CREATE A CHART
1. Highlight the data. It will be nice to make a note and remember
the highlighted range.
2. Click on the Chart Wizard button. It is on the Standard Toolbar.
The first step of Chart Wizard will open.
3. Step 1: Chart Type. Click the tab labeled Standard Types to bring
forward the set of options. Select the chart type you prefer by clicking
on its name in the Chart type menu. The default choice is Column. Select
the chart sub-type by clicking on its picture in the Chart sub-type menu.
Click the Next button.
4. Step 2 : Chart Source Data. This step is to make sure that Excel
understands where your data is located and how to read it. Most time you
can choose the default choice.
5. Step 3 : Chart Options. Click on the Titles tab and enter
the chart titles. Click on the Axes tab . It shows the default settings.
You can choose those default choices or resize the chart. Click on the
Gridlines tab. It provides the option of adding or removing gridlines parallel
to either axis. You can choose as you want. Click on the Legend tab. Make
sure that Show legend is checked. Click on the Data Labels tab and choose
the default. When all of the chart options are set, click on the Next button.
6. Step 4: Chart Location. This step provides two options for the final
location of the chart. The chart can be placed into a new sheet or
it can be located in one of the existing sheets of the workbook. Click
the Finish button.
ACTIVATE A CHART
Click the mouse inside the borders of the chart. When the chart is activated,
the border changes its appearance and becomes a wide, hatched frame around
the chart with small solid square handles.
CHANGE CHART SIZE AND POSITION
To resize the chart, activate it by clicking once inside the chart and then place the point of the arrow on one of the eight rectangular handles located on the charts border and click and drag the mouse. The chart will change size and shape depending on the direction of the drag. Experiment with the resizing until you get an idea of how it works.
To reposition a chart place the point of the cursor in the chart border,
click and drag the chart to a new position in the worksheet.
DELETE A CHART FROM A WORKSHEET
To remove a chart from a worksheet first activate it and then press
the DELETE key.
RESCALE A CHART AXIS
1. Double-click on the vertical axis.(Or, click on the vertical axis
once, pull down the Format menu and release on Selected Axis..)
2. Click on the Scale tab. Adjust the setting by typing the new choice.
Click the OK button.
EDIT A CHART TITLE
1. Click on the chart’s title once or twice slowly ( don’t double-click)
until the insertion point appears in the text of the title. Highlight
the title you wish to change by clicking at the beginning of it and dragging
to the end.
2. Type in the new title.
3. If you are done, click outside the chart to deactivate it.
ADD A TITLE TO A CHART
1. Activate the chart.
2. Pull down the Chart menu and select Chart Options.
3. When the Titles dialog box appears type the title into Category
axis box.
4. Click the OK button.
5. Deactivate the chart.
USE THE CHART TOOLBAR
The Chart Toolbar is a handy device that permits you to make certain changes in the appearance of a chart very quickly. Since all of the editing techniques on the Chart Toolbar can be done without the toolbar, it is not an essential feature. But the Excel 97 bar is a great convenience, so you might want to find out how it works.
Pull down the View menu and release on Toolbars. When the Toolbox dialog
box opens, Click on Chart and then on OK. The toolbar will appear on your
worksheet.
The Chart Toolbar Buttons
1. On the left is the Chart Objects pull-down menu. It allows you to
select an element of an activated chart.
2. The next toolbar item to the right is the Format Selected Object
button. It opens the Format dialog box for a previously selected chart
element.
3. Click on the drop-down Chart Type button to display a menu of 28
chart types. This menu is detachable so that it can be dragged to
another part of the worksheet.
4. Next on the right is a Legend toggle. Click on it to add or
delete a legend from an activated chart.
5. Next is the Data Table toggle, which will attach and detach a data
table at the base of the chart.
6. The next two buttons can be used to plot the data by row or by column.
7. The last two buttons will angle selected text.
For further information on how to use Excel go to
http://www.econ.ucdavis.edu/faculty/cameron