Select the Picture button.
Select the folder where the picture you want is located.
Select the picture.
Press the Insert button.
Move the picture to the location of your choice on the chart.
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You can also insert of shapes to create your own pictures or frame an important element of your chart. You can combine these shapes to create the composition that you want. You will find under the Format tab the Arrange group of commands. These commands will allow you to change the shapes' order and also to regroup them. |
You can also add text boxes to your chart to add some short explications to it.
Press the Text Box.
Place the pointer to the location where you want to place the text in your chart.
Enter the text of your choice.
Afterward, you can change the shape text box and move it to the location of your choice.
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A chart should have a main title that represents its content or the idas you wish to pass to the readers (increase in sales…) Excel offers you three options to position the main title on the chart. You can also adjust the location of the title by dragging it around the chart. |
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A chart can have up to three axis: horizontal, vertical and depth. This option lets you determine the if you should show the title and what style it should take. |
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The legend regroups the names of each data series. The options allows you to decide the location where you want it on the chart. You can always change it's location by dragging it with the mouse.
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The data labels shows the values beside each data point. You can shows these labels for each data point of the chart, on ly for a data series or even for only one important point. You must select it before applying a data label. Once you've activated it, you can change its location and its presentation (size, color…) |
Data table
A data table shows the values represented in the chart in the form of ... a table that is located below the chart. This option in sonly useful is there are only a few numbers. It's useless if there are too much.
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Showing the chart's axes allows you to show a descriptions for each data series and also the values qu’ils representnt. On voit for the picture of droite the années for the axe of abscisses (X), the description of data series for the axe of profondeur and the values for the axe vertical (also appelé the axe of ordata or Y). |
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The gridlines are very important. The vertical grid allows you to regroup the values for the same period. The horizontal grid allows you to compare data points from different series. |
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The plot area is the background for a 2-D chart. You can change the presentation to a gradient fill or a picture. |
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The chart wall is used to describe a 3-D chart's background. Like the plot area, you can insert of the color, a gradient fill of colors or a picture. |
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The chart floor can also be decorated with colors or a picture. |
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The 3-D rotation allows you to change the chart's orientation on all three axes. You may find a better view for your data with a different angle than the standard view. |
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Here is the same chart with a different orientation. |
It's often hard to determine a trend from a mass of data. That is why a trendline helps bring out the results. Excel 2010 offers many types of trendlines. It could be linear, exponential, logarithmic, polynomial, power or a moving average. The chart above shows linear trend with the green line, an exponential trend with the red line, and a future linear trend with the blue line. Be aware that trendlines are only available for 2-D charts.
There are two types of rows: projection and Up/Down. They allow you to project a trend or to view the highest and lowest values. You can then view the range between the minimum and the maximum for each period. The chart above shows this type of line. This type of line is only available to line and stock charts.
The up/down bars are another representation of the up/down rows mentioned previously. They allow you to view the lowest and highest values for every period.
The error bars shows the margin of error according to some criteria.
This tab allows you to change the presentation styles of each and every element that marks the chart. It's under this tab that you can improve your chart's presentation. With Excel 2010, you can double-click on an element to have a complete list of options to change the style. You can also select an element and press for the right mouse button and choose the option Format the selected item.
As from Layout tab, this first option allows you to choose an element from a list of all the items that compose the chart. This is very useful when there are many elements close the each other.
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This option opens a window with a list of all the available presentation options for the element you selected. A double click on an item or a right mouse click will bring you to the same menu. |
You can experiment as much as you like knowing that you can always reset your chart to its original options.
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You can choose among the predetermined presentation styles. The gallery allows you to choose among many colors and color gradients. There are even more options with the shape fill option. |
This option allows you to determine the background of the chart or any element that composes a data series, the color, the pattern, a gradient fill or a picture of your choice.
Select a data series.
Press the right mouse button.
Select the option Format a data series.
Select the Fill category.
There are fill options for colors, gradient fill, picture or texture fill and pattern fill. You can select even more options once you have chosen a type of fill.
Select the element of your choice.
From the Layout or Format tabs, select the Format selection option.
Select the Fill category.
The transparency option allows you to remove the emphasis from some data series. Also, it allows you to view data that would be hidden otherwise.
The gradient fill can help place emphasis on a data series instead of the others. There are predetermined gradient fills or you can create you own. Use the buttons to add or remove color transition points.
Move the bars to determine where the change in color will start and the button to determine the color of your choice.
You can also insert a pictures to represent the data. It can be a clipart of the librairie of picture of Microsoft Office or another picture that répond aux needs.
Select a data series of data.
Right click to select the option Format Data series.
Select the Fill category.
Select the Picture or texture fill option.
For this example, press the ClipArt button.
Search for an appropriate clipart of your choice and select a picture.
Press the OK button.
The chosen picture will be streched to cover the entire data point. That could be enough for your needs. But the stack options are also very interesting. They allow you to stack pictures one on top of the other as seen in the example above. In this case, a complete picture represents each value of 5 units. The first column has three pictures to represent 15. The 4 planes in the second column represents 20 units and 5 planes for 25 units. To have the best effect, you may have to remove the data series outline.
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You can place more emphasis on a data series by changing the outline of the shape. You can change the color to contrast with the fill color. You can also change the thickness of outline to make a data series stand out against the others. |
The shape effects places a style around a data series such as a shadow, a glow or a bevel on a shape. However, the most popular effect that Excel 2007 added is the bevel effect. The result is stunning. The chart above shows many effects with different types of bevel on every bar. Find the one that best represents your data.
The 3-D rotation effect can only to applied to a few elements such as the entire chart or to shapes.
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You can apply a WordArt style on any text included in the chart.
Select the text of your choice.
Press the button at the end of the WordArt window to open the WordArt gallery.
Select among the styles available. |
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Among the elements available, you can include shapes to compose your own pictures. The Arrange group of commands allows you to change the shapes' order and to align them. |
Size
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Determines the size of the chart if it's located on a worksheet. The chart takes the entire screen if the chart is located on its own worksheet. |
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