Chapter 7. Working with Diagrams and Charts

7. Working with Diagrams and Charts

Chapter at a Glance

In this chapter, you will learn to:
	Create a diagram.
	Modify a diagram.
	Insert a chart.
	Modify a chart.
	Use existing data in a chart.

You will often find it helpful to reinforce the argument you are making in a document with facts and figures that are best presented in a diagram or chart. These graphic objects serve the following purposes:

• Diagrams. These objects depict hierarchies or processes.

• Charts. These objects present numerical information in visual ways when it is more important for your audience to understand trends than identify precise values.

In this chapter, you will add a diagram to a document and specify the position of the diagram in relation to the document text and margins. You will add shapes to the diagram, edit and add text, and change the layout, visual style, and color theme. Then you will add a chart to a document and modify its appearance by changing its chart type, style, and layout as well as the color of various elements. Finally, you will create a chart from data stored in a Microsoft Office Excel worksheet.

See Also

Do you need only a quick refresher on the topics in this chapter? See the Quick Reference entries on pages xxxixlxiii.

Important

Before you can use the practice files in this chapter, you need to install them from the book's companion CD to their default location. See "Using the Book's CD" on page xxv for more information.

Troubleshooting

Graphics and operating systemrelated instructions in this book reflect the Windows Vista user interface. If your computer is running Microsoft Windows XP and you experience trouble following the instructions as written, please refer to the "Information for Readers Running Windows XP" section at the beginning of this book.