Category: Advanced Excel Charts

Advanced Excel Charts Tutorial PDF Version Quick Guide Resources Job Search Discussion Excel charts are an efficient means to visualize the data to convey the results. In addition to the chart types that are available in Excel, some application charts are popular and widely used. In this tutorial, you will learn about these advanced charts and how you can create them in Excel. Audience This guide targets people who want to use graphs or charts in presentations and help people understand data quickly. Whether you want to make a comparison, show a relationship, or highlight a trend, these charts help your audience “see” what you are talking about. Among its many features, Microsoft Excel enables you to incorporate charts, providing a way to add visual appeal to your business reports. Prerequisites Before you proceed with this tutorial, we are assuming that you are already aware of the basics of Microsoft Excel charts. If you are not well aware of these concepts, then we will suggest you to go through our short tutorial on Excel charts. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Advanced Excel – Waterfall Chart ”; Previous Next Waterfall chart is one of the most popular visualization tools used in small and large businesses, especially in Finance. Waterfall charts are ideal for showing how you have arrived at a net value such as net income, by breaking down the cumulative effect of positive and negative contributions. What is a Waterfall Chart? A Waterfall chart is a form of data visualization that helps in understanding the cumulative effect of sequentially introduced positive or negative values. A typical Waterfall chart is used to show how an initial value is increased and decreased by a series of intermediate values, leading to a final value. In a Waterfall chart, the columns are color coded so that you can quickly tell positive from negative numbers. The initial and the final value columns start on the horizontal axis, while the intermediate values are floating columns. Because of this look, Waterfall charts are also called Bridge charts, Flying Bricks charts or Cascade charts. Advantages of Waterfall Charts A Waterfall chart has the following advantages − Analytical purposes − Used especially for understanding or explaining, the gradual transition in the quantitative value of an entity, which is subjected to increment or decrement. Quantitative analysis − Used in quantitative analysis ranging from inventory analysis to performance analysis. Tracking contracts − Starting with the number of contracts at hand at the beginning of the year, taking into account − The new contracts that are added The contracts that got cancelled The contracts that are finished, and Finally ending with the number of contracts at hand at the end of the year. Tracking performance of company over a given number of years. In general, if you have an initial value, and changes (positive and negative) occur to that value over a period of time, then Waterfall chart can be used to depict the initial value, positive and negative changes in their order of occurrence and the final value. Preparation of Data You need to prepare the data from the given input data, so that it can be portrayed as a Waterfall chart. Consider the following data − Prepare the data for the Waterfall chart as follows − Ensure the column Net Cash Flow is to the left of the Months Column (This is because you will not include Net Cash Flow column while creating the chart). Add two columns − Increase and Decrease for positive and negative cash flows respectively. Add a column Start − the first column in the chart with the start value in the Net Cash Flow. Add a column End − the last column in the chart with the end value in the Net Cash Flow. Add a column Float − that supports the intermediate columns. Insert formulas to compute the values in these columns as given in the table below. In the Float column, insert a row in the beginning and at the end. Place an arbitrary value 50000. This is just to have some space to the left and right sides of the chart. The data will look as given in the following table − The data is ready to create a Waterfall chart. Creating a Waterfall Chart You can create a Waterfall chart customizing Stacked Column chart as follows − Step 1 − Select the cells C2:H18 (i.e. excluding the Net Cash Flow column). Step 2 − Insert Stacked Column chart. Step 3 − Right click on the Float series. Step 4 − Click Format Data Series in the dropdown list. Step 5 − Select No fill for FILL in the SERIES OPTIONS in the Format Data Series pane. Step 6 − Right click on the Negative series. Step 7 − Select Fill color as red. Step 8 − Right click on the Positive series. Step 9 − Select Fill color as green. Step 10 − Right click on the Start series. Step 11 − Select Fill color as gray. Step 12 − Right click on the End series. Step 13 − Select Fill color as gray. Step 14 − Right click on any of the series. Step 15 − Select Gap Width as 10% under SERIES OPTIONS in the Format Data Series pane. Step 16 − Give a name to the chart. Your Waterfall chart is ready. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Advanced Excel – Gantt Chart ”; Previous Next Gantt charts are widely in use for project planning and tracking. A Gantt chart provides a graphical illustration of a schedule that helps to plan, coordinate, and track specific tasks in a project. There are software applications that provide Gantt chart as a means of planning work and tracking the same such as Microsoft Project. However, you can create a Gantt chart easily in Excel also. What is a Gantt Chart? A Gantt chart is a chart in which a series of horizontal lines shows the amount of work done in certain periods of time with relation to the amount of work planned for those periods. The horizontal lines depict tasks, task duration and task hierarchy. Henry L. Gantt, an American engineer and social scientist, developed gantt chart as a production control tool in 1917. In Excel, you can create a Gantt chart by customizing a Stacked Bar chart type with the Bars representing tasks. An Excel Gantt chart typically uses days as the unit of time along the horizontal axis. Advantages of Gantt Charts Gantt chart is frequently used in project management to manage project schedule. It provides visual timeline for starting and finishing specific tasks. It accommodates multiple tasks and timelines into a single chart. It is an easy way to understand visualization that shows the amount of work done, the remaining work, and schedule slippages, if any at any point of time. If the Gantt chart is shared at a common place, it limits the number of status meetings. Gantt chart promotes on-time deliveries, as the timeline is visible to everyone who is involved in the work. It promotes collaboration and team spirit with project completion on-time as a common goal. It provides a realistic view of the project progress and eliminates project end surprises. Preparation of Data Arrange your data in a table in the following way − Create three columns – Task, Start and Duration. In the Task column, give the names of the Tasks in the project. In the Start column, for each Task, place the number of days from the Start Date of the project. In the Duration column, for each Task, place the duration of the Task in days. Note − When the Tasks are in a hierarchy, Start of any Task – Taskg is Start of previous Task + it’s Duration. That is, Start of a Task Taskh is the End of the previous Task, Taskg if they are in a hierarchy, meaning that Taskh is dependent on Taskg. This is referred to as Task Dependency. Following is the data − Creating a Gantt Chart Step 1 − Select the data. Step 2 − Insert a Stacked Bar chart. Step 3 − Right click on a bar representing Start series. Step 4 − Click the Fill icon. Select No Fill from the dropdown list. Step 5 − Right click on the Vertical Axis (Categories Axis). Step 6 − Select Format Axis from the dropdown list. Step 7 − On the AXIS OPTIONS tab, in the Format Axis pane, check the box – Categories in reverse order. You will see that the Vertical Axis values are reversed. Moreover, the Horizontal Axis shifts to the top of the chart. Step 8 − Make the chart appealing with some formatting. In Chart Elements, deselect the following − Legend. Gridlines. Format the Horizontal Axis as follows − Adjust the range. Major Tick Marks at 5 day intervals. Minor Tick Marks at 1 day intervals. Format Data Series to make the Bars look impressive. Give a Chart Title. Your Gantt chart is ready. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Advanced Excel Charts – Heat Map ”; Previous Next Heat Map is normally used to refer to the colored distinction of areas in a two dimensional array, with each color associated with a different characteristic shared by each area. In Excel, Heat Map can be applied to a range of cells based on the values that they contain by using cell colors and/or font colors. Excel Conditional Formatting comes handy for this purpose. What is a Heat Map? A Heat Map is a visual representation of data in a table to highlight the data points of significance. For example, if you have month wise data on sale of products over the last one year, you can project in which months a product has high or low sales. A Heat Map looks as shown below. Advantages of Heat Maps Heat Map can be used to visually display the different ranges of data with distinct colors. This is very useful when you have large data sets and you want to quickly visualize certain traits in the data. Heat maps are used to − Highlight the top few and the bottom few of a range of values. Portray a trend in the values by using color shades. Identify blank cells – say in an answer sheet or a questionnaire. Highlight the quality ranges of the products. Highlight the numbers in supply chain. Highlight negative values. Highlight zero values. Highlight outliers defined by thresholds. Preparation of Data Arrange the data in a table. As you can see, the data is for a fiscal year, April – March, month-wise for each product. You can create a Heat Map to quickly identify during what months the sales were high or low. Creating a Heat Map Following are the steps to create a Heat Map − Step 1 − Select the data. Step 2 − Click Conditional Formatting on the Ribbon. Click Manage Rules and add rules as shown below. The top five values are colored with green (fill) and the bottom five values are colored with red (fill). Creating Heat Map without Displaying Values At times, the viewers might be just be interested in the information and the numbers might not be necessary. In such a case, you can do a bit of formatting as follows − Step 1 − Select the data and select the font color as white. As you can see, the numbers are not visible. Next, you need to highlight the top five and bottom five values without displaying the numbers. Step 2 − Select the data (which is not visible, of course). Step 3 − Apply Conditional Formatting such that the top five values are colored with green (both fill and font) and the bottom five values are colored with red (both fill and font). Step 4 − Click the Apply button. This gives a quick visualization of high and low sales across the year and across the products. As you have chosen the same color for both fill and font, the values are not visible. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Advanced Excel – Bullet Chart ”; Previous Next Bullet charts came into existence to overcome the drawbacks of Gauge charts. We can refer to them as Liner Gauge charts. Bullet charts were introduced by Stephen Few. A Bullet chart is used to compare categories easily and saves on space. The format of the Bullet chart is flexible. What is a Bullet Chart? According to Stephen Few, Bullet charts support the comparison of a measure to one or more related measures (for example, a target or the same measure at some point in the past, such as a year ago) and relate the measure to defined quantitative ranges that declare its qualitative state (for example, good, satisfactory and poor). Its linear design not only gives it a small footprint, but also supports more efficient reading than the Gauge charts. Consider an example given below − In a Bullet chart, you will have the following components − The qualitative bands representing the qualitative states − Band Qualitative Value <30% Poor 30% – 60% Fair 60% – 80% Good > 80% Excellent Target Value, say 80%. Actual Value, say 70%. With the above values, the Bullet chart looks as shown below. Though we used colors in the above chart, Stephen Few suggests the usage of only Gray shades in the interest of color-blind people. Advantages of Bullet Charts Bullet charts have the following uses and advantages − Bullet Charts are widely used by data analysts and dashboard vendors. Bullet charts can be used to compare the performance of a metric. For example, if you want to compare the sales of two years or to compare the total sales to a target, you can use bullet charts. You can use Bullet chart to track the number of defects in Low, Medium and High categories. You can visualize the Revenue flow across the Fiscal year. You can visualize the expenses across the Fiscal year. You can track Profit%. You can visualize customer satisfaction and can be used to display KPIs also. Preparation of Data Arrange the data as given below. As you can observe, the qualitative values are given in the column – Performance. The Bands are represented by the column – Value. Creating a Bullet Chart Following are the steps to create a Bullet chart − Step 1 − Select the data and insert a Stacked Column chart. Step 2 − Click on the chart. Step 3 − Click the DESIGN tab on the Ribbon. Step 4 − Click Switch Row/ Column button in the Data group. Step 5 − Change the chart type. Click Change Chart Type. Click the Combo icon. Change the chart type for Target to Stacked Line with Markers. Check the box – Secondary Axis for Target and click OK. Step 6 − As you can see, the Primary and the Secondary Vertical Axis have different ranges. Make them equal as follows. Right click on Primary Vertical Axis and select Format Axis. Click on the AXIS OPTIONS tab in the Format Axis pane. In AXIS OPIONS, under Bounds, type the following − 0.0 for Minimum 1.0 for Maximum Repeat the above steps for Secondary Vertical Axis. Step 7 − Deselect Secondary Vertical Axis in the Chart Elements. Step 8 − Design the chart Click on the chart. Click the DESIGN tab on the Ribbon. Click Change Chart Type. Check the Secondary Axis box for the Value series. Step 9 − Right click on the column for Value (blue color in the above chart). Step 10 − Select Format Data Series. Step 11 − Change Gap Width to 500% under SERIES OPTIONS in Format Data Series pane. Step 12 − Deselect Secondary Vertical Axis in the Chart Elements. The chart will look as follows − Step 13 − Design the chart as follows − Click on the chart. Click Chart Styles at the right corner of the chart. Click the COLOR tab. Select Color 17. Step 14 − Fine tune the chart as follows. Right click on the Value column. Change the Fill color to dark green. Click on the Target. Change the Fill and Line color of Marker to orange. Increase the size of the Marker. Step 15 − Fine-tune the chart design. Resize the chart. Select Legend in Chart Elements. Deselect Primary Horizontal Axis in Chart Elements. Deselect Gridlines in Chart Elements. Give a Chart Title. Your Bullet chart is ready. You can change the color of the chart to gray gradient scale to make it colorblind friendly. Bullet Chart in Reverse Contexts Suppose you want to display the number of defects found in a Bullet chart. In this case, lesser defects mean greater quality. You can define defect categories as follows − Step 1 − You can then define a Limit for number of defects and represent the number of defects found by a Value. Add Value and Limit to the above table. Step 2 − Select the data. Step 3 − Create a Bullet chart as you have learnt in the previous section. As you can see, the ranges are changed to correctly interpret the context. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Advanced Excel – Box and Whisker Chart ”; Previous Next Box and Whisker charts, also referred to as Box Plots are commonly used in statistical analysis. For example, you can use a Box and Whisker chart to compare experimental results or competitive exam results. What is a Box and Whisker Chart? In a Box and Whisker chart, numerical data is divided into quartiles and a box is drawn between the first and third quartiles, with an additional line drawn along the second quartile to mark the median. The minimums and maximums outside the first and third quartiles are depicted with lines, which are called whiskers. Whiskers indicate variability outside the upper and lower quartiles, and any point outside the whiskers is considered as an outlier. A Box and Whisker chart looks as shown below. Advantages of Box and Whisker Charts You can use Box and Whisker chart wherever to understand the distribution of data. And the data can be diverse that is drawn from any field for statistical analysis. Examples include the following − Survey responses on a particular product or service to understand the user’s preferences. Examination results to identify which students need more attention in a particular subject. Question-Answer patterns for a competitive examination to finalize the combination of categories. Laboratory results to draw conclusions on a new drug that is invented. Traffic patterns on a particular route to streamline the signals that are enroute. The outliers also help in identifying the reasons for the data to get outcast. Preparation of Data Suppose you are given the following data − Create a second table from the above table as follows − Step 1 − Compute the following for each of the series – 2014, 2015 and 2016 using Excel Functions MIN, QUARTILE and MAX. Minimum Value. First Quartile. Median Value. Third Quartile. Maximum Value. The resulting second table will be as given below. Step 2 − Create a third table from the second table, computing the differences − Retain the first row – Minimum Value as it is. In the second row – compute values as First Quartile – Minimum Value. In the third row – compute values as Median Value – First Quartile. In the fourth row – compute values as Third Quartile – Median Value. In the fifth row – compute values as Maximum Value – Third Quartile. You will get the third table as shown below. You will use this data for the Box and Whisker chart. Creating a Box and Whisker Chart Following are the steps to create a Box and Whisker chart. Step 1 − Select the data obtained as the third table in the previous section. Step 2 − Insert a Stacked Column chart. Step 3 − Click the DESIGN tab on the Ribbon. Step 4 − Click Switch Row / Column button in the Data group. Your chart will be as shown below. Step 5 − Right click on the bottom Data Series. Click Fill and select No Fill. The bottom Data series becomes invisible. Step 6 − Deselect Chart Title and Legend in Chart Elements. Step 7 − Change the Horizontal Axis Labels to 2014, 2015 and 2016. Step 8 − Now, your Boxes are ready. Next, you have to create the Whiskers. Right click on the Top Data Series. Change Fill to No Fill. Click the DESIGN tab on the Ribbon. Click Add Chart Element in the Chart layouts group. Click Error Bars in the dropdown list and select Standard Deviation. Step 9 − You got the top Whiskers. Next, format Whiskers (Error Bars) as follows − Right click on the Error Bars. Select Format Error Bars. Select the following under ERROR BAR OPTIONS in the Format Error Bars pane. Select Minus under Direction. Select No Cap under End Style. Select Percentage under Error Amount and type 100. Step 10 − Click the Fill & Line tab under ERROR BAR OPTIONS in the Format Error Bars pane. Select Solid line under LINE. Select the color as dark blue. Type 1.5 in the Width box. Step 11 − Repeat the above given steps for the second lower bottom Series. Step 12 − Next, format the boxes as follows. Right click on one of the Box series. Click Fill. Choose color as light blue. Click Outline. Choose the color as dark blue. Click Weight. Select 1½ pt. Step 13 − Repeat the steps given above for the other Box series. Your Box and Whisker chart is ready. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Advanced Excel – Thermometer Chart ”; Previous Next Thermometer chart is a visualization of the actual value of well-defined measure, for example, task status as compared to a target value. This is a linear version of Gauge chart that you will learn in the next chapter. You can track your progress against the target over a period of time with a simple rising Thermometer chart. What is a Thermometer Chart? A Thermometer chart keeps track of a single task, for example, completion of work, representing the current status as compared to the target. It displays the percentage of the task completed, taking target as 100%. A Thermometer chart looks as shown below. Advantages of Thermometer Charts Thermometer chart can be used to track any actual value as compared to the target value as percentage completed. It works with a single value and is an appealing chart that can be included in dashboards for a quick visual impact on % achieved, % performance against the target sales target, % profit, % work completion, % budget utilized, etc. If you have multiple values to track the actuals against the targets, you can use Bullet chart that you will learn in a later chapter. Preparation of Data Prepare the data in the following way − Calculate the Actual as a percentage of the actual value as compared to the target value. Target should always be 100%. Place your data in a table as given below. Creating a Thermometer Chart Following are the steps to create a Thermometer chart − Step 1 − Select the data. Step 2 − Insert a Clustered Column chart. As you can see, the right Column is Target. Step 3 − Click on a Column in the chart. Step 4 − Click the DESIGN tab on the Ribbon. Step 5 − Click the Switch Row/ Column button. Step 6 − Right click on the Target Column. Step 7 − Select Format Data Series from the dropdown list. Step 8 − Click on Secondary Axis under SERIES OPTIONS in the Format Data Series pane. As you can see, the Primary Axis and the Secondary Axis have different ranges. Step 9 − Right click on the Primary Axis. Select Format Axis from the dropdown list. Step 10 − Type the following in Bounds under AXIS OPTIONS in the Format Axis pane − 0 for Minimum. 1 for Maximum. Repeat the steps given above for the Secondary Axis to change the Bounds to 0 and 1. Both the Primary Axis and Secondary Axis will be set to 0% – 100%. As you can observe, the Target Column hides the Actual Column. Step 11 − Right click on the visible Column, i.e. Target. Step 12 − Select Format Data Series from the dropdown list. In the Format Data Series pane, select the following − No fill under the FILL option. Solid line under the BORDER option. Blue under the Color option. Step 13 − In Chart Elements, deselect the following − Axis → Primary Horizontal. Axis → Secondary Vertical. Gridlines. Chart Title. Step 14 − Right click on the Primary Vertical Axis. Step 15 − Select Format Axis from the dropdown list. Step 16 − Click TICK MARKS under the AXIS OPTIONS in the Format Axis pane. Step 17 − Select the option Inside for Major type. Step 18 − Right click on the Chart Area. Step 19 − Select Format Plot Area from the dropdown list. Step 20 − Click Fill & Line in the Format Plot Area pane. Select the following − No fill under the FILL option. No line under the BORDER option. Step 21 − Resize the Chart Area to get the Thermometer shape for the chart. You got your Thermometer chart, with the Actual Value as against Target Value being shown. Step 22 − You can make this Thermometer chart more appealing with some formatting. Insert a Rectangle shape superimposing the blue rectangular part in the chart. In the Format Shape options, select the following − Gradient fill for FILL. Linear for Type. 1800 for Angle. Set the Gradient stops at 0%, 50% and 100%. For the Gradient stops at 0% and 100%, choose the color black. For the Gradient stop at 50%, choose the color white. Insert an oval shape at the bottom. Format the oval shape with the same options as of rectangle. The result will be as shown below − Your aesthetic Thermometer chart is ready. This will look good on a dashboard or as a part of a presentation. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Advanced Excel – Step Chart ”; Previous Next Step chart is useful if you have to display the data that changes at irregular intervals and remains constant between the changes. For example, Step chart can be used to show the price changes of commodities, changes in tax rates, changes in interest rates, etc. What is a Step Chart? A Step chart is a Line chart that does not use the shortest distance to connect two data points. Instead, it uses vertical and horizontal lines to connect the data points in a series forming a step-like progression. The vertical parts of a Step chart denote changes in the data and their magnitude. The horizontal parts of a Step chart denote the constancy of the data. Consider the following data − As you can observe, the data changes are occurring at irregular intervals. A Step chart looks as shown below. As you can see, the data changes are occurring at irregular intervals. When the data remains constant, it is depicted by a horizontal Line, till a change occurs. When a change occurs, its magnitude is depicted by a vertical Line. If you had displayed the same data with a Line chart, it would be like as shown below. Differences between Line Charts and Step Charts You can identify the following differences between a Line chart and a Step chart for the same data − The focus of the Line chart is on the trend of the data points and not the exact time of the change. A Step chart shows the exact time of the change in the data along with the trend. A Line chart cannot depict the magnitude of the change but a Step chart visually depicts the magnitude of the change. Line chart cannot show the duration for which there is no change in a data value. A Step chart can clearly show the duration for which there is no change in a data value. A Line chart can sometimes be deceptive in displaying the trend between two data values. For example, Line chart can show a change between two values, while it is not the case. On the other hand, a step chart can clearly display the steadiness when there are no changes. A Line chart can display a sudden increase/decrease, though the changes occur only on two occasions. A Step chart can display only the two occurred changes and when the changes actually happened. Advantages of Step Charts Step charts are useful to portray any type of data that has an innate nature of data changes at irregular intervals of time. Examples include the following − Interest rates vs. time. Tax rates vs. income. Electricity charges slabs based on the Units utilized. Preparation of Data Consider the following data − Step 1 − Select the data. Copy and paste the data below the last row of the data. Step 2 − Copy and paste the entire data on the right side of the data. The data looks as given below. Step 3 − Delete the cells highlighted in red that are depicted in the table of second set of data given below. Step 4 − Shift the cells up while deleting. The second set of data looks as given below. Step 5 − Copy the second set of data and paste it to the right side of it to get the third set of data. Step 6 − Select the third set of data. Sort it from the smallest to the largest values. You need to use this sorted third set of data to create the Step chart. Creating a Step Chart Follow the steps given below to create a step chart − Step 1 − Select the third set of data and insert a Line chart. Step 2 − Format the chart as follows − Click on the chart. Click the DESIGN tab on the Ribbon. Click Select Data in the Data group. The Select Data Source dialog box appears. Select Series1 under Legend Entries (Series). Click the Remove button. Click the Edit button under Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels. Click OK. The Axis Labels dialog box appears. Step 3 − Select the cells F2:F10 under the Axis labels range and click OK. Step 4 − Click OK in the Select Data Source dialog box. Your chart will look as shown below. Step 5 − As you can observe, some values (Years) in the Horizontal (Category) Axis are missing. To insert the values, follow the steps given below. Right click on the Horizontal Axis. Select Format Axis. Click AXIS OPTIONS in the Format Axis pane. Select Date Axis under Axis Type in AXIS OPTIONS. As you can see, the Horizontal (Category) Axis now contains even the missing Years in the Category values. Further, until a change occurs, the line is horizontal. When there is a change, its magnitude is depicted by the height of the vertical line. Step 6 − Deselect the Chart Title and Legend in Chart Elements. Your Step chart is ready. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Discuss Advanced Excel Charts ”; Previous Next Excel charts are an efficient means to visualize the data to convey the results. In addition to the chart types that are available in Excel, some application charts are popular and widely used. In this tutorial, you will learn about these advanced charts and how you can create them in Excel. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;