The number of tools Excel that provides for working with charts can be a little overwhelming.
But the tools get easier with practice.
Let’s take a quick tour to get you acquainted.
First, the ribbon.
Excel will show you recommended charts based on the data you’ve selected.
These appear under the Chart Tools heading.
When the chart is deselected, these tabs disappear.
We’ll cover these features in more detail in upcoming videos.
Excel also attaches a menu of tools directly to the chart itself.
When you select a chart in Excel, you’ll see three helper icons to the right.
The plus icon helps you quickly add and remove common chart elements.
The paint brush icon allows you to apply chart styles and colors.
The filter icon allows you to quickly exclude or include chart data.
Above the context menu, you’ll see a mini toolbar.
Finally, in Excel 2013 and later, you’ll find the Format Task Pane.
The Format Task Pane provides a huge array of options for configuring chart elements.
We’ll cover the Format Task Pane in more detail in upcoming videos.
