulates are already up and running; for example, the Application itself, the Worksheet in Excel, the Document in Word, the Presentation in PowerPoint, the Explorer and Folder objects in Outlook. Once you know the basic layout of the object model and some key properties of the Application that give access to its current state, you can start to extend and manipulate that Office application with VBA in Office.

In Word, for example, you can change the properties and invoke the methods of the current Word document by using the ActiveDocument property of the Application object. This ActiveDocument property returns a reference to the Document object that is currently active in the Word application. "Returns a reference to" means "gives you access to."

The following code does exactly what it says; that is, it saves the active document in the application.

Read the code from left to right, "In this Application, with the Document referenced by ActiveDocument, invoke the Save method." Be aware that Save is the simplest form of method; it does not require any detailed instructions from you. You instruct a Document object to Save and it does not require any more input from you.

If a method requires more information, those details are called parameters. The following code runs the SaveAs method, which requires a new name for the file.

Values listed in parentheses after a method name are the parameters. Here, the new name for the file is a parameter for the SaveAs method.

You use the same syntax to set a property that you use to read a property. The following code executes a method to select cell A1 in Excel and then to set a property to put something in that cell.

The first challenge in VBA programming is to get a feeling for the object model of each Office application and to read the object, method, and property syntax. The object models are similar in all Office applications, but each is specific to the kind of documents and objects that it manipulates.

In the first line of the code snippet, there is the Application object, Excel this time, and then the ActiveSheet , which provides access to the active worksheet. After that is a term not as familiar, Range, which means "define a range of cells in this way." The code instructs Range to create itself with just A1 as its defined set of cells. In other words, the first line of code defines an object, the Range, and runs a method against it to select it. The result is automatically stored in another property of the Application called Selection .

The second line of code sets the Value property of Selection to the text "Hello World", and that value appears in cell A1.

The simplest VBA code that you write might simply gain access to objects in the Office application that you are working with and set properties. For example, you could get access to the rows in a table in Word and change their formatting in your VBA script.

That sounds simple, but it can be incredibly useful; once you can write that code, you can harness all of the power of programming to make those same changes in several tables or documents, or make them according to some logic or condition. For a computer, making 1000 changes is no different from making 10, so there is an economy of scale here with larger documents and problems, and that is where VBA can really shine and save you time.

Macros and the Visual Basic Editor

Now that you know something about how Office applications expose their object models, you are probably eager to try calling object methods, setting object properties, and responding to object events. To do so, you must write your code in a place and in a way that Office can understand; typically, by using the Visual Basic Editor. Although it is installed by default, many users don't know that it is even available until it is enabled on the ribbon.

All Office applications use the ribbon. One tab on the ribbon is the Developer tab, where you access the Visual Basic Editor and other developer tools. Because Office does not display the Developer tab by default, you must enable it by using the following procedure:

To enable the Developer tab

On the File tab, choose Options to open the Options dialog box.

Choose Customize Ribbon on the left side of the dialog box.

Under Choose commands from on the left side of the dialog box, select Popular Commands .

Under Customize the Ribbon on the right side of the dialog box, select Main Tabs in the drop down list box, and then select the Developer checkbox.

Choose OK .

In Office 2007, you displayed the Developer tab by choosing the Office button, choosing Options , and then selecting the Show Developer tab in Ribbon check box in the Popular category of the Options dialog box.

After you enable the Developer tab, it is easy to find the Visual Basic and Macros buttons.

Figure 1. Buttons on the Developer tab

Security issues

To protect Office users against viruses and dangerous macro code, you cannot save macro code in a standard Office document that uses a standard file extension. Instead, you must save the code in a file with a special extension. For example you cannot save macros in a standard Word document with a .docx extension; instead, you must use a special Word Macro-Enabled Document with a .docm extension.

When you open a .docm file, Office security might still prevent the macros in the document from running, with or without telling you. Examine the settings and options in the Trust Center on all Office applications. The default setting disables macro from running, but warns you that macros have been disabled and gives you the option to turn them back on for that document.

You can designate specific folders where macros can run by creating Trusted Locations, Trusted Documents, or Trusted Publishers. The most portable option is to use Trusted Publishers, which works with digitally signed documents that you distribute. For more information about the security settings in a particular Office application, open the Options dialog box, choose Trust Center , and then choose Trust Center Settings .

Some Office applications, like Outlook, save macros by default in a master template on your local computer. Although that strategy reduces the local security issues on your own computer when you run your own macros, it requires a deployment strategy if you want to distribute your macro.

Recording a macro

When you choose the Macro button on the Developer tab, it opens the Macros dialog box, which gives you access to VBA subroutines or macros that you can access from a particular document or application. The Visual Basic button opens the Visual Basic Editor, where you create and edit VBA code.

Another button on the Developer tab in Word and Excel is the Record Macro button, which automatically generates VBA code that can reproduce the actions that you perform in the application. Record Macro is a terrific tool that you can use to learn more about VBA. Reading the generated code can give you insight into VBA and provide a stable bridge between your knowledge of Office as a user and your knowledge as a programmer. The only caveat is that the generated code can be confusing because the Macro editor must make some assumptions about your intentions, and those assumptions are not necessarily accurate.

To record a macro

Open Excel to a new Workbook and choose the Developer tab in the ribbon. Choose Record Macro and accept all of the default settings in the Record Macro dialog box, including Macro1 as the name of the macro and This Workbook as the location.

Choose OK to begin recording the macro. Note how the button text changes to Stop Recording . Choose that button the instant you complete the actions that you want to record.

Choose cell B1 and type the programmer's classic first string: Hello World. Stop typing and look at the Stop Recording button; it is grayed out because Excel is waiting for you to finish typing the value in the cell.

Choose cell B2 to complete the action in cell B1, and then choose Stop Recording .

Choose Macros on the Developer tab, select Macro1 if it is not selected, and then choose Edit to view the code from Macro1 in the Visual Basic Editor.

Figure 2. Macro code in Visual Basic Editor

Looking at the code

The macro that you created should look similar to the following code.

Be aware of the similarities to the earlier code snippet that selected text in cell A1, and the differences. In this code, cell B1 is selected, and then the string "Hello World" is applied to the cell that has been made active. The quotes around the text specify a string value as opposed to a numeric value.

Remember how you chose cell B2 to display the Stop Recording button again? That action shows up as a line of code as well. The macro recorder records every keystroke.

The lines of code that start with an apostrophe and colored green by the editor are comments that explain the code or remind you and other programmers the purpose of the code. VBA ignores any line, or portion of a line, that begins with a single quote. Writing clear and appropriate comments in your code is an important topic, but that discussion is out of the scope of this article. Subsequent references to this code in the article don't include those four comment lines.

When the macro recorder generates the code, it uses a complex algorithm to determine the methods and the properties that you intended. If you don't recognize a given property, there are many resources available to help you. For example, in the macro that you recorded, the macro recorder generated code that refers to the FormulaR1C1 property. Not sure what that means?

Be aware that Application object is implied in all VBA macros. The code that you recorded works with Application. at the beginning of each line.

Using Developer Help

Select FormulaR1C1 in the recorded macro and press F1. The Help system runs a quick search, determines that the appropriate subjects are in the Excel Developer section of the Excel Help, and lists the FormulaR1C1 property. You can choose the link to read more about the property, but before you do, be aware of the Excel Object Model Reference link near the bottom of the window. Choose the link to view a long list of objects that Excel uses in its object model to describe the Worksheets and their components.

Choose any one of those to see the properties and methods that apply to that particular object, along with cross references to different related options. Many Help entries also have brief code examples that can help you. For example, you can follow the links in the Borders object to see how to set a border in VBA.

Editing the code

The Borders code looks different from the recorded macro. One thing that can be confusing with an object model is that there is more than one way to address any given object, cell A1 in this example.

Sometimes the best way to learn programming is to make minor changes to some working code and see what happens as a result. Try it now. Open Macro1 in the Visual Basic Editor and change the code to the following.

Use Copy and Paste as much as possible when working with code to avoid typing errors.

You don't need to save the code to try it out, so return to the Excel document, choose Macros on the Developer tab, choose Macro1 , and then choose Run . Cell A1 now contains the text Wow! and has a double-line border around it.

Figure 3. Results of your first macro

You just combined macro recording, reading the object model documentation, and simple programming to make a VBA program that does something. Congratulations!

Did not work? Read on for debugging suggestions in VBA.

Programming tips and tricks

Start with examples.

The VBA community is very large; a search on the Web can almost always yield an example of VBA code that does something similar to what you want to do. If you cannot find a good example, try to break the task down into smaller units and search on each of those, or try to think of a more common, but similar problem. Starting with an example can save you hours of time.

That does not mean that free and well-thought-out code is on the Web waiting for you to come along. In fact, some of the code that you find might have bugs or mistakes. The idea is that the examples you find online or in VBA documentation give you a head start. Remember that learning programming requires time and thought. Before you get in a big rush to use another solution to solve your problem, ask yourself whether VBA is the right choice for this problem.

Make a simpler problem

Programming can get complex quickly. It's critical, especially as a beginner, that you break the problem down to the smallest possible logical units, then write and test each piece in isolation. If you have too much code in front of you and you get confused or muddled, stop and set the problem aside. When you come back to the problem, copy out a small piece of the problem into a new module, solve that piece, get the code working, and test it to ensure that it works. Then move on to the next part.

Bugs and debugging

There are two main types of programming errors: syntax errors, which violate the grammatical rules of the programming language, and run-time errors, which look syntactically correct, but fail when VBA attempts to execute the code.

Although they can be frustrating to fix, syntax errors are easy to catch; the Visual Basic Editor beeps and flashes at you if you type a syntax error in your code.

For example, string values must be surrounded by double quotes in VBA. To find out what happens when you use single quotes instead, return to the Visual Basic Editor and replace the "Wow!" string in the code example with 'Wow!' (that is, the word Wow enclosed in single quotes). If you choose the next line, the Visual Basic Editor reacts. The error "Compile error: Expected: expression" is not that helpful, but the line that generates the error turns red to tell you that you have a syntax error in that line and as a result, this program will not run.

Choose OK and change the text back to"Wow!".

Runtime errors are harder to catch because the programming syntax looks correct, but the code fails when VBA tries to execute it.

For example, open the Visual Basic Editor and change the Value property name to ValueX in your Macro, deliberately introducing a runtime error since the Range object does not have a property called ValueX. Go back to the Excel document, open the Macros dialog box and run Macro1 again. You should see a Visual Basic message box that explains the run-time error with the text, "Object doesn't support this property of method." Although that text is clear, choose Debug to find out more.

When you return to the Visual Basic Editor, it is in a special debug mode that uses a yellow highlight to show you the line of code that failed. As expected, the line that includes the ValueX property is highlighted.

You can make changes to VBA code that is running, so change ValueX back to Value and choose the little green play button underneath the Debug menu. The program should run normally again.

It's a good idea to learn how to use the debugger more deliberately for longer, more complex programs. At a minimum, learn a how to set break-points to stop execution at a point where you want to take a look at the code, how to add watches to see the values of different variables and properties as the code runs, and how to step through the code line by line. These options are all available in the Debug menu and serious debugger users typically memorize the accompanying keyboard shortcuts.

Using reference materials well

To open the Developer Reference that is built into Office Help, open the Help reference from any Office application by choosing the question mark in the ribbon or by pressing F1. Then, to the right of the Search button, choose the dropdown arrow to filter the contents. Choose Developer Reference . If you don't see the table of contents in the left panel, choose the little book icon to open it, and then expand the Object Model Reference from there.

Figure 5. Filtering on developer Help applies to all Office applications

Time spent browsing the Object Model reference pays off. After you understand the basics of VBA syntax and the object model for the Office application that you are working with, you advance from guesswork to methodical programming.

Of course the Microsoft Office Developer Center is an excellent portal for articles, tips, and community information.

Searching forums and groups

All programmers get stuck sometimes, even after reading every reference article they can find and losing sleep at night thinking about different ways to solve a problem. Fortunately, the Internet has fostered a community of developers who help each other solve programming problems.

Any search on the Web for "office developer forum" reveals several discussion groups. You can search on "office development" or a description of your problem to discover forums, blog posts, and articles as well.

If you have done everything that you can to solve a problem, don't be afraid to post your question to a developers forum. These forums welcome posts from newer programmers and many of the experienced developers are glad to help.

The following are a few points of etiquette to follow when you post to a developer forum:

Before you post, look on the site for an FAQ or for guidelines that members want you to follow. Ensure that you post content that is consistent with those guidelines and in the correct section of the forum.

Include a clear and complete code sample, and consider editing your code to clarify it for others if it is part of a longer section of code.

Describe your problem clearly and concisely, and summarize any steps that you have taken to solve the problem. Take the time to write your post as well as you can, especially if you are flustered or in a hurry. Present the situation in a way that will make sense to readers the first time that they read the problem statement.

Be polite and express your appreciation.

Going further with programming

Although this article is short and only scratches the surface of VBA and programming, it is hopefully enough to get you started.

This section briefly discusses a few more key topics.

In the simple examples in this article you manipulated objects that the application had already created. You might want to create your own objects to store values or references to other objects for temporary use in your application. These are called variables.

To use a variable in VBA, must tell VBA which type of object the variable represents by using the Dim statement. You then set its value and use it to set other variables or properties.

Branching and looping

The simple programs in this article execute one line at a time, from the top down. The real power in programming comes from the options that you have to determine which lines of code to execute, based on one or more conditions that you specify. You can extend those capabilities even further when you can repeat an operation many times. For example, the following code extends Macro1.

Type or paste the code into the Visual Basic Editor and then run it. Follow the directions in the message box that appears and change the text in cell A1 from Wow! to Yes! and run it again to see the power of looping. This code snippet demonstrates variables, branching and looping. Read it carefully after you see it in action and try to determine what happens as each line executes.

All of my Office applications: example code

Here are a few scripts to try; each solves a real-world Office problem.

Create an email in Outlook

Be aware that there are situations in which you might want to automate email in Outlook; you can use templates as well.

Delete empty rows in an Excel worksheet

Be aware that you can select a column of cells and run this macro to delete all rows in the selected column that have a blank cell.

Delete empty text boxes in PowerPoint

Be aware that this code loops through all of the slides and deletes all text boxes that don't have any text. The count variable decrements instead of increments because each time the code deletes an object, it removes that object from the collection, which reduces the count.

Copy a contact from Outlook to Word

Be aware that this code copies the currently open contact in Outlook into the open Word document. This code only works if there is a contact currently open for inspection in Outlook.

Support and feedback

Have questions or feedback about Office VBA or this documentation? Please see Office VBA support and feedback for guidance about the ways you can receive support and provide feedback.

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

Partner Center

View, manage, and install add-ins for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word

When you enable an add-in, it adds custom commands and new features to Microsoft 365 programs that help increase your productivity. Because add-ins can be used by attackers to do harm to your computer, you can use add-in security settings to help protect yourself.

Note:  This article only applies to Microsoft 365 applications running on Windows.

View installed add-ins

You can directly install add-ins from this page or select  More Add-ins  to explore.

In the Office Add-ins dialog, select  My Add-ins  tab.

Select an add-in you want to view the details for and right-click to select  Add-in details  option.

Click a heading below for more information .  

Add-in categories explained

Active Application Add-ins      Add-ins registered and currently running on your Microsoft 365 program.

Inactive Application Add-ins      These are present on your computer but not currently loaded. For example, XML schemas are active when the document that refers to them is open. Another example is the COM add-in: if a COM add-in is selected, the add-in is active. If the check box is cleared, the add-in is inactive.

Document Related Add-ins      Template files referred to by open documents.

Disabled Application Add-ins     These add-ins are automatically disabled because they are causing Microsoft 365 programs to crash.

Add-in      The title of the add-in.

Publisher      The software developer or organization responsible for creating the add-in.

Compatibility      Look here for any compatibility issues.

Location      This file path indicates where the add-in is installed on your computer.

Description This text explains the add-in function.

Note:  Microsoft Outlook has one add-in option in the Trust Center: Apply macro security settings to installed add-ins . InfoPath has no security settings for add-ins.

Permanently disable or remove an add-in

To disable or remove an add-in follow these steps:

Select  File > Get Add-ins . Alternatively, you can select  Home > Add-ins .

In the Office Add-ins dialog, select  My Add-ins  tab.

Select an add-in you want to remove and right click to select  Remove  option.

View or change add-in settings

You can see and change add-in settings in the Trust Center, descriptions of which are in the following section. Add-in security settings may have been determined by your organization so not all options may be available to change.

Select  File  >  Get Add-ins .

Select  More Add-ins > Manage My Add-ins.

Select  Trust Center  >  Trust Center Settings  >  Add-ins.

Check or uncheck the boxes you want.

Add-in settings explained

Require Application Add-ins to be signed by Trusted Publisher      Check this box to have the Trust Center check that the add-in uses a publisher's trusted signature. If the publisher's signature hasn’t been trusted, the Microsoft 365 program doesn’t load the add-in, and the Trust Bar displays a notification that the add-in has been disabled.

Disable notification for unsigned add-ins (code will remain disabled)      When you check the Require Application Extensions to be signed by Trusted Publisher box, this option is no longer grayed out. Add-ins signed by a trusted publisher are enabled, but unsigned add-ins are disabled.

Disable all Application Add-ins (may impair functionality)      Check this box if you don't trust any add-ins. All add-ins are disabled without any notification, and the other add-in boxes are grayed out.

Note:  This setting takes effect after you exit and restart your Microsoft 365 program.

While working with add-ins, you may need to learn more about digital signatures and certificates , which authenticate an add-in, and trusted publishers , the software developers who often create add-ins.

Manage and install add-ins

Use the following instruction to manage and install add-ins.

To install a new add-in:

You can directly install popular add-ins on the page or go to More Add-ins  to explore. 

Select the add-in and select  Add . Or browse by selecting  Store  tab in the Office add-in dialog to find other add-ins to install and select Add for that add-in.

To manage your add-ins:

Select  File > Get Add-ins and from the bottom, select More Add-ins.  Or select  Home  >  Add-ins > More add-ins.

In the Office dialog, select My Add-ins tab. If you are not able to see your add-ins, select  Refresh to reload your add-ins.

Select  Manage My Add-in  to manage and select  Upload to browse and add an add-in from your device.

How to cancel a purchased add-in

If you've subscribed to an add-in through the Microsoft 365 Store that you don't want to continue, you can cancel that subscription.

Open the Microsoft 365 application and go to the Home  tab of the ribbon.

Select  Add-ins  and then select  More Add-ins > My Add-ins tab   to view your existing add-ins.

Select the app you want to cancel and select  Manage My Add-ins .

Under the Payment and Billing section choose Cancel Subscription .

Select  OK and then Continue .

Once that's complete you should see a message that says "You have cancelled your app subscription" in the comments field of your apps list.

Why is my add-in crashing?

Some add-ins might not be compatible with your organization's IT department policies. If that is the case with add-ins recently installed on your Microsoft 365 program, Data Execution Prevention (DEP) will disable the add-in and the program might crash.

Learn more about DEP

Get a Microsoft 365 Add-in for Outlook

Get a Microsoft 365 Add-in for Project

Taking linked notes

If you're looking for Help on linking notes in OneNote to a Word or PowerPoint document, see Take linked notes .

Excel Windows Add-ins

If you're looking for Help on specific Excel Add-ins, such as Solver or Inquire, see Help for Excel for Windows add-ins .

If you're looking for additional help with Excel add-ins using the COM Add-ins dialog box, see Add or remove add-ins in Excel .

Get a Microsoft 365 Add-in for Excel

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