The following is the list of queries addressed in this article:
- How to customize the formatting options in the chart?
- How to save the chart as a template and re-use it in any other Excel file?
- How to modify the Y-axis units and limits?
- How to modify the color of the target column?
- How to modify the color of the actual column?
- How to modify the slider circle?
How to customize the formatting options in the chart?
How to save the chart as a template and re-use it in any other Excel file?
1. Right-click on the chart and select "Save as Template"
This opens a dialog box, assign a name to your chart template, and click "Save". This saves the chart in a .crtx format
2. From our Instant Chart Maker file, Copy the data table (CTRL+C) and paste it (CTRL+V) into your chosen Excel file.
3. Enter your information in the data table. Add or remove rows as needed. Please note that green-colored columns are calculated columns - do not enter any data, they are automatically calculated based on the input columns (Blue colored)
4. Select the columns required to build the chart, for this choose all - the category and the actual, the target, and the Actual fill (numeric value) columns in that order.
5. Go to Insert and choose to see All Recommended Charts
This opens up a dialog box, go to All Charts and click on the Templates folder. Here, you'll find all the charts you have saved in step 1, choose the one that is relevant to the data and click "OK".
6. That's it, your chart gets populated with the data from your Excel file and is fully independent of the Instant Chart Maker template file.
- Chart title and Axis titles: Using a saved template to build your chart does not usually bring the Chart title and axis titles. Read this article to add these elements to your chart.
How to modify the Y-axis units and limits (max)?
1. Right-click on the Y-axis and go to Format Axis
2. In the Axis Options, the chart in Instant Chart Maker has the Major Units set to 10 and other
In the default template, this leaves a gap at the top of the chart. To modify this, and reduce the space on the top of the chart.
3. Reset the Minimum and Maximum bounds to 0 and 110 respectively.
With this, the chart looks like this:
How to modify the color of the target column?
1. Click on the chart, and press CTRL+1 to open the format pane
2. From the drop-down, choose the "Target" series
3. In fill & line, modify the fill color as needed:
With this, your vertical slider chart looks something like this:
How to modify the color of the actual column?
1. Click on the chart, and press CTRL+1 to open the format pane
2. From the drop-down, choose the "Actual Fill" series
3. In fill & line, modify the fill color as needed:
4. With this, your vertical slider chart looks something like this:
How to modify the slider circle?
1. Click on the chart, and press CTRL+1 to open the format pane
2. From the drop-down, choose the "Actual" series
3. Under the fill & line, from the Marker options, modify the marker shape and its size as shown:
Size:
With this, the chart is:
