Ok, since excel school 3rd batch is going to open on 15th, I wasnt going to write anything today. I have slept just 4 hours last night, blame it on work (and that funny video on youtube). But I found 30 minutes free time, so here you go, a quick but delicious tip on making your data validation dynamic.
Dynamic Data Validation?!? What in the name of slice bread and peanut butter is that?
We all know that you can tell Excel to limit the input values in a cell to just a list of possible values using data validation (Here is a tutorial).
Let us say, you have set up a nice little data validation list to let your users select one of the several products listed. Like shown to the right.
But there is a problem, the list of products doesnt change whenever we add or remove products.
This is where the dynamic data validation thingie comes in to picture. It same as regular data validation, but with the ability to change input list whenever you have new data. See this short demo to understand:
So, how to setup a dynamic data validation list?
if you are running Excel 2007 or above:
- Select your list of products (or invoices or cats) and make it in to a table. (here is a helpful tutorial on excel tables).
- Now, create a new named range and point it to the table, like this:
- Finally, give the named range as input list in data validation.
- That simple!
if you are running Excel 2003 or earlier:
You are in for a lot of circus now. But be patient and take a sip of coffee. Then,
- Make a dynamic range from your list using OFFSET formula, like this:
- Now, use the range name as input list in data validation.
- Pray to IT infrastructure gods that you should be given Excel 2010, really soon.
Download Example Workbook – Dynamic Data Validation in Excel
Go ahead and download example workbook and understand this concept better. Say goodbye to invalid data!
More resources on data validation & magic:
Some kicks ass stuff to help you do magic in excel thru data validation:
- Excel OFFSET formula tutorial
- Set up data validation in excel
- Advanced data validation tricks
- Excel tables – 10 reasons why you should use them
- …. more data validation tips & tricks
PS: If you like this trick, you are going to enjoy my excel school program. You should sign up, like today.
15 Responses to “Make a Bubble Chart in Excel [15 second tutorial]”
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!
Whyyyyyyyy?
The idea is to tell how to make a bubble chart. I got an e-mail from a reader recently asking how the scatter bubble is made. So I thought a 15 second tutorial would be a good idea to show this.
Did that email go "Dear Chandoo, I know that you scorn bubble charts, but if I don't do one in Excel for my boss then he'll fire my sorry ass, and my children will have to be sold for medical experiments in order for me to be able to afford the upgrade path to Excel 2010"?
If so, fair enough...it's all in the greater good 😉
Chandoo,
I am using excel 2003 and it is not working. The x axis is not the one that I enter in x axis column. Please help! Thanks.
Sorry, after few attempts, I managed to get the right result. I shouldn't select the title (header) of the table and select only the data to produce the right bubble chart.
What's wrong with bubble charts? Is there a better method for displaying scatter plots with lots of overlapping data points? Don't tell me you'd rather jitter!
@Sanwijay: Cool.
@Precious Roy: There is nothing wrong with bubble charts. Infact, it is the only way to show 3 dimensional data (x,y and sizes) without confusing your audience. Jeff is worried that people might misuse the chart. As with any chart, bubbles also have a place and time for using them.
I recommend using bubble charts to show relative performance various products in several regions and similar situations.
Also, human eye is notorious in wrongly estimating the bubble sizes (as we have to measure areas). See http://chandoo.org/wp/2009/07/28/charting-lessons-from-optical-illusions/
We can partially improve bubble charts by adding data labels, but if you have too many bubbles, the labels will clutter the chart and make it look busy.
I can't seem to find a way to plot more than ten bubbles on a chart and need to know how to add more
@KW.. why would such a thing happen. I am sure you can add more bubbles that that. Can you tell us exactly what you are doing...
Example table:
A B C (size)
Me: 25 30 15%
Him: 30 22 11%
Her: 12 30 20%
I am trying to make a bubble chart where the Y axis is A, the X axis is B, and the size of the bubble is C. There should be only 3 bubbles. I keep ending up with six (with the labels being only "Me" and "Her"). My goal is to have three bubbles, one representing each person. Clearly I am doing something wrong. Can you help explain...?
Hi,
I wanted to add data labels to the bubbles. Each bubble represents a different company name. Excel allows me to add the size, legend, x axis values and y axis values. How do I add instead- Company A, B, C, D for the bubbles?
youon you have to choice every data for every company..
ex:create bubble for A company,after that click right> add data label> adjust data labels :format data labels and choose : series name.
i hop u will succeed .
[...] we create a bubble chart with 2 bubbles. 1 for the actual mustache & 1 for target [...]
If we want bubble size to be controlled by one column, but the bubble labels to be controlled by another column, how can this be achieved?
many thanks!!!!