Dumb Excel question

March 12, 2012 4:39 AM

Excel-Filter: I am using Excel 2011 (for Mac, if it matters). I want to create a simple X-Y chart of two columns. That's it. Should be simple. But I must be missing something.

So, I have two columns. I want the data in the columns to be mapped against each other. Simple, right?

If I select the two columns and go to Charts, all I see there is 2-D line. If I select that, I get a chart which has both my columns on the same graph with row number as the x-axis and a scaled y-axis.

Help me?

posted by vacapinta to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Best answer: Scatter chart, not line chart? Or am I missing what you are trying to do? Column A = x axis values
Column B = Y axis?
posted by JPD at 4:45 AM on March 12, 2012

Response by poster: I think I may have figured it out with your comment, JPD.

If I choose 'Scatter' and then under that, choose 'Straight line Scatter' then I appear to get what I want. I guess I foolishly believed that a line chart would be under 'Line Chart'
posted by vacapinta at 4:49 AM on March 12, 2012

When I first started working with Excel, I had this exact problem. What Excel calls "line" graphs assume that each row of data, when placed on a graph, is equally spaced from the next line, like monthly totals or such. After two college-lab reports with graphs fucked like this, a helpful upperclassman showed me the scatter plot. Which, despite being pretty much what everyone (except business majors) needs, is not the default.

Scatter it is.
posted by notsnot at 5:05 AM on March 12, 2012