Line and area charts are constructed to show changes over time. Line charts demonstrate changes in a specific trend for a single data group. Learn how to edit data labels, format chart axes and customize your line or area chart.
Customize lines and markers
Show data in line and area charts with markers. Join the data with straight line segments. Lines display with varying styles and colors. Marker size, shape, fill colors and borders are highly customizable.
To customize lines:
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- Right-click on your chart and choose Chart Properties .
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- Use the Line toggle under the Series section of the Chart Properties panel to show lines.
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- Click on a line to select or use the drop down to select the appropriate line series.
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- Use the color picker to choose the color for your line.
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- Use additional options in the Chart Properties panel to change the Line Width, the Dash Style, or create a Rounded Line.
To customize markers:
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- Open Chart Properties .
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- Show markers using the slider in the Series section.
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- Click on a marker to select all of the markers for a particular series. Click again to select a single marker.
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- Adjust the color, shape and size of the marker in the Chart Properties panel.
To learn more about chart formatting, see Customize chart appearance.
Modify data labels
To format data labels:
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- Use the slider in the Chart Properties panel to show labels.
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- Click to select a series of labels in the chart. Click again if you'd like to work with a single label.
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- Use formatting options in the Edit toolbar for size, font and color.
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- Use the Chart Properties panel to control the positioning of the labels: Left , Right , Center or Justified .
To adjust numerical formatting for data points:
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- Click the Chart Data icon in the Edit toolbar to open the chart data table.
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- Select the data you’d like adjust.
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- Right-click and choose Cell Properties.
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- Use the Formats panel to work with the Format, Entered In, Shown In, Formulas, Decimals and Leader dots options.
For more information, please see Labels for line and area charts and Value formats for chart labels.
Format area charts
Area charts are similar to line charts but emphasize changes in values by using color fills to compare quantities. The depiction of solid areas helps to emphasize the magnitude of a trend.
Two or more quantities can be compared with an area chart. Area charts are generally useful for comparing a small number of categories. Areas in a chart are stacked on top of one another. This makes the choice of color and opacity for each area critical for data visibility.
To customize the plot fill area:
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- Click the area on the chart to select.
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- Right-click and choose Chart Properties.
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- Click the square for Area Color.
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- Adjust the area color using the color picker.
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- Adjust the opacity using the Area Opacity setting.