Line charts are often a better option.īubble charts cause problems with interpretation of bubble sizes. Unstacked charts risk areas in back being obscured by those in front, while stacked ones may have an issue if the audience doesn’t realize they represent cumulative data. Bar charts generally do a better job.Īrea charts are problematic for several reasons. Ordinary 2D pie charts can be useful if the number of data points is small and you only use one at a time. Stacked line charts can be confusing if the audience does not understand that each line represents a cumulative total of that line’s data plus all previous lines’ data. This set of charts can be useful, if you understand their limitations and drawbacks, and if the audience is skilled in their interpretation. However, for people familiar with them, stock charts are very useful.

Stock charts are tough for non-finance people to get, because they convey a lot of information in a specialized way. Because the bars do not share a common baseline, their lengths are harder to compare. They should be used with “a little” caution. These charts are also readily understood, but might not be the first choice for most data sets. Line charts and XY (Scatter Charts), with and without markers and lines.

This group comprises the commonest and most easily understood charts you can make. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, and paying attention, you will probably not be surprised by most of the ratings. What makes my dialog different is that it has been annotated to show which chart types you may use freely, which types you may use with caution, and which types you should avoid. Below is the Chart Type dialog from Excel 2010, but all of these standard chart types have been available since Excel 97, and most of them since before that. Excel offers a wide range of standard chart types.

Make a pie chart in excel 2010