Learn Excel 2011 for Mac

Creating, Laying Out, and Formatting a Chart

In this section, we'll look at how to create a chart from your data, lay it out with the components and arrangement you want, and apply the most useful types of formatting.

Creating a Chart

To create a chart, you use the commands on the Charts tab of the Ribbon. Follow these steps:

1. Select the data you want to chart, including any row or column headings needed. For example, click the first cell in the data range, then Shift+click the last cell. If you've downloaded the sample workbook, select cells A1:G8 on the Rainfall Data sheet.

   TIP: You can create a chart from either a block range or a range of separate cells. To use separate cells, select them as usual—for example, click the first cell, then ...