Look Who it Was Random video

Excel - How To Combine A Line And Bar Chart In Excel plus secondary axis - Episode 1211.407

2,304 views · Published 16 July 2010 · 3:33 · Indexed 25 September 2026

Channel: MrExcel.com · 2010 · Education

Watch on YouTube

Microsoft Excel Tutorial: Show two different orders of magnitude in a chart by using a secondary axis along with columns and lines.

Welcome to another episode of the MrExcel podcast. In this video, we will be discussing Excel Charts Chapter 6 and how to mix different chart types to create a more visually appealing and informative chart. 

Many users were disappointed when the mixed chart types disappeared from the wizard in Excel 2003. However, fear not, as you can still create these types of charts, it just takes a bit more effort. And in the end, having more control over your chart is always a good thing. 

In this example, we have monthly sales data as well as two other lines representing year-to-date sales and our goal for the year. Our goal is to create a chart that shows the progress of our sales towards the goal. To do this, we will start by inserting a 2-D Column Chart and making it smaller for better visibility. 

However, we notice that the smaller items on the chart are not as detailed as we would like. To fix this, we will move those smaller items to a secondary axis. This can be done by selecting the item, going to the Layout tab, and clicking on Format Selection. In Excel 2010, you can simply double-click on the item. 

Next, we want to make the year-to-date sales and goal lines stand out more. To do this, we will move them to a secondary axis as well. Once this is done, we can see how the chart is progressing. The monthly sales are tied to the left axis while the year-to-date sales and goal are tied to the right axis. 

To make the monthly sales stand out even more, we will change the chart type for the goal line to a Line with Dots. This can be done by going to the Design tab and selecting Change Chart Type. We will also change the chart type for the monthly sales to a Line. 

To add some visual cues, we will make the columns wider and change the font color of the numbers on the left axis to match the color of the bars. And there you have it, a visually appealing and informative chart that shows the progress of our sales towards the goal over the course of the year. 

Although the mixed chart types may no longer be available in the wizard, having the ability to control each element of the chart gives you more flexibility and the chance to create a unique and effective chart. Thank you for watching and be sure to tune in for more helpful tips and tricks from MrExcel.

Buy Bill Jelen's latest Excel book: https://www.mrexcel.com/products/latest/

You can help my channel by clicking Like or commenting below: https://www.mrexcel.com/like-mrexcel-on-youtube/


Table of Contents
(00:00) Charts with a combination of chart types
(00:28) Showing monthly and year data on chart
(00:40) Start with column chart
(01:04) Select series for second axis
(01:28) Move to a Secondary Axis
(01:55) Change chart type for one series
(02:23) Excel chart make columns wider
(02:39) Change color of chart axis labels
(03:00) Clicking Like really helps the algorithm

#excel #microsoft #microsoftexcel #exceltutorial #exceltips #exceltricks #excelmvp #freeclass #freecourse #freeclasses #excelclasses #microsoftmvp #walkthrough #evergreen #spreadsheetskills #analytics #analysis #dataanalysis #dataanalytics #mrexcel #spreadsheets #spreadsheet #excelhelp #accounting #tutorial #charts #excelcharts #excelchartstutorial 

This video answers these common search terms:
how to add secondary axis combo chart in excel
how to combine a line and bar chart in excel
how to combine bar and line graph in excel 2007
how to do combo chart in excel
how to make a bar and line graph combined excel
how to add secondary axis to combo chart in excel
how to combine two different types of chart on excel
how to combine bar and line graph in excel
how to do a combo chart excel
how to add second axis on excel chart
how to add a second axis to a chart in excel
how to add secondary axis to chart in excel
how to add a secondary axis to chart excel
how to combine line and column graph in excel
hw to create combo graphs in excel
how to make a combo chart in excel
how to make one axis line in excel graph differant color
adding a second scale to excel chart

Join the MrExcel Message Board discussion about this video at  https://www.mrexcel.com/board/threads/1152880/

More from this channel