XL5 AppNote: Working w/ Charts Questions and Answers (XE0925)

ID: Q109193

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0

SUMMARY

Following is the complete text for the FastTip for Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows. It contains the commonly asked questions and answers about working with charts. 


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  Microsoft(R) Product Support Services Application Note (Text File)
           XE0925: WORKING WITH CHARTS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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                                                  Revision Date: 12/93
                                                      No Disk Included

The following information applies to Microsoft Excel, version 5.0.

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  • Q. What new chart types are available in Microsoft Excel version 5.0?

    A. Microsoft Excel version 5.0 provides the new doughnut chart type, which is a pie chart that displays more than one data series.

    In version 5.0, you can easily combine chart types in a single chart by applying the built-in combination autoformat to your chart. An autoformat is a predefined collection of chart types, colors, patterns, and other visual elements. You can use the built-in autoformats provided by Microsoft Excel or you can create your own. To apply an autoformat:


    1. Activate the chart. (If the chart is embedded on the worksheet, double-click it to activate it.)


    2. From the Format menu, choose AutoFormat.


    3. Select the autoformat you want to use.


    4. Choose OK.


    You can also manually format each data series in a chart as a different chart type. This means, for example, that you can format one data series, such as actual sales, using a column chart type, and another data series in the same chart, such as projected sales, using a line chart type. To assign a chart type to a single data series:

    1. Activate the chart. (If the chart is embedded on the worksheet, double-click it to activate it.)


    2. Select the data series to which you want to apply a different chart type.


    3. From the Format menu, choose Chart Type.


    4. Select the chart type you want to use. (To make other changes, such as changing the subtype or the series order, choose the Options button after changing the chart type.)


    5. Choose OK.


    For more information about chart types and autoformats, see "Changing the Chart Type" in Chapter 16 of the "User's Guide."


  • Q.When I create a chart on a new chart sheet, it appears different from those in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel. Why?

    A. When you create a chart as a new sheet in Microsoft Excel 5.0, the chart will appear in a view similar to print preview. (To create a new chart, select data on your sheet and choose the Chart command from the Insert menu, and then choose As New Sheet). This view shows how the layout of your chart and its elements will look when you print it. In this view, you can size, move, and format the plot area (the region bounded by the axes) and add items to your chart such as graphic objects, titles, text boxes, and the legend.

    How this chart window appears on screen and when printed depends on the settings you select in the Page Setup dialog box for items such as paper size, orientation, and margin size. For example, if the page orientation is set to Landscape, the window appears wider than it is tall. The option you select under Printed Chart Size on the Chart tab in the Page Setup dialog box affects how you can move and size the chart area, plot area, and the chart elements. When you select the Use Full Page option, you can size and move the plot area but not the chart area. When you select the Scale To Fit Page and Custom options, you can size both the plot area and the chart area. With either of these options selected, chart elements such as titles, text boxes, and arrows will be moved relative to the chart area.

    The following table lists the Printed Chart Size options that are located on the Chart tab, how they affect the way the chart is displayed and printed, and how they affect what you can move and size.


    • 
                                                  And you can move
      With this option   The chart does this     and size the following
      -----------------------------------------------------------------

      Use Full Page      Fills the page within    The chart area cannot be
                         the margin settings.     sized. Chart items must
                                                   be individually sized or
                                                   moved.

      Scale To Fit Page  Scales to fit the page   The chart area can be
                         within the margin        sized either vertically
                         settings either by       or horizontally but not
                         width or by height       both. Chart elements move
                         (depending on the        in proportion to the
                         direction you size it)   chart area.


      Custom             Adjusts to any size or   The chart area can be
                         placement within the     moved and sized vertical
                         margin settings.         and horizontally. Chart
                                                  elements move in
                                                  proportion to the chart
                                                  area.

      For additional information, see "Preparing a Chart for
      Printing" in Chapter 18 of the "User's Guide."
  • Q. How do I format my chart to appear as it did in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel?

    A. When you create a chart as a new sheet in Microsoft Excel 5.0, the chart, by default, appears in a page layout view. If you want your chart to be sized with the window (as it is in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel), choose the Sized With Window command from the View menu. To make this change for all new charts:

    1. From the Tools menu, choose Options.


    2. Select the Chart tab.


    3. Select Chart Sizes With Window Frame.


    4. Choose OK.


    For additional information, see "Preparing a Chart for Printing" in Chapter 18 of the "User's Guide."


  • Q. When I double-click my chart, it doesn't open into a chart window as it did in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel. How do I move or copy my chart object to a chart window?

    A. When you double-click a chart object in Microsoft Excel 5.0, the chart object is activated and the thin border is replaced with a thicker border. While the chart object is activated, the Chart menu bar is displayed so that you can revise, format, and add information directly to the chart on your worksheet.

    If you want to copy your chart object to a chart window:

    1. Select a blank cell on your sheet.


    2. From the Insert menu, choose Chart and then choose As New Sheet.


    3. In Step 1 Of 5 of the ChartWizard, choose the Finish button. You now have a blank chart sheet.


    4. Activate the sheet that contains your chart object and double-click the chart to activate it.


    5. From the Edit menu, choose Copy.


    6. Activate the blank chart sheet.


    7. From the Edit menu, choose Paste.


    For additional information, see "Activating a Chart to Modify It" in Chapter 15 of the "User's Guide."


  • Q. How do I add new information to an existing chart?

    A. Microsoft Excel 5.0 offers several easy and direct ways to add information to an existing chart. The best method to use depends on whether your chart is an object on your worksheet or a separate chart sheet. When you add new data to a chart, Microsoft Excel compares your data selection with the existing chart data and determines how it should be plotted. When there is some uncertainty, Microsoft Excel displays the Paste Special dialog box so that you can provide more specific information.

    NOTE: In addition to the methods described below, you can also use the ChartWizard to add information to a chart object or a chart sheet. The ChartWizard walks you through the process of creating or adding information to your chart and prompts you to enter information and select options along the way. To start the ChartWizard, activate your chart and choose the ChartWizard button.

    To add new information to a chart object

    1. Select the data you want to add, including the cell containing the category or series name.


    2. Click the outside edge of the selection and continue to hold down the mouse button while you drag the selection to your chart object.


    3. Release the mouse button.


    To add new information to a chart sheet

    1. Select the data you want to add, including the cell containing the category or series name.


    2. From the Edit menu, choose Copy.


    3. Activate your chart sheet.


    4. From the Edit menu, choose Paste.


    When Your New Data Does Not Appear as Expected

    If your new data does not appear as expected on either your chart object or your chart sheet, you can choose the Undo command from the Edit menu (if adding the data was the last action you performed), or you can choose the Clear command from the Edit menu and then choose Series.

    Once you've removed the added data from the chart, select the data on your sheet and choose Copy from the Edit menu. Activate your chart and choose Paste Special from the Edit menu. Specify the appropriate options and choose OK.

    For additional information, see "Adding and Deleting Chart Data" in Chapter 17 of the "User's Guide."


  • Q. How do I add trendlines or error bars to my chart?

    A. In Microsoft Excel version 5.0, you can add trendlines and error bars to 2-D area, bar, column, line or xy (scatter) charts. You cannot add trendlines to 3-D, pie, doughnut, or radar charts.

    To add trendlines to a chart:

    1. Activate the chart. (If the chart is embedded on the worksheet, double-click it to activate it.)


    2. Select the data series that you want the trendline associated with.


    3. From the Insert menu, choose Trendline.


    4. Select the Type tab.


    5. Under Trend/Regression Type, select the type of trendline you want. (You can use the Options tab to name the trendline and select other options such as the forecast period.)


    6. Choose OK.


    To add error bars:

    1. Activate the chart. If the chart is embedded on the worksheet, double-click it to activate it.


    2. Select the data series that you want the error bars associated with.


    3. From the Insert menu, choose Error Bars.


    4. Under Display, select the type of error bar display you want.


    5. Under Error Amount, specify how you want the error amount calculated.


    6. Choose OK.


    For more information about adding trendlines and error bars to charts, see "Adding a Trendline to a Data Series" in Chapter 19 of the "User's Guide."


Additional query words: 5.00c

Keywords : kbfasttip
Version : WINDOWS:5.0,5.0c,7.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :


Last Reviewed: November 8, 1999
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