#CREATE AN EXCEL WATERFALL CHART HOW TO#
#CREATE AN EXCEL WATERFALL CHART UPDATE#
#CREATE AN EXCEL WATERFALL CHART SERIES#

#CREATE AN EXCEL WATERFALL CHART SERIES#

Follow this up by formatting the Label Spaces series just like how the Base Values series was formatted (in Step 6). Don’t worry about the value on the labels for now, they’ll be changed in the next step. Right-click on your Label Spaces series and go Add Data Labels…. Go into you Base Values series (blue column element in the chart above) and eliminate the color fill and borders: right-click on a blue column element and go Format Data Series….>Fill>No Fill and Border Color>No Line>Close (to exit).ħ.ğormat your Element Values series (red above, using same process in Step 6 to change the fill color and add a border.Ĩ. Remove grid lines (optional), delete the Legend (necessary). Play around with these options as you see fit to get the best look. 25 pt and Line Style>Dash Type>Square Dot. Consider making the Line Color>Solid Line>Color black, Line Style>Width. Right-click on the connector and go Format Data Series…. After this step your chart should look like this:Ĥ.ğollow this up by formatting each connector in turn. Repeat this process for the other connector column elements (aqua, orange and baby blue). To convert to these columns to connectors, in turn, right-click on the series (the first one is the purple column element) and go Change Series Chart Type…>Line>Line>OK (to exit). The top colored column element in each column (purple, aqua, orange and baby blue, respectively) is what will become that Element Value’s connector. Chart should now look something like this:ģ. Switch column and row data by right-clicking within the chart and going to Select Data…>Switch Row/Column>OK (to exit). Select your data, here A2:H6, and go to Insert>Charts>Column>2-D Column>Stacked Column>OK (to exit). Enter the same value for the cell beneath.ġ. In the respective Connector column make the cell at the row corresponding to the related Axis Label equal to the sum of Column B + Column C (Base Value + Element Values). ) Connectors – Connectors 1 to 4 correspond to Axis Labels North to West in the example above. The numbers here should all be the same and be some number about 1/4 to 1/3 the value of your lowest Element Value. These will eventually hold text labels for the Element Values (Column C). Label Spaces – Again this is optional.These are represented by the blue column segments in the above chart. Element Values – These are whatever numbers you want to highlight in your chart.Whereas nothing proceeds North in the example above leave its base value blank. Base Values – A running total of the subsequent Element Values (Column C).

Horizontal Axis Labels – self explanatory.

Step 1: Enter all of the required series in a worksheet: For the chart above, four label connector series are needed. You will need one column (series) for each of the data elements (excluding one for the total).

Label Connectors: This is the key item needed to create the chart as shown above.

Label Spaces: This is optional but it allows you to place the value of you data elements on top of their respective bars (this avoids the use of the annoying Label Position options available after one has used Add Data Labels).

Element Values: the meat and potatoes of your chart – the value of your elements as you want them to appear (above these are 40, 30, 20, 10 and 100).

Base Values: What your element values will “sit on.” Essentially this is the white space beneath each charted element shown above.

Horizontal Axis Labels: in the example above North, East, South and West.

List of data series (columns) needed for your chart: Steps to Building a Better Waterfall Chart

#CREATE AN EXCEL WATERFALL CHART UPDATE#

With some simple charting trickery in Excel 2007 one can easily make a waterfall chart with connectors that will update automatically as element values are changed. The frustration with this approach is that all too often the values of the chart elements will need to be updated or changed forcing user to manually readjust each of their connector lines in turn.

Many users of waterfall charts employ the separated (default) version (example B) opting to add in element connectors manually via Insert>Shapes>Line on the Excel tool bar. They are always either pushed together (Example A) or left apart, without element connectors (Example B): The principle problem with these charts is the separation between the elements of the waterfall.

#CREATE AN EXCEL WATERFALL CHART HOW TO#

While there are several tutorials on how to make a waterfall chart online the end products of these tutorials rate low on the visually appealing scale. Waterfall charts are great, especially for visually showing the contribution of parts to a whole. This is a guest post from Aaron Henckler.

Create an excel waterfall chart