Present your data as interesting graphs and colorful charts in Numbers
REGARDLESS OF THE Microsoft Excel World Championship, spreadsheets are generally considered boring. But your reams of data can spring into life if presented in the right way.
Step forward trusty column, bar, line, area, pie, bubble, radar and doughnut charts which can easily be created within Apple’s own spreadsheet app, Numbers (as well as in Pages and Keynote). With 2D, 3D and interactive options, you’re sure to find something that will work perfectly for the information you’re trying to illustrate.
Here we show you how to create those various charts and graphs before looking at how you can customize their color and style to suit. There are loads of flexible options to play around with and you can even change the chart type on the fly without having to start over, enabling you to experiment (just click the Chart tab and scroll to Chart Type). Any changes to data will also instantly alter a graph or chart.
HOW TO Create a chart
The easiest way to create a chart is to select data that’s been input into a Numbers spreadsheet. Just select the table cells that you want to use and click Chart in the toolbar. You can choose a 2D, 3D or an interactive chart.
If you’re using Pages or Keynote instead, select Chart from the toolbar first. After choosing a chart, select Edit Chart Data. You can then enter your data in the Chart Data Editor. The values are instantly plotted.
Decide if you’re using the rows or columns as a data series. In Numbers, highlight the chart, select Edit Data References and use the bottom–left menu. In Pages/Keynote, use the top– right icons in the Chart Data Editor.
HOW TO Customize your charts
Charts can be tailored to suit your needs and visually brought to life. Click Format in the toolbar and choose Chart to select a chart style or tick chart options to add or remove a title, caption, border or legend.
The Chart tab also lets you change the font, place rounded corners on bar charts, and increase the gaps between columns and sets for greater clarity if using lots of data. Y
