Not only is there a video explanation on how she built it, but she has also released the sample dashboard Excel Workbook file that is free to download.

Check it out here: Plan v Actual Excel Dashboard

• Excel Dashboards

• Power BI

Make sure to check out and download the Plan v Actual Excel Dashboard, it is worth the trip!

Disclosure: I make a small commission for students who join Mynda’s course, but as you know I don’t just recommend anything and everything. It has to be of outstanding quality and value, and something I can genuinely recommend. After all, if it doesn’t live up to what I’ve promised you’ll think poorly of me too and I don’t want that.

Steve=True

The post How-to Build a Plan vs Actual Excel Dashboard first appeared on Excel Dashboard Templates.

The post How-to Build a Plan vs Actual Excel Dashboard appeared first on Excel Dashboard Templates.

Have you been able to find the Excel Clustered Stacked Column Chart Type?

Well it is not there, unfortunately. But Excel is a powerful tool and we can user other options to create the chart we are looking for with this simple tip to make your own Excel Clustered Stacked Column graph. This tutorial is focused on Microsoft Excel 2013, Excel 2016 and Excel 2019. But it will most likely work for versions after 2019. If you want to see the steps required for Excel 20010 and Excel 2007, check out this tutorial: how-to-easily-create-a-stacked-clustered-column-chart-in-excel

The Breakdown

Here are the basic steps that we will walk through in this tutorial. The sample download file and video demonstration are at the end of the article.

1) Setup Data

2) Create Stacked Column Chart

3) Switch Rows/Columns of Chart (if needed)

4) Decrease Series Gap Width (as Desired)

Optional Steps for the Extended Chart Features:

5) Add Filler Series for Separation

5a) Insert Rows as Needed to Previously Created Chart

6) Add Vertical 2nd Axis Label Series

6a) Add Series

6b) Repeat Steps 2-3

6c) Move New Veritical 2nd Axis Label Series to 2nd Axis

6d) Change New Vertical 2nd Axis Label Series Fill to No Fill

6e) Decrease Series Gap Width (as Desired)

6f) Delete 2nd Axis Label Legend Entry

Step-by-Step

1) Setup Data

In order to create a simulated Clustered Stacked Column Chart type, we just need to perform 4 steps. Now this tip uses the Excel “Multi-level Category Labels” chart option for column charts. In order to use this option we need to setup our data in a certain way. So that is our first step.

Our scenario is that we are building a chart for the marketing team on amount spent and budgeted amount for 2 products on 4 media types (Print, Internet, TV, Radio). The data we received was in this format.

Original Data

To utilize the ” Multi-level Category Labels” option in a column chart, we need to setup our data with tiered categories. That means that we have a main category in one column and many categories in the column to the right. Therefore, we need to change our data to the following format.

Basic Clustered Stacked Chart Setup

So you can see that our data has been rearranged so that Product 1 has 2 lines associated with it. One for the budget values and one for the actual values for all 4 types of media advertising. We are now ready to create the Excel Clustered Stacked Column chart.

2) Create Stacked Column Chart

To create our chart, highlight the data range in the data set above from A2:F6. Then go to the Insert Ribbon and click on the Stacked Column Chart in the chart button as you see here.

Your chart should now look like this:

3) Switch Rows/Columns of Chart (if needed)

Our chart doesn’t quite look right. In most cases you need to switch rows/columns on your chart. Why do I need to do this? Check out this video here

To fix your chart, simply click on the chart and then go to the Design Ribbon and click on the Switch Rows/Columns button.

Your chart is now complete and should look like this:

If you want to move the columns closer together follow the next step, but it is optional.

4) Decrease Series Gap Width (as Desired)

If you wish, and it is my preferred look, you can close the Gap Width of the columns. To do this, select the chart, and then select any data series and press CTRL+F1 (or right click and select Format Data Series). Then from the Format Data Series Dialog box, change the Gap Width to 15% or whatever you think looks best.

Your final chart should now look like you see above. But we are not done if you want to add some additional changes. Below is completely optional and as you desire, but I think it adds some clarity and additional detail that will help the reader.

Optional Clustered Stacked Column Chart Steps

5) Add Filler Series for Separation

If you want to separate the groupings follow this step.

5a) Insert Rows as Needed to Previously Created Chart

Do this as you see fit, simply insert a row in your data and it will separate the groups.

After you insert your row, you then must follow steps 1-3 above to create your chart from the beginning. When you complete steps 1-3 you will then see that your chart doesn’t quite look right as your product 1 group includes this new space as you see here:

To fix this, you need to fool Excel by creating another level one grouping that doesn’t show on the chart. This is very simple by just putting a space in the data set in the cell right above the Product 2 entry.

Your final chart with the added gap should look like this with the grouping fixed:

6) Add Vertical 2nd Axis Label Series

Optional Step 5 above looks good to me, but the product 2 data is farther away from the numbers so sometimes I like to add an additional chart series on the secondary axis to have the vertical axis numbers show closer to that series. This is an optional step, so only use it if you also like the look.

6a) Add Series

To make the secondary axis max limit value match the primary axis max limit, we need to create a formula for our additional secondary axis series. To do this, create a formula on the first row of data with a formula that calculates the maximum stacked column of all of the stacked columns that will be in the chart. Therefore, in cell G3, we create a MAX() formula with a sum of each row. See the Max and Sum formula below for more details.

Optional 2nd Axis Chart

6b) Repeat Steps 2-3

Now that you have created your data set, you will simply follow all of the original basic steps 1-3 above to create your Clustered Stacked Column Chart but change your chart range to A2:G6 or A2:G7 if you have added an extra row for a gap between groupings. In my case I have added the gap row, so my chart range is A2:G7. Go ahead and create the initial chart as you see here:

Your chart initial should now look like this if you have the gap row in the data series after step 2.

After you Switch Rows/Columns your chart will look like this after step 3:

6c) Move New Veritical 2nd Axis Label Series to 2nd Axis

Our chart looks very similar to our basic chart, but there is an extra series that we will use for our secondary axis. So select the chart and then select the “2nd Axis Labels” series and press CTRL+F1 or right click on it and select the Format Data Series… option. This will bring up the option to move it to the Secondary Axis. Do that now.

6d) Change New Vertical 2nd Axis Label Series Fill to No Fill

When we moved the series to the secondary axis, it covers up one of our stacked columns. So to get around this, we need to change the fill on the series to No Fill. If you are still in the Format Data Series dialog box, click on the Fill Options (looks like a paint can pouring) and change the Fill to No Fill.

6d) Decrease Series Gap Width (as Desired)

This is the same as optional step 4 above. I changed the gap width of the Stacked Columns on the Primary Axis to 15% as you see here:

6f) Delete 2nd Axis Label Legend Entry

Last thing we need to do is to delete the “2nd Axis Labels” legend entry on the Legend. To do this, select the chart and then select the legend and then select the legend and then select the “2nd Axis Labels” legend entry and press the delete key.

Your final chart will now look like this:

This is a great technique to make a combo chart that is frequently needed for complex data sets. It will even work for more product data sets. Here is sample of what another series would look like.

Video Demonstration

Check out this Video tutorial on the techniques presented above.

Sample File Download

Click here to Download the Free Sample Excel Template File:
Clustered-Stacked-Column-Charts

What do you think of this technique? Do you think that Microsoft should add this as a chart type in Excel? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Steve=True

The post How-to Make an Excel Clustered Stacked Column Chart Type first appeared on Excel Dashboard Templates.

The post How-to Make an Excel Clustered Stacked Column Chart Type appeared first on Excel Dashboard Templates.

On my post How-to Create a Stacked and Unstacked Column Chart I received a comment on how can we do this for a Clustered Stacked and Multiple Unstacked Chart in Excel?  Here is the question from Ciara:

“Is there a way to do this where you have 1 stacked bar and 2 non-stacked bars (instead of just 1) for each month? For example a single bar for Sales Quota, another single bar for Stretch Goal, and then the actual coffee/tea stacked bar sales?”  – Ciara

Here is the Original chart:

Here is the Sample Chart I made with Ciara’s question:

This can be done, by modifying our data series that we will use in the chart to create more space for the extra columns.  Here is how you can do it.

The Breakdown

Here are the basic steps to create a Clustered Stacked and Multiple Unstacked Chart.

1) Add Filler Series to the Data Set

2) Create Stacked Column Chart

3) Switch Row/Column Chart Data Setting

4) Move Sales Goals and Filler Series 2nd Axis and Change Chart Type to Clustered Column

5) Change Gap Width on Stacked Series to 500%

6) Delete Filler Legend Entries

7) Delete Secondary Vertical axis

Step-by-Step

Here are the detailed steps to create the Clustered Stacked and Multiple Unstacked Chart

1) Add Filler Series to the Data Set

If we have our Excel data set as such where we want the Stretch Sales Goal and the Sales Quota as single clustered columns and the have the Tea and Coffee as a Stacked column.

NOTE: If you want to try it yourself along with me, you can either copy and paste the data above to an Excel sheet or download the sample data and chart at the end of the post.

Now that we have our data set, we need to modify this data set to add 1 or more data series that will fill in column space to move the Clustered Columns on the side of the stacked Series. As the stacked column will always be in the center, you need to either push your data to one side or the other or split around the centered stacked column as you see in these three samples.

a) Clustered Columns to the Left

We need 3 series to push the clustered columns far enough off center left to not overlap the stacked columns. This is the one I will use for the rest of this tutorial.

b) Clustered Columns Surrounding

We don’t need as many filler series as the others with this setup as the Filler series fits over the 1 stacked column that will be in the center.

c) Clustered Columns to the Right

We need 3 series to push the clustered columns far enough off center right to not overlap the stacked columns.

2) Create Stacked Column Chart

Now that we have all of our data setup, we can create our chart. To do this, select your data range from Cell A1 to the bottom right of your data. In our case where we will be plotting our clustered columns to the left of the stacked column, so our data ends in cell H4. So select cells A1:H4 and then select the Insert ribbon and pick a stacked column chart as you see here:

Your initial Excel Stacked Column Chart you have created will look like this:

3) Switch Row/Column Chart Data Setting

After you have created your initial chart, you may have noticed that it is not how you thought it would look. If that is the case, always Switch Row/Column setting for your chart and see how it looks. To do this, select the chart and then go to the Design ribbon and click on the Switch Row/Column in the Data Group.

Your chart should now look like this:

4) Move Sales Goals and Filler Series 2nd Axis and Change Chart Type to Clustered Column

We now have our chart setup and ready to create the Clustered Stacked and Multiple Unstacked Chart by moving the series to the secondary axis that we want to be Clustered Column versus a Stacked Column as well as change the chart type. Let’s show you how to do that. First, select the chart, then select any one of the series.

After selecting a series, go to the Design ribbon and then click on the Change Chart Type button in the Type group as you see here:

If you are using Excel 2016 or later, then you will see this dialog box pop up. Because we had a series selected when we hit the Change Chart Type, it will bring us right to the Combo chart type. If you are not on the Combo Chart Type, then select that from the All Charts Tab.

From this dialog box, select the Secondary Axis checkbox for the Sales Quota , Sales Stretch Goal and Filler Series 1 through 3. After selecting the Secondary Axis checkbox, you can then change the Chart Type to Clustered Column. Note that you must do it in that order or you will affect your Tea/Coffee stacked column chart. Your dialog box should look like this.

After you press the OK button, your chart will now look like this:

5) Change Gap Width on Stacked Series to 500%

As you can see the chart is now a Clustered Stacked and Multiple Unstacked Chart. But it needs some tweaks. First, we need to make the stacked column look smaller like the other columns. This is an optional step as you see fit.

To make your Stacked Column Chart series look similar to the clustered columns, first select the chart, then select a Stacked Column series like tea or coffee, then press CTRL+F1 to bring up the Format Series dialog box.

Then change the Gap Width till it looks good. For our example, 500% seems to work well so that the column is no longer hidden or overlapping the clustered columns.

Your chart should now look like this:

6) Delete Filler Legend Entries

The Filler Series do not show up in the chart, but the Legend Entries do show up in the Legend. I recommend deleting these legend entries as to not confuse your reader.

To do this, select the Chart, then select the Legend, then select the Legend Entry for one of the 3 Filler Series. Finally, press your delete Key.

7) Delete Secondary Vertical axis

Lastly, the only other thing to do is to to delete the Secondary Vertical Axis so that the Clustered Stacked and Multiple Unstacked Chart is aligned.

To do this, select your chart, then select the Secondary Vertical Axis and then press your Delete Key.

Your final chart should now look like this:

Here is what the chart would look like if you moved the Clustered Columns to the Right or Split on both sides:

So why do we have to do this?

When you create a Stacked Column Chart in Excel, it will only allow you to have ALL data series on the same axis with the Stacked Column Chart Type. So to create a Clustered Stacked and Multiple Unstacked Chart you first have to move all Clustered Columns to one axis.

Second issue is that Excel ALWAYS centers the Stacked Column Chart Type. There is no moving it. It will always be in the center. Clustered Columns are also centered, so they will overlap if we have a combo chart with these 2 types of charts. Since we can’t move the stacked column chart, we therefore need to move the Clustered Columns to one side or another around the Stacked Column.

Here is a graphical representation of what I mean that we are shifting the Clustered Columns using filler columns.

Video Demonstration

Check out this Video tutorial on the techniques presented above.

Sample File Download

Click here to Download the Free Sample Excel Template File:
Clustered-Stacked-and-Multi-Unstacked-Chart.xlsx

All in all a pretty cool technique. You can make Excel do a lot of things as lon as you play in the rules, but it is very flexible. Let me know of other charts you want on this type of variation to see if it is possible.

Steve=True

The post How to Make a Clustered Stacked and Multiple Unstacked Chart in Excel first appeared on Excel Dashboard Templates.

The post How to Make a Clustered Stacked and Multiple Unstacked Chart in Excel appeared first on Excel Dashboard Templates.

Hurry, Last Chance for Free Dashboard Webinars & Course
Just a quick reminder that the awesome Excel Dashboard Course, by Microsoft Excel MVP, Mynda Treacy.

Learn how to make interactive Excel Dashboards like the one below which is based on Olympics data spanning 1896 to 2012. Actually it’s 3 dashboards in one file with tabs (like a browser) to allow you to navigate between them!

Free Excel Dashboard Webinars

If you’re not sure what a dashboard is or how these skills might be relevant to you, then you can catch a replay of one or both of Mynda’s FREE Excel Dashboard Webinars.

Here’s what Ben said about Mynda’s webinar:

“”I consider myself quite good at Excel, but your mastery of it leaves me in the ashes.
The Dashboard presentation was dazzling.

Thank you””

Webinar 1 – Excel Dashboard for Excel 2007/2010/2013/2016/2019/365

The first webinar will teach you how to use Excel to build this interactive dashboard below, no additional software or add-ins are required, just plain old Excel and some data.

Click here to watch the replay of webinar 1.

Webinar 2 – Excel Dashboard for Excel 2010/2013/2016/2019/365 using Power Query and Power Pivot

If you have Excel 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 or Office 365* then this webinar will showcase how you can use Excel’s Power Query tool to get data from multiple sources, mash it up with Power Pivot, analyze it in PivotTables to create this interactive Excel Dashboard.

Click here to watch the replay for webinar 2.

*Power Query is available with all versions of Excel 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Office 365. Power Pivot is available with the desktop version of Excel 2010 and Excel 2013/2016 Office Professional, Office 2019, Office 365, or in the standalone versions of Excel 2013/2016. Power Query and Power Pivot are not available for Mac.

What members are saying about the course:

Mynda continues to receive amazing feedback from people who have joined the course, including these ones:

“Mynda, I love this course. I am beginning the second time through the videos. Thank you for creating an excellent dashboard course. I’ve learned so much and I’m sure that watching again will allow me to ingrain more of the techniques into my brain. I’ve posted my first dashboard to our intranet using the OneDrive method that you sent to us.

Your detailed explanation of many the formulae has really helped me. I was having difficulty grasping the concept of INDEX/MATCH until you explained it so clearly.

I’m actually looking forward to reviewing these videos many times.

Thank you,

Mike”

And perhaps the feedback all Excel teachers want to hear:

“Recently, I have done a very simple dashboard for my commercial director about the sales in retail chains. I made some interactive controls stuff like scroll bar and option buttons in it. In reality, it`s quite impossible to impress him by something. But when he saw the dashboard he immediately started using it and became very happy.

Eventually, he even let me go from work after lunch on that day, so I was able to come to the country side and spent a great time there.

Dmitry”

Who is the course for?

If your work requires the preparation of reports in Excel (or you’d like it to) then this course is for you.

Mynda teaches you some simple rules (that most people don’t know), which you can use in all of your Excel work that will get your job done more quickly and efficiently (like Dmitry), and of course she’ll teach you how to make killer dashboards including animated charts and other cool interactive elements.

Click here for more information and a sample video from the course (it’s worth watching just to learn this tip).

Loads of people have already enrolled in this class and are on their way to making some killer dashboards.

If you’re ready to take your Excel skills to the next level so you can impress your clients, get that promotion, or a new job, or you’d just like to get your work done more quickly so you can go home early like Dmitry :-), then click here.

Disclosure: I make a small commission for students who join Mynda’s course, but as you know I don’t just recommend anything and everything. It has to be of outstanding quality and value, and something I can genuinely recommend. After all, if doesn’t live up to what I’ve promised you’ll think poorly of me too and I don’t want that.

The post Free Excel Dashboard Webinars & Excel and Power BI Dashboard Courses first appeared on Excel Dashboard Templates.

The post Free Excel Dashboard Webinars & Excel and Power BI Dashboard Courses appeared first on Excel Dashboard Templates.

The technique you used in previous versions of Excel don’t work anymore. Check out the change in the keystrokes below.

How it used to be.

In Excel 2010, you could select your chart and then press your up and down arrow to select a different chart element. There are many chart elements like each chart series or the vertical axis or grid lines or plot area. There are many.

Most people use these to move to a different series selection or to select a hard to select series.

What is the Change?

Starting in Excel 2016 you now have to use different key strokes to select a different chart element.

First, select the chart. Next select any chart element. To switch to the next chart element, hold the CTRL Key down and then press the up or down arrows.

CTRL + UP Arrow.
Or
CTRL + DOWN Arrow

I don’t know why it changed, but at least it is still an option just a different pattern.

You can see a quick demo of this topic with this short video here:

Let me know if you have other Excel Office 365 changes that were different in previous versions or if you know where these changes are called out in support documents/sites in the comments below.

Steve=True

The post How to easily change chart element selections in Excel 2016 2019 and Office 365 first appeared on Excel Dashboard Templates.

The post How to easily change chart element selections in Excel 2016 2019 and Office 365 appeared first on Excel Dashboard Templates.

I have to admit that I messed up and presented a broken solution for the Excel Sales Goal Thermometer Chart.

The error was presented in this previous post.  If you don’t remember it, please check it out with the link below:

Challenge for you: Download the chart and try and fix it first before looking at the answer below.  After you try the challenge, let me know in the comments below if you succeeded in a fix and if it was the same as mine.

Now the chart looks great, but it FAILS when you perform full User Acceptance Testing.  What is the error you may ask?  It happens when you beat your sales goal.  It keeps adding both the goal and current sales achieved to infinity.

Here is a sample of what happens when you have a goal of 25,000 and your current sales are at 50,000.  Notice that the Vertical Axis and values of the stacked column chart

It is simple to correct..  See the details below and also check out the very very short video that shows the Thermometer Chart fix.

The Breakdown

1) Add Data Point Series Formula

2) Change Data Point to Chart

Step-by-Step

1) Add Data Point Series Formula

For the fix, you will need to add a new formula that finds the Min between the Goal and Current Sales to plot the column of the Thermometer Chart.

Go to Cell B8 and enter in this formula:

=MIN(B2,B4).  This will make sure that the base column never goes above the goal.

2) Change Data Point to Chart

Now that you have the data point we need for the Thermometer Chart, we just need to change the chart reference from B4 to B8.  One easy way to do that is to select your chart, then select the red series 1 that is just above your Thermometer bulb at the bottom.

Then drag it and drop it cell B8 (where we created the MIN formula) as you see here:

As soon as you drop it, the Thermometer Goal Chart is fixed as you see above.

Remember to test, Test, TEST! your Excel development as much as possible. I should have caught this problem.

Video Demonstration

Check out this Video tutorial on the techniques presented above.

Sample File Download

Click here to Download the Free Sample Excel Template File:
Fix-Error-Current-Sales-Greater-than-Sales-Goal-Thermometer-Chart-in-Excel.xlsx

But the fix was easy enough if you give it a little thought.  Did you take the challenge and pass or fail?  Did you fix it differently than my solution?  Let me know in the comments below.

Steve=True

The post How-to Fix Sales Goal Error of Excel Thermometer Chart first appeared on Excel Dashboard Templates.

The post How-to Fix Sales Goal Error of Excel Thermometer Chart appeared first on Excel Dashboard Templates.

So you forgot / lost your password and need to update your workbook tabs or structure? Well don’t cry, don’t complain, we can Hack Excel Protect Workbook feature with this simple trick.

So what would you want to use the Excel Protect Workbook feature? This feature locks users from editing the structures of the workbook. Like Unhiding or Hiding Worksheets, Changing Tab Colors, Move or Copy Worksheets, Renaming Worksheets, Inserting or Deleting Worksheets. But some times you forget the passcode you set and you need to hack the Excel Password you set.

The Breakdown

1) Open File Explorer

2) Change View Show/Hide Options

3) Change File Extension to .ZIP

4) Extract Files and Open workbook.xml File in Text Editor

5) Remove Protection Section

6) Create New .ZIP File

7) Change File Extension to .XLSX

Step-by-Step

1) Open File Explorer

First, we need to modify the extension of the Excel file to a .ZIP file.  Essentially, if you didn’t know, all Excel files are just a mashup of several XML files.  All your data and settings are in these files. Excel is a zipped file of these files, but to have Excel run/modify the file, you need an .XSLX file extension.  In order to Hack Excel Protect Workbook feature, we need to see these files.

The easiest way to do this is to open Windows File Explorer and locate the Excel Workbook you want to Hack.  

2) Change View Show/Hide Options

Next, make sure you have your Show/Hide Options turned ON for “File Name Extensions” as you see here on the View Menu within the Windows File Explorer.

NOTE: If you do NOT have this option enabled, if you try and rename the file, it will not work unless you are changing the actual extension. A simple rename will only make your file like this: “Original.xlsx” to “Original.zip.xlsx”.

3) Change File Extension to .ZIP

If you are showing “File Name Extensions” in Windows File Explorer, this is an easy step. Just change the name from Filename.xlsx to Filename.zip. Press OK when prompted to change the file extension.

4) Extract Files and Open workbook.xml File in Text Editor

Now that you have changed the file extension, we can easily Hack Excel Protect Workbook with a few more steps. First, you need to extract the files from the ZIP file into a folder on your computer as you see here:

Once you have extracted the files, open the “xl” folder

and find the “workbook.xml” file.

Then right click and choose “open with” from the popup menu and pick WordPad or NotePad as your editor. I am using WordPad here.

5) Remove Protection Section

In this file we need to find the following text “<workbookProtection”. Once you have found that, locate the very next “>” text. Highlight and delete from the “<workbookProtection” to “>” as you see here. Then save the file.

6) Create New .ZIP File

Next step is to return to the folder with all of the Extracted files. Then highlight/select all of the files and right click on them. In the popup menu, select “Send To” and then select “Compressed (zipped) Folder” as you see here:

7) Change File Extension to .XLSX

The last of the Hack Excel Protect Workbook steps is to rename the .Zip file back to .XLSX and make Excel open the grouping or xml files. Simply change the extension in Windows File Explorer from zip to xlsx. Your Hack is now completed and you can now change the structure of your spreadsheet.

This is an easy way to Hack Excel Protect Workbook. Also check out this video if you are looking to Hack Excel Sheet Protection: UnprotectWorksheetForgottenPasscode

Note: This will not hack Excel File Encryption. To break this, the only solution I have seen is to buy a software program. But let me know in the comments below if you have another solution.

Video Demonstration

Here is a quick Video tutorial on the Excel hack techniques presented above.

Sample File

Here is a sample file you can use to practice this technique:

SampleHackExcelProtectWorkbook.xlsx

Now you know a lot more on how Excel builds your file and how you can use that knowledge to your advantage. Let me know in the comments below if you know of any other techniques I should share on the site.

Steve=True

The post How-to Hack Excel Protect Workbook Feature When You Forgot the Password first appeared on Excel Dashboard Templates.

The post How-to Hack Excel Protect Workbook Feature When You Forgot the Password appeared first on Excel Dashboard Templates.

Steve=True

The post How-to Fix a FRUSTRATINGLY Annoying Excel Scroll Lock Issue first appeared on Excel Dashboard Templates.

The post How-to Fix a FRUSTRATINGLY Annoying Excel Scroll Lock Issue appeared first on Excel Dashboard Templates.

Thanks to Leonid (a super fan) for advising me on another and possibly better technique to create a vertical line between columns in your stacked column charts.  This creates a visual separation on your charts.  Thanks again, Leonid!

This technique uses Error bars to create the vertical line off of an XY Scatter chart.  It helps to make sure that you don’t have to create the same data structure for a total and you can move it to the secondary axis to help fix the height.  I think it looks great.

The Breakdown

1) Create a Stacked Column Chart

2) Create the XY Series Data

3) Add a New Series to the Chart

4) Move the Added Series to Secondary Axis and Change Added Series to XY Chart Type

5) Update the Added Series XY Values

6) Add Error Bars to the XY Chart Series and Format Error Bars

7) Change Secondary Vertical Axis Settings

8) Delete Legend Entry

Step-by-Step

1) Create a Stacked Column Chart

First, we need to create a stacked column chart type and this will help understand where the vertical line will be placed.  If your chart data is set up in these cells and format:

Then highlight the range A1:D7 and click on the Insert Ribbon and Select Stacked Column Chart:

The chart will look like this in Excel 2016 (notice that the default is a Chart Title on Top of the Chart and the Legend at the bottom of the chart):

2) Create the XY Series Data

To make the vertical line, first, we must create data for an XY Scatter graph.  So create a new chart data range for a vertical line. We want the vertical line between the 2 regions we have (i.e South Carolina & New York).  Therefore, set up the following data in these cells as you see here:

X Values:

We want the X value to be placed between the 4th & 5th columns. Excel sees each column with increments of 1.  To put the vertical line between the regions of South Carolina and New York, we want a value of 4.5 for the XY series data point.

Y Values:

As we are not creating a line, and only a data point, we can leave this value as zero so that it starts at the bottom of the vertical axis, just at the horizontal axis.

3) Add a New Series to the Chart

Next, we will add the new series to the graph that we will use Create a Vertical Line Between Columns.  First click on the chart, then choose the Select Data button from the Design Ribbon.

Next, choose the Add button that you see in the Legend Entries (Series) area:

Then click on the following cells in the different cells and press okay to close on all dialog boxes:

Now the chart will now look like this:

4) Move the Added Series to Secondary Axis and Change Added Series to XY Chart Type

With the new series we just added, we need to change it to an XY Scatter Series and also to move it to the Secondary Axis. This is very easy in Excel 2016, so first, select your chart, and then select the Vertical Line Series and then click on the Change Chart Type Button on the Design Ribbon:

Then in the Change Chart Type dialog box under “Combo”, you should select “Scatter with Straight Line” in the Chart Type picklist and “Secondary Axis” checkbox next to the Vertical Line series as you see here:

Our chart now looks like this:

Notice that you do not see the XY Series as it is just a point on the horizontal axis.  We will make it visible in the next steps.

5) Update the Added Series XY Values

Now we should edit the XY Series so that it has both the x and y values. To do this, select the chart and then click on the Select Data button on the Design Ribbon:

Click on the Vertical Line series and click on the Edit button in the Legend Entries (Series) area:

Next update the ranges of the X’s and Y’s to the ones you created in the previous step #2 as you see here:

Your chart should now look at this:

Note that it looks the same, but because we have set the Vertical Line as a data point with a Y = 0 the Secondary Vertical Axis has changed values.  The line will show up in our next step from this point we just created.

6) Add Error Bars to XY Chart Series and Format Error Bars

Here is the where we create the vertical line.  We will need to add an Error Bar to the Vertical Line Data Point.  First, Select the Vertical Line Data Point located on the Horizontal Axis between the regions.

If you need help selecting the Vertical Line Series, check out this tutorial:

How-to Select Data Series in an Excel Chart when they are Un-selectable?

Once you have the Vertical Line Data Point selected, we need to add the error bars by going to the Design Ribbon and then choose the Add Chart Elements button and click on Error Bars and then More Error Bar Options…

This will open the Format Error Bars for the Vertical Error Bars.  Choose a Direction = Plus, and End Style = No Cap with a Fixed Error Amount of 1.0.

Next click on the Paint Can on the top of the dialog box to edit the Line Options and choose a Line=Solid Line, Color=Black, Width =2pt and Dash Type = Dash.

Next, select the Format Ribbon and change your Current Selection Picklist to Series “Vertical Line” X Error Bars:

Now click on the Format Selection button:

Finally, change the Horizontal Error Bars Line Options to “No Line”

The chart with a Vertical Line Between Columns should now look like this:

8) Change Secondary Vertical Axis Settings

You can see that the Vertical Line is visible, but it doesn’t go high enough.  So to make it look better, we need to change the Secondary Vertical Axis Settings by Double Clicking on it and then change the Minimum Bound = 0, Maximum Bound = 1, Tick Marks = None, and Labels = None.

Your chart should now look like this:

9) Delete the XY Series Legend Entry

Finally, just a little chart clean up to remove the extra legend entry for the Vertical Line series.  First select the chart, then click on the legend.  Then click on the Vertical Line Series legend entry and press the delete key.  If you like you can also move the Legend to the right of your chart and the final chart looks like this:

Understanding how to use Error Bars in Excel Charts is a great technique to know especially if you want to Create a Vertical Line Between Columns.

Video Demonstration

Check out this comprehensive Video on the Error Bar techniques presented above.

Sample File Download

Download the Completely Free Sample Excel Template File:

Create-Vertical-Line-Between-Columns-in-Excel-with-Error-Bars.xlsx

Do you use Error Bars in Charts?  Let know your use case in the comments below.

Steve=True

The post Create a Vertical Line Between Columns in Excel Using Error Bars first appeared on Excel Dashboard Templates.

The post Create a Vertical Line Between Columns in Excel Using Error Bars appeared first on Excel Dashboard Templates.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to QUICKLY add a vertical line between columns in a stacked column chart to visually separate your graph data.  This request came from one of our fans as they wanted to know “How would you add a vertical line to a stacked chart without using shapes? Thanks.”

It is not too difficult, but there is a trick to understanding how Excel plots columns in an Excel Stacked Column Chart or an Excel Clustered Column Chart.  Once you understand how to add a Vertical Line Between Columns, your Excel Skills will rise dramatically.

The Breakdown

1) Create Stacked Column Chart

2) Create XY Series Data

3) Add Series to Chart

4) Change Added Series to XY Chart Type

5) Update Added Series XY Values

6) Change Added Series Line Color

7) Delete Legend Entry

Step-by-Step

1) Create Stacked Column Chart

The first step is to create a stacked column chart as it will help us with setting where the vertical line should be placed.  Assuming your stacked column chart data setup in the following cells and format:

Highlight the range of cells A1:D7 and then go to the Insert Ribbon and Select Stacked Column Chart:

Your Chart should now look like this:

2) Create XY Series Data

In order to create the vertical line, we need to create data to be used in an XY Scatter Chart.  To do this, simply create a new data range for the vertical line.  In this tutorial, we want to place the vertical line between the 2 regions (i.e Between South Carolina and New York).  So we need to setup the following XY series data in these cells.

X Values:

The X data values will place the line between the 4th and 5th columns.   Excel treats each column in increments of 1.  So since we want to put the vertical line between South Carolina and New York, this would be a value of 4.5 for each of the X points.

Y Values:

The line will start at the horizontal axis, so we will need to enter a value of 0 for one of the Y values.  The second value should be equal to the maximum of the total of the largest values of the stacked columns.  In this case, you can enter a formula of =MAX(E2:E7) in cell C11.  The resulting value will add a line at the top of the largest stacked column.

3) Add Series to Chart

Now we can add the additional series to the chart that will be used for the Vertical Line Between Columns.  In order to do that, first select the chart, then click on the Select Data button.

Then click on the Add button on the Legend Entries (Series) button:

Next select the following cells and press okay to close all dialog boxes:

Your chart will now look like this:

4) Change Added Series to XY Chart Type

Now that you have an additional series that will be used for the Vertical Line Between Columns we need to change the chart type to an XY Scatter with Straight Lines Chart.  To do this, first select the chart, then select the XY Series and then select the Design Ribbon and press the Change Chart Type button:

Your chart will now look like the following:

Don’t worry that you cannot see the XY Series, it will be visible and in the right position on the next step.

5) Update Added Series XY Values

To create the vertical line, we need to adjust the XY Series data points so that they have two x’s and y’s so that Excel can draw the line.  To do this, first select the chart and then select the Design Ribbon and choose the Select Data button:

Then select the XY Series and press the Edit button in the Legend Entries (Series) area:

Next update the ranges of the X’s and Y’s to the ones you created in the previous step #2 as you see here:

Your chart should now look at this:

6) Change Added Series Line Color

With a vertical line added that separates our Excel chart, the graph is looking good, but I believe that to truly separate the regions the line should be bolder and set to a black line color.  To do that, select the chart, then select the vertical line and then press CTRL+1 to bring up the Format Data Series dialog box.  From there, navigate to the Line Color section and choose Solid Line and also change the color to Black from the Color section picklist as you see here:

Note: if you are having problems selecting the line, check out this tutorial:

How-to Select Data Series in an Excel Chart when they are Un-selectable?

The chart with a Vertical Line Between Columns should now look like this:

7) Delete Legend Entry

[The final chart clean up to do is to remove the legend entry for the XY series.  To do this, first select the chart, then select the legend.  Then select the XY Series legend entry and press the delete key.  Your final chart will now look like this:

This is a simple technique that is an Excel combined chart of a Stacked Column with an XY Scatter with Straight Lines.  If you get this trick down, you will always be able to plot what you need as well as understand how Excel plots data on a Column or Line chart as each Legend Entry on the horizontal axis has a value of 1 starting from the leftmost value and adding across.

Video Demonstration

Check out this Video tutorial on the techniques presented above.

Sample File Download

Click here to Download the Free Sample Excel Template File:
Add-Vertical-Line-Between-Columns-in-Excel-Stacked-Column-Chart.xlsx

Let me know if you will now use this tip instead of drawing shapes in the chart or if you think just drawing a straight line shape on top of the chart is easier in the comments below.

Steve=True

The post Add Vertical Line Between Columns in Excel Stacked Column Chart first appeared on Excel Dashboard Templates.

The post Add Vertical Line Between Columns in Excel Stacked Column Chart appeared first on Excel Dashboard Templates.