
5 simple rules for making awesome column charts
For every column chart that is done right, there are a dozen that get messed up. That is why lets talk about 5 simple rules for making awesome column charts.
Tip: Same rules apply for bar charts too.
Hello, Namaste & Kia Ora. Welcome to Chandoo.org.
My name is Chandoo. My mission is to make you awesome in Excel and Power BI.
I do this by sharing Excel & Power BI tutorials, examples, tips, videos and articles on this website. I live in Wellington, New Zealand with my beautiful wife Jo & our twins Nishanth & Nakshatra. Take a minute to browse various topics of the site to see how I can help you.
Thank you and welcome.
For every column chart that is done right, there are a dozen that get messed up. That is why lets talk about 5 simple rules for making awesome column charts.
Tip: Same rules apply for bar charts too.
Time for another Excel formula / Power Query challenge. This is based on a common business data analysis problem. Say you have two tables – calls log and office hours. Call log tells when each call is received. Office hours tell us working hours for seven days of the week. We want to know how many calls are outside office hours.
Recently, Microsoft Power BI introduced a very useful visualization, called key influencers visualization. As the name suggests, this is a chart of key parameters that effect a measure or outcome.
For example, you have customer satisfaction rating as a measure. Now you want to know which aspects of your data impact the ratings most? You can create the key influencer visual and Power BI finds all the top ranking influencers (using rules and machine learning).
But can we make it in Excel?
Let’s see…
Imagine you are in a life sustaining planet named Pearth, in another galaxy. One day you got to work, fired up Excel (hey, what else would you use? Excel is the best data software in any galaxy 🙂 ) and started working.
You came across a dataset that need sorting, but left to right – horizontally.
Now what? Do you turn your monitor sideways?
Its Easter time. At Chandoo.org, I have tradition of publishing Easter Egg hunts since 2009. This is the first time our Easter egg hunt is on Power BI. Changing times, eh?
We all know that VLOOKUP can find first match and return the results. But what if you want all the matches? Use this simple trick instead.
Let’s say you manage a fund or charity. You get money from various places and you use that money for various reasons. How do you
Excel has hundreds of formulas. But as a new learner or user, you may want to just focus on top 10 formulas to get the most out of it. Assuming you already know the basics (check out Beginner Excel page if you are complete newbie), here is a list of top 10 Excel formulas for you.
for more videos…
BeginnerTables & Structural Referencing
Cell referencing
Excel operators
IF
IntermediateSUMIFS, COUNTIFS
XLOOKUP NEW
VLOOKUP
INDEX + MATCH lookups
AdvancedMulti-condition lookups
Array Formulas
OFFSET
INDEX
Lists100+ Excel Formulas list
Top 10 formulas
15 Everyday formulas
Challenges & Home workExcel Homework
BeginnerExcel Pivot Table Tutorial
Multi-table pivots with data model
Advanced
Advanced Pivot Tables
Distinct count in Pivots
Ranking values in Pivots
GETPIVOTDATA
How to use slicers
Lists35 shortcuts & tricks for data analysis
Top 10 pivot table tricks
15 quick & powerful ways to analyze business data
ResourcePivot Tables Page
BasicsHow to pick right charts
Why bar charts should start at 0
Add a line to column chart
Correlation vs. Causation
ExamplesHand-drawn charts
Budget vs. Actual chart
Interactive charts
Chart typesHistograms & Pareto charts
Forecasting with charts
Gantt chart
Funnel chart
5 star chart
Indexed charts
Panel charts - Small multiples
AdvancedTarget vs. Actual progress - Biker on a hill chart
Stacked chart with indicators
Cropped chart - when some values are too big
Jitter plot
Joy plot
Step chart
Dynamic chart with check boxes
Lists & TricksCharting shortcuts & tricks
Using shapes in charts
Awesome chart titles with this trick
Use chart themes and styles
Use selection pane to work with charts faster
If you are new to Excel or have never used it, use below links to come up to speed.
Work with Excel a lot and know your game well? We have some very-advanced topics for you too.
Check out:
Excel challenges
Advanced Charting
Data Tables & Simulations
Power BI
Power BI is the most exciting thing to happen for your data since spreadsheets. If you are looking for a new skill to learn this year, I highly recommend Power BI. Check out below tutorials and get started today.
Learn how to work with data, make calculations, pivots, create amazing charts and powerful dashboards from scratch using Excel School + Dashboards program. Suitable for analysts, managers or professionals who need to use Excel often.
Use VBA to automate your tasks and build powerful spreadsheet based apps. In this course, learn all about how to program with VBA, how to use the language and object model to your advantage. Suitable for people who build a lot of things with Excel.