Charts in Ms Excel

Microsoft Excel supports many kinds of charts to help you display data in ways that are meaningful to your audience. When you use the Chart Wizard to create a chart — or when you use the Chart Type command to change an existing chart — you can easily select the type you want from a list of standard or custom chart types.
For an overview of some standard chart types and their subtypes, click any or all of the following:
Column charts
A column chart shows data changes over a period of time or illustrates comparisons among items. Column charts have the following chart sub-types: Clustered Column This type of chart compares values across categories. It is also available with a 3-D visual effect. As shown in the following chart, categories are organized horizontally, and values vertically, to emphasize variation over time.

Stacked Column This type of chart shows the relationship of individual items to the whole, comparing the contribution of each value to a total across categories. It is also available with a 3-D visual effect. 100% Stacked Column This type of chart compares the percentage each value contributes to a total across categories. It is also available with a 3-D visual effect. 3-D Column This type of chart compares data pointsHYPERLINK "javascript:AppendPopup(this,'865612420_1')" (data points: Individual values plotted in a chart and represented by bars, columns, lines, pie or doughnut slices, dots, and various other shapes called data markers. Data markers of the same color constitute a data series.) along two axes. For example, in the following 3-D chart, you can compare four quarters of sales performance in Europe with the performance of two other divisions.

Bar charts
A bar chart illustrates comparisons among individual items. Bar charts have the following chart sub-types: Clustered Bar This type of chart compares values across categories. It is also available with a 3-D visual effect. In the following chart, categories are organized vertically, and values horizontally, to place focus on comparing the values.

Stacked Bar This type of chart show the relationship of individual items to the whole. It is also available with a 3-D visual effect.

100 % Stacked Bar This type of chart compares the percentage each value contributes to a total across categories. It is also available with a 3-D visual effect.
Line charts
A line chart shows trends in data at equal intervals. Line charts have the following chart sub-types: Line This type of chart displays trends over time or categories. It is also available with markers displayed at each data value.

Stacked Line This type of chart displays the trend of the contribution of each value over time or categories. It is also available with markers displayed at each data value. 100% Stacked Line This type of chart displays the trend of the percentage each value contributes over time or categories. It is also available with markers displayed at each data value. 3-D Line This is a line chart with a 3-D visual effect.
More information
For detailed instructions on how to use Line charts, see Creating XY (Scatter) and Line charts.
Pie charts
A pie chart shows the size of items that make up a data seriesHYPERLINK "javascript:AppendPopup(this,'111824051_2')" (data series: Related data points that are plotted in a chart. Each data series in a chart has a unique color or pattern and is represented in the chart legend. You can plot one or more data series in a chart. Pie charts have only one data series.), proportional to the sum of the items. It always shows only one data series and is useful when you want to emphasize a significant element in the data. Pie charts have the following chart sub-types: Pie This type of chart displays the contribution of each value to a total. It is also available with a 3-D visual effect, as shown in the following chart.

Exploded Pie This type of chart displays the contribution of each value to a total while emphasizing individual values. It is also available with a 3-D visual effect. Pie of Pie This is a pie chart with user-defined values extracted and combined into a second pie. For example, to make small slices easier to see, you can group them together as one item in a pie chart and then break down that item in a smaller pie or bar chart next to the main chart.

Bar of Pie This is a pie chart with user-defined values extracted and combined into a stacked bar.
More information
For detailed instructions on how to use Pie of Pie and Bar of Pie charts, see Creating Pie of Pie and Bar of Pie charts.
XY (Scatter) charts
An xy (scatter) chart shows the relationships among the numeric values in several data seriesHYPERLINK "javascript:AppendPopup(this,'807872013_3')" (data series: Related data points that are plotted in a chart. Each data series in a chart has a unique color or pattern and is represented in the chart legend. You can plot one or more data series in a chart. Pie charts have only one data series.), or plots two groups of numbers as one series of xy coordinates. Scatter charts are commonly used for scientific data and have the following chart sub-types: Scatter This type of chart compares pairs of values. For example, the following scatter chart shows uneven intervals (or clusters) of two sets of data.

When you arrange your data for a scatter chart, place x values in one row or column, and then enter corresponding y values in the adjacent rows or columns.

Scatter with Data Points Connected by Lines This type of chart can be displayed with or without straight or smoothed connecting lines between data points. These lines can be displayed with or without markers.
More information
For detailed instructions on how to use Scatter charts, see Creating XY (Scatter) and Line charts.
Area charts
An area chart emphasizes the magnitude of change over time. Area charts have the following chart sub-types: Area This type of chart displays the trend of values over time or categories. It is also available with a 3-D visual effect. By displaying the sum of the plotted values, an area chart also shows the relationship of parts to a whole. For example, the following area chart emphasizes increased sales in Washington and illustrates the contribution of each state to total sales.

Stacked Area This type of chart displays the trend of the contribution of each value over time or categories. It is also available with a 3-D visual effect. 100% Stacked Area This chart type displays the trend of the percentage each value contributes over time or categories. It is also available with a 3-D visual effect.
Doughnut charts
Like a pie chart, a doughnut chart shows the relationship of parts to a whole; however, it can contain more than one data seriesHYPERLINK "javascript:AppendPopup(this,'212575164_4')" (data series: Related data points that are plotted in a chart. Each data series in HYPERLINK "javascript:AppendPopup(this,'212575164_4')"a chart has a unique color or pattern and is represented in the chart legend. You can plot one or more data series in a chart. Pie charts have only one data series.). Doughnut charts have the following chart sub-types: Doughnut This type of chart displays data in rings, where each ring represents a data series. For example, in the following chart, the inner ring represents gas tax revenues, and the outer ring represents property tax revenues.

Exploded Doughnut This chart type is like an exploded pie chart, but it can contain more than one data series.
Radar charts
A radar chart compares the aggregate values of a number of data seriesHYPERLINK "javascript:AppendPopup(this,'6660315_5')" (data series: Related data points that are plotted in a chart. Each data series in a chart has a unique color or pattern and is represented in the chart legend. You can plot one or more data series in a chart. Pie charts have only one data series.). Radar charts have the following chart sub-types: Radar This type of chart displays changes in values relative to a center point. It can be displayed with markers for each data point. For example, in the following radar chart, the data series that covers the most area, Brand A, represents the brand with the highest vitamin content.

Filled Radar In this type of chart, the area covered by a data series is filled with a color.
Surface charts
A surface chart is useful when you want to find optimum combinations between two sets of data. As in a topographic map, colors and patterns indicate areas that are in the same range of values. Surface charts have the following chart sub-types: 3-D Surface This type of chart shows trends in values across two dimensions in a continuous curve. For example, the following surface chart shows the various combinations of temperature and time that result in the same measure of tensile strength. The colors in this chart represent specific ranges of values.

Displayed without color, a 3-D surface chart is called a wireframe 3-D surface chart. Contour This is a surface chart viewed from above, where colors represent specific ranges of values. Displayed without color, this chart type is called a Wireframe Contour.
More information
For detailed instructions on how to use Surface charts, see Creating a Surface chart.
Bubble charts
A bubble chart is a type of xy (scatter) chart. It compares sets of three values and can be displayed with a 3-D visual effect. The size of the bubble, or data markerHYPERLINK "javascript:AppendPopup(this,'161316206_6')" (data marker: A bar, area, dot, slice, or other symbol in a chart that represents a single data point or value that originates from a worksheet cell. Related data markers in a chart constitute a data series.), indicates the value of a third variable. To arrange your data for a bubble chart, place the x values in one row or column, and enter corresponding y values and bubble sizes in the adjacent rows or columns. For example, you would organize your data as shown in the following picture.

The following bubble chart shows that Company A has the most products and the greatest market share, but not the highest sales.

More information
For detailed instructions on how to use Bubble charts, see Creating a Bubble chart.
Stock charts
This chart type is most often used for stock price data, but can also be used for scientific data (for example, to indicate temperature changes). You must organize your data in the correct order to create stock charts. Stock charts have the following chart sub-types: High-Low-Close The high-low-close chart is often used to illustrate stock prices. It requires three series of values in the following order (high, low, and then close).

Open-High-Low-Close This type of chart requires four series of values in the correct order (open, high, low, and then close). Volume-High-Low-Close This type of chart requires four series of values in the correct order (volume, high, low, and then close). The following stock chart measures volume using two value axes: one for the columns that measure volume, and the other for the stock prices.

Volume-Open-High-Low-Close This type of chart requires five series of values in the correct order (volume, open, high, low, and then close).
More information
For detailed instructions on how to use Stock charts, see Creating a Stock chart.
Cylinder, Cone, or Pyramid charts
These chart types use cylinder, cone, or pyramid data markers to lend a dramatic effect to column, bar, and 3-D column charts. Much like column and bar charts, cylinder, cone, and pyramid charts have the following chart sub-types: Column, Stacked Column, or 100% Stacked Column The columns in these types of chart are represented by cylindrical, conical, or pyramid shapes.

Bar, Stacked Bar, or 100% Stacked Bar The bars in these types of chart are represented by cylindrical, conical, or pyramid shapes.

3-D Column The 3-D columns in this type of chart are represented by cylindrical, conical, or pyramid shapes.