Microsoft Word provides a simple yet powerful tool to create various types of charts and graphs to visually represent data. Whether you need to make a basic bar graph for a school assignment or an intricate line chart for a business presentation, Word makes it easy.
In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the entire process of making and customizing charts and graphs of different types in Word.
Table of Contents
Getting Started
To begin, open the Word document where you want to insert a chart. Go to the Insert tab and click the Chart icon in the Illustrations group.
Insert Chart icon in Word
This will open the Insert Chart dialog box.
On the left, you will see different chart types grouped into categories like Column, Line, Pie etc. Select the chart type you want to insert from the left pane.
Once you select a particular chart type, you will see various chart sub-types in the right pane. Scroll through the options and select the specific chart you want to insert.
For example, if you select Column chart type, some of the sub-types you see are Clustered Column, Stacked Column 100%, 3-D Clustered Column etc.
When ready, double-click the chart sub-type you want or click OK.
Entering Data
As soon as you insert a chart type, an Excel worksheet will open up with dummy data. This is where you enter or paste your actual data to populate the chart.
Important: Make sure your data is organized properly in labeled columns and rows before pasting. The first row should contain headers mentioning what each column represents.
Once your data is reflected accurately in the worksheet, close it to go back to Word document. The selected chart with your data will now be inserted.
Customizing and Formatting
When you click on the inserted chart, two contextual tabs open up in the Word ribbon – Design and Format.
Use these tabs to customize various aspects of the chart as per your requirement.
Change Chart Type
If you want to change the type of chart after inserting it, go to the Design tab. Click the Change Chart Type icon and select the new chart from the drop-down.
Change Style
To quickly change the color scheme and style of your chart, go to Design tab and use the various options in Chart Styles section.
Chart styles in Word
Hover over a style thumbnail to see how your chart will look. Click to apply.
Format Chart Elements
To format individual elements of the chart like the plot area, legend, data labels etc., use the Format tab when the chart is selected.
For example, to change the fill color of the bars in a bar chart, go to Format tab -> expand Shape Styles group -> click Shape Fill and select the color.
Formatting chart elements in Word
You can find many other options to format chart elements under groups like Shape Styles, WordArt Styles etc. based on the element selected.
Save as Chart Template
When you have a chart formatted that you want to reuse frequently, you can save it as a template for later use.
To do this, right-click on the border of the chart and choose Save as Template from the context menu. Specify a filename and save it.
Later, when you want to reuse this template, go to the Insert tab, click Chart and select Templates on the left. Locate your saved template and insert it.
Types of Charts and Graphs in Word
Now that you know how to create and format charts in general, let’s go through some popular chart types and when to use them.
Column Charts
Column charts are great for comparing values across different categories through vertical bars. Some examples are:
- Sales comparison across different product categories
- Monthly website visitors over the year
- Revenue from different business regions
To insert, choose Column type on the left and select a sub-type that meets your need.
Column chart in Word
Line Charts
Line charts are used to display trends and progressions over continuous data. Some examples are:
- Sales figures over several years
- Website traffic growth
- Temperature or stock value fluctuations
After selecting Line type on the left, pick one of the line sub-types before inserting.
Line chart in Word
Pie Charts
Pie charts depict proportional data in the form of slices of a circle. They highlight the distribution of smaller parts making up a whole. Some examples are:
- Department wise distribution of total corporate budget
- Market share based on sales revenue
- Categories of website visitors
Click Pie under chart types and select the style you want.
Pie chart in Word
There are many more chart varieties you can explore in Word including bar charts, area charts, scatter plots and more.
Inserting Chart Images from Online Sources
An easy way to include a chart or graph is to find one you like from an online source and insert it into your Word document.
To do this, right-click on the chart image online and choose Copy image or Save image as.
Then in your Word document, go to Insert tab and click Pictures. Select the copied or downloaded chart image file to insert it.
If the chart is static, you can simply insert the image. But if the underlying data is dynamic, it is better to create your own linked chart in Word that can reflect updated information.
Linking Excel Charts
When your chart data frequently changes or you have a large Excel data set, instead of recreating the chart in Word each time, you can link it to an Excel spreadsheet.
Here is a quick way to do this:
- In Excel, create the chart you want using your data and customize it.
- Copy the entire chart in Excel using Ctrl+C.
- Go to Word document and choose Paste Special under the Home tab.
- In the Paste Special dialog box, select Microsoft Excel Chart Object and click OK.
This will insert a live Excel chart linked to the source spreadsheet. Even when the Excel data changes, the chart in Word will update automatically.
Conclusion
With this comprehensive guide, you now have the knowledge to create stunning charts and graphs in Word to communicate complex data visually.
The key things to remember are:
- Use Insert Chart to select the chart type and sub-type
- Customize data labels, colors etc. using Design and Format tabs
- Save customized charts as templates for reuse
- Link dynamic Excel charts instead of static images
So next time you need to present figures and stats in your Word documents, make use of its graphing capabilities for maximum impact!
