How to Make a Bar Graph in Excel

This guide shows you how to make a bar graph in excel for Microsoft Office 365 (Excel 2016 and 2019), as well as older versions of Excel. Creating a Microsoft Excel bar graph is relatively easy, and once you’ve learned the steps, they can be a useful addition to your repertoire of computer skills.

What is a Bar Graph?

A bar graph is a two-dimensional or three-dimensional representation of data. Bar graphs — also known as bar charts or column charts — are one of the most common and simplest ways to visualize data, from the complex to the simple.

Bar graphs are not unusual to come across, whether at home, school or work, and they can be a great tool for presentations or personal use (such as budgeting).

In the simplest terms, a column chart or bar graph has an x-axis and a y-axis.

Usually, the x-axis (horizontal axis) is where the bars will rise in the graph, and the horizontal y-axis will have values ​​along a certain range. This is called a vertical bar graph (the vertical bars are easy to remember), but a horizontal bar chart will have horizontal bars or columns extending from the y-axis.

What are the Different Types of Bargraphs?

Depending on the type of data you are working with, one type of bar chart or another may be better. These types are possible in Excel charts, where you can make selections in the column menu or bar chart.

Stacked Bar Chart

This type of bar chart is good for searching multiple sets of data, as each bar can be subdivided.

If, for example, you’re looking at quarterly earnings, with each quarter represented by a vertical bar, stacked bar charts can show the breakdown of the different sales categories in each bar (online versus in-person, etc. )

Clustered Bar Chart

These bar charts, as the name suggests, show groupings of bars along the relevant axis. Clustered bar charts allow side-by-side comparison of different types of data on the same graph.

For example, if you are trying out a new gardening technique at your nursery, such as lasagna gardening, you could create a clustered bar chart in Excel that compared the outcome of different combinations of companion planting (trying to see what different combinations companions that work best , those graphed on a clustered bar chart).

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How to Create an Excel Bar Graph in 8 Steps

Here’s how you can create bar charts using Microsoft Excel 2016 [sources: TechontheNet, Microsoft]:

1. Open Excel. Find and open the spreadsheet you want to make a bar chart from.

2. Select all the data you want to include in the bar chart.

3. Be sure to include the column and row headers, which will act as labels on the top chart. If you want different labels, type them in the appropriate header cells.

4. Click the Insert tab and then the Insert Column or Bar Chart button in the Charts group. You will see many options when you select this button, such as 2D columns and 3D columns, as well as 2D and 3D bars. For these purposes, we are choosing 2D columns.

5. The chart will appear. You will also see horizontal bars naming your headers at the bottom of your graph.

6. Next, give your chart a name. Click on the Chart Title at the top of the graph and the section will be edited.

7. Decide where to place the bar chart. It can be placed on a separate sheet or it can be embedded in the spreadsheet. Then save it.

8. If you want to delete the chart and start over, place your cursor on the edge of the chart (you’ll get a pop-up that says “chart area”) and press your Delete key.

For earlier versions of Excel, such as 2007 and 2003, follow the instructions below [source: Excel Bar Graphs]:

1. Open Excel. Find and open the spreadsheet you want to make a bar chart from.

2. Select all the data you want to include in the bar chart. Include the column and row headers, which will act as labels on the top chart. If you want different labels, type them in the appropriate header cells.

3. Click the Chart Wizard toolbar button, or choose Chart from the Insert menu.

4. Make sure that Column is selected under the Chart type (it is the default setting).

5. Select a bar graph subtype from the display on the right, and click Next.

6. Ensure that the data range is correct and that Column is selected in the DataRange tab. Click Next.

7. Enter the chart titles for the X axis and the Y axis. These titles will appear in the appropriate places on the top graph.

8. Click on the other tabs and make any changes you want. Click Next.

9. Decide where to place the bar chart. It can be placed on a separate sheet or it can be embedded in the spreadsheet.

10. Click Finish. You have just made a bar graph in Excel.

11. Use the Chart toolbar to make any final adjustments to the bar graph. If the toolbar is not visible, select View. Select the Toolbars menu. Select the Chart toolbar.

Original article: How to Make a Bar Graph in Excel

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