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Areas

Emphasizes the magnitude of changes over time.

Bars

Compares data items. A bar chart is a column chart with horizontal lines.

Columns

Shows changes over time and compares values. A column chart is a bar chart with vertical bars.

Lines

Shows trends and projections.

Net

Puts in each category an

axis that radiates from the center of the graph (useful for finding the data series with the most penetration, as needed in market research statistical studies).

Pies

Compares the proportional size of items against the parts of the whole.

Stock

Illustrates a stock's (or other investment's) high, low, and closing prices.

XY (Scatter)

Shows relationships of several values in a series.

1.

Select Data to Chart

You must first tell Calc exactly what you want to chart. To do this, you must select one or more

data series to use in the chart. A data series might consist of a time period such as a week or year. One person's weekly sales totals (from a group of several salespeople's weekly totals) could form a data series. Some charts only graph a single series, such as a pie chart, whereas other charts can graph one or more data series, such as a line chart.

KEY TERM

Data series A single group of data that you might select from a column or row to chart. Unlike a range, a data series must be contiguous in a row or column with no empty cells in between.

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You can also request a chart by clicking the

Insert Chart button on the

Standard toolbar and then clicking in the sheet where you want the chart to appear. If the

Standard toolbar is not open, choose

View, Toolbars, Standard to display it.

When you select a data series, include labels if available next to the series. Calc can use those labels on the chart itself to label what is being charted.

2.

Request the Chart

Select

Insert, Chart from the menu to display the

AutoFormat Chart dialog box. Calc analyzes your selected data and automatically puts that range in the

Range text box (using an absolute range reference, including the sheet name). If you decide to use a different range, either type the range in the

Range box or click the

Shrink button to select a different range before clicking the

Shrink button once again to restore the

AutoFormat Chart dialog box and continuing with the chart.

Calc will probably have already checked the

First row as label option and/or the

First column as label option. In doing so, Calc wants to use either the first row or column in your selection for the labels on the data points that will be graphed. If you don't want labels, or if your selected data series doesn't include labels, click to uncheck either of these options. If you selected multiple data series, you still could select the row or column that precedes the series to be used for the labels.

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Calc will display the chart you build next to the data in the current sheet. If you would prefer the chart to appear in a sheet by itself, click the

Chart results in worksheet option and select a different sheet. Doing so keeps your data and chart separated into different sheets.

Click

Next to continue with the chart building so you can select the type of chart you want to build.

3.

Select a Chart Type

Scroll through the various charts offered and select the chart you wish to build. The preview area updates as you select different chart types to give you a good idea of what your chart will look like. Use the preview area to determine as early as possible the best chart type for the data series you selected. For example, if you selected only a single data series, such as 12 monthly gross sales figures, you would want to select a simple chart type and most likely a line chart. The line will show the direction and trend of the sales over the year. A chart type that compares multiple data series against others, such as an area chart, would make little sense when charting a single series.

Click the

Next button once you've selected a chart type.

4.

Select a Chart Variant

Each chart type includes several variables. You'll now want to choose one of those variants that displays your selected data the best. You may also want to hide or display grid lines on both axes of the chart, or only on one or the other. As you select from the options and variants, Calc updates the preview to show you what your chart will look like.

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During the chart-building process, you can generate the chart immediately without having to click

Next to run through each of the possible steps. Click

Create at any point to generate the chart with the options you've selected so far.

If you want the preview window to show text elements such as chart labels, enable the

Show text elements in preview check box. The chart itself appears smaller in the window, but you'll see a more complete preview of your work.

Click

Next to continue building the chart. Calc displays one more dialog box where you enter a title for your chart, indicate if you want a

legend to display, and type labels for the two (or three, depending on whether the chart is a regular 2D or a 3D chart) chart axes. You can type a title to appear above the chart by enabling the

Chart title check box and then typing a title in the

Chart title text box. When you're finished, click

Create to complete the chart.

KEY TERM

Legend Tells a chart's audience what series each colored line or bar represents.

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If you create a 3D chart (or edit your chart to change it to a 3D chart), you can customize all 3D aspects of it, such as its shading and rotation angle, by right-clicking the chart and selecting

3D Effects from the context menu. Note that this option appears only if you have chosen a 3D chart type.

5.

Edit Chart Elements

Once Calc displays your chart (next to the data or in its own sheet, depending on your selection when you built the chart), you are free to edit any and all the elements in the chart. The resizing handles that appear when you click the chart enable you to resize the chart to any proportion you prefer. The chart's anchor appears anytime you select the chart, in case you want to move the chart or delete it (by moving or deleting the anchor).

If you want to change individual elements within the chart, such as the chart title, legend, or chart type, double-click the chart to open it for editing. A gray border around the chart indicates that it is open for editing. You can then right-click the chart to open a context menu of editing and formatting choices.

You can also edit many elements by simply double-clicking them. By double-clicking the title, for example, you can edit and format the title just as you would any other text box. By double-clicking the chart area, you open the

Chart Area dialog box, where you can change the look of the chart's background.

6.

Experiment with Different Chart Types

When first mastering the nuances of Calc's charting capabilities, start with a single data series to get a feel for the charting dialog boxes and to learn the terminology. Then, you can experiment with charting additional data series within the same chart to make data comparisons that sometimes are easier to study in chart form as opposed to lists of numbers inside a large worksheet.