Any bar chart can be also called as a bar graph or a column chart or graph. Being a chart or a graph that is commonly used for presenting some categorical data with the rectangular bars having their lengths or heights proportional to the values that they represent, such drawings can be made with the help of the ConceptDraw DIAGRAM diagramming and drawing software.
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The created bars can be plotted either vertically or horizontally and any vertical bar chart can be also sometimes called as a line graph. Easy charting software comes with beautiful chart templates and examples. This makes it easy to create professional charts without prior experience.Graphs and Charts Area provide a wide collection of professional looking predesigned templates, samples and ready-to-use vector stencils that will help you to draw the charts and diagrams of various types: Pie Charts, Donut Charts, Line Charts, Column Charts, Bar Charts, Pyramids, Scatter Charts, Venn Diagrams, Spider Charts, Area Charts, Divided Bar Graphs.
Mar 07, 2018 No more templates, additional series, formulas or tinkering with the charts. 2 clicks and your awesome waterfall chart is inserted. While the addition of waterfall charts in Excel 2016 is a great step forward, the current functionality still leaves much to be desired. Here are 8 reasons why the default Excel waterfall chart (still) sucks. The 'water fall' chart is an effective way to summarize the quantitative impact of a number of drivers. For example, you need to put the following story in a chart: 'Our profits went up by 7, the positive effect of higher prices and lower cost was offset by a lower sales volume.' A waterfall chart would look something like this.
19.1 Creating a chart from ExcelFor a step-by-step guide on how to create a chart from your Excel data usingthink-cell, please consider the example from. This is how theexample chart data looks in Excel:To create a chart from Excel, select the desired data range in your Excelworkbook, including series and category labels:The layout of your data must match the layout of think-cell’s internal datasheet:Column charts are usually created from data columns, whereas bar charts are createdfrom data rows. Nevertheless it is possible to transpose the data source (see). In addition to the data, some cells to the left and on topare reserved for category and series labels. If you are unsure about the exact layoutrequired, simply insert a new chart of the desired type in PowerPoint and refer to thelayout of its datasheet.Then select the desired chart type from the Charts menu in Excel’s think-celltoolbar:When you click on this menu item in Excel, the PowerPoint windowis activated.
If PowerPoint is not yet running, it starts automatically. InPowerPoint, when the mouse pointer is on a slide, the familiar insertion rectangleappears.Switch to the slide where you want to insert the chart, or insert a new slide, andplace the chart as usual: Click once to accept the default size or click, holdand drag to change the chart’s initial size. For a detailed description onhow to place, resize and align a new chart, please refer to.After insertion, the chart looks and behaves like a regular think-cell chart thathas been created in PowerPoint:Please refer to and to learn how toconfigure and style the chart.Note: If you use colored cell backgrounds in Excel, you can set those as thesegment fill color in the linked chart by enabling Use Excel Fill on Top in the chart’scolor scheme control (see ). This can be especially powerful when youcombine it with Excel’s conditional formatting.As well as creating a new chart, you can link a selected data range in yourExcel workbook to an existing chart in a PowerPoint presentation. Simplyclick the To Existing Chart button from the Charts menu in Excel’sthink-cell toolbar and click on the chart in PowerPoint that you wish to linkto.Note: Text fields in PowerPoint can contain up to 255 characters.
Any additionaltext from the Excel data source will be truncated. 19.2 Transposing linked dataHaving linked a data range to a chart, you can alter how the data is interpretedusing the Transpose Link button in the think-cell context menu of the datarange. Transposing a data range swaps the chart’s row and column datainterpretation, letting you, for example, create column charts from rows rather thancolumns of data.1.Select the green boundary around the data range.2.Right-click on the boundary to invoke the context menu.3.Select the button Transpose Link. 19.3 Updating a linked chartThe most important function of a chart that is linked to an Excel workbook is theoption to update the chart according to changes in the underlying data.
In ourexample, we want to add a third data series. Double-click the chart to switch tothe linked data range in Excel.
Enter the additional data below the linkedrange:Then, select the linked range by clicking on its border to show the familiarthink-cell user interface. Drag a corner of the selection to include the newly entereddata:Finally, return to PowerPoint. When selecting the linked chart, it is flagged toindicate that an update of its linked data has been detected:Click the Update button next to the flag to incorporate the data changesfrom Excel in the chart.
The chart is updated and the flag disappears:After pressing Update, this button changes to Revert. Click it to takeback the changes you just made. The Revert button is available until the PowerPointfile is closed or the Excel data source changes again. In the later case, it is replacedby the Update button.Even if the chart is not updated, or is updated and then reverted again, the linkto the Excel data source remains. Thus, you always have the option to update thechart later.You can also let think-cell automatically update the linked chart for you. Thisoption is available in the Data Links dialog.Note: Linking a chart to data in Excel using think-cell does not depend on thefile names of the Excel or PowerPoint file.
Each chart as well as each data range inExcel is assigned a unique identification number that is used to maintain thelink. The technical requirement for reestablishing a link is that both theExcel file containing the data range and the PowerPoint file containing thechart are simultaneously open on the same computer, irrespective of the filenames. 19.4 Data Links dialogIf you have a large number of charts in your presentation, finding and updatingall linked charts manually is not practical. For a better overview and a more directedapproach to update your charts, go to the More menu in the think-cell toolbarin PowerPoint and open the Data Links dialog:For all slides in the current presentation, the data links dialog shows a visualrepresentation of linked charts on the respective slides. In a second column is a list ofthe Excel files that contain the linked data. Each file is shown next to the first slidewith a chart linked to that file.Select a linked chart and the following information is available in the data linksdialog:.The Excel file that contains the linked data is highlighted in the right column.You see the file name and the location below that.A tooltip shows the last modification of the linked data.The chart is marked by when an update is pending.
The linked Excelfile must be open for this indication to be available. You can apply the following actions to the selected chart:. Update to incorporate data changes from Excel in the PowerPoint chart. Revert the last update from the linked data and return to the chart’sprevious state. You can also revert to undo the latest automatic update. Switch to Automatic Update to let think-cell automatically update thechart whenever changes in the linked data are detected. The chart is nothighlighted or marked, but you still have the option to manually revert theautomatic update.
Change detection works only while both files, Excel andPowerPoint, are open at the same time. You can leave the data link dialog open while you continue editing your slides anddata.
Using the data links dialog, you can efficiently manage all linked charts andtheir data sources by selecting one or multiple charts:.Click a single chart to select it. PowerPoint will also switch to the chart (inNormal view) or the slide (in Slide Sorter view). Double-click a chart to create the same effect as a double-click on the chartitself: The linked Excel workbook is opened and the linked data is selected.If the data source is not available, the internal datasheet is opened instead.Click a file in the right column to select all charts linked to that file. Ctrl-click to select multiple charts individually. You can also Ctrl-click files toadd all charts linked to that file to the selection.
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Ctrl-click multiple slides to select all charts on the selected slides.Use Shift to select a range of slides and all charts on them or a range of filesand all charts linked to them. Use Ctrl+ A to select all linked charts.
19.5 Maintaining data linksAfter the creation of a link between Excel data and a chart in PowerPoint,both Excel and PowerPoint files continue to be self-contained independentfiles:.You can pass on or edit the files independently.You can rename the files. The data links will be reestablished as soon as theExcel and PowerPoint files are open at the same time. To store the informationabout the reestablished data links the files should be saved.You can copy and paste linked charts within the same presentation or even toanother presentation.
The copy of the chart will then be linked to the samedata source as the original.You can send the Excel and PowerPoint files by e-mail. The data links willbe reestablished as soon as the Excel and PowerPoint files are open at thesame time on the computer of the receiver. To store the information aboutthe reestablished data links the files should be saved.You can make copies of linked Excel files and use the copies as alternativedata sources for the data links. The original and copied Excel files can beindependently edited.
The link between a PowerPoint presentation and thedesired Excel file will be established when opening one of either the originalor the copied Excel files together with the PowerPoint file. Note: When copies of the same linked range in Excel are present in openworkbooks, e.g., after copying a worksheet, both copies are equally valid sourceranges ('siblings') and it is undefined with which range the link will be establishedwhen opening the PowerPoint file. A warning is displayed next to affected linkedranges in Excel in this case and you can use the little blue buttons displayed belowthe think-cell frame in Excel to switch between all siblings. You should then make allbut one copy of the linked range unavailable, e.g., by closing the respectiveworkbook.
Alternatively, you can make all the linked ranges unique by deletingall but one of the think-cell frames in Excel and linking each range to thedesired chart, respectively. This way, each new frame is assigned a uniqueidentifier. 19.5.1 Editing linked filesIf you edit the PowerPoint file without the linked Excel file(s) beingavailable, linked charts simply behave as regular charts with an internaldatasheet. Using think-cell, you can change the chart’s design and data withoutrestriction.Similarly, you can freely edit an Excel workbook without the linked PowerPointfile(s) being available.
With think-cell installed, any linked data ranges that are notcurrently connected to an open PowerPoint presentation, are highlighted with a lightred frame.As soon as you open both the data source in Excel and the chart in PowerPoint atthe same time, the link is reestablished. In Excel, the highlight of the linked datarange changes from red to green. In PowerPoint, the chart’s current data is comparedto the data source. If changes are detected, the chart is highlighted in the data linksdialog, and it is flagged when selected.
You can now manually update the chart tothe latest data from Excel. 19.5.2 Changing and removing linksTo disconnect a chart from its linked data source, simply select the buttonBreak Excel Link from the chart’s context menu:From that point on, the chart only uses the think-cell datasheet in PowerPoint.Similarly, you can disconnect a linked data range in Excel from its charts: Selectthe linked range by clicking on its frame. When the frame turns blue, indicating athink-cell selection, right-click on it and select the Delete button. The think-cellframe is removed while the data itself remains untouched.
Any linked charts will nolonger be able to connect to this data range as their data source, and will instead usetheir internal datasheets.Note: You cannot undo the removal of a linked frame, but you can create a newlink with an existing chart, when you need it (see below).Whenever you remove one participant of a link, either the data range in Excel orthe chart in PowerPoint, the other side does not get deleted with it. Charts inPowerPoint fall back to using their internal datasheets, and linked data ranges inExcel simply remain in place until they are explicitly removed.
This is importantbecause there may be other charts in other presentations linking to the same datasource.If you want to link an existing chart to an Excel data source, first go to the Excelworkbook and select the desired data range. You can also select an existing linkedrange, indicated by the colored think-cell selection frame. Then switch to PowerPointand select the desired chart. If the chart is already linked to some other data source,disconnect it as described above. Now the Excel link button in the chart’s contextmenu has changed to Establish Excel Link. Click this button to establish alink from the selected chart in PowerPoint to the selected data range inExcel.Note: If you want to remove all data links from a presentation, use the data linksdialog.
In the data links dialog, you can simply select all chartsand press Delete to remove all links in a single action. 19.6 How to compile the dataWhen creating charts directly from Excel, you probably already have your data inExcel. In some cases, however, you may not wish to create a chart using all the datayou have in your Excel sheet. Alternatively, the data may be in a fixed format thatcan not be easily altered. Here are a few suggestions that may help you in suchsituations:.Place the think-cell data link frame in an empty area on your Excel worksheet.Then use Excel’s cell references to populate the think-cell frame with datafrom elsewhere on the worksheet.
E.g., enter =B5 in cell F8 to update F8whenever B5 changes.Excel cell references also work across worksheets. Adding a dedicatedworksheet as an interface sheet for all charts can be helpful in particular ifyou have many charts to link.Using a dedicated sheet as the source for your charts also helps to prepare thedata specifically for the intended purpose. For example, you can use think-cellround to consistently round the data before presenting it in a chart (see ).You can simply hide entire rows or columns of data from being reflected inthe chart by using Excel’s Hide command. Keep in mind that the hidden datawill appear in the chart as soon as you use Excel’s Unhide command andupdate the chart.Similarly, you can use Excel’s Group and Outline function to hide data thatyou do not want to be shown in the chart. 19.7 Extract numerical data from imagesWith think-cell’s capture tool you can extract numerical data from chart imagesanywhere on your screen, e.g., a website, a PDF document or a reporting softwarewindow. To use the capture tool in Excel:1.Select a cell range on an Excel worksheet where the extracted numbers willlater be inserted.2.Click the Chart Data Capture button in think-cell’s ribbon group in Excel.3.Follow the procedure described in toposition the capture window, check the highlighted detection result and clickthe Import button.4.The image’s numerical data is inserted into the previously selected cell range. 19.8.1 What are the advantages over Microsoft OLE?You may be familiar with OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) in MicrosoftOffice.
The idea is similar to think-cell’s linking, allowing the creation ofcharts in PowerPoint that can later be updated with data changes fromExcel. However, think-cell’s linking technique has several advantages overOLE:.The charts are always the same, whether they are linked or not. Even linkedcharts are native MS Graph charts, not Excel charts pasted into PowerPoint.Charts can be linked to Excel at any time, not only when they are created.Linked charts remain editable, even when the linked data source is notavailable.Links in think-cell are independent of the file name or path. Simply open bothfiles and any existing links between the files are reestablished. 19.8.2 What happens when copying a linked chart?You can copy a linked chart just like any other chart by duplicating a slide,duplicating the chart, Ctrl-dragging the chart or copy-pasting the chart to anotherslide or to another presentation.
In fact, even making a copy of the presentation file isa way to copy a contained linked chart.In any case, the original and the copy are indistinguishable. Both link to the sameExcel data range and, if they are open simultaneously, will both receive an updatewhen Excel data changes. 19.8.3 What happens when a linked chart is deleted?When you delete a linked chart, the link in PowerPoint is removed together withthe chart. If there is no other chart in an open presentation linking to the same Exceldata range, the frame in Excel turns from green to red, indicating that the linkcannot be established.The linked data range in Excel is not affected in any other way by the deletion ofa linked chart. After all, it is possible that a copy of the linked chart has been made,which, when opened, should reestablish its link. 19.8.4 How can I get rid of the red frames in my Excel worksheets?Different coloured frames in the Excel worksheets indicate linked data ranges. Agreen frame indicates that a link has been established between the framed datarange and a chart in an open PowerPoint presentation.
In contrast, a redframe indicates that no linked chart is currently open. A red frame does notnecessarily mean that there are no charts at all linking to that data range.It just means that in the currently open presentations there are no suchcharts.If you are sure that the framed data range is no longer required as a data sourcefor any charts, you can remove the frame with the Delete button from thecontext menu. Together with the frame, the link information is removed from theExcel workbook. Any charts that are linked to the concerned Excel data range willnot be able to establish their links in the future. Instead, they will use their internaldatasheets.The Excel data itself is not affected.
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19.8.5 How can I see which charts in a presentation are linked, and where theirlinked data sources are?If you are unsure about the data sources of the charts in a presentation, go to theMore menu and open the Data Links dialog. This dialog displays a list of alllinked charts in the current presentation. Click on an entry to display thecorresponding chart.The file name of the Excel file where the linked data range was last found is alsoavailable. The Auto checkbox indicates if the chart has been set to updateautomatically.For a detailed description refer to section. 19.8.6 What happens to a linked chart when its data source is unavailable?When the Excel workbook that contains a chart’s linked data range is notopen and cannot be found in the same file location where it used to be, thechart cannot establish its link. Instead, it will use its internal datasheet,which always contains a copy of the linked data, and allow you to change thechart.The internal datasheet of a linked chart is similar to the one of a regular chart.Even if there are multiple charts linked to the same Excel range, their internaldatasheets are independent.If you want to reestablish the link to the Excel data range, simply open the Excelworkbook and the presentation with the linked chart at the same time.
The chart inPowerPoint and the data in Excel will then automatically connect. When updatingthe chart with the linked data, any changes you made to the data in the internaldatasheet will be overwritten. 19.8.7 How can I use the internal datasheet instead of the linked Excel datasource?To disconnect a chart from its linked data source, use the Break Excel Linkbutton from the chart’s context menu. From now on, the chart only uses thethink-cell datasheet in PowerPoint.You can remove the link from a chart, whether the linked Excel data range iscurrently open or not.
For the Excel side of the data link, breaking the link of a charthas the same effect as removing the chart.For further information read section. 19.8.9 Why is my linked chart not updating although it is set to Auto-update?The PowerPoint side and the Excel side of a data link can only connect whenboth files are open at the same time.
Therefore, when the data in Excelis changed while the PowerPoint presentation is not open, and then thepresentation is opened without the Excel workbook being open at the same time,the linked charts will not detect the changes in their data sources. As soonas the Excel workbook containing the linked data range is open, the linkwill be established and the changes will be detected. If the chart is set toAuto-update, it will update now. Otherwise, the chart will be highlighted inthe Data Links dialog, and it will be flagged when selected. You can thendecide whether you want to incorporate the changed data into the chart ornot.For more information read section. 19.8.10 Why is my linked chart indicating a pending update although the data inExcel did not change?Whenever a link is established between an open PowerPoint presentation and anopen Excel workbook, the data from the internal datasheet is comparedto the linked data range.
If they are not the same, the chart is flagged toindicate that an update is due. If Auto-update is enabled, it is updatedimmediately.A pending update may also be detected when the data in the Excel workbook isunchanged, but the data in the internal datasheet has been modified. For alinked chart, the linked Excel data range takes priority over the internaldatasheet.
Therefore, an update will always overwrite any changes in the internaldatasheet.To protect you against data loss, whenever you make changes in theinternal datasheet of a linked chart, Auto-update is disabled for the concernedchart. 19.8.12 My linked chart seems to ignore part of the Excel data range.Why?In addition to the main data, the linked range in Excel contains some cells to theleft and on top, which are reserved for category and series labels. If the selected rangeencloses only the main data, part of the data will be interpreted as labels and willnot show up in the chart.If you are unsure about the required layout, simply insert a new chart of thedesired type in PowerPoint and refer to the layout of its datasheet.For further information read section.
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