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Reating A Hart: Date: 10/12/16 To: Prof. Rolleigh's Students From: David Subject: Formatting Excel Charts

The document provides instructions for formatting Excel charts in a professional manner to clearly communicate data. It explains how to select the appropriate chart type, select relevant data, move the chart to its own sheet, add and format a title, add borders, format axes, adjust axis scales, and add headers and footers. The goal is to display data attractively so the intended audience can easily understand it.

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Diego soria
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30 views10 pages

Reating A Hart: Date: 10/12/16 To: Prof. Rolleigh's Students From: David Subject: Formatting Excel Charts

The document provides instructions for formatting Excel charts in a professional manner to clearly communicate data. It explains how to select the appropriate chart type, select relevant data, move the chart to its own sheet, add and format a title, add borders, format axes, adjust axis scales, and add headers and footers. The goal is to display data attractively so the intended audience can easily understand it.

Uploaded by

Diego soria
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 10

Date: 10/12/16

To: Prof. Rolleigh’s Students

From: David

Subject: Formatting Excel Charts

Displaying data in an attractive manner is one of the most important things you can do to communicate
data effectively (in ways that your intended audience can best understand). Below is a memo that
explains some of the best practices that I use in order to format my charts in a way that looks both
professional and communicates my intended purpose clearly. This memo in no way is definitive, but it
can be a starting point on your path to being a data visualization expert.

CREATING A CHART
Highlight the data that you would like to depict in your graph. On the top row go to "Insert." There will
be a category of charts available to you in the options.

Select the type of chart most appropriate for what you are trying to graph, and click on the subset of
options within the category of charts that makes the most sense for you. For learning purposes we will
use a line chart.

Hult International Business School


SELECT DATA
After creating your chart it may not be showing what you would like it to. Right click the chart and go to
the "Select Data Option."

Here you can select the particular cells that you would like to include in your graph. Deselect any “blank
series” if you have them. Once that is done, click “OK”.

2
MOVING CHART TO ITS OWN TAB
To move a chart to a single tab, right click on a created chart and click on "Move Chart".

Choose the "New Sheet" option and click “OK”.

3
CREATING A TITLE (AND REMOVING LEGEND)
If a title is not there when the chart is created: Double click on the chart, make sure you are on the
“Design” tab, then click "add chart element" in the upper left hand corner. Scroll down to "Chart Title"
and click "Above". If there is a legend at the bottom of the chart, (there may not be), select over the
legend that is titled “Incident Rate” and delete it.

FORMATTING A TITLE
This is my personal preference: 16-point font, bold, black, make sure it is centered in the chart, press ctrl
+ p if you'd like to check how the chart would look when printed. To adjust font, click on the home tab
and select options from the upper left hand corner or highlight the relevant characters, right click, and
then select “format” to adjust the fonts.

In this chart create the title (click on the title text box to write your title):

“National Annual OSHA Reported Catastrophic and Fatal Incident Rate

2010 – 2015

(per 100,000 in Population)”

4
CREATING A BORDER AROUND A CHART
Double click the middle of the chart. When the "Format Plot Area" option comes up click on the bucket
icon and then click on "Border", change the color to black.

5
ELIMINATING THE BORDER AROUND THE IMAGE
Double click on the outer border around the entire chart (outside the horizontal and vertical axis and
above the title). "Format Chart Area" option comes up click on "Border", change the color to white.

CREATING A BLACK BORDER ON THE HORIZONTAL AXIS


Double click on a number on the horizontal axis, go to the "line" option on the right hand side of the
screen, and change color to black.

6
ADDING TICK MARKS ON HORIZONTAL AXIS AND FORMATTING AXIS
Double click on a number on the horizontal axis, click on the icon with 3 bars, select "tick marks", from
Major type, select "Outside". Double click on the horizontal axis, click on the icon with 3 bars, click on
“Axis Options”, under "Axis position", select "On tick marks".

CHANGE FONTS OF AXIS


Click on a number on the horizontal axis, go to the “Home” tab on the top row and select the font
options on the upper left hand corner. I usually choose an axis font size somewhere between 10 and 11,
change the font colors to black. Click on a number on the vertical axis and repeat the process.

7
ADJUSTING AXIS SCALE
Sometimes when there is a lot of white space in a chart you need to adjust the scale of the horizontal
axis. To do this, click on a number on vertical axis, click on the icon with three bars, and under the
category “Axis Options” choose minimums and maximums that make the most sense for what you are
trying to depict. For this example choose a “Bounds” minimum of “0.2” and press enter.

8
ADDING HEADER AND FOOTER
Select the insert option on the top row, click on "Header and Footer". Click on "Custom Header" or
"Custom Footer" to create or adjust headers and footers respectively. If you wish to change the
formatting of a header or footer, click on the "A" while in the header and footer menu before you write
your header and footer, or highlight your text, click on the “A” and adjust the font from there.

To make a bottom right footer for this case, click on the “right section” and click on the “A” to make a
green, bold, size 14 font footer of “Hult International Business School”. In the bottom left corner make
a black, size 14 font footer that says “Source: OSHA”, highlight “Source:” and make it bold, click “OK”.
Add a header in the upper left corner that is size 14 and in italics that states “Date: 10/15/2016”.

NOTE: You will not see the header or footer until you enter the “print screen”.

9
CHECKING YOUR WORK
I generally like looking at the print screen version of what I am doing to make sure everything is aligned
properly. To do this press “ctrl + p”.

10

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