Shading above or below a line in Excel charts [tutorial]
When comparing 2 sets of data, one question we always ask is,
- How is first set of numbers different from second set?
A classic example of this is, lets say you are comparing productivity figures of your company with industry averages. Merely seeing both your series as lines (or columns etc.) is not going to tell you the full story. But if we can shade our productivity line in red or green when it is under or above industry average… now that would be awesome! Something like above.
How the tax burden has changed over the years – Excellent chart by NYTimes & Redoing it in Excel
If I need some charting inspiration, I always visit New York Times. Their interactive visualizations are some of the best you can find anywhere. Clear, beautifully crafted and powerful. Long time readers of Chandoo.org knew that I like to learn from visualizations in NY Times & redo them using Excel.
Today let me present you one such chart. This is based on an interactive visualization prepared by NY Times explaining how the tax burden has changed over years for various income groups.
Take a look at tax burden chart – Excel implementation
Read on to learn how to create this chart using Excel.
How to make Box plots in Excel [Dashboard Essentials]
Whenever we deal with large amounts of data, one of the goals for analysis is, How is this data distributed?
This is where a Box plot can help. According to Wikipedia, a box plot is a convenient way of graphically depicting groups of numerical data through their five-number summaries: the smallest observation (sample minimum), lower quartile (Q1), median (Q2), upper quartile (Q3), and largest observation (sample maximum)
Today, let us learn how to create a box plot using MS Excel. You can also download the example workbook to play with static & interactive versions of box plots.
Thermo-meter chart with Marker for Last Year Value
During a recent training program, one of the students asked,
Thermo-meter chart is very good to show how actual value compares with target (or budget). But how can we add another point for say Last Year value to the chart with out cluttering it.
Something like above.
Sounds interesting? Read on
Speeding up & Optimizing Excel – Tips for Charting & Formatting [Speedy Spreadsheet Week]
Is Excel acting slow & taking ages? As part of our Speedy Spreadsheet Week, today lets talk about optimizing & speeding up Excel by formatting & charting better. Use these tips & ideas to super-charge your sluggish workbook.
No matter how much data you got, how many formulas you wrote, the end users seldom see them on your workbook. They see the finalized dashboard, they play with the model, they look at the report. And if you make poor choices, your end users will thing your workbook is slow.
So let me present you 7 charting & formatting tips to optimize & speed up Excel. Read on…,
Making Small Multiples in Excel [Charting Technique]
Today, lets learn how to create small-multiples (or panel charts) to visualize trend of 2 product lines over years in various regions. The inspiration for this chart and article came from my friend, Paresh‘s recent article on his blog.
See how you can create a combination of area & line chart to create the small-multiple chart and clone it. You can also download the workbook and play with it to understand this technique better.
Show Details On-demand in Excel [Tutorial + Training Program]
Yesterday, we have seen a beautiful example of how showing details (like distribution) on-demand can increase the effectiveness of your reports. Today, we will learn how to do the same in Excel.