2] Create a Mind Map using SmartArt in Excel Unlike shapes, SmartArt allows you to quickly create structured mind maps with minimal effort. However, they offer limited flexibility and customization.

Type your data or use existing data from your file. Highlight the range of cells containing your data. Then click the Insert tab and click the Insert Column or Bar Chart button. Click the ...

Step 2: Make an Excel Bar Chart To start to visualize your data, you’ll first create an Excel stacked bar chart from the spreadsheet. Select the “Start date” column, so it’s highlighted.

Using Excel’s PivotTables and PivotCharts, you can quickly analyze large data sets, summarize key data, and present it in easy-to-read format. Here’s how to get started with these powerful tools.

Enter the “ Column Column Chart ” in Microsoft Excel, a clever visualization technique that combines category-level data with overall totals to tell a more complete story.

Just like when you use Microsoft Word, it’s crucial to name and save your Excel files right from the start. You can then continue to save the changes you make to ensure you don’t lose your work.

Image: 200degrees/Adobe Stock Area charts do a great job of exposing trends in Microsoft Excel data. The good news is that they’re easy to create; the bad news is that the default chart is often ...

Figure B The Excel add-in inserts a chart populated with dummy data. How to connect the Excel data to the chart At this point, you’re ready to connect the chart to real data.