Download - Introduction to MS Excel Charts
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Simon Fraser University
Faculty of Business Administration
FORMATTING AND CHARTING
Objectives:
1. Formatting
setting up worksheets
copy and fill options
examples of cell format options
linking two worksheets
2. Creating Charts with the Chart Wizard
selecting chart contents
chart types chart options
editing chart options
adding data to an existing chart
1. Formatting
An example (Uncle Eddys HotDawg Emporium) will be used to illustrate the different
formatting techniques available in Excel. In the example, Uncle Eddy is interested in making
some predictions about the revenue his hot-dog stand will be making over the next four months.
A) Sett ing up work sheets
You begin by defining the cells that you want to use to display your revenue estimates. These
are provided below and were placed in a worksheet entitled Revenues:
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The results of the revenue estimates will depend on the assumptions that Uncle Eddy makes
regarding the number of items sold per month, the growth rate of sales per month, and the price
charged for the item. This information is captured in a separateworksheet labeled
Assumptions. This worksheet is shown below:
Note that the items are in the same order and the orientation of the itemes in both sheets are the
same. The careful and thoughtful planning of data throughout the sheets can significantly reduce
your work as you build more functionality into your workbook. Think about the final product
before you start placing items in worksheets.
B) Copy and Fil l Techniques
One way of preserving the order of the items across the sheets is to copy the list of items from
one sheet to another sheet. This is done using the Copy option. Three steps are required for
copying an item: 1. Highlight what you want to copy with the mouse, 2. Select the Copyoption from the Edit menu item, and 3. Paste the copy into the new area in the workbook.
The Copy procedure is pictured below:
1. Select Cells to Copy
Select what you
want to copy by
clicking on the first
cell and dragging the
mouse while holding
down the rightmouse button
When you have selected what
you want to copy, let go ofthe mouse button. The area
should still appear highlighted.
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2. Select the Copy from the Edit Menu
3. Select the new location for data and select Paste
Excel 5.0 also has some interesting Fill features that reduce the amount of work required to
develop and design your worksheets. One of the more convenient techniques is the Fill option
that can be used to fill formulas or series of data. For example, the Fill option can be used in
the Revenue worksheet to automatically fill in the months associated with the revenue
estimates. To fill in the months use the following procedure:
1. Start off by entering two months (example Mar and Apr).
The Copy
command creates a
new copy of the
selected data
The Cut
command will
move the selecteddata to a new
This side of the menu
suggests shortcutkeys for the
operations. Instead
of selecting Copy
from the Edit
menu, you could
simply press the
CTRL and c
simultaneously.
These shortcuts
make editin faster.
To complete the
copy, select the first
cell where you want
to place the copy and
then select Paste
from the Edit Menu
(or hit Ctrl and v)
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2. Select the two months you entered
Select March and April using the click and drag technique with the mouse. Make sure to let go
of the mouse button after the selection.
3. Extend the Selection
Grab the bottom right hand corner of the selection (notice how the cursor changes shape) and
drag out the required number of months.
C) Cell Formatting Optio ns
Excel 5.0 has a variety of options available for formatting the contents of a cell. If you are doing
a large amount of formatting, it is a good idea to open up the Format toolbar provided by
Excel. To open this toolbar, select the Toolbar option from the View menu. Selecting the
Toolbar option provides you with the following box:
To extend the
selection, click in
this corner after
cursor changes
Voila!
A quick way to create
a series. You can do
the same with numbers
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Selecting the Formatting toolbar will give you easier access to the following options:
Some formatting options are not available directly from the formatting toolbar. Furtherformatting options are available in the Cells option in the Format Menu. An example of one
of these options is Word Wrap. Word Wrap allows text to wrap around a cell width creating
several lines of text in a single cell. To format a cell for Word Wrap, first select the cell, then
select Cell from the Format menu. This will give you the following options box:
To select a
toolbar, click the
box so that an X
appears next to
the toolbar you
want. Then press
the OK button
Use this button
to choose font
type
Font Size
Bold, Italics,
and Underline
Centerin
Percentage or
currency
formats
Cell Border
Options Cell color
options
Select the format
options by
clicking on the
tabs.
Word Wrap
is enable by
placing an X in
this box.
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As you can see, many other options for cell formats also exist - too many to go through in this
introduction. The best way to discover how these formatting options work is to try them
yourself . The only thing to remember is to select the cells you want to format, before you apply
the options.
D) Linking Spreadsheets Through Formulas
Our example currently has 2 worksheets; one set up to display revenue predictions, and a
second to hold the assumptions behind the predictions. The question is, How can these two
sheets be hooked together to create the required predictions. Fortunately, the answer is simple.
We link the two worksheets through formulas. As a reminder, the two worksheets are providedbelow (with a little more formatting):
The Revenues Worksheet
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The Assumptions Worksheet
To link these two worksheets together we create a formula in the Revenues worksheet that
utilizes the assumptions Uncle Eddy has made about sales. For March, the total revenuegenerated by Big Dawgs is equal to the initial demand multiplied by the price. This formula is
shown below:
Note that the formula now includes not only the cell references, but also the worksheet
reference. Formulas can therefore extend through several Excel worksheets.
The formula for April is somewhat different due to the growth rate in demand. The formula for
April is (note the absolute cell addressing for cell C5 in the assumptions worksheet. Why is this
necessary?):
Using the Fill option in the Edit menu, the rest of the formulas are filled in without having to
type. The result is the following Revenues worksheet:
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2. Creating Graphs using the Graph Wizard
Creating graphs has been simplified in Excel 5.0 with the introduction of the Graph Wizard.
The Graph Wizard provides an easy step by step set of instructions for creating a graph.
Well use our example to show how graphs can be created.
A) Selecting graph data
The first step is to select the data that you want to grab. We will start easy and just graph a
single month from our example. To select the data for graphing, use the same procedures you
learned for copying and pasting. It is a good idea to include both the headings for the data
along with the data itself when creating a graph using the wizard. The selection for the
month of March is shown below:
Once you have selected the data for graphing, you then select the Chart Wizard icon. It islocated on the standard toolbar and looks like this:
After pressing the Chart Wizard icon, your arrow cursor will change its shape to something
similar to the Chart Wizard icon shown above. This change in shape of the cursor is indicating
that the Chart Wizard wants to know where you want to place the chart you are about to
create. Its a good idea to keep your data and charts separate, so a good suggestion is to place
the chart in a new worksheet.
To select a new worksheet, move your cursor to the bottom left-hand corner of your display
and click on one of the unused worksheet tabs. This will give you a fresh worksheet to work
from. Now, move your cursor back into the worksheet area and then click, hold and drag out a
rectangle with the chart wizard wand. Your chart will be placed in this rectangle. When you are
happy with the size of the rectangle, let go of the mouse button and the wizard will display the
following box:
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This box indicates the data that will be used in the chart. If the data is incorrect, just hit the
Cancel button and start again. If everything is OK then hit the Next button. Hitting the
next button produces the second step in the process.
The second step asks for the type of graph you want. There are many types, but for our data a
column graph will do nicely. Clicking on the graph you want and then pressing the next button
moves you to the third step, where you select the type of column chart that you want.
After selecting the type of chart, click the Next button and the following box appears:
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This step shows you an example of the chart and gives you the opportunity to rearrange the axis
and choose the columns and rows that indicate the headings for your data. We can move on to
the final step by pressing the Next button:
This box provides the ability to add Chart and Axis titles, gives you the choice of a Legend and
displays an example of the finished graph so you can judge the results of your work. When you
are satisfied with the chart, press the Finish button and the chart will be drawn in the
rectangular box you created for it previously.
B) Editing the Chart
All of the features in the chart can be edited. To edit the chart you must first select it for editing
by double clicking on the chart itself. After you have double clicked on the chart, the chart
border will change to a hatched design (see diagram below) and all of the chart features
including axes, colors, titles, and legends can be edited.
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Most of the editing options are straightforward and are left to the inquisitive to explore.
C) Ad ding Data to a Chart
The chart shown above could be altered to include more than just a single month of data. There
are two ways to accomplish this. The first way is to redraw the chart starting with a larger
selection (2 or more months of data) and using the wizard as described above. Since we have
already seen the wizard, we will choose the second method: adding data to an existing graph.
Fortunately, Excel 5.0 makes it easy to add additional data. To add other months of data to an
existing graph, select the data you wish to add. The example below selects the next two months
of additional data.
Note thatched
border. This
indicates chart
options can be
Note, after
double click
on the graph
the Format
and Insert
menus have
changed to
reflect Char
Options.
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To add the selected data to the previous chart you simply copy the new data into the chart.
This can be done using Copy and Paste procedure. While the data is selected, just select
Copy from the Edit menu as shown below:
After selecting Copy, the new data is pasted into the existing chart by first selecting the chart
(use a single click) and then selecting the Paste Special option from the Edit Menu as shown
below:
After selecting the Paste Special option, the following box will appear:
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When you are satisfied with the options for the paste, press the OK button. The new graph
will then be displayed with the additional information as shown below:
:
Selecting Non-adjacent Cells for Graphing
Up to this point, we have chosen to select data that were adjacent to each other. This may not
always be possible. For instance, what if I wanted to graph the data for the month of July
ONLY, but I wanted to include the item titles in the first column. These non-adjacent cells are
shown below:
Indicates the
selected data
are to be
added to the
Indicates that
first row
contains themonth
heading.
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Selecting two non-adjacent columns in the same selection can be accomplished using the click
and drag mouse selection in conjunction with the Ctrl key. Holding down the Ctrl key
enables any previous selections to be maintained, and allows new selections to be made.
The process is simple. First, start a selection using the same techniques (click and drag) as used
previously. For example, select the first column of item names:
Now, before selecting the July column, HOLD DOWN the Ctrl key and then click and drag
the mouse in the July column. Next, let go of the mouse button and Ctrl key. Your selection
should look like this:
You can now press of the Graph Wizard icon and impress your friends by producing a graph
displaying only July data (like the one shown below).
How can you
select only these
two columns at
the same time?
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