Recommend a better charting utility (than Excel2003)

[ship]

Hi

The charts/graph-making utilities that come as standard with ms Excel
(2003) are driving me nuts! Can anyone recommend anything better that
is dirt cheap?!
Maybe an Excel plug-in or something?


Ship
Shiperton Henethe

P.S. My budget is no more than say GBP 10.00 (or say $US 15.00)

PPS - Is there anything free from Microsoft??

 

[Kelly O'Day]

Ship:

Sorry to here that excel charting is driving you "nuts". You have come to
the right place, a good first step.

There are lots of people here who have gone through the same learning curve
that you are experiencing now.

To help us help you, please give us some details on your problems and what
you have tried already.

1. What type of charts are you trying to make (line, bar, XY, pie)?
2.What are your specific problems with this type of chart.
3. What books have you looked at/read? John Walkenbacks Excel Charting book
is fantastic for beginner charters.
4. Have you looked at any Excel Charting sites yet? Here's a list of sites
for people who regularly answers questions for this forum.

http://processtrends.com/

http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/index.html
http://www.andypope.info/charts.htm
http://www.stfx.ca/people/bliengme/ExcelTips.htm
http://tushar-mehta.com/excel/charts/


By giving us a more detailed description of your problem(s), one of us will
be able to point you in the right direction.

....Kelly

(e-mail address removed)

 

[Del Cotter]

The charts/graph-making utilities that come as standard with ms Excel
(2003) are driving me nuts! Can anyone recommend anything better that
is dirt cheap?!

You may find this comment thread on Edward Tufte's web site useful:

http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00000p&topic_i
d=1&topic=Ask+E%2eT%2e

or then again, you may not. Having rejecting Excel and recommended a
good stats package and a good graphics package as stand-alone solutions,
Tufte and other commenters make several suggestions. However, most of
them require serious cash, and most of the remainder require serious
programming skill.

Alternatively, keep reading this Usenet newsgroup, paying attention to
the comments of Jon Peltier and other MVPs, as they can show you how to
make Excel go a little bit further beyond its limitations than you might
think.

(they shouldn't have to in 2006, of course. But Excel basically hasn't
developed, either as a spreadsheet or as a charting package, since it
trounced its last serious market competitor in the 1990s)

 

[ship]

You may find this comment thread on Edward Tufte's web site useful:

http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00000p&topic_i
d=1&topic=Ask+E%2eT%2e

or then again, you may not. Having rejecting Excel and recommended a
good stats package and a good graphics package as stand-alone solutions,
Tufte and other commenters make several suggestions. However, most of
them require serious cash, and most of the remainder require serious
programming skill.

Thanks I'll have a look at that thread later.

But for now, NO, I do NOT have serious cash. That is completely out of
the question!


Ship
Shiperton Henethe