Creating a Basic Chart

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When you're ready to create a simple chart with Microsoft Graph, start by selecting the data you want to use. You can do this by entering the data in the datasheet Graph gives you, by copying the data from another program, or by selecting data you have in your current Word document.

Starting with Word and Selecting Chart Data

The easiest way to create a chart is to begin with a table of data you've created in your Word document. Create your information as you want it, and then follow these steps to use it to create a chart:

1. Click in the table and then choose Table, Select, Table (or click the table move handle to select the entire table).
2. Choose Insert, Picture, Chart. Microsoft Graph launches and creates a chart based on the information in the table you selected (see Figure 19-1).

Figure 19-1. You can easily create a chart based on data you've already entered in your Word document.

Tip - Select table sections only

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If you want only a portion of the table to be used for your chart, select only the segment you want to use; then choose Insert, Picture, Chart.

Checking Out the Microsoft Graph Window

When Microsoft Graph launches in Word, it brings along with it several key components. Graph inserts additional menus in the Word menu bar and adds graph-related buttons in the Standard toolbar. The default chart Microsoft Graph draws based on the data you selected is a column chart.

• Default chart. Microsoft Graph chooses a column chart as the default chart type for the data you select. You can easily change the chart type to better represent the data you're working with.
• Datasheet. The information you selected in your Word document is shown in the datasheet. Here you can modify information as needed to customize the values and labels shown in the chart.
• Additional menus. Microsoft Graph brings two additional menus—Data and Chart—that enable you to work with the data and charts you create. The commands in the other menus are also changed to reflect chart-related commands.

Tip - Get Graph help

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Microsoft Graph comes with a fully developed Help system of its own, which means that you can get help on any chart operations you're attempting. Simply press F1 to launch the Help utility.

Importing Data from Other Programs

Although you're creating a chart for use in your Word document, you might want to use data from other programs to create the chart. Because Microsoft Office is built on the "create it once, use it many times" idea, you can import data from Microsoft Excel, as well as other popular programs. You can import data in the following formats:

• Microsoft Excel
• Text files
• SYLK files
• Lotus 1-2-3

When you're ready to import a data file to use as the basis for your Microsoft Graph chart, follow these steps:

1. Double-click the chart with the datasheet you want to modify.
2. Make sure the datasheet is displayed. If it isn't in view, click the View Datasheet button on the Standard toolbar.
3. Choose Edit, Import File or click the Import File button on the Standard toolbar. The Import File dialog box appears.
4. Click the down arrow in the Files Of Type box and select the format of the file you're importing.
5. Navigate to the folder you want, select the file, and click Open. The Import Data Options dialog box appears, as Figure 19-2 shows.

   

   Figure 19-2. You can use data from other programs in the charts you create in Microsoft Graph.

6. Choose the worksheet from which you want to import the chart data.
7. Enter the data range of cells you want to import if you're importing only selected data; otherwise, leave the Entire Sheet option selected.
8. If you want to be prompted before Microsoft Graph overwrites the existing data in your datasheet, clear the Overwrite Existing Cells check box. (By default, Microsoft Graph selects this check box, which causes your data to be overwritten without any action by you.)
9. Click OK. The data is brought into the datasheet and the chart is changed accordingly.

Tip - Link or embed

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You can choose to link or embed chart data in a Word document. If you link a chart, the chart in your Word document will be updated whenever the source document changes. If you embed a chart in your document, you'll be able to edit the chart as you would normally, by double-clicking it in the hosting document.