Charts

A chart turns numbers into a picture, such as columns, a line, or slices of a pie. This topic shows how to put a chart on a page, how to type its numbers, and how to change how it looks.

Put a chart on a page

1. Go to the page where the chart should go.
2. Click Insert > Chart, and pick a kind: column, stacked column, 100% stacked column, bar, stacked bar, line, line with markers, pie, doughnut, area, stacked area, or scatter.

A stacked chart piles the series on top of each other. A 100% stacked chart makes each stack the same height, so you see shares. A scatter chart puts each point where its two numbers say.

The chart comes in with sample numbers, in the middle of the page, and the Chart Format tab opens. A chart is an object like a picture or a shape: drag it to move it, drag a handle to change its size (the chart is drawn again to fit, so its words stay the right shape), and turn it with Rotate on the Arrange group.

Type your own numbers

Select the chart and click Chart Format > Edit Data. A table opens.

• The first column holds the words under the points (the categories), such as the months.
• The first row holds the name of each series, which is one set of numbers, such as one product.
• The other cells hold the numbers.

Click Add Row or Add Column for more, or Remove Last Row or Remove Last Column for fewer. Click OK. If a cell is not a number, the chart is not changed, and the status bar tells you which row. A chart can have up to 200 categories and 24 series.

For a scatter chart, the first column holds the numbers that place the points from left to right.

Change how it looks

These commands are on the Chart Format tab. Each one is a single step to undo, and the chart keeps its colors and the rest of its look.

• Change Chart Type turns the chart into another kind with the same numbers.
• Chart Title shows or hides the title. Edit Chart Title changes its words.
• Legend is the key that says which color is which series. Put it at the right, top, left, or bottom, or take it off.
• Axes shows or hides the line of words under the chart (the categories) and the line of numbers beside it (the values), and sets a title for each. A pie chart has no axes.
• Gridlines draws faint lines across the chart to help your eye follow the numbers. The major lines sit at the main numbers on the side, and the minor lines sit between them.
• Chart Styles picks one of eight overall styles.
• Data Labels writes each number on its column, point, or slice.

Saving, printing, and PDF

• A .jpub file keeps the chart as a chart, so you can open it later and change its numbers.
• A .pub file can't hold a chart that other programs open as a chart. JeffPub saves the chart as a picture of it, and tells you how many charts it saved that way. Keep a .jpub copy if you want to change the numbers later.
• PDF and printing draw the chart as lines, shapes, and real text, not as a picture, so it stays sharp at any size.