how to use microsoft excel to make a bar graph

Go back to the temporary spreadsheet, click in cell A1, and paste.ĥ. This spreadsheet is named “ Chart in Microsoft PowerPoint.” Now navigate to your Excel spreadsheet that contains the data you want for your chart, select the data, and copy it to the clipboard.Ĥ. When you click OK, a temporary Excel spreadsheet opens, with dummy data. For example, if you have one row of data showing percentages that make up a whole, a pie chart would work better than a column chart.ģ. Note: Some types of charts are appropriate for specific types of data your chart type should match your data. For this example, I’ll choose the default 2D column chart. To change the layout of an existing slide, right-click off the slide, choose Layout, and choose Title and Content or another layout with the word “Content” in its name.Ģ. Use a slide with a layout that contains content and click the Chart icon, or choose Insert tab, and then Insert Chart. Here are the basic steps to create the chart in PowerPoint from a data set:ġ. Let’s assume that you’ve already edited an Excel spreadsheet so that it contains only the data that will support your message. There are several ways to generate a chart in PowerPoint from Excel data, but here we’ll talk about one way. These two tables, or sets of data, would end up being two easily digestible slides, instead of one overloaded slide. For example, you could cover two related sets in one table and two other related sets in another. Tip: If your data just has to be huge, see if you can divide the data into two sets. When you have only the data you need, you’re ready to create the chart in PowerPoint. One way to do this is to copy and paste data onto a separate Excel workbook tab. Instead of creating a chart from data in an entire Excel spreadsheet, first edit your spreadsheet. Too much data (sometimes called “data dump”) will overwhelm your audience, blunting your message. Instead, it’s a chart that shows only the data necessary to make the desired point clear – no less, no more. Charts display data in a visual format that audiences can easily grasp – if you design the chart and slide clearly and crisply.Ī crisp chart has nothing to do with your toaster’s setting. Īs a presenter, you probably use charts (also called graphs) in your presentations.

To learn more about her books, and get free tips and reports go to. By guest blogger Ellen Finkelstein, PowerPoint MVP and author of many PowerPoint skills books.

How to use microsoft excel to make a bar graph