Charts are pictorial representation of worksheet data and make it easy for users to make comparisons, patterns, and trends in data. Charts present worksheet data in graphical or pictorial form, which is easier to read and understand. For instance, rather than having to analyze several columns of worksheet numbers, you can see at a glance whether sales are falling or rising over quarterly periods, or how the actual sales compare to the projected sales.

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Charts can be created in two ways: Embedded and Chart Sheet.

An embedded chart is a chart object that has been placed on a worksheet and that is saved on that worksheet when the workbook is saved. When it is selected you can move and size it.
A chart sheet is a sheet in a workbook containing a chart. When a chart sheet is created, it is automatically inserted.

Chart Types in MS Excel

• Area Chart
  An area chart emphasizes the magnitude of change over time. By displaying the sum of plotted values, an area chart also shows the relationship of parts to a whole.

• Column Chart
  A column chart shows data-changes over a period of time or illustrates comparisons among items. Categories are organized horizontally, values vertically, to emphasize variation over time. One variation of column chart is a stacked column chart, and another is 3-D chart. The Stacked column chart shows the relationship of individual items to the whole. The 3-D chart shows the three dimensional column.

• Bar Chart
  A bar chart illustrates comparisons among individual items. Categories are organized vertically, values horizontally, to focus on comparing values and to place less emphasis on time. One variation of a bar chart is a stacked bar chart. The stacked bar chart shows the relationship of individual items to the whole.

• Line Chart
  A line chart shows trends in data at equal intervals. Line charts are useful for depicting the change in a value over a period of time. Line graphs emphasize time flow and rate of change, rather than amount of change.

• Pie Chart
  A pie chart shows the proportional size of items that make up a data series to the sum of the items. It always shows only one data series and is useful when you want to emphasize a significant element. Pie charts highlight how each value in a data series relates proportionally to the whole i.e., the sum of the values in the series.
  There is a variation of pie chart available in Ms Excel and this variation is a grouped pie chart. To make small slices easier to see, these can be grouped together as one item in a pie chart and then broken down into a smaller pie or bar chart next to the main chart.

• XY (Scatter ) Chart
  An XY (scatter)chart shows the relationship among the numeric values in several data series. Like a line chart, an XY chart plots each point with a marker and and connects the points in each series with a line. The XY chart is sometimes referred to as a scattered chart because it is often used without any lines connecting the data markers.

• Doughnut chart
  Like a pie chart, a doughnut chart shows the relationship of parts to a whole, but it can contain more than one data series. Each ring of the doughnut chart represents a data series.

• 3-D Surface Chart
  The 3-D surface chart is a unique chart type that seems to drape a sheet over the data to create a three-dimensional view of it.

• Radar Chart
  A radar chart plots data on concentric circles. In a radar chart, each category has its own value axis radiating from the centre point. A line connects all the values in the same series. A radar chart compares the aggregate values of a number of data series.

• Cone, Cylinder, and pyramid Charts
  The cone, cylinder, and pyramid data markers give a dramatic effect to 3-d column and bar charts.

Components of a Chart

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