When you’re working in spreadsheets, it’s often useful to add charts to add extra visual interest. One great way to do this is to use charts in Excel. Fortunately, you don’t have to be an Excel chart expert to bring these to your own files. Let’s learn how to add recommended charts in Microsoft Excel.
How to Add Recommended Charts in Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel offers a variety of ways to add unique charts to any spreadsheet. These include line charts, bar charts, pie charts, and many more. When you have data formatted, you can choose from any of them. But sometimes, it’s difficult to know which chart style to choose.
Luckily, Microsoft Excel has you covered. The Recommended Charts feature is a smart option that analyzes your data and instantly determines what type of chart fits it best.
Imagine, for example, that you have a list of years in a column of your spreadsheet, with annual revenue figures in the adjacent column. A line chart would be a great way to illustrate the annual growth reflected in your data. But you don’t have to build a line chart layout from scratch.
Begin by inputting your data in Excel as you see below. In column A, you have the years listed. Column B shows the annual revenue. Then, click and drag to select your dataset, which here is the range A1:B5. Then, go to the Insert tab on Excel’s ribbon.
You’ll see an array of options, and you’ll want to click on the Recommended Charts dropdown. Excel will instantly analyze your data, and suggest the most logical and likely chart styles to use. In this case, you’ll see thumbnails illustrating a line chart, a clustered column chart, and more.
Click on any of them, and Excel will insert the selected chart style right onto your sheet.
As you can see, this is a great way to add charts to your spreadsheets, with no tedious design work involved.
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