Frustrated - Can't Create A Simple Chart

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mike Marlow
  • Start date Start date
M

Mike Marlow

I'm sorry if this is asked a lot, but then again, I wouldn't be surprised if
it is, as Excel charting does not make a lot of sense.

I've got a table with the following column headings...

Date...Vendor...Description...Qty...Category...Price

The values under Category can be repeating since everything in the table
will be one of a handful of categories.

I've tried to create a simple pie chart by defining Price as the data range
and Category as the descriptor. The problem is that if there are multiple
occurrences of a Category in the table (for example, two purchases of
primers), the chart utility displays each of those as a separate pie slice
instead of lumping them together and displaying the total of the primers
contained within the table.

I've tried to use Pivot Tables to do this and that wizard is even more
ridiculous than the chart wizard. I think I'd like to use Pivot Tables, but
with the useless help file and the wizard that expects you to have lived in
the head of the developer, it becomes very frustrating trying to get these
things working.

I could use any helpful advice out there.

Thanks,
 
Mike -

It takes about a half hour to get over the initial confusion about pivot
tables. Try this.

Select your data and start the pivot table wizard. Drag the Category
field to the Rows area, and the Price to the Data area. Make sure it
provides Sum of Price, not Average of Price (IIRC, Sum is the default).

You can make a pivot chart of this table by selecting the pivot table or
any cell within it, and starting the chart wizard.

To make a regular chart from the table, select a blank cell away from
the pivot table. In step one, pick the pie style you want. In step 2,
click on the Series tab, then select the category range and values range
with the mouse. Be careful not to select one of the pivot table field
buttons, or the chart will revert to a pivot chart.

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Peltier Technical Services
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
http://PeltierTech.com/
_______
 
Jon Peltier said:
Mike -

It takes about a half hour to get over the initial confusion about pivot
tables. Try this.

Select your data and start the pivot table wizard. Drag the Category
field to the Rows area, and the Price to the Data area. Make sure it
provides Sum of Price, not Average of Price (IIRC, Sum is the default).

You can make a pivot chart of this table by selecting the pivot table or
any cell within it, and starting the chart wizard.

To make a regular chart from the table, select a blank cell away from
the pivot table. In step one, pick the pie style you want. In step 2,
click on the Series tab, then select the category range and values range
with the mouse. Be careful not to select one of the pivot table field
buttons, or the chart will revert to a pivot chart.

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Peltier Technical Services
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
http://PeltierTech.com/
_______
Click to expand...

Thank you for the tips Jon. I'll be trying this tomorrow.
 
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