This means that each data point will be plotted on the x-axis based on linear time, rather than equal distance from each other. When you are creating a line, column or bar chart, Excel will automatically treat date data as a “Date axis”. The results are a clean, uncluttered chart that plots series data evenly and clearly across a 24 hour period.

In this example, we wanted our unit markers to appear every hour and the chart covered 24 hours of data. You may have to play with the Units settings to get your scale to show the time increments you want.

Make changes to the Bounds, Units, and so on to adjust the time-scale to display the chart in the manner you wish.

Open the Axis Options dropdown triangle.

Click on Chart Options and select Horizontal (Value) Axis.

Click on the chart to open the Format Chart Area Pane.

To adjust how the x-axis time-scale is displayed: To follow using our example, download excel time chart The resulting scatter chart does a nice job of plotting the series data, but the timeline defaults to what seems to be random units of time. In this example, we want to see how, or if, our series data are affected by the time of day. However, Excel’s best guess might not be as useful as you need it to be. When you select a date or time range, and the data associated with it, Excel will take its best guess at organizing the information in the chart with the time-scale on the x-axis. Scatter charts automatically take date or time data and turn it into a time-scale axis. Images were taken using Excel 2013 on the Windows 7 OS.īy far, the easiest way to chart time data is to use a scatter chart. These features apply to Excel 2007-2013, though the specific steps will vary based on your version. Here are some tips for editing time and date data in an Excel chart.

When you have data that involves time information, you may need some special tricks to get Excel to help you create useful charts. By Tepring Crocker Categories: Basic Excel Tags: Excel Time Chart

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