Beginning Microsoft Excel 2010

Chapter 5. The Stuff Of Legend—Charting in Excel

They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words—a remarkably durable exchange rate to be sure, given how long they've been saying it. But is it true?

As with most such pithy declarations, the answer depends. When it comes to spreadsheets, Excel jams a toolbox full of charting options for framing some very pretty—and meaningful—pictures of your data, but wealth needs to be managed wisely.

It makes sense to have the chapter on charts follow our discussion of formatting, because charting stands right atop the boundary between data manipulation and the way in which that data is presented. How charts are formatted, and indeed, the very choice of which chart to use, can exert a significant pull on readers' ...