Creating a Chart in Excel

From within a worksheet, click the Insert tab.

The Insert menu ribbon is displayed above the worksheet data.

To create a chart, you will need to select one or more cells in a set of data for which you want to create a chart. Select the cells by clicking and dragging to highlight  

Example shown here: select by clicking in cell A1 and dragging over to cell H1, then down to cell H18 . 

With the data highlighted, click the Recommended Charts icon.

The Insert Chart pop-up window is displayed. From this page, you will select the appropriate chart to display your data.

Scroll through the list of options under the Recommended Charts until you find the one that best visualizes your data. Clicking a chart provides a preview of the chart with your data and a description.

You can also browse all charts by clicking on the All Charts tab.   

Example shown here: the Clustered Column option.

Once you have selected your chart, click the OK button.

The created chart is displayed.  

To add a chart title, click the top of the displayed chart.

The Chart Elements and Chart Styles buttons are displayed in the upper right corner of the chart.

Click the Chart Elements [+] button.

The Chart Elements dropdown menu is displayed.

Click the Chart Title checkbox.

Note: You can add other chart elements at the same time, including axis titles or data labels, by checking any of the displayed options. To remove any of these options, uncheck the appropriate box.

The Chart Title text box is displayed at the top of the chart.

On this page, enter the appropriate title in the text box.

The entered chart title is displayed.

You can also format elements of your chart title to enhance its visibility.

Click the arrow [>] to the right of Chart Title in the Chart Elements menu.

Another menu is expanded, revealing a list of chart title position options.

Click the appropriate Chart Title option.

Example shown here: click Centered Overlay.

The chart title is centered and overlayed on the top of the chart.

To make additional edits, right-click the chart title.

The Chart Title pop-up menu is displayed. Here, you can edit style elements for your chart title such as style, fill and outline color.    

Click the Fill dropdown button.

The Fill dropdown menu is displayed. This menu allows you to change the color surrounding the chart title text.

Click the Blue, Accent 1, Lighter 80% option.

The selected fill color is added to the chart title.

To close the Chart Elements dropdown box, click an empty cell in the worksheet chart.  

Example shown here: cell J1.

The selected elements have been applied to the chart title.

To add a legend, click the top section of a displayed chart to view additional options.

The Chart Elements button is displayed in the upper right corner of the chart.

Click the Chart Elements [+] button.

The Chart Elements dropdown menu list is displayed.

To add a legend to your chart, click the Legend checkbox.

The Legend is added to the right side of the chart. 

You can format the legend to enhance its visibility or re-postion it on the chart.

To make changes to your chart legend, click the arrow [>] to the right of the Legend checkbox.

The Legend menu is expanded showing several legend placement options.

Select the appropriate placement option.

Example shown here: the Bottom option to display the legend at the bottom of the chart.

The legend is moved to the bottom of the chart.

To close the Chart Elements dropdown box, click an empty cell in the worksheet.

Example shown here: J1.

To add a data table to the chart, click the top of a chart.

The Chart Elements list box is displayed again.

Click the Data Table checkbox.

The created data table is displayed, showing the numeric values represented in the chart. The data table defaults to one with a legend key.  

Example shown here: the legend indicates that the blue bars represent Totals.

If you wish to hide the legend key, click the arrow [>] to the right of the Data Table option in the Chart Elements menu.

Click the No Legend Keys option.

The Legend Key is hidden.

To hide any of the elements in your chart, click to uncheck the unneeded Chart Elements option(s).

Example shown here: unselect the Data Table box in the Chart Elements menu to remove the data table from your chart.

The deselected elements are hidden. 

To add a Trendline to the chart, click the Design tab.

To display a list of available chart elements, click the Add Chart Element dropdown button.

The Add Chart Element popup menu displays a list of elements you can add to your chart.

Click the Trendline link.

A list of available trendlines is displayed. Choose the appropriate trendline to effectively display the chart data. Options include:

1. Linear: straight line for simple, linear data sets

2. Exponential: useful when data values rise or fall at a constantly increasing rate

3. Linear Forecast : creates a line that forecasts future points

4. Moving Average: smoothes the lines to show a pattern or trend more clearly

Additional options are available under More Trendline Options... as well.

Example shown here: Linear.

The created trendline is displayed in the chart.