Charts, although one of the best ways to display large amounts of data, were once difficult to assemble and not always very visually appealing. However, Microsoft® Office Excel 2007 has made some dramatic improvements in its charting functionality, and you’ll be amazed at the visual difference between previous iterations and Excel 2007. Let’s take quick look at some of the new features for charts in Excel 2007, and how and when to use them.
Create a chart
This used to be a matter of going through an automated Wizard tool, providing all the right information and customising everything before Excel rendered the chart for you. With Office 2007, it’s as easy as selecting the data you wish to chart, going to the Insert menu, moving to the Charts group on the menu bar, and selecting from one of the many types of charts on offer. Excel 2007 will insert and format all of your data automatically, and add the fields you’ve listed in the original data.
Visual chart element – quick layouts
The charts in Excel 2007 can be very easily customised too. Elements like legends, titles, data labels and so forth can be added simply by selecting from a pre-defined selection of layouts. Simply select your chart, hit the Quick Layout button, and select one of the different layouts. Add, remove and customise chart elements at your leisure.
Manipulate charts like OfficeArt
Ever used OfficeArt before? It’s the MS Office tool to create shapes and objects, and it’s now the engine that drives Excel’s charting abilities. With the new tools available in Excel 2007, you’re given many more options for manipulating charts, including the ability to add bevels, drop shadows, 3D effects and transparency to most aspects of your chart.
Simply select the chart to open up the Chart Tools, hit the Format button, and experiment with the different options available until you have a chart that you like. Note that you can preview formatting options simply by hovering over them with your mouse, allowing you to experiment quickly and extensively.
Change chart type on-the-fly
Not sure that the style of chart you’ve selected is appropriate for your data? Simply select your chart to bring up the Chart Tools again, go back to the Design tab, and select the Change Chart Type button. Here you’ll be able to browse through all the available chart types, and select something that suits.
Save your chart as a template
If you’ve spent a lot of time making an attractive chart and would like to use the exact same design again in future for other charts, you can now define the chart you’ve made as a Chart Template. Simply select your chart, go to the Design tab, and hit Save As Template. This option will save you a lot of time, and ensure that your customised chart types are consistent across all of your presentations. Your new template will now be saved in the Templates section within the list of chart types for you to use later on.
Working with charts has become a whole lot easier with Excel 2007, and with a bit of experimentation, trial and error, you’ll be creating spectacular charts and representing your data in ways you’d never have been able to in previous versions.
If you’d like a visual, step-by-step explanation of how to create a chart, just watch this demo: Create charts in Excel 2007. For further information on charts and how to create and manipulate them, visit Creating Charts - Excel - Microsoft Office Online.
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