Edit a chart

IDevice Icon Video

Watch the following video to see a demonstration of editing charts, including:

  • Change the location of a chart
  • Select a different chart type
  • How to deal with text that is missing from an axis
  • Move & resize chart items 
  • Display & hide axes & gridlines in a chart
  • Height, elevation & rotation of 3D charts 
  • Pull out slices & rotate pie & doughnut charts
Flash video: Editing charts

Multi-select
In the Chart Location dialog box you can do all of the following (tick all that apply):
Place the chart on a new chart sheet.
Create a name for the new chart sheet.
Place the chart as an embedded object on a worksheet.
Select the sheet name where the embedded chart is to be placed.
Select new source data for the chart.



If text is missing along the horizontal axis of a chart, which of the following might help?
Changing the number format from General to Text.
Moving the chart to a new chart sheet.
Dragging one of the black sizing handles to resize the chart.
Changing the Tick Mark Label option to High.
Making the font size on the axis smaller.
Changing the rotation angle of the text on the axis.



True-False Questions
Are the following statements true or false?


Double clicking a chart will enable you to change the chart type.

True False     


In most charts, you can use the mouse to resize and move the chart area, the plot area and the legend.

True False     


In a doughnut chart, you can only pull out the slices in the outer ring.

True False     
IDevice Question Icon Multi-choice
To display or hide gridlines in a chart:
       
Select the gridlines in the chart, then go to the Format menu and choose Selected Gridlines.
On the Chart menu, click Chart Options, and then click the Gridlines tab.
Double click any gridline in the chart.

How do you change the elevation and rotation of a 3-D chart?
       
On the Chart menu select 3-D Column Chart.
Select the Walls of the chart, then on the Format menu choose Selected Walls.
On the Chart menu, select 3-D View.

IDevice Icon Activity
Save the following workbook:

Excel workbook: Editing charts

  1. Go to the 'Party' worksheet. Change the location of the chart from embedded and put the chart on a new sheet.
  2. Go to the worksheet labelled 'Chart 1'. Change the location of this chart so that it becomes an embedded chart on the worksheet labelled 'Record sales'.
  3. Go to the 'ABC international' worksheet. The labels do not fit along the bottom axis of this chart. Edit the chart so that the labels do all display along the axis.
  4. On the worksheet labelled 'Ideal employee', move the legend over to the other side of the chart.
  5. Go to the worksheet labelled 'Planets'. Remove the gridlines from the chart.
  6. On the worksheet labelled 'Wine Cellar' practice changing the height, elevation and rotation of this 3D chart.
  7. Go to the 'Takeaways' worksheet. Rotate the pie so that the largest slice is right at the top of the pie. Pull out 3 slices of the pie.

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