How to make a graph in Excel, step by step

Excel’s familiar charting workflow starts with a table: select the cells, insert a chart, and adjust its series, axes, and labels. It works for comparing monthly results or checking performance against a target, but getting the comparison right can involve several menus and settings.

AI-assisted notebooks offer a more direct approach. In Deepnote, describe the comparison to Deepnote Agent and ask it to prepare the data, build the chart, and check the calculations. The code stays available in a collaborative notebook for the team to review and refine.

We’ll first explain how to make and edit a graph in Excel, using fictional monthly revenue, targets, and orders. Then we’ll use Deepnote Agent to create an interactive revenue-versus-target chart from one request. In Excel, “chart” is the menu term for the graphs we’ll build.

We cover Excel for the web first where its controls differ, with desktop instructions alongside it. The keyboard shortcuts apply to Windows desktop Excel, and advanced combo-chart instructions are labeled for desktop use.

Insert a chart in Excel

1. Arrange the data with clear headings

We'll use six months of fictional retail sales. Each row represents one month; revenue and its target are US dollars, while orders count completed purchases.

Enter the months as real dates, such as January 1, 2026, and format them to display the month and year. Keep one heading row, with no merged cells or blank separator rows inside the table.

The example workbook keeps the complete table on the Source data worksheet and uses separate worksheets for each chart example. Some screenshots therefore show only the columns used in that step; the underlying values are unchanged.

2. Select the labels and values you want to show

For our first graph, select only Month and Revenue, including their headings and all six data rows. Leave Revenue target and Orders out for now.

Also exclude any grand-total row. A six-month total is not a seventh month, and including it would create a large extra column that changes the comparison.

3. Choose a chart from Insert

In Excel for the web, open Insert and choose a 2-D clustered column chart. This gives us one vertical column per month.

If Recommended Charts is available, you can preview Excel's suggestions instead. Its availability in the web version depends on your subscription and supported language. The direct chart menu is still the route to use when that option is missing.

In desktop Excel, choose Insert > Recommended Charts, or select a chart type directly from the ribbon. On Windows, Alt+F1 creates an embedded chart from the selected data using the default chart type. It's a fast start, but check what it chose.

4. Check the result before formatting

We should see six columns, January through June, with Revenue as the only series. A series is a set of related values plotted together, such as monthly revenue.

Check January against 42,000 and June against 60,000. If months appear in the legend or the chart contains Orders, correct the selection before changing colors.

The overall direction is upward, with a small decline in March. June is the highest month, but this first chart cannot tell us whether it met the plan. We haven't added the target yet.

Pick the right Excel chart type for your data

Excel chart types are useful for different questions. We would choose among these before investing time in formatting:

Excel calls horizontal bars Bar and vertical bars Column. If the labels are long, we can compare categories with a horizontal bar graph. When the monthly pattern matters most, we can follow the trend with a line graph.

For detailed Excel steps, use our tutorials on making a bar graph in Excel and making a line graph in Excel.

A histogram answers a different question. It groups individual measurements into numerical intervals; it would not replace our monthly revenue chart simply because both use bars. Our histogram vs. bar graph comparison explains the distinction.

Edit the data range and series

You don't need to rebuild a chart when its selection is wrong or another column becomes relevant. Start by checking the data range and series definitions.

Add the revenue target

In Excel for the web, right-click the chart and choose Select Data. In the data pane, use Source to select a new range. Expand our selection to include Month, Revenue, and Revenue target, keeping Orders outside it.

The pane's Setup section also lets you add or modify fields. Check that Month supplies the horizontal labels and that the two revenue columns are separate series.

In desktop Excel, open Chart Design > Select Data. Adjust the chart data range, or use Add under Legend Entries (Series) to select the target's heading and values. The horizontal category labels should still point to the six months.

Correct rows plotted as series

If the legend lists January, February, and March instead of Revenue and Revenue target, Excel has interpreted the table in the wrong direction for our question.

On desktop, Chart Design > Switch Row/Column changes that interpretation. In the web data pane, open Source > Data Fields split by and choose columns. Check that Month supplies the category labels and that Revenue and Revenue target appear as the series. This changes how the chart reads the table; it does not transpose the worksheet itself.

Keep the category labels and each series aligned to the same rows. A target range shifted down by one row can still produce a plausible-looking chart, with every target attached to the wrong month.

Keep names and new rows connected

Use the column headings as series names. Renaming a linked heading updates the legend, which is easier to maintain than typing a separate name into the chart.

Changing a value in the selected cells updates its plotted value. Adding a row outside that range is a different operation: inspect the chart's selection and extend it if needed. For a recurring dataset, an Excel Table can help manage expanding records, but still confirm that the new period appears in the chart.

Format axes, titles, and labels

Once the chart contains the right data, make the comparison readable. We need a clear title, units, and series names before we need a color palette.

In Excel for the web, select the chart and open Format on the Chart tab. Expand Chart Title to edit the title. In desktop Excel, use Chart Design > Add Chart Element for titles, axis titles, and data labels.

For this example, use Monthly revenue against target, January to June 2026 and label the vertical scale USD. Keep a legend that distinguishes Revenue from Revenue target.

Set the scale for the comparison

Start bar and column value axes at zero because their lengths represent amounts. In desktop Excel, right-click the value axis, choose Format Axis, and check its bounds. In the web version, select the axis and inspect its available formatting options.

A line chart can use a narrower labeled range when that makes variation easier to inspect. Do not apply the same scale choice automatically to columns: starting our revenue columns at 40,000 would greatly exaggerate their differences.

Add labels where they help

We don't need every monthly amount printed above every mark. For the actual-versus-target chart, labeling June's two values can make the end-of-period comparison clear without crowding the earlier months.

Use consistent number formatting and keep the unit visible. If the scale shows thousands, label it Revenue (USD thousands). Changing a display format does not change the underlying amounts.

Combo charts and secondary axes: when to use them

A combo chart uses different mark types for different series. It does not necessarily need a second axis.

Combine revenue columns with a target line

For our example, columns show actual revenue and a line shows the target. Both measure dollars, so they belong on the same value axis.

In desktop Excel, select Chart Design > Change Chart Type > Combo. Choose Clustered Column for Revenue and Line for Revenue target. Leave Secondary Axis unchecked for both series, then apply the change.

These are desktop instructions. If your web chart editor does not offer the same per-series controls, use a two-series column or line chart. Either can make the actual-versus-target comparison without a combo layout.

June reaches the highest revenue in our table but misses its target by $5,000. Adding the plan changes what we can conclude from the upward pattern.

Think twice before adding a second axis

Orders introduces a different unit. Plotting roughly 400 to 600 orders against 42,000 to 60,000 dollars on one scale would flatten the order series.

Make a copy of the chart for this comparison. Open Select Data, add Orders as a series, and remove Revenue target from the copy. Keep the same six months as the category labels.

In Windows desktop Excel's Combo settings, you can assign Orders to a line and check Secondary Axis for that series. Label the left axis Revenue (USD) and the right axis Orders. On Mac, secondary-axis controls are available through the selected series and Chart Design > Add Chart Element > Axes.

The chart now has two independently scaled axes. Their settings can make the marks appear closely aligned or far apart. A column reaching the order line does not mean the two values are equal or establish a relationship between them.

We would usually use separate, vertically aligned charts for revenue and orders when both need close inspection. Keep the months aligned and label each scale. Use a second axis when its compactness serves the reader and the two scales are unmistakable.

Excel chart keyboard shortcuts that save time

These shortcuts apply to Windows desktop Excel. Browser shortcuts and Mac function keys can behave differently.

Select the intended data before using a creation shortcut. Speed doesn't help if the chart includes the total row or leaves out the last month.

Troubleshooting Excel graphs

The chart is blank

Open the data selection and confirm that it includes numerical values, not just headings or empty cells. Check filters and hidden rows if expected observations are missing.

Imported numbers may be stored as text. Test a suspect cell with ISNUMBER, or use Excel's Convert to Number option when it flags the cells. Changing their display format to Number alone does not convert text into numerical values.

The chart has the wrong series or labels

If the legend contains month names, check the row-versus-column interpretation. If it says Series1, check whether the selection includes the heading or whether the series name points to it.

If the horizontal labels are 1, 2, 3 instead of months, assign the Month column as the category labels. Confirm that the label range and value ranges cover the same six records.

Excel has misread the dates

A date-looking string can still be text. Applying a date format does not convert it. Check how the values were imported, particularly when day and month order could be ambiguous.

Use real dates and sort the complete table chronologically, keeping each row's values together. In desktop Excel, inspect Format Axis > Axis Options > Axis Type and select Date axis when elapsed calendar spacing matters.

A text axis spaces categories evenly. A date axis can reflect missing calendar periods. For numerical x values such as elapsed seconds, distances, or irregular measurements where precise spacing matters, choose XY Scatter and provide both x and y values.

A new month doesn't appear

The chart may still point to the original range. Extend the source selection to include the new row, and check that the month was entered as a date and its measures as numbers.

Also distinguish missing values from zero. A month with no recorded value is not automatically a month with no revenue. Decide how to display the gap before connecting points across it.

The chart type isn't available

Some controls vary by Excel version, and some chart types are not native to Excel at all. Sankey diagrams are one example. They show quantities moving between sources and destinations, which a standard bar chart cannot reproduce.

For those flows, create a Sankey diagram from source, target, and value columns. You can keep preparing the data in Excel without constructing the connecting bands manually.

Create a graph faster with Deepnote Agent

The Excel walkthrough required separate steps to select the series, change chart types, and check the axes. Deepnote Agent can work through those requirements from a written request, with the chart code and calculations available for review.

You can start with our AI chart generator or work directly in a Deepnote project. Here, we’ll drag the Excel workbook used above into the project, then ask Deepnote Agent to build the chart from its Source data worksheet.

After uploading the workbook, ask Agent:

Use the uploaded Excel workbook’s “Source data” worksheet to compare revenue against target for January through June 2026. Other worksheets contain chart-specific versions of the same data; do not combine them.

Read Month, Revenue, and Revenue target. Keep Orders out of this chart. Parse the dates, sort them chronologically, and check for missing months and duplicate records.

Create an interactive combo chart with Revenue as blue columns and Revenue target as an amber dashed line with markers. Use one shared value axis labeled “USD,” starting at zero. Label the months Jan through Jun, identify both series in the legend, and show dollar amounts on hover. Title it “Revenue against target, January to June 2026.”

Calculate total revenue, total target, and the overall difference. Also calculate June’s revenue minus target and explain whether it is above or below plan. Identify the data as fictional retail sales.

The interactive chart below shows why rising revenue does not necessarily mean the business is meeting its plan. June has the highest revenue at $60,000 but falls $5,000 short of its target. February, April, and May exceed their monthly targets.

Follow-up requests can make the comparison more explicit:

Add a table below the chart showing each month’s revenue, target, and variance. Calculate variance as revenue minus target, and label positive values as above target and negative values as below target. Keep the chart and source values unchanged.

Across the six months, revenue totals $302,000 against a combined target of $310,000, leaving an $8,000 shortfall. Keeping the variance calculation beside the visualization gives the team a way to check that conclusion and revise the analysis when the figures change.