Data series are the most important chart elements. They represent the data to be evaluated – in the form of columns, bars, lines, etc., depending on the chart type selected.
The Series tab allows you to make settings for each data series of a chart.
In the Series list, first select the series whose settings you want to change. Then make the desired settings:
▪Series
| The Series list contains a list of all data series currently included in the chart. |
| You can use the arrow buttons to the right of the list to change the order of the data series. |
| Use the Add and Delete buttons to add or remove data series. |
▪Data sources section
| Here, you can specify which data should represent the selected data series. |
| The fields in this section are filled automatically (using the cell range you selected before inserting the chart). You usually don't have to change them. |
| The following fields can be found here: |
| Name: Here, you can specify the name of the data series. This may be a cell reference to a cell that contains the name or simply a fixed text. This field can also be left empty, whereupon the data series receives an automatically generated name ("Series 1", "Series 2", etc.). |
| Y values: Here, you can determine the cell range from which the data series should obtain the Y values for the data points. |
| Explanation: For most chart types, the Y values are the values that should be displayed in the chart. For example, the Y values determine the height of the columns in a column chart. |
| X values: This is similar to to the option Y values, whereby you can determine from which cell range the X values for the data series should originate. |
| Explanation: For most chart types, the X values are irrelevant and are set to "Auto" (i.e. automatic) because they are only used to label the category axis (X axis). XY scatter charts and bubble charts are the exception, however, as the X and Y values determine the coordinates of the data points in these charts. |
| Bubble sizes: For bubble charts, there is a third parameter in addition to X and Y values: the size of the bubbles for each data point. To do so, enter a cell reference to the cells that contain these values. If this field is left empty, all bubbles will have the same size. |
▪Display this series as section
| Here, you can specify how the selected data series is displayed in the chart. If, for example, you have selected a column chart as the chart type, but want a particular series to appear as a line chart, you select the option Lines for this data series. |
▪Use secondary axis for this series
| If you enable this option, a secondary value axis (Y axis) will be added to the chart for this data series. Secondary value axes can have a different scale to primary value axes. |
| Explanation: It is useful to represent specific data series on a secondary axis if these data series require an axis with a completely different scale because they contain significantly larger values than the other data series. |