You may have created a Chart in Excel on the basis of some gathered data. But sometimes you may need to update your chart by adding data to the existing Chart you have created in your Excel worksheet. In this article, I will show you how to add data to an existing chart in Excel.
How to Add Data to an Existing Chart in Excel: 5 Quick Methods
In this section, you’ll find 5 easy ways for adding data to an existing chart in an Excel workbook by using Excel built-in features. Let’s check them now!
1. Add Data to an Existing Chart on Same Worksheet by Dragging
Let’s say, we have got a dataset of sales of the sales assistants of a shop over a certain period of time.
We have made a chart describing the sales of the sales representatives of the shop over the mentioned time period.
To add data to the existing chart by using this method, just follow the steps below:
- At first, add a new data series to your previous data set (i.e. sales of Stephen).
- Then, click the chart area and you’ll see the data source which is currently displayed is selected on the worksheet presenting the sizing handles, but the new data series is not selected.
- Now, drag the sizing handle to introduce the new data series and the chart will be updated.
So easy, isn’t it? These are the steps you can follow for updating a chart manually by just dragging the sizing handles.
Read More: How to Expand Chart Data Range in Excel
2. Add Data to an Existing Chart on a Separate Worksheet
Let’s say, for the dataset below, we want to update the chart on a separate worksheet by adding new data series.
To add data to the existing chart on a separate worksheet, just follow the steps below:
- Firstly, right-click on the chart and click Select Data.
- Now, a dialogue box will show up. Click Add on the Legend Entries (Series) box.
- Then, go to the sheet containing the new data entries. Assign a new Series name (i.e. Stephen).
- Again, assign the cells containing new data entries as the Series values.
- Now, the heading of the new data entries will show up on the Legend Entries box. Click OK on the dialogue box.
- Finally, your existing chart will show the updated data.
That’s how we can simply add data to an existing chart on a separate worksheet by using the select data option.
Read More: Selecting Data in Different Columns for an Excel Chart
3. Update Data to a Chart by Pasting New Entries
For our previous dataset, we will now show how to update an existing chart by just pasting the new data entries on the chart.
And for this, follow the steps below:
- At first, copy the new data entries of the dataset.
- Now, just click outside on the chart and hit paste. Your chart will be updated.
See! So simple as that. Just copy and paste the new entries and update your chart in this way.
Read More: How to Select Data for a Chart in Excel
4. Use Paste Special Option to Add Data to a Chart
For the same dataset, we will now learn to add data to the existing chart by using the paste special option.
To apply this method, follow the steps below:
- First, copy the new data entries and click on the chart.
- Then, go to the Home tab > Paste > click Paste Special
- After that, a dialogue box will show up displaying multiple options for you for full control of what is pasted.
- Now, choose the option according to what you want and your updated chart will be ready.
So these are the steps you can follow for using the paste special option to update your chart.
5. Use Pivot Table to Add Data to an Existing Chart
For our same dataset, we’ll now show how to update the chart by using a pivot table.
Follow the steps below for using this method:
- First of all, select the data range> go to the Home tab> click Format as Table.
- Choose a design for the table.
- Then, Create Table dialogue box will show up. Mark if your table has headers. Click OK.
- Now, your table will be created.
- After that, go to the Insert tab> click Pivot Table> select From Table/Range.
- Now, choose whether you want your pivot table on the same sheet or a different sheet.
- Afterward, Pivot Table Field will show up.
- Here, drag your data range to the drag fields you want (i.e. drag Month to Rows)
- Drag the other data ranges to the other drag field ( i.e. Mike & Adam to Values)
- After that, go to the Pivot Table Analyze tab> Pivot Chart.
- Create a chart (i.e. Clustered Column)
- Your sheet will show the chart.
- Here, drag your new data entries to the field (i.e. Stephen to Values).
- Finally, your chart will show the added new data entries.
That is how we can add new data entries to an existing chart by using a pivot table.
Conclusion
In this article, we have learned how to add data to an existing chart in an Excel worksheet by using the Excel feature. I hope from now on, you can quickly add data to an existing chart in an Excel worksheet. If you have any queries regarding this article, please don’t forget to leave a comment below. Have a great day!
