Excel Bar Chart with Line Overlay (Create with Easy Steps)

Chart overlaying is an effective way to incorporate two different ways to represent data into one single chart. Chart Overlaying with a line is very significant when we want to compare visually two or more parameters in a chart with one another. Therefore, a Chart Overlaying with a line is a useful tool that helps to understand track changes of a chart with time or with other parameters. In the following article, we will describe the easy steps for creating an Excel bar chart with a line overlay.

Excel Bar Chart with Line Overlay: 3 Steps

The following table contains the Month, Sales, and Profit columns. Using this table, we will create an Excel bar chart with a line overlay. Here, we used Excel 365. You can use any available Excel version.

Step-01: Inserting Bar Chart

In this step, we will insert a Bar chart.

• First, we select the entire data table.
• After that, go to the Insert tab.
• Afterward, from Insert Column or Bar Chart >> select 2D Clustered Bar chart.

Then, you can see the Bar chart.

Step-02: Adding Line Overlay

In this step, we will add a line overlay to our Bar chart.

• First of all, we will right-click on the Bar chart.
• At this point, we will right-click on the Bar chart.
• Moreover, we will select Change Series Chart Type from the Context Menu.

A Change Chart Type dialog box will appear.

• Later, we will go to All Charts >> select Combo.
• Afterward, we will click on Clustered Column-Line.

• After that, we will click on the drop-down arrow of the Sales Clustered Bar.

A dialog box will appear.

• Then, from Bar, select Clustered Bar.

You can see the Custom Combination chart.

• Next, click OK.

Therefore, we can see the bar chart with a line overlay.

Step-03: Formatting Chart with Line Overlay

In this step, we will format the Bar chart to make the Bar chart with line overlay more presentable.

• First, we will click on the Chart Title, we will edit the title, and give a name according to our preference.
• After that, we will click on the Chart Title, we will edit the title, and give a name according to our preference.

• Moreover, we will click on the chart >> go to the Chart Design tab.
• Next, from Chart Design, we selected a design type marked with a Red color box. Here, you can choose any Chart Design according to your preference.
• Along with that, from Format Data Series, we changed the Gap Width to 80%.

As a result, we can see the customized Bar chart with a line overlay.

Read More: Excel Add Line to Bar Chart

Making Column Chart with Line Overlay in Excel

Here, we will describe the steps for making a column chart with line overlay in Excel. To do so, we will use the following table.

Steps:

• In the beginning, we select the entire data table.
• After that, go to the Insert tab.
• Afterward, from Insert Column or Bar Chart >> select 2D Clustered Column chart.

Then, you can see the Column chart.

• Afterward, we will add a line overlay to this Column chart.
• Next, we will right-click on the Column chart.
• Along with that, we will select Change Series Chart Type from the Context Menu.

A Change Chart Type dialog box will appear.

• Then, we will go to All Charts >> select Combo.
• Afterward, we will click on Clustered Column-Line.

• After that, in Chart Type, we keep Branch 1 and Branch 2 as Clustered Columns.
• In addition, we keep the Profit as Line.
• Next, click OK.

Finally, we can see the column chart with line overlay.

Next, we will customize the Column chart with line overlay to make it more presentable.

• To do so, we followed step 3 from the Bar chart with line overlay.

As a result, we can see the customized column chart with a line overlay.

Read More: How to Create Bar Chart with Target Line in Excel

Practice Section

You can download the above Excel file to practice the explained methods.

Download Practice Workbook

Conclusion

Here, we tried to show you easy steps for an Excel bar chart with line overly. Thank you for reading this article, we hope this was helpful. If you have any queries or suggestions, please let us know in the comment section below.

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