Dynamic charts in Microsoft Excel

 Sep 26, 2014

Charts in Microsoft Excel are a great way of representing data graphically, but sometimes that data is subject to change and when it does change, we need our charts to change automatically too. The good news is you don’t need to use VBA to create dynamic charts. By converting the data from a normal range to a table and then creating a chart that gets the data from a table, when the table increases to include new data, the chart will too. For example, imagine you have the data below:

Dynamic charts in Microsoft Excel

To convert this data to a dynamic chart, simply follow these 3 steps: Step 1: Convert the data to a table Click anywhere in the data. Go to the ‘Insert tab of the Ribbon and click on Table. This will generate a pop up box asking the data for your table and whether your table has any headers. Some formatting will probably be applied. Step 2: Create a chart Again, click anywhere in the data and go back to the Insert tab of the Ribbon. This time, click the chart type you want to create e.g. column, line, pie, bar etc.

Dynamic charts in Microsoft Excel

Step 3: Test your dynamic chart When any data is entered to the right or the bottom of the table, the table will automatically expand to include the data and the chart will do the same. In this example, we will type in sales figures for June as per the image below.

Dynamic charts in Microsoft Excel

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About the Author:

Nicky Bull  

Nicky started her professional life over 19 years ago in the IT industry. Through the initial years of her career, she worked in the areas of software development & project management for some of the leading organisations in South Africa and U.K. Over the past 6 years, Nicky has been working as a Desktop Applications trainer, delivering courses to both corporate as well as government organisations across the entire Microsoft Office suite. Her approach to training delivery is very pragmatic and she finds immense fulfilment in her ability to assist other people with their growth and development.

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