Line graphs in Excel 2007

[Charles Eaves]

I am trying to plot weekly sales in a given year.
Eventually in a year, there will be 52 weeks of sales labeled date,this yr
sales,last yr. sales.
I am using a line graph.
Everything is working fine except:
I would like excel to automatically update my chart for each week that I
have sales data for.
In the near fuure,when I enter data for the months of Oct,Nov,Dec and the
last part of Sept., I would like Excel to automatically update my chart.
I have tried to in my data table, put all the weeks of the year in the table
and as I get sales data, enter them into the table.
The chart will update but when the chart plots the data, it drops down to
zero because it doesn't have any sales data for the future months ahead with
no data.
How do you get Excel to update my chart as I am updating my data table for
the months ahead as I get them?
Thanks

 

[Bernard Liengme]

You could use an OFFSET formula to make the chart dynamic.
See
http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/Dynamics.html
or
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA011098011033.aspx


OR
Turn your data into an Excel 2007 Table by selecting the current data and
using Insert | Tables | Table. A chart made from a Table (must be defined as
such) is automatically dynamic

best wishes

 

[Charles Eaves]

Thanks. I will try it but it is all greek to me especially the OFFSET
command.
I am a newbie to excel.
Thanks again.

 

[Bernard Liengme]

The second method is really very easy - just try it and you will go "Oh!
Yes!"

 

[ShaneDevenshire]

Hi,

It depends on the layout of your data. If you lay the data out vertically
meaning February shows up on a row below January then the best solution if
you are using Excel 2003 or 2007 is to use the List (Table in 2007) feature.
Plot your chart from a table where you haven't entered a month name until you
have data, then the chart will update automatically.

1. Define the data range as a List (2003) or Table (2007) by choosing Data,
List, Create List, OK in 2003. Or press the shortcut key Ctrl+L (or in 2007
Ctrl+T
also).
2. You can do this before or after you create the chart.
3. Then when the new months data comes in put it below the previous months
figures.

 

[ShaneDevenshire]

Hi again,

Here is a second way which may be one of the suggestions Bernard gave you,
if so, sorry for the duplication, but I don't follow the links everybody
gives.

1 Plot your chart for the months you already have, don't include months
without data.
2. Add new month data when you get it
3. Click the series on the chart and not the blue lines around the data
area. Note the blue square at the bottom corner of the blue rectangle. Put
you mouse over the blue square and when it becomes a double-headed arrow and
drag down until the appropriate range is selected - the new data is included
in the range.
4. Repeat the process for the purple highlight around the months.

You may be dragging to the right instead of down depend on your data layout.

 

[Charles Eaves]

Thanks everyone for the great help. I tried the second method: insert/
tables/ table and everything works fine. I use the filldown handle to create
the next date in the table and I then enter the sales data and the chart is
updated.
Where do you define the table is automatically dynamic incase I don't use
the filldown handle method?
thanks again everyone