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To add a chart to your PowerPoint presentation, you have two options:
- Create a new slide by using an AutoLayout that includes a chart object.
- Add a chart object to an existing slide.
Using an AutoLayout is the easier way to create a new slide because the AutoLayout positions other elements on the slide for you. If you add a chart to an existing slide, you probably have to adjust the size and position of existing objects to make room for the chart object.
Inserting a new slide with a chart
These steps show you how to insert a new slide that contains a chart:
1. Move to the slide that you want the new slide to follow.
2. Click the New Slide button on the Common Tasks toolbar to summon the New Slide dialog box, shown in Figure 1.
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Figure 1: The New Slide dialog box. |
3. Choose the slide type that you want to add and click OK.
Several slide types include chart objects. Choose the one that you want and then click OK. PowerPoint adds a new slide of the chosen type. As you can see in Figure 2, the chart object is simply a placeholder; you have to use Microsoft Graph to complete the chart.
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Figure 2: A new slide with a virgin chart object. |
4. Double-click the chart object to conjure up Microsoft Graph.
PowerPoint awakens Microsoft Graph from its slumber, and the two programs spend a few moments exchanging news from home. Then Microsoft Graph takes over, creating a sample chart with make-believe data, as shown in Figure 3. Notice that your regular toolbar setup goes away to make room for the Graph toolbar buttons. Again, click the down arrows to find the buttons you remember from PowerPoint. But this Graph toolbar feature only pops up when you use Microsoft Graph. You can't call it up from the toolbar menu just for kicks.
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Figure 3: Microsoft Graph takes over. |
5. Change the sample data to something more realistic.
The datasheet, visible in Figure 3, supplies the data on which the chart is based. The datasheet is in a separate window and is not a part of the slide. The datasheet works just like a spreadsheet program.
6. Return to the slide.
Click anywhere on the slide outside the chart or the datasheet to leave Microsoft Graph and return to the slide. You can then see the chart with the new numbers, as shown in Figure 4.
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Figure 4: A slide with a finished chart. |
Inserting a chart in an existing slide
Remember that this method is the more difficult of the two methods of adding charts to your slides. Use the preceding method unless you have already created your slide.
Follow these steps to add a chart to an existing slide:
1. Move to the slide on which you want to place the chart.
2. Choose Insert-->Chart.
3. Type your data in the datasheet.
Replace the sample data with your numbers.
4. Click outside the chart to return to the slide.
5. Rearrange everything.
The chart undoubtedly falls on top of something else already on the slide. You probably need to resize and move the chart object and perhaps other objects on the slide to make room for the chart. Or you may want to delete any unnecessary text or clip art objects from the slide.
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