Things You'll Need:
- Microsoft Excel 2003 or later
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Step 1
Open excel and the document that you would like to turn into a graph.
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Step 2
Highlight data to be graphed. Include the rows with heading titles. Put your cursor in upper top left cell, click and hold the mouse button down and drag to the lower rightmost cell. The entire chart should now be bathed in highlighted tone.
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Step 3
Select the Chart Wizard to automatically build your graph. This is done by going to the Insert menu and selecting Chart or by clicking the Chart Wizard button on the Standard toolbar.
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Step 4
The Chart Wizard box opens and requests that you select a chart type.
After you have selected the chart type, click and hold your mouse pointer down on the 'Press and hold to view sample' button to see what your data looks like in the chart type you selected. If you do not like the look, or the data does not fit the chart type you selected, choose another chart type. -
Step 5
Selecting 'finish' at this point will build your graph and insert it into your spreadsheet.
If you would like to make changes to your chart, select 'next'. -
Step 6
Data range buttonThe data range displays what you highlighted in step two. You can change the data being used by the chart on this screen by clicking on the small button on the right side of the data range field. The dialog box shrinks allowing you to see your entire spreadsheet. You can edit the data range in this small window. When you are finished, click the same box at the end to restore the window.
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Step 7
Chart optionsSelect 'Next' again and you arrive at chart options. This box allows you to add a title to the chart, make changes on the legend, or make changes on the data labels. Changes you make here appear in the visual diagram so you can see immediately how you are affecting the look/feel of your graph.
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Step 8
Select 'Next' to move to the final dialog box which allows you to see the chart as a new sheet or place it on one of the sheets in your workbook.
