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Changing the Chart Type
The default chart is a column chart, with vertical bars. There are lots of alternative chart types to choose from. Not all of them will be appropriate for your data, of course, but you may be surprised at the different spin on the message that a different chart type presents.
| Caution | Many charts come in both 2-D and 3-D models. You choose which look is most appropriate for your presentation. Try to be consistent, however. It looks nicer to stick with all 2-D or all 3-D charts rather than mixing the types in a presentation. |
Here are some of the types available:
Bar and column. A column chart plots data with vertical columns. A bar chart is the same thing except the bars are horizontal.
Area and surface. These charts convey the same information as column charts, but the area between the bars is filled in.
Line. Line charts convey the same information as column charts, but instead of the bars, a line or ribbon runs where the tops of the bars would be.
3-D cones, cylinders, and pyramids. These charts are just like columns except the bars have different, more interesting shapes.
Pie and doughnut. These charts show how various parts relate to a whole, rather than showcasing individual number values. A pie shows a single data series, while a doughnut uses concentric rings to represent multiple series.
Bubble and scatter. These charts show each bit of data as a point (or bubble) on a grid and are useful for spotting trends among lots of data points.
Radar. This is a special-purpose chart that plots points on axes radiating from a center point. Most business presenters seldom use this type of chart.
Figures 11-7 through 11-9 show some examples of various chart types.
Figure 11-7: Clockwise from upper left- 3-D column, 3-D clustered bar, 2-D area, and 3-D area.
Choosing a Standard Chart Type
There are several ways to change the chart type. The easiest method is to use the drop-down Chart Type list on the Standard toolbar. It does not provide access to all of the types, but it can be handy if you happen to want one of the types it does provide (see Figure 11-10).
Figure 11-8: Clockwise from upper left- Surface, Radar, 3-D line, and 2-D line.
Figure 11-9: Clockwise from upper left- Doughnut, Pie, Scatter, and 3-D Pyramid.
Figure 11-10: Select a chart type from the Standard toolbar.
Another way to change the chart type is with the Chart Type dialog box. Follow these steps:
Choose Chart⇨Chart Type. This opens the Chart Type dialog box, shown in Figure 11-11.
Click one of the chart types on the Chart Type list. The available subtypes appear in the pane to the right. For example, if you choose Column as shown in Figure 11-11, you can choose from among seven subtypes.
Click the subtype you want. If you want to see how the data will look with the chosen type, click and hold the Press and Hold to View Sample button.
When you are satisfied with your choice, click OK.
Figure 11-11: You can choose from every available chart type and subtype through this dialog box.
| Tip | The default chart type is Column. If you prefer a different chart type to be the default, make your selection in the Chart Types dialog box and then click the Set as Default Chart button before you click OK. This can save your time because you won't have to change the type of each chart that you create. This setting applies to your PC's installed copy of PowerPoint, not to the presentation file. |
Choosing a Custom Chart Type
You may have noticed that there is a second tab in the Chart Type dialog box: Custom Types. When you click that tab (see Figure 11-12), a list of predesigned chart formats/types appears. You can select one of these custom types as a shortcut for choosing a particular chart type and formatting it in a certain way. For example, Figure 11-12 shows Blue Pie selected, and you can see an example of it in the Sample area. You could recreate this custom chart manually with a combination of chart type and chart formatting commands, but it is much easier simply to apply the custom type from this list and then tweak it to create the look you want.
Figure 11-12: You can choose a custom chart type from the Custom Types dialog box.
Making a selection on the Custom Types tab overrides any selection you have made on the Standard Types tab, and vice versa. Microsoft Graph goes with whatever you have most recently selected when you click OK.
| Tip | Applying a different chart type affects all data series by default, but you can also apply a different chart type to a particular data series. Select that series and then choose Chart⇨Chart Type. You can also format individual data series with different styles of lines, bars, or whatever, through the Format Data Series dialog box for a particular series. This is covered later in the chapter in the Controlling the Bar or Column Shape section. |
Creating New Custom Chart Types
If you frequently use the same formatting for charts, you can set up a chart just the way you want it in terms of type and formatting and then define that chart's design as a custom chart. The custom chart will then be available from the Custom Types list (see Figure 11-12) when you select the User-Defined option button. (You learn more about chart formatting later in this chapter, so you may wish to skip this now and come back to it later.)To create a custom chart type, perform the following steps:
Format any chart exactly the way you want it.
Choose Chart⇨Chart Type, and display the Custom Types tab.
Click the User-Defined option button.
Click the Add button. The Add Custom Chart Type dialog box opens (see Figure 11-13).
Enter a name and description for the new chart type, and then click OK. The new chart appears on the list of user-defined custom charts.
Figure 11-13: Create your own custom chart types using an existing chart as an example.
This custom chart appears only on the PC on which you created it; it does not travel with the presentation if you move it to another PC.
