Special Edition Using Microsoft® Office XP

Anatomy of an Excel Chart

The basic row-and-column worksheet grid is essential in helping you organize data and perform calculations, but it's difficult—and sometimes impossible—to analyze information and see patterns by staring at a sea of numbers.

Charts help you turn numeric data into visual displays in which you can identify trends and pick out patterns at a glance. By using lines, columns, bars, and pie slices to compare series of data over time and across categories, charts often provide clear answers to tough questions, such as these:

• Which Sales Region and Which Product Lines Have Been Most Successful in the Past 12 Months?— A stacked column chart lets you see both sets of data in a single display.

• Does Your Small Business Have Seasonal ...