How to make Overlapping Bar Chart in Excel?

Excel is a powerful data visualization and analysis software, which uses spreadsheets for managing, storing, and visualizing large volumes of data. Data is entered in a rectangular block (intersection of rows and columns) which we called a cell. This tool is used to get insights from the data using functions and formulas. Data is visualized by plotting graphs. In this tool, we can create different kinds of charts like line charts, bar charts, etc based on the requirements. Let's see how we can create an overlapping chart,

Overlapping Chart In Excel

In Bar graph, the value is represented using the horizontal bars. It is used to compare items side-by-side. But in some cases, In order to compare the data series clearly, we can plot the overlapped graph(one bar over the other). For the purpose of demonstration we will compare the sales(in units) of two different products over the given years:

To create the overlapping bar chart, follow the following steps:

Step 1: Select the cell containing the data.

Step 2: Select the 'Insert' Tab from the top and select the bar chart.

The bar chart will get created,

Step 3: Right-click on one bar and choose the "Change series chart type" option.

Step 4: In the change chart dialog box, make sure the Combo category is selected.

Step 5: Check one checkbox in the Secondary Axis list and then click OK.

Step 6: Right-click on one bar and choose Format Data Series.

Step 7: In the Format Data Series pane, click the Series Options button, and adjust the Gap Width to make the bar wider or narrower.

Step 8: Then click Fill & Line button, In the Fill section, select the Solid fill option and then select the color, increasing the transparency (to make both data series clearly identifiable). 

Output