Charts in Excel are visual representations of data that help analyze trends, patterns, and comparisons quickly. Advanced charts take this further by combining multiple datasets, using secondary axes, and adding interactive elements to make complex data easier to understand and interpret. They are useful for visualizing relationships, tracking progress, and comparing actual performance against targets.
Advance Chart
Advanced charts allow you to consolidate information from more than one dataset into a single chart. They help visualize complex data relationships and trends in a clear and interactive way. Examples of popular advanced charts include:
- Conditional Doughnut Progress Chart: Displays percentage changes with conditional colors for different levels of task completion.
- Column Chart with Percentage Change: Shows percentage change over time for an event or task.
- Interactive Waterfall Chart: Illustrates changes in a quantity or amount over a period.
- Actual vs. Multiple Targets Chart: Compares actual performance against multiple goals..
Example:
In this example, we’ll use a dataset tracking the number of articles published on a website (e.g., GeeksforGeeks) and the number of monthly visitors over six months. The goal is to visualize the relationship between articles published and visitor numbers using an advanced chart.
Step-by-Step Implementation
Step 1: Create a Dataset.
In this step, we will create a random dataset for our example. We will need 3 different columns Month, No. Of Articles Published, No. Of Visitors.
Step 2: Create A Column Chart.
In this step, we will create a basic column chart using our random dataset. For this Select Dataset > Insert > Charts > Insert Column / Bar Chart. Excel will automatically insert a chart depending on chart basics.
Step 3: Formatting Chart.
In this step, we will format the chart in order to make it a little more advanced. As we can see in the above chart we are able to visualize the number of visitors who visited the website and the articles published but in order to make it more enhanced we will also show the relationship between the two curves we will format the chart. For this Select Any Visitor Curve > Chart Design > Change Chart Type.
Step 4: Adding Secondary Curve.
Once we click on the Change Chart Type, it will open a window where we will add change the Visitors curve as a secondary curve this will enable us to easily visualize the relationship between the articles published and the number of visitors on the website. For this Select Combo > Click On Clustered Column Drop-Down > Select Line Cure.
Once we select the Line curve for our visitor's axis, we need to click on the OK button.
Once we click on the OK button we will get the following chart as an outcome.
Step 5: Adding Secondary Axis.
In this step, we will add a secondary axis to our chart. For this, we need to repeat the same thing. For this Select Chart > Chart Design > Change Chart Type.
It will open a popup window where we need to Secondary Axis checkbox for the Visitors curve, this will add the secondary axis to the chart.
Once we click on the OK button, we will get the output.
Step 6: Adding Data Table.
In this step, we will try to add a data table to our chart. For this Click Chart Element > Data Table.
Step 7: Output.
Once we click on the Data Table Checkbox Excel will automatically add a data table to our chart.
