plot 2 columns against each other

[Guest]

I am having problems with plotting 2 seperate columns against each other. I
have one column of data that needs to be the X axis and one column of data
that needs to be on the Y axis and they need to be plotted against each
other, but when I try to create a chart, it will not let me plot these 2
columns against each other but merely as 2 different data series. Please
help.

 

[Darv]

Hi Andrew,

Go to the series section in the wizard. Make sure only one series
exists. In the options for that series, select your X axis values by
clicking in the x-axis values box and selecting the cells in your
sheet. Do the same for your y-axis values.

Are you using an XY scatter graph?

David

 

[Guest]

Well I wanted to use a line graph to represent the data. Is that possible?

 

[Darv]

Not as far as I'm aware. An XY scatter looks exactly the same as a line
graph if you select the correct type, it just has more functionality,
allowing what you're trying to do.

David

 

[Jon Peltier]

If your data is arranged in a certain way, you will be able to do more with
less effort.Five minutes with the data might prevent five hours of
teeth-gnashing.

First of all, Microsoft did nobody any favors with its terminology of line
and scatter charts. The differences are not with the formatting of the
series, which you might notice if you see what subtypes are available. The
differences are with the treatment of the X data and the X axis:

http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=190
http://peltiertech.com/Excel/ChartsHowTo/CatVsValueAxis.html

Second, it's always best to put the X column to the left of the Y column.
Immediately to the left is better, but not critical, because you can select
multiple areas using the ctrl key. If you have headers for the columns,
resist the urge to put a header on the X column. The blank tells Excel that
something is different about this column, so it will try to make it into a
category column. Actually if you create an XY chart, Excel uses the leftmost
column for X by default.

If you are still unable to make use of a standard arrangement of the data
columns, I've put together a small utility that lets you draw XY charts in
Excel using semi-regular data regions. It's still a beta type program, not
perfect yet (it won't be perfect until at least next week), but it's pretty
good. Try it here:

http://peltiertech.com/Excel/ChartsHowTo/QuickChartUtility.html

- Jon