#Insert a linein chart how to#
#Insert a linein chart series#

Each additional set is added to the first, so the top line is the total of the ones below it. Stacked Line: This option requires more than one data set. Line: If there is more than one data series, each is plotted individually. Excel offers a number of different variations of the line graph. When the steps differ for other versions of Excel, they will be called out after each step.Ĭreating a single line graph in Excel is a straightforward process.

#Insert a linein chart how to#

In the following tutorial, we’ll show you how to create a single line graph in Excel 2011 for Mac. WorkApps Package your entire business program or project into a WorkApp in minutes.Digital asset management Manage and distribute assets, and see how they perform.Resource management Find the best project team and forecast resourcing needs.Intelligent workflows Automate business processes across systems.Governance & administration Configure and manage global controls and settings.Streamlined business apps Build easy-to-navigate business apps in minutes.Integrations Work smarter and more efficiently by sharing information across platforms.Secure request management Streamline requests, process ticketing, and more.Process management at scale Deliver consistent projects and processes at scale.Content management Organize, manage, and review content production.Workflow automation Quickly automate repetitive tasks and processes.Team collaboration Connect everyone on one collaborative platform.Smartsheet platform Learn how the Smartsheet platform for dynamic work offers a robust set of capabilities to empower everyone to manage projects, automate workflows, and rapidly build solutions at scale.It has loads of advice on the best chart type to use and how to make it in Excel. This post is an excerpt from my latest book, Effective Data Visualization, where I even SIMPLIFIED these instructions. This is *exactly* the kind of thing we were referring to in the Data Visualization Checklist when we said “ Contextualized or comparison data are present.” Yer viewers want to be able to interpret the data – is it good? bad? the worst in history? best in the nation? A benchmark line gives that necessary context. And think of other ways you could use this line, such as for targets, averages, national standard, yes keep dreaming!

See a benchmark line in the wild in this dashboard report from Oregon Health Authority (scroll to, like, page 10). Just make it look like this table here:Īnd now the graph is WAY more powerful! We’ve added so much interpretation to the data visualization, helping the viewer understand how far the first two groups are from the target and by how much Group C exceeded it. Did that sentence make any sense? It was heavy on the nerd-speak. So this is cool but if you’d like your benchmark line to be a bit longer, you can just fiddle with the data table a little and select blank cells to add some space to the set of bars and associate the benchmark 65% with each blank spot.

#Insert a linein chart series#

Of course, at first Excel tried to give me the value of the point, but just right-click on the point again and click Format Data Label and then select Series name and unselect Value. I also added the word “Benchmark” to the line by adding a data label to just the left most point.

(This is a good time for me to mention that if I ever open a pub for data nerds, I’m going to call it The Benchmark Bar.) You can do this in 2010, too, just click on the benchmark bars and then click the Change Chart Type button in your Layout tab and select a line graph. In Excel 2013, I right-click on the orange benchmark bars and click Change Chart Type and then choose Line. Now it’s time to move that benchmark data from bars to a line. It’ll look like this, but don’t freak out: In *that* dialogue box, select your Benchmark data. In that box that pops up, click the Add button to add a new series. Then right-click on the graph and click Select Data. Highlight the group names and their data and insert a simple bar graph: I have my data and I have the benchmark value listed next to each. Here’s how to make one right inside Excel. Adding a benchmark line to a graph gives loads of context for the viewer.