Here we have annual sales figures for a small company.
I’ll use this data to build a basic column chart.
The first step in creating a chart in Excel is to prepare the data.
To create a chart, start by selecting the data.
Notice that when you select a chart, Excel highlights the cells that contain the source data.
You’ll see this highlighting only when the chart is selected.
For example, I could limit this chart to display only the last 5 years of data.
Or, I can drag to show just the first 5 years.
And I can easily adjust to display all 8 years again in the chart.
Now, you’ve got the option to also adjust data with control called Chart Filters.
To keep things simple, we’ll look at this feature in a separate video.
This is a good way to learn Excel’s chart terminology.
Just like formulas, Excel charts are fully dynamic.
If I change the source data, this change is immediately reflected in the chart.
