Add and remove Excel chart data

After we create a chart, you can also update it by adding more data series or data points to the worksheet. The way to add data depends on the kind of chart we want to update-inline charts or charts. If you want to add data to an inline chart in a worksheet, we can drag and drop the data from that worksheet. Using copy and paste is the easiest way to add data to a chart.

For example, we add a "memory" column to the sales statistics chart in the previous example. The steps to increase the chart data are as follows:

(1) Enter the data for the "Memory" line.

(2) Click the Activate chart to see the colored wireframe in the data, which is called the selected handle in Excel 2000. So if you drag the blue selection handle on the worksheet and include the new data and labels in the rectangular selection box, you can add a new category to the chart. If you add only the data series, drag the green selection handle on the worksheet and include the new data and labels in the rectangle selection box. If you want to add new categories and data points, drag the purple selection handle on the worksheet and include the new data and labels in the rectangle selection box.

(3) Drag the purple drag handle down to include the memory data, as shown in Figure 8-16.

(4) After sending the mouse, you can see the display as shown in Figure 8-17.

If you want to delete a series of data in a chart, you can drag the mouse up and remove the chart data area from the data area.

The method mentioned above is most direct for adjacent data processing. However, if the data is not contiguous, you need to select one of the following methods.

The first method is to select the data region again. Action steps are:

(1) Activate the chart, then press the Chart Wizard button, and the dialog box appears in Figure 8-2.

(2) Press "Next" button to select the Data area in the dialog box.

(3) Press the "Finish" button.

The second method is to do this by copying and pasting. Action steps are

(1) Select the cells that contain the data you want to add. If you want the row and column labels for the new data to appear in the chart, the selection should also include the cells that contain the labels.

(2) Click the Copy button.

(3) Click the chart.

(4) If you want Microsoft Excel to automatically paste data into the chart, click the Paste button, or if you want to specify how the data is plotted in the chart, click Paste Specific on the Edit menu, and then select the options that you want.

For data that doesn't necessarily appear in the chart, we can also delete it from the chart. How to delete data in a chart is as follows:

(1) Activate the chart. Select the sequence you want to purge, as shown in Figure 8-18.

(2) by executing the series command on the Purge submenu of the Edit menu, you will see a chart that clears the chart data, as shown in Figure 8-19.

It should be explained that we clear the data from the chart without affecting the data on the cells in the worksheet. We can see that although the chart has been cleared, the data in the worksheet is not erased.

Tip: When you add or delete data, Excel automatically updates the existing legend.