Manipulating Charts In Microsoft Excel 2007
Excel is perhaps the most widely used element within Microsoft Office 2007. Before you can manipulate a chart any way you need to highlight or select the chart. To select an embedded Microsoft Excel 2007 chart simply click once on its border. When a chart is highlighted Excel does two things it displays the data on which the chart is based & it displays the Chart Tools. Chart Tools consist of the Design Layout & Format context sensitive tabs.
To select a stand-alone chart simply click on the sheet tab. In a standalone chart the chart occupies the entire sheet & normally the chart remains highlighted. However it can be deselected if you click on the blank space outside the chart area. If the chart has become deselected simply click on its border to reselect it; just as you would with an embedded chart.
The most basic type of manipulation one can do to an embedded chart is to reposition & resize the chart. To resize the chart use one of the resize handles. These are positioned on the corners of the chart & in the middle of each side. Each resize handle consists of three dots. When using the middle handles you can only change one dimension; either the width or the height. When you use the corner handles you can change both dimensions. To resize proportionally in other words to retain the aspect ratio hold down the Shift key as you drag.
It is also possible to permanently lock the aspect ratio. Click on the Format tab & then click on the launch button. In the size section this displays the Size & Properties dialog box. Here you’ll find the option Lock Aspect Ratio. If this option is activated whenever you use the corner handles to resize a chart the aspect ratio is automatically preserved without having to use the Shift key.
To move a chart position the cursor on the border of the chart but away form resize handles. You will notice that when the cursor is over a resize handle it changes to an icon with two arrows. When you have the cursor over the border but away form resize handles the cursor changes to an icon with four arrows. At this point simply click & hold & drag the chart to a new location.
Although Excel places a chart on a separate layer it still associates it with the columns & rows over which it place. This means that if you make adjustments to these rows & columns the chart can move or be resized. For example if we insert a column to the left of one of the columns over which the chart is placed the chart becomes wider to accommodate the newly inserted column.
If this behaviour becomes a nuisance at any time Excel allows you to deactivate it. Simply highlight the chart click on the Format tab & then click on the launch button in the Size section. This time click on the Properties tab & here you’ll find options for Object Positioning. If you choose the option Don’t Move or Size With Cells this means that chart objects will become completely independent of the columns & rows on which they superimposed.
The author is trainer & developer with Macresource Computer Training a UK IT training company offering Microsoft Excel 2007 training courses in London & on-site courses throughout the UK.