How to Visualize Survey Results using Incell Panel Charts [case study]

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Often when we make a survey to compare various products (or vendors, companies, brands) the results are in the following format:

Survey Results - Data - Example

Now, we can visualize such data in several ways. One of the obvious ways to visualize is to make a stacked bar chart. But it results in poor representation of values as we cannot easily compare ratings of one vendor to another. This is where a panel chart would help. A sample panel chart for above data can be like this:

Visualize Survey Results using Panel Charts

A panel chart (often called as trellis display or small-multiples) shows data for multiple variables in an easy to digest format. It lets users compare in any way and draw conclusions with ease.

Today, I want to discuss how the principles of panel chart can be applied to visualize a complex set of survey results. For this we will use the recent survey conducted by Gartner on how various customers use BI (Business Intelligence) tools. The folks at Tableau have done good analysis of this data and presented the results in this format:

BI Vendor Survey Results - Stacked Bar Chart

While the above chart is ok, it doesn’t let you compare vendors very well. We can only compare them on first usage, “viewing static management reports”. For everything else, the base line changes, so it is difficult to draw meaningful conclusions if, for example, you want to know which software is getting used more for “doing complex adhoc analysis”.

Jon Peltier has done beautiful analysis of this chart and presented various alternatives in his post yesterday. One of his recommendations is, of course, making a panel chart like this:

Panel Chart to Compare BI Vendors - Jon Peltier's chart

While, Jon’s Panel Chart greatly improves the readability of these survey results, I have 2 problems with it.

  1. Making such a panel chart in Excel is like baking your own bread. If you are like me, after few hours, you would run to bakery both hungry and frustrated. Panel Charts are not native in Excel. That means, we have to bribe, coax, threaten, protest and bend over backwards to prepare something like this in Excel. Thankfully people have already done that. So we can follow the examples and learn from their lead. [here is a panel chart tutorial from Jon]. However, the point still remains that, creating a panel chart in excel is a pain.
  2. Once such a panel chart is constructed, it is still pretty rigid. For eg. if you are interested in knowing how IBM as a BI vendor fares, you would like to have the results sorted by IBM’s BI Usages, but doing that in this carefully weaved panel set up means going to square 1 with less dough. So, we are stuck with a panel chart where the values cannot be sorted by any one vendor.

Is there a simpler way to construct panel charts in Excel?

So, I wondered, “is there a better and simpler way to make this chart that would still let me compare values (by BI vendor or BI Usage), let me sort and still save me enough time to drive down to one of the best bakeries in town to get a nice fluffy donut?“.

Of course there is…

The trick is to use Incell Charts. Ahem!

Instead of carefully tweaking chart options, adding dummy series and hiding them in the charts, we can just use incell charts with REPT formula and then align them in the cells. Since Excel naturally has the grid layout, creating panels (or small multiples) is as easy as snapping your fingers. (pls. note, this method of panel chart is only applicable for bar / column charts. If you need panels of line charts or scatter charts, you still need to use the methods suggested by Jon.)

We can also easily add a sorting option and use the lovely LARGE formula to sort the results based on selected vendor.

Here is what I prepared using the above recipe and it took me less than 20 minutes to set this up.

BI Vendor Survey Results - Incell Panel Chart in Excel

[click here for larger version of this]

How is the above incell panel chart constructed?

I am sure you are eager to know how this chart is constructed. Here is the secret:

  1. I took the raw data from Jon’s site and then Pivoted it so that we get the survey results in a table (with vendors on top and usages on left).
  2. I have dedicated a cell to let user select the sort order. Let us call this cell as “K3”
  3. Based on the vendor selected in K3, I have sorted the entire raw data using LARGE formula (and generous use of MATCH, INDEX, OFFSET formulas as well – examples here and here).
  4. Then I used the REPT formula to plot the incell bar charts (and the font “play bill” so that the bars look thick and nice).
  5. I have topped this with conditional formatting so that sorted vendor can be highlighted in different color.

Download the Incell Panel Chart Workbook

Download the Incell Panel chart workbook to play with it. I am sure you will find something useful and fun in that. [mirror download link]

How would you chart survey results?

There are still few problems with this approach though (for eg. adding labels can be a pain), but all in all, this simplifies the charting task and leaves room for adding extra features like sorting, conditional formatting.

Here is a open invitation. We have a long weekend coming up, thanks to Easter. So go ahead and download the original data here. And make your own charts for this survey data. The objective is that we should be able to compare vendors with each other with ease. Save your charts as images and upload them somewhere. Then leave a comment here with that URL so that we all can know how you would chart survey results.

Also, share your opinion on this type of panel charts. What is your experience with them? Do you like / hate panel charts?

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109 Responses to “How to create an Interactive Chart in Excel? [Tutorial]”

  1. PPH says:

    Nice technique. I use linked images a lot but I tend not to use charts with them because often the graphics are distorted, or at least for me they often seem to be. I prefer to use VBA to set the .Visible property of all the charts based on the combo box selection. It lags a fraction more than this method though.

  2. LeonK says:

    What great timing! I had just been asked to produce a report with appropriate charts to display various metrics and was pondering how I would approach it - Bingo! your blog on interactive charting.

    I, like PPH, usually favour the more technically proficient approaches but sometimes I forget that quick and 'dirty' solutions, in this case using Pivots, with a handful of 'subtotal' formulas and Chandoo's interactive technique, are all that are needed.

    Thanks Chandoo.

    LeonK

  3. Sreekhosh says:

    HI Chandoo,

    Yesterday i posted one doubt regarding the same.

    http://chandoo.org/forums/topic/picture-link-is-not-working-properly-for-dynamic-charts.

    Actually i am using excel 2007. I think linked Picture you mentioned above and Picture Link in 2007 is same. Did you face any updating issue while reopening the excel file.

    Regards

    Sreekhosh.AP

  4. 3G says:

    = CONCATENATE ("A","W","E","S","O","M","E")

  5. Daniel says:

    I am getting a "Reference not valid" error when trying to set the linked picture formula to "=selChart", even though I have set up the named range correctly (checked range selection when changing selection in combo box). Any ideas?

    • Chandoo says:

      @Daniel... try using Sheetname!selChart as reference.

      • Arunachalam says:

        Hi Chandoo,

        Thanks a lot for explaining this. But, like Daniel even I have the problem. I even tried your solution and still it is not working. Can you please help me regarding this?

        • Mmoe says:

          I was stuck on this for a really long time. I know this seems silly, but I would press enter before typing out the entire name of the reference (=selChart). Try typing it all out or clicking on it, it will not autofill, even though it may be giving you the impression that it will.

  6. rb says:

    Chandoo: I am having trouble to grasp the steps (11 thru 17); I would really appreciate if a supporting video is uploaded.. Thanks.

  7. javhaa says:

    Linked picture unactive. how to activate it?

  8. Johhny says:

    How to copy this type of graph to Pwerpoint? Thx.

  9. Abdul rasheed says:

    Hi, chandoo..
    nice and interesting tip, i am stuck in step 12. once i select chart1 range and the paste where in out put sheet ?

    • Deniz says:

      Can this technique be used wiht Pivot Charts? I'm getting an "Excel cannot complete this task with available resources. Choose less data or close other applications" (with Excel 2010).

  10. Chandoo says:

    @All... thanks for your comments.

    If you have trouble implementing this technique, watch below video

    http://youtu.be/rPwzdmTqJrc

  11. CB Learning says:

    Great Tutorial, video really helps too.

  12. Gary Berger says:

    Will this still work if the file is placed in a SharePoint 2010 Excel WebPart?

  13. Srini says:

    Hi Chandoo

    Is this technique applicable for excel 2007 or its is for Excel 2010 alone

    Kindly clarify am not able to a linked picture of a graph in excel 2007

    Regards

  14. Sreekhosh says:

    Hi Srini,

    We can use this technique in excel 2007 also.

    Instead of Step No13.mentioned above, You can follow below Steps.

    After copying the range Paste it as Picture Link (Home->Paste->As Picture->Paste Picture Link).
    Rest all are same mentioned above by our great Master.

    Regards

    Sreekhosh

    • Srini says:

      Hi Sreekosh

      Before posting here , i tried the same step , but in excel 2007 for Graphs not able to paste as a picture link , try it and do let me know
      Regards

  15. Sreekhosh says:

    Hi Srini,

    It will work 🙂 I am using the same in some of ma reports. I think you may did a wrong approach.
    Are u copying graph for pasting as Picture Link?

    You just please see the tutorial again. In that we can see he is copying the range where our chart occupies instead of chart.
    For example:

    If your chart is in B5:H10 you can copy the B5:H10 Range and paste as Picture Link.

    Regards
    Sreekhosh

  16. Sreekhosh says:

    Hi chandoo,

    When i am trying to printout the picture linked graph it will disappear after Printing (after Print Preview also) and not displaying the chart. If we select another chart from combo box it will not update. If we look at the Data & chart sheet we can see some charts are missing there.

    Regards
    Sreekhosh

    Regards
    Sreekhosh

  17. JEAN-CLAUDE says:

    Hi Chandoo! The same as Daniel, I am getting a “Reference not valid” error when trying to set the linked picture formula to “=selChart”, even though I have set up the named range correctly (checked range selection when changing selection in combo box). I've tried to name the reference as "Sheet name!selChart" but it is still not working. Your assistance please. Thanks.

  18. Kerry says:

    Hi
    Thanks this is great although how do i change the font size in the combo box?

  19. Sreekhosh says:

    Hi Kerry,

    If you want to change the appearance of a combobox or any other control, you need to use the ActiveX rather than the Form controls.

    Regards
    Sreekhosh

  20. Ayan says:

    Really helpful. Thanks a lot

  21. Stefan says:

    Hello and thanks for the guide. I have a problem in Excel 2007; my pictures are distorded in the Output sheet and not nearly as "pretty/smooth" as the real charts?

    What can I do to remedy this?

  22. Stein276 says:

    Excellent, this works really well. thanks.

  23. Gregoire says:

    This works great but when the file is closed and reopened the charts don't update unless you manually select all the charts and then they update. I've tried using some VBA code to select the charts automatically but this does not resolve the issue...anyone else getting this problem?

    • Matt says:

      I have had the same issue, also tried some VBA. Would appreciate any thoughts people have had for resolving this issue.

    • Chandoo says:

      Hi Gregorie & all.. this seems to be a bug with Picture links in certain versions of Excel. My suggestion is either run a macro on workbook open that refreshes the picture link or just scroll up and down as you open the file.

  24. Dook says:

    Hey, I just tried the tutorial and I came to the end.
    But when I save it as an .htm file, it wont allow me to select anything in the dropdown box in the browser...

    What am I doing wrong?

  25. Brett Alan says:

    Great video, very much thank you. Everything works fine when I work it thru. After I save and reopen I can not see graphics. They are outlined but nothing is there. Please help I am using Microsoft 2007

  26. Brett Alan says:

    followup, If I go to my chart sheet and highlight the chart, not change it just reselect it with my cursor it then shows it on my master sheet.

  27. Zen says:

    Having the same issue, tried using VBA to re-select but didn't work.

  28. Helia says:

    Many thanks, what a great tutorial. i will book on excel school, today.

  29. Helia says:

    having the same problem: Great video, very much thank you. Everything works fine when I work it thru. After I save and reopen I can not see graphics. They are outlined but nothing is there. Please help I am using Microsoft 2007

    • Chandoo says:

      @Helia: this seems to be a bug with Picture links in certain versions of Excel. My suggestion is either run a macro on workbook open that refreshes the picture link or just scroll up and down as you open the file.

  30. Helia says:

    I wrote the following VBA code, thats how i solved teh problem:
    Sub Rectangle2_Click()
    Sheets("charts").Select
    Application.Goto Reference:="CHART1"
    Application.Goto Reference:="CHART2"
    Application.Goto Reference:="CHART3"
    Sheets("OUTPUT").Select
    Sheets("charts").Select
    ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.Visible = False

    End Sub

    • Robert says:

      Hi Helia and Chandoo,

      First of all, great tutorial Chandoo!
      I'm having the same problem regarding the graphics not showing, and would like to run a macro that refreshes the picture link.
      I tried to use the macro Helia suggested above, but I can't seem to make it work as I'm fairly new to this kind of stuff. Would one of you be able to explain which sheet to assign the macro to, and what variables the code references to? Thanks in advance, and please let me know if you need more info!

      Best, Robert

  31. Chaithali Karanth says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    I hit your website while searching for some excel solution and after that I am fallen in love with your website.

    I am learning new new things everyday.

    Thanks a lot for sharing this with everyone.

    Regards,
    Chaithali

  32. Tzipi says:

    Hi Chandoo:)
    i really like you web site. it's help me allot.
    i craeted the Interactive chart it's amazing.
    i have one question:
    how can i make bigger the text of the list.
    it's so small

  33. Tzipi says:

    hi, i don't know how to uploded the excel.
    if you roll up this page under explanation number # 9
    in this page of Chandoo.
    you will see the combo box - the text there is small.
    whan i craeted the interactive chart the combo box text is small and i want to make him bigger, i hope i was clear.

    thanks:)

  34. Katy Scott says:

    How can i apply this to text?

  35. Vinoth says:

    Thanks Chandoo ! It worked perfectly fine for me !!

  36. Mae says:

    Thank you for the tutorial! i can really use this in my work! Thank you!

  37. [...] because users can choose the chart they want to see from a list in a combo box control: How to create an Interactive Chart in Excel? [Tutorial] | Chandoo.org - Learn Microsoft Excel Online The actual charts are all on a hidden page. The combo box control actually only shows you a [...]

  38. CHH says:

    Great Tutorial

    When I tried it on Excel 2007, the image is a lot more 'fuzzy' compared to the sample file, especially the axis and title.

    Can someone please explain why?

    Thanks

  39. Hi Chandoo, Just a? quick Question, How can we put up a Null for a start up, Like the no Picture for Non selection or when we Load the Excel File no Screen only Combo Box???

  40. Mark says:

    Will this work with PivotCharts?

  41. Steve says:

    Is it possible to paste the dynamic chart into PPT to present on the data without having to go into excel?

  42. Courtney says:

    @Chandoo Great tutorial! But I have a question. Is it possible to add another dropdown to this? Say you want to choose "Profits" and then just 2008 data/

  43. Sathya says:

    It works great... thank you

  44. Melissa says:

    Thank you, Chandoo! This is really helpful! Hope to learn more from you...

  45. SG Kenny says:

    Hello, great post btw but I've found an alternative method that for me works better (I noticed that the image quality of the charts when using this method wasn't as good as the original, and in spite of me spending time trying to figure out why I couldn't make them look exactly as the original did).

    I've used the following VBA code to display a chosen chart from a drop down. All it does is bring to the front whichever chart has been selected, and I've simply created and then overlaid several charts on top of each other:

    Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)

    Application.ScreenUpdating = False

    If Range("valChartType").Value = "Chart 1" Then
    Shapes("Chart 1").ZOrder msoBringToFront
    Else
    If Range("valChartType").Value = "Chart 2" Then
    Shapes("Chart 2").ZOrder msoBringToFront
    End If
    End If

    Obviosuly change the "Chart 1" and "Chart 2" values to whatever you want to call the charts, and then just add however many more you require to the code

    Kenny

    End Sub

  46. Francois says:

    Could you please explain step 10. I have no idea what to do here?
    Thanks!

  47. Mike says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    I found this really interesting and helpful, but I am having a problem when I am pasting Chart1 as a linked picture. Basically, excel keeps crashing at this point - I'm using 2010 version, so it can't be this that is causing the problem. Any help would be appreciated. Mike

  48. Lina says:

    Chandoo: I have 369 stores that work with, I loved this interactive chart video. I tested it with only 3 stores and it works excellent. However, now I need to do it for my 369 stores showing over time trending, does this mean that I need to make 369 charts? I will do it, but I am afraid of the file capacity or size . Would you have any suggestions? I use Excel 2010
    Thanks in advance
    Lina

  49. Lina says:

    Chandoo: I tried your link it this is just AMAZING!!! worked so well 🙂 BUT another question: how can I add a horizontal line to the chart to show the target value on the chart??? I am trying to add the horizontal line that is the baseline of my over time for each of my 369 stores. Thanks so much!!! THANKS SO MUCH

  50. Derek says:

    Chandoo: When I re-open my saved file, I cannot see the charts. I have to click somewhere on the tab where I housed the orginal charts, then when I go back to original page, I can view/select my charts.

    How can I correct it?

  51. LINA says:

    Chandoo and Hui, NEED HELP PLEASE!!! :'( I got the charts to work with multiple sites, but for some reason the vlookup formula does not read some of the data while it does read the majority, same cell position same formula, as shown in your link. Any Idea please? Thanks so much

    • Hui... says:

      @Lina
      So we can see your problem
      Can you post a sample of your data here or a link to a file
      Refer: http://chandoo.org/forum/threads/posting-a-sample-workbook.451/#post-73705

    • Hui... says:

      @Lina
      Looking at cell F424
      I would remove the VLookup() and replace it with a Match() function
      ie: Change F424
      from:
      =IF(VLOOKUP($G$422,Table82[[Supervisor]:[12-27-14]],5,FALSE), SUMIF(Table82[Supervisor],$G$422,Table82[9-7-13]),"0 ")
      to:
      =IF(MATCH($G$422,Table82[Supervisor],0), SUMIF(Table82[Supervisor],$G$422,Table82[9-7-13]),"0 ")

      This is because your table isn't sorted by Supervisor

      But I wouldn't even use that formula
      I would use something like
      in cell F424:
      =SUMPRODUCT(($G$4:$G$399=$G422)*($K$4:$AS$399)*(Table82[[#Headers],[9-7-13]:[12-27-14]]=F$423))
      You can now copy this right across without having to edit each formula individually as you have done

      to allow for errors add an Iferror() function
      =IFERROR(SUMPRODUCT(($G$4:$G$399=$G422)*($K$4:$AS$399)*(Table82[[#Headers],[9-7-13]:[12-27-14]]=F$423)),0)

      Also a lot of the supervisors have spaces on the end of their names
      eg: "Charles" is Actually "Charles "

      Hope the above comments help

      • Lina says:

        @Hui, Thank you very much. I was not even close to that formula you provided me. I understand now why it was not taking the function I had. I will download and I greatly appreciate your help, this has been great and I am greatly thankful.

  52. LINA says:

    @ Hui,
    Thanks for your reply, I have uploaded my file using dropbox. I sent the confirmation of the file to you both ways: email and also from the dropbox share link option. Thanks in advance. Lina

  53. aivee says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    Great tutorial, easy to follow. Thank you.
    I just have issue though when i paste picture link, the screen starts to flickers. You do not have that in your video.
    Can you please help? I want to have a nice presentation but if the the file keeps on flickering it might be annoying for the people who will recieve it.
    Thank you so much in advance!

    aivee (NL)

  54. devi says:

    Dear Sir,

    Your Creativity is awesome. But i have some doubt same thing (Interactive Chart ) can we do in PPT ?

    If possible plz reply, how i can do in .ppt ?

  55. asher says:

    I was amazed. thanks!

    I was trying again and again and finally it worked!
    however, I am not sure i have the deep understanding how its actually works

    I think the key for understanding is the choose formula.
    I am trying to play with that formula regardless of the combo box and my experiment doesn't work:
    I built a 1,2,3 list and a shape for each integer and when I apply the formula to get the shape it doesn't work
    any suggestion?

  56. Gabe says:

    Has anyone attempt to protect the worksheet after setting this up? It works perfectly and makes my dash look slick but I have other information with formulas on it that I do not want users to edit.

    When I do protect the worksheet and use the combo box, I receive this message: "The cell or chart that you are trying to change is protected and therefore read-only".

    I'm allowing the user to be able to do the following:
    - Select unlocked cells
    - Format cells
    - Sort
    - Use AutoFilter
    - Use PivotTable reports
    - Edit objects
    - Edit scenarios

    Any advise is appreciated!!!

    • Kenny says:

      Hi Gabe
      The combo box links to a cell in the worksheet, right click on the combo box and go to the Properties, you can then see which cell it links to. Most likely this cell is locked so by unlocking the cell you can then use the combo box when you pritect the worksheet.

  57. Twyla says:

    I am having a lot of problems with this one. When I download the sample files and play around, only the first two charts show up. And when I tried it on my charts (there are 18 charts), the first time through the first chart will show up and the 9th chart will show up, but all the others show blank areas. I am running the most up-to-date version of Excel2007 on a Windows7 box. I also had a lot of issues setting up the combo box as it kept making excel crash as soon as I clicked format control so recreated a new file with all my data on one sheet at 100% size, etc. But I still can't figure out why my chartspace is blank. Been working on it for two days now and am ready to pull my hair out. Any ideas why its not working?

    • Hui... says:

      @Twyla
      Can you post a copy of your file somewhere for us to review

      • Twyla says:

        Unfortunately its got proprietary data on it so I don't think I can. However since its the same issue I am experiencing with the downloaded file (only the first two charts show), I am wondering if its got something to do with Excel itself.

        • Hui... says:

          @Twyla

          The download file works fine

          What version of Office are you using ?

          Can you randomise some of the data and send to me
          Click on Hui... above
          my email is at the bottom of the page

  58. Faraz says:

    Firstly I'd like to say awesome technique! I've got it to work almost perfectly with the 12 charts I'm using in Excel 2007, however I notice that whenever I save my document, charts 4-12 won't appear when they are selected from the combo box, 1-3 will work no matter what however.

    The only I have found to fix this is to go to the Name Manager, go to the last chart, and click the 'Refers To' box to show the cells. Then I exit the Name Manager, scroll back to my combo box and reselect the chart I want displayed. Is there anyway to fix this issue?

  59. dockhem says:

    i have to insert many active x combo box in a sheet with list fill range fixed to all and linked cell is that one in which they inserted.please help me to that easily , thanks

  60. Robert says:

    Great tutorial!

    I’m having the same problem regarding the graphics not showing, and would like to run a macro that refreshes the picture link.
    I tried to use the macro Helia suggested above, but I can’t seem to make it work as I’m fairly new to this kind of stuff. I also have 6 different sheets that contain the charts.
    Would somebody be able to write a code that basically just automatically scrolls through the appropriate sheets so the graphs show?
    Thanks in advance, and please let me know if you need more info!

  61. ANN says:

    Great tutorial!
    I had successfully done my interactive chart... now my challenge is how to have it in .ppt... can you as well show how it is done?

    Thanks a lot!

  62. Becky says:

    Hi,

    I have used this and it works perfectly most of the time. My graphs that are linked into my output page are changed by a dropdown menu to change the data. Sometimes the linked chart changes and sometimes it doesn't. If I go into my Charts tab, the charts there are properly updating by my linked one isn't. Any suggestions?

    Thank you

  63. sathya says:

    Hi...

    Its nice tutorial... I have tried this in excel 2007... I don't have a option as Paste Special-->Linked picture... When i type =selectedChart, it leads to error.... I need to create a dashboard for a larger data...i.e., Based on the company, the chart should vary... it should not use any VBA code.. Its just based on Pivot table... i m using Excel 2007.. so i could not use slicers also.... Give me any suggestions?????

  64. Sujeesh says:

    Awesome Tuts !! thanks a lot 🙂

  65. Mark says:

    I've followed the instructions and the mechanic for pulling through the chart works fine however, the linked picture keeps resizing itself when I open the document each time.

    Any ideas?

  66. Dinesh says:

    Hi,
    I am trying this but not getting success. How can I do this successfully, please revert.

  67. Bob says:

    Nice tip.

    I created a table from the data and now the charts "grows" with the addition of new data.

    Some users may find this an added feature for specific charts.

    Seaspray, Australia

  68. Prajakta says:

    Hi,

    When I copy the chart range and special paste it.. It does not paste the Chart but the table (chart range). in a way that I can see 3 tables and not the charts.

    Note: I hope chart range means the chart table from which you get the charts.

    Need a help.
    Thanks.

    Regards,
    Prajakta

    • Hui... says:

      @Prajakta
      That is how it should behave?

      If you want to copy the chart simply select the chart and Copy (Ctrl+C)
      Move to where you want to paste the copy and Paste (Ctrl+V)

      If this isn't what you wanted can you please be more specific.

  69. corey zaba says:

    I know may people are having the same issue

    im running 2007 and it works perfectly, however once I save file and reopen it the pictures no longer show up unless I select the ranges of each chart

    is there a quick fix besides running a macro that will refresh the links?

  70. raennya says:

    Hi all!

    I'm trying to replicate this kind of interactive chart, but with a few dependent comboboxes. How can I do this? I'm a little bit stuck at the CHOOSE function because of the dependent comboboxes.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  71. Adnan Kabir says:

    I'm getting a "reference not valid" error when I'm trying to select the define formula after copying the first chart.
    Any advice?

  72. shikhar says:

    What if we want the combo box to show the chart itself with all its functionalities and not the linked picture so that we can use the checkboxes etc, that we have placed in the chart, in the output sheet itself rather than going back and changing it in the original file?

  73. Swapnesh says:

    Hi Everyone, I am facing the same issue as Derek

    When I re-open my saved file, I do not see the charts. I have to click somewhere on the tab where I housed the orginal charts and scroll once across my charts, then when I go back to original page, I can view/select my charts.

    Please help me with a solution / VBA code to resolve this issue.

    Apparently I am using five Charts named "Chart1", Chart2 and so on.
    My interactive chart is in sheet "Output" and sheet where my charts are named charts..Please help

  74. Kelmo says:

    Hi Everyone,

    First of all thanks a lot for the info. It is amazing! But...I have a "problem", the mechanism works really well but I find that I loose a lot of quality in my graphics, we could say that the resolution is really poor.

    Why could it be? Anyway for solving this problem? I have seen that in the example it doesn't happen.

    Thanks a lot for your support!

  75. Prem Prakash says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    This is really awesome. I managed to create the interactive chart using the technique that you have put in your article.

    However, I do have a question. Is there any way that I can import the drop down menu and associated charts to Outlook 2010 ?

    Thanks in Advance.
    Regards
    Prem

  76. Apy says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    I am facing an issue with this. When I close the file & re-open it, the linked images resize themselves to the size of the first chart. This is distorting the other charts. Please help!

    Regards,
    Apy

  77. theodore says:

    YOU DROVE GOD-D**N NUTS BY NAMING YOUR RANGE AS lSTCHARTTYPES. IT LOOKED LIKE 1STCHARTTYPES. OF COURSE WHEN I TRIED TO REPEAT THE WORK ON A SECOND WORKSHEET BY USING 2NDCHARTTYPES I WAS TOLD TO ENTER A VALID REFERENCE.
    IT TOOK ME A WASTED HOUR TO GET PAST YOUR CUTE LITTLE MISLEADING TRICK.

    • Lst says:

      It's been a while but I thought it's good to point out that it's a common practice to name your ranges tbl_xxx, lst_xxx if they are tables or lists. There's no need to get so upset when you have a free video to watch but are not familiar with the naming convention.

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