How To Make A Graph On Excel
The tutorial explains the process of making a line graph in Excel step-past-footstep and shows how to customize and improve it.
The line graph is one of the simplest and easiest-to-brand charts in Excel. However, being simple does non hateful being worthless. As the cracking artist Leonardo da Vinci said, "Simplicity is the greatest form of sophistication." Line graphs are very popular in statistics and science considering they show trends clearly and are easy to plot.
And so, allow's take a wait at how to brand a line chart in Excel, when it is particularly effective, and how it tin can assist y'all in understanding complex data sets.
Excel line chart (graph)
A line graph (aka line chart) is a visual that displays a series of data points connected by a directly line. It is usually used to visually stand for quantitative data over a certain fourth dimension menstruum.
Typically, independent values such as time intervals are plotted on the horizontal x-centrality while dependent values such as prices, sales and the similar go to the vertical y-axis. Negative values, if any, are plotted below the x-axis.
The line'southward falls and rises beyond the graph reveal trends in your dataset: an upwardly slope shows an increment in values and a downward slope indicates a decrease.
When to use a line graph
Line charts piece of work well in the following situations:
- Good visualization of trends and changes. Of all the variety of Excel charts, a line graph is best suited for showing how different things change over time.
- Like shooting fish in a barrel to create and read. If you are looking for a simple and intuitively clear way to visualize large and complex data, a line graph is the correct choice.
- Show relationships between multiple data sets. A multiple line graph can help y'all reveal relationships between ii or more than variables.
When not to use a line graph
There are a few cases in which a line graph is not suitable:
- Not suited for large data sets. Line graphs are best to be used for small-scale information sets nether 50 values. More values would make your chart more difficult to read.
- Best for continuous data. If you have discrete data in separate columns, use a bar graph
- Not suited for percentages and proportions. To display data equally a percentage of the whole, you'd better use a pie chart or a stacked column.
- Non recommended for schedules. While line charts are great to testify trends over a certain menstruation, a visual view of projects scheduled over fourth dimension is amend done by a Gantt chart.
How to make a line graph in Excel
To create a line graph in Excel 2016, 2013, 2010 and earlier versions, please follow these steps:
- Gear up up your information
A line graph requires 2 axes, so your table should contain at least two columns: the fourth dimension intervals in the leftmost column and the dependent values in the right column(south).
In this example, we are going to practise a single line graph, so our sample data set has the following two columns:
- Select the data to be included in the chart
In most situations, it is sufficient to select just one cell for Excel to pick the whole table automatically. If you'd like to plot but role of your data, select that office and exist certain to include the column headers in the selection.
- Insert a line graph
With the source data selected, get to the Insert tab > Charts group, click the Insert Line or Surface area Chart icon and choose one of the available graph types.
As yous hover the mouse pointer over a chart template, Excel volition prove you a clarification of that chart besides equally its preview. To inset the chosen chart type in your worksheet, merely click its template.
In the screenshot below, we are inserting the two-D Line graph:
Basically, your Excel line graph is gear up, and you can finish at this point… unless you desire to do some customizations to brand it look more stylish and attractive.
How to graph multiple lines in Excel
To draw a multiple line graph, perform the same steps as for creating a single line graph. However, your table must contain at least 3 columns of data: fourth dimension intervals in the left column and observations (numeric values) in the right columns. Each data series will exist plotted individually.
With the source data highlighted, get to the Insert tab, click the Insert Line or Area Chart icon, and and then click 2-D Line or another graph type of your choosing:
A multiple line graph is immediately inserted in your worksheet, and you can now compare the sales trends for different years to one another.
When creating a multiple line chart, try to limit the number of lines to three-4 because more lines would brand your graph expect cluttered and hard to read.
Excel line nautical chart types
In Microsoft Excel, the following types of the line graph are bachelor:
Line. The archetype two-D line chart demonstrated above. Depending on the number of columns in your data fix, Excel draws a single line chart or multiple line chart.
Stacked Line. It is designed to show how parts of a whole change over time. The lines in this graph are cumulative, significant that each additional data series is added to the first, so the top line is the total of all the lines below it. Therefore, the lines never cross.
100% Stacked Line. It is similar to a stacked line chart, with the difference that the y-axis shows percentages rather than absolute values. The top line e'er represents a total of 100% and runs straight across the top of the chart. This type is typically used to visualize a part-to-whole contribution over fourth dimension.
Line with Markers. The marked version of the line graph with indicators at each information point. The marked versions of Stacked Line and 100% Stacked Line graphs are also available.
3-D Line. A three-dimensional variation of the basic line graph.
How to customize and improve an Excel line chart
The default line nautical chart created by Excel already looks nice, just there is always room for improvement. To give your graph a unique and professional await, information technology makes sense to begin with the common customizations such equally:
- Adding, changing or formatting the chart title.
- Moving or hiding the chart legend.
- Changing the axis scale or choosing another number format for axis values.
- Showing or hiding the chart gridlines.
- Changing the chart style and colors.
In general, you can adapt any element of your graph as explained in How to customize a chart in Excel.
Additionally, you can exercise a few customizations specific to a line graph as explained beneath.
How to show and hide lines in the chart
While making a graph with multiple lines, you lot may not want to display all the lines at a fourth dimension. So, y'all can use one of the following methods to hibernate or remove the irrelevant lines:
- Hide columns. In your worksheet, correct-click a cavalcade yous don't want to plot in the graph, and click Hide. One time the column is hidden, the corresponding line will disappear from the graph straight away. As soon as you lot unhide the cavalcade, the line will be right back.
- Hide lines in the chart. If you don't want to mangle the source data, click the Chart Filters push button on the correct side of the graph, uncheck the information series you want to hide, and click Utilize:
- Delete a line. To permanently delete a certain line from the graph, right-click information technology, and select Delete from the context carte.
- Dynamic line graph with check boxes. To evidence and hibernate lines on the fly, you can insert a check box for each line, and make your graph reply to selecting and clearing the bank check boxes. The detailed instructions to create such a graph tin can be found hither.
Change data markers in a line graph
When creating a line nautical chart with markers, Excel uses the default Circumvolve marker blazon, which in my humble stance is the best pick. If this marker pick does non fit well with the design of your graph, you are free to choose another ane:
- In your graph, double-click on the line. This will select the line and open the Format Information Serial pane on the right side of the Excel window.
- On the Format Data Serial pane, switch to the Fill & Line tab, click Mark, expand Marker Options, select the Congenital-in radio button, and choose the desired marker type in the Type box.
- Optionally, make the markers larger or smaller by using the Size box.
Modify color and appearance of a line
If the default line colors do not look quite attractive to you lot, hither's how you can alter them:
- Double-click on the line you want to re-color.
- On the Format Data Serial pane, switch to the Fill & Line tab, click on the Color drib box, and choose a new color for the line.
If the standard color palette is not sufficient for your needs, click More than Colors… and then pick any RGB colour y'all want.
On this pane, you tin likewise change the line type, transparency, dash type, arrow type, and more. For case, to utilize a dashed line in your graph, click the Dash type drop-downwardly box and cull the pattern you want:
Tip. Fifty-fifty more formatting options are available on the Chart Tools tabs (Design and Format) that activate when you select the nautical chart or its element.
Smooth angles of the line chart
By default, the line graph in Excel is drawn with angles, which works fine most of the time. However, if the standard line chart is non beautiful enough for your presentation or printed materials, there is an easy way to smooth the angles of the line. Here's what you exercise:
- Double-click the line you want to smoothen.
- On the Format Data Series pane, switch to the Fill up & Line tab, and select the Smoothed line check box. Done!
In case of a multiple line chart, perform the above steps for each line individually.
Fade out the gridlines
The standard Excel line graph includes the horizontal gridlines that make it easier to read the values for data points. Yet, they do not necessarily need to be and so prominently displayed. To make the gridlines less obtrusive, all you accept to do is modify their transparency. Hither's how:
- In your chart, double-click on any gridline. The blue dots will announced at the terminate of each gridline, indicating that all the gridlines are selected (please run into the screenshot beneath).
- On the Fill & Line tab of the Format Major Gridlines pane, set up the transparency level to l% - 80%.
That's it! The gridlines are faded into the background of the chart where they belong:
Create an individual line graph for each row (sparklines)
To visualize trends in a series of information located in rows, you can create a number of very small line charts that reside inside a unmarried cell. This tin can exist done by using the Excel Sparkline feature (delight follow the to a higher place link for the detailed instructions).
The result volition look something similar to this:
That's how you lot plot a line graph in Excel. I thank you for reading and promise to see you on our weblog next week!
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Source: https://www.ablebits.com/office-addins-blog/2018/08/29/make-line-graph-excel/
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