How to Create Pivot Charts in Excel

Introduction:

Pivot charts in Microsoft Excel are visual representations of pivot tables, providing a graphical view of summarized data. By creating pivot charts, you can quickly analyze trends, patterns, and comparisons in your data. In this tutorial, we'll guide you through the steps to create pivot charts in Excel.

Step 1: Open Your Excel Worksheet

1. Open the Excel workbook containing the pivot table data or create a new pivot table if you don't have one already.

Step 2: Create a Pivot Table (If Not Already Created)

1. If you haven't created a pivot table yet, select the data range you want to analyze.

2. Go to the "Insert" tab in the top menu.

3. In the "Tables" group, click on the "PivotTable" button. A "Create PivotTable" dialog box will appear.

4. Select the data range and choose where you want the pivot table to be placed (e.g., in a new worksheet or an existing one).

5. Click "OK" to create the pivot table.

Step 3: Design the Pivot Table

1. In the PivotTable Fields pane, drag and drop the column headers from your data range into the "Rows," "Columns," "Values," and "Filters" areas to structure your pivot table.

2. For example, to see the total sales by product category, drag the "Product Category" column header to the "Rows" area, and drag the "Sales" column header to the "Values" area.

Step 4: Create the Pivot Chart

1. Click anywhere inside the pivot table to select it.

2. Go to the "Insert" tab in the top menu.

3. In the "Charts" group, click on the chart type you want to create. Excel will automatically create a pivot chart based on your pivot table.

Step 5: Customize the Pivot Chart

1. Excel will insert the pivot chart into the worksheet. You can now customize it to suit your needs.

2. To edit the chart, click on elements like the chart title, axis labels, data series, or legend. You can right-click on these elements to access additional formatting options.

Step 6: Change Chart Type (Optional)

1. If you want to change the chart type after creating it, click on the chart to select it.

2. Go to the "Design" tab in the Chart Tools menu, and in the "Type" group, click on "Change Chart Type."

3. Select a new chart type from the list. Excel will apply the changes accordingly.

Step 7: Move or Resize the Chart (Optional)

1. To move the chart to a different location on the worksheet, click on the chart and drag it to the desired position.

2. To resize the chart, click and drag any of the chart's corner handles.

Step 8: Save the Workbook

1. Save your Excel workbook to retain the pivot chart and any other data you've entered.

Step 9: Closing Excel

1. When you're done working on your spreadsheet, go to the "File" menu and select "Close" to exit Excel.

Congratulations! You've successfully learned how to create pivot charts in Microsoft Excel. Pivot charts are powerful tools for visualizing and understanding your data, allowing you to explore trends and patterns quickly. By combining pivot tables with pivot charts, you can perform in-depth data analysis efficiently.