Editing Graphs JSS3 Computer Studies Lesson Note

CREATING AND EDITING GRAPHS

Charts are used to display a series of numeric data in a graphical format to make it easier to understand large quantities of data and the relationship between different sets of data.

To create a chart in Excel, you start by entering the numeric data for the chart on a worksheet. Then you can plot that data into a chart by selecting the chart type that you want to use on the insert tab, in the Charts group.

1. Worksheet data
2. Chart created from worksheet data

Excel supports many types of charts to help you display data in ways that are meaningful to your audience. When you create or change an existing chart, you can select from a variety of chart types (such as a column chart or pie chart) and their subtypes (such as stacked column chart or pie in the 3-D chart). You can also create a combination chart by using more than one chart type in your chart.

Example of a combination chart that uses a column and line chart type.

Get to know chart elements.

A chart has many elements. Some of these elements are displayed by default, others can be added as needed. You can change the display of the chart elements by moving them to other locations in the chart, resizing them, or changing the format. You can also remove chart elements that you do not want to display.

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6. A legend or data table. You can show or hide a legend, change its location, or format it.
7. The data points or data series that are plotted in the chart.
8. The legend of the chart.
9. A chart and axis title that you can use in the chart.
10. A data label that you can use to identify the details of a data point in a data series.

Modify a basic chart to meet your needs.

After you create a chart, you can modify any one of its elements. For example, you might want to change the way that axes are displayed, add a chart title, move or hide the legend, or display additional chart elements. To modify a chart, you can do one or more of the following:

– Change the display of chart axes. You can specify the scale of axes and adjust the interval between the values or categories that are displayed.

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1. The chart area of the chart.
2. The plot area of the chart.
3. The data points or data series that are plotted in the chart.
4. The legend of the chart.
5. A chart and axis title that you can use in the chart.
6. A data label that you can use to identify the details of a data point in a data series.Apply a predefined chart layout and style for a professional look.

Instead of manually adding or changing chart elements or formatting the chart, you can quickly apply predefined chart layouts. Excel provides a variety of useful chart layouts and styles. You can fine-tune a layout or style as needed. 

1. Modify the layout of individual chart elements, such as the chart area, plot area, and the numbers and text in the chart.
2. You can also format the chart elements to match your organization’s or your theme (color is a set of colors, and themes are a set of heading and body text fonts).

Add eye-catching formatting to a chart.

In addition to applying a predefined chart style, you can easily apply formatting to individual chart elements such as the chart area, the plot area, and the numbers and text in the chart. You can give your chart a custom, eye-catching look. You can apply specific shapes manually. For formatting, you can use one or more of the following:

1. Fill chart elements: You can use colors, textures, and gradient fills to help you differentiate specific chart elements.
2. Change the outline of chart elements: You can use colors, line styles, and line weights to enhance chart elements.
3. Add special effects to chart elements: You can apply special effects, such as shadow, reflection, glow, soft edges, bevel, and 3-D rotation to chart elements.
4. Format text and numbers: You can format text and numbers in titles, labels, and text boxes. 

Reuse charts by creating chart templates

If you want to reuse a chart that you customized to meet your needs, you can save that chart as a template. You can then use that template just as you would any other built-in chart type. Chart templates allow you to change the chart type of existing charts.

EVALUATION

1. State the steps to modify a chart.

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

1. Use a collection of data organized into rows and columns where data is stored and manipulated. Worksheet: B. Group C. Workbook D. Active cell
2. A range is a worksheet formed by the intersection of a row and a column. A range can be a single cell or a cell collection.
3. You can create two worksheets in Excel: A. 1,048,576 B. 16,384 C. 160,000 D. 1,051,211
4. The data area of a cell is known as ___. A. cell range B. cell reference C. cell interface D. Cell Menu.