Looking for an online tutorial to create a line chart in Powerpoint

July 27, 2011 11:56 AM

I have a lot of information (dates and numbers that correspond to lot numbers/Kg) that I need to plot on a line graph in Powerpoint. I do not have this kind of advanced Powerpoint knowledge and I'm hoping there is a website that has easy step-by-step instructions
posted by twinA to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

You need to create your graphs in Excel and then copy and paste them (paste special!) into PPT.
posted by k8t at 12:00 PM on July 27, 2011 [5 favorites]

Would it be easier to create a graph in excel? I don't know if powerpoint has this kind of capability. It might be easier to create what you want in excel and copy/paste your graphs into a slide.
posted by snowysoul at 12:00 PM on July 27, 2011

Powerpoint does not have graphing/charting capabilities. Create and finesse your chart in Excel, then import to Powerpoint. There are two choices--

1] use Microsoft office to "actively" share the chart between Excell and Power Point. If chart numbers update in Excel, slide will update. However, this puts a lot of control into hidden programming instructions, and you might have alarming results if you try to tinker with the chart.

2] export the chart as a picture file and insert onto PP slide. You cannot change numbers.
posted by ohshenandoah at 12:26 PM on July 27, 2011

Which version of Powerpoint are you using, and where is the data coming from, and how do you have it arranged? You can create charts directly within Powerpoint, but the steps will be different between Office 2003 and 2007.
posted by mgar at 4:33 PM on July 27, 2011