How to Select Data in Excel for Graph (5 Quick Ways)

The main objective of this article is to explain how to select data in Excel for graph. If you are looking for a way to select data in Excel for graphs then this article will be helpful for you. Here, I will explain different ways of doing it in different situations.

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5 Quick Ways to Select Data in Excel for Graph

For this article, I have taken the following dataset. I will select data from this dataset in Excel for graph. Here, I will explain 5 quick and easy ways of selecting data for a graph.

1. Selecting a Single Cell of the Whole Range to Select Data for Graph

In this method, I will explain how to select data for a graph in Excel by selecting a single cell from the dataset. Let’s see the steps.

Steps:

• Firstly, select any cell from the dataset. Here, I selected cell B4 which is the first cell of my dataset.
• Secondly, go to the Insert tab from the Ribbon.
• Thirdly, select the type of graph you want from the Charts group. Here, I selected Line or Area Chart.

Now, a drop-down menu will appear.

• After that, select the graph you want. Here, I selected Stacked Line with Markers.

Now, you will see a Line Graph has been inserted for the whole dataset.

Here, you can see my final Line Graph for the dataset I took.

Read More: How to Select a Range of Cells in Excel Formula (4 Methods)

2. Applying SHIFT Key to Select Data in Excel for Graph

In this method, I will explain how you can select data from the whole table for graph in Excel by using the SHIFT key. Let’s see the steps.

Steps:

• Firstly, select the first cell of the dataset. Here, I selected cell B4 as it is the first cell of my dataset.

• Secondly, press and hold the SHIFT key while clicking on the last cell of the dataset. Here, I selected cell C9 as it is the last cell of my dataset.

Now, you will see the whole dataset is selected.

• After that, go to the Insert tab.
• Next, select the graph type you want. Here, I selected Pie or Doughnut Chart.

Here, a drop-down menu for selecting your desired graph will appear.

• Now, select the graph you want. Here, I selected Pie from the 2-D Pie.

Finally, you can see a Pie chart with your selected data has been inserted into your Excel sheet.

Read More: How to Select Large Data in Excel Without Dragging (5 Easy Ways)

3. Dragging Fill Handle to Select Data for Graph

In this method, I will explain how to select data for graph in Excel by dragging the Fill Handle. Here, I have taken the following dataset to explain this example.

Let’s see the steps.

Steps:

• Firstly, the columns you want to make a graph of. Here, I selected the first two columns of the table to make a Sales Overview graph of Texas.
• Secondly, go to the Insert tab.
• Thirdly, select the graph type you want. Here, I selected Column or Bar Chart.

Now, a drop-down menu will appear.

• After that, select your desired graph. Here, I selected Clustered Column Chart.

Here, you can see I have created a Clustered Column Chart with my selected data.

Now, I will add the Sales Overview graph for Florida and Ohio in the same graph.

• Firstly, click on the Fill Handle and drag it to the end of your table or to the column you want in your graph.

Here, you can see the graph updates as you select the new data.

Finally, I have added Chart Title and Legend and this is how my final graph looks.

Read More: How to Select Cells in Excel Without Dragging (7 Ideal Examples)

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4. Employing CTRL Key to Select Data in Excel for Graph

Here, I will explain how you can select data from non-adjacent columns in Excel for graph employing the CTRL key. Let’s see the steps.

Steps:

• Firstly, select the first column you want in your graph. Here, I selected the column named Month.

• Secondly, press and hold the CTRL key while selecting other columns you want in your table. Here, I selected columns named Florida and Ohio.

• Thirdly, go to the Insert tab.
• After that, select the graph type you want. Here, I selected Column or Bar Chart.

Now, a drop-down menu will appear.

• Next, select your desired graph. Here, I selected Clustered Column Chart.

Here, you can see a Clustered Column Chart has been inserted into my Excel sheet with my selected data.

Finally, I have added the title to my graph and this is how it looks.

Read More: [Solved!] CTRL+END Shortcut Key Goes Too Far in Excel (6 Fixes)

5. Using Select Data Command to Select Data in Excel for Graph

In this method, I will show you how to select data in Excel for graph by using the Select Data command. For this example, I have taken the following dataset. This dataset contains two different sets of data. I will select these two sets of data for a single graph.

Let’s see the steps.

Steps:

• Firstly, go to the Insert tab.
• Secondly, select Scatter or Bubble Chart from the Charts group.

Here, a drop-down menu will appear.

• Select, your desired chart from the drop-down menu. Here, I selected Scatter with Straight Lines and Markers.

Now, you can see a graph has been inserted into the Excel sheet but it is blank. I will select data for this graph.

• Firstly, select the chart.
• Secondly, go to the Chart Design tab.
• Thirdly, select Select Data.

Here, a dialog box named Select Data Source will appear.

• After that, select Add from Legend Entries (Series).

Now, another dialog box named Edit Series will appear.

• Firstly, select the marked button to select the Series name.

• Secondly, select the Series name.
• Thirdly, select the marked button to add the Series name to the Edit Series dialog box.

Here, you will see the Series name added to the dialog box.

• Now, select the marked button to select the Series X values.

• After that, select the Series X values.
• Next, select the marked button to add the Series X values to the Edit Series dialog box.

After that, you will see the Series X values added to the dialog box.

• Now, select the marked button to select the Series Y values.

• Next, select the Series Y values.
• After that, select the marked button to add the Series Y values to the Edit Series dialog box.

Now, you will see the Series Y values added to the dialog box.

• Finally, select OK.

Here, you will see the data for Texas is selected. Now, I will add data for Florida.

• To begin with, select Add.

Now, the Edit Series dialog box will appear. Follow the previous procedure to add the data.

• Firstly, select the Series name.
• Secondly, select Series X values.
• Thirdly, select Series Y values.
• After that, select OK.

Here, you will see the data for Florida is also added to the Select Data Source dialog box.

• Finally, select OK.

Now, you can see a graph has been inserted for the selected data.

Finally, I have added the title for the graph and the axis. This is how my graph looks with my selected data.

Read More: How to Select Column to End of Data in Excel (3 Easy Methods)

Practice Section

Here, I have provided a practice sheet for you to practice how to select data in Excel for graph.

Conclusion

To conclude, I tried to cover how to select Data in Excel for graph. Here, I explained 5 different ways of doing it. I hope it was clear to you. If you like this article then, you can visit ExcelDemy for more articles like this. Last but not least if you have any questions please let me know in the comment section below.

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