. A series of dialog boxes will then pop up.Directions for plotting in Excel:
Plotting data from a spreadsheet
Open Excel, and choose "New" under "File". This will bring up a spreadsheet with grids.
Enter your data into the spreadsheet, with x data in one column and y data in the next column to the right. (If you have a second set of y data, enter that into a third column.)
Use the mouse to highlight your data by clicking on the upper leftmost cell and dragging to the lower right.
In the set on icons just below the menu at the top of the screen, click on the icon that looks like . A series of dialog boxes will then pop up.
"Chart Type" dialog box: Choose the chart type you would like. I have given directions below for the XY (Scatter) plots. This is the type to use for CHM 232 Lab Reports.
Choose XY (Scatter), and then the Dots for the Chart sub-type. Select "Next >".
"Chart Source Data" dialog box: If you have only x and y data, you don't need to worry about the Data Range and Series. The Data Range indicates where on your spreadsheet the data is, and the Series indicates which are the x values and which are the y values for each curve on your graph. If you have two or more curves to be plotted on the same plot, name each curve by highlighting the series (Series1, Series2, etc.) and then typing in the desired name. This name will appear on the Legend. Select "Next >".
Chart Options dialog box: Under the "Titles" tab, enter a Title, and the labels for your x and y axes. Make sure to include units in the label. Under the "Gridlines" tab, add or remove chart gridlines. Under the "Legend" tab, if you only have one set of x and y data, remove the legend by unclicking the "Show Legend" box. Select "Next >".
Chart Location dialog box: Select "As new sheet". This will allow your plot to print out full page. Select "Finish".
Changing settings after graph is made
If you want to change a setting after the graph is made, go to the "Chart" menu at the top menu bar and choose the appropriate dialog box from the list.
Removing gray background
Once the graph is plotted, I often like to remove the gray background since it prints out rather dark, making it hard to see the data. Double-click on the gray background and under "Area" and choose "None". Note that sometimes the gridlines get in the way of selecting the gray plot area, and you may have to turn them off, remove the gray background, and then turn the gridlines back on.
Changing the scale
Double click on the x or y axis to change the scale range, font type, etc.
Changing the symbols or line types of the curves
Double-click on your data points to change the symbols, line type, or color of your curves. You can also change you series order in this box to get curves listed in the right order in your dialog box.
Adding new data to a plot
Under "Chart" in the top menu bar, choose "Add Data" to add another curve. Highlight the data in you spreadsheet to fill in the range in the dialog box.
Adding a linear regression line (or other trendline)
Under "Chart" in the top menu bar, choose "Add Trendline" to insert a linear regression line. In the dialog box, choose Linear and then the Options tab. Click on "Display equation on chart" and also "Display r-squared value on chart" (the square root of the R-squared value is the correlation coefficient).