Filtering is a simple yet powerful way to analyze data. When you apply filters to any list of values, Excel gives you some really useful pre-defined filters so that you can analyze the data in a variety of ways.
So, assuming you have data like this:
We all know how to filter data for Bananas.
We also know how to filter data where Sales > 70
But, what if you want to filter data such that Fruit is Banana OR Sales is more than 70?
Sounds tricky, Right?!?
Well, not so tricky. We can use Advanced Filters to do just this (and more).
Here is how we can filter values with Fruit=Banana OR Sales>70
1. Insert a few blank rows above your data
2. We will use this space to define the conditions for our Advanced Filters
As you can guess, to use Advanced Filters, you must write down the conditions for filtering in cells.
3. Now, set up cells like this.
4. In first row, write =”=Bananas” against Fruit column
Note: we use =”=Bananas” instead of =Bananas because whenever you write = Excel thinks you are writing a formula.
5. In second row, write >70 in the Sales column
If you write this in first row, then the filtering would happen for Fruit=Banana AND Sales>70
6. Now, select any cell with actual data and go to Data > Advanced Filter
7. Select cells as shown below.
8. Click OK, and your list is filtered
Pretty cool, eh?
Some Tips about Advanced Filters:
- Use Copy to Another Location Option to copy the filtered values elsewhere.
- Excel creates a named range criteria upon the first time you apply advanced filters. As you can guess, this range contains the filtering criteria. With some creativity, you can dynamically change this (or create it) and make advanced filters even more advanced 😉
- Do not select blank criteria rows: Make sure you only select criteria rows with some data in them. Otherwise, Excel will not filter.
- Use with VBA: Advanced filters are pretty powerful & very fast. So, if you need to process a large list and create a sub-list that meets a criteria, you can do that thru Advanced Filters and even automate the process with a bit of VBA (more on this during next 2 weeks).
- Few more advanced filter tips on Contextures: Debra shares some really nice examples on advanced filters. Check them out.
Download Advanced Filter Example Workbook:
Click here to download Excel workbook with Advanced Filter Example. Play with it to understand how you can filter like a fine coffee maker.
Do you use Advanced Filters?
I have rarely used advanced filters before writing this example. A reader’s email prompted me to learn this technique. And now, I am very eager to play with this so that I can share few more awesome implementations with you.
What about you? Do you use Advanced Filters? What do you use them for? What are your favorite tips & ideas? Please share using comments.
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!!!!