Google Spreadsheets is a Web-based application that allows its users to create, update and modify spreadsheets and share the data live online. The Ajax-based program is compatible with Microsoft Excel and CSV (comma-separated values) files. Spreadsheets can also be saved as HTML. In this article, We are going to talk about How To Add a Chart in Google Sheets – Edit the Legend. Let’s start!
Google Sheets, Google’s free cloud-based spreadsheet program, is available to use through the desktop or mobile application. Thus, it allows you to create, edit, and collaborate online, anytime and also anywhere. Google Sheets includes charting components that are simple but quite powerful. This article will show you how to add charts to your Google Sheets, how to edit the chart legend, and how to edit some other chart features.
Working with charts is very simple. All you need have is just a set of data to refer to, design a chart in the built-in charting tool within Sheets. Set the legend so it is easily understandable, and insert it into the spreadsheet. You can also create your own data to follow this tutorial, or you can create a new sheet and use the used as examples. For the sample chart, we will use a simple little sheet along with a list of a household’s expense category and the monthly budget for each and every expense. You gotta create a sheet with two headings, “Expense” and “Monthly”, and add the following information to the sheet:
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Add a Chart to Google Sheets
In order to create a chart, we first need to identify a data set for the chart to be based on. We begin by selecting a data range and working from there. Follow the steps below:
- Open the sheet in which you want to create a chart.
- Identify the data range that you want to use and highlight it within the sheet. If you want to highlight, then click on the first cell, and drag your cursor to the last square you want to cover.
- Select Insert from the top menu and click Chart. The chart editor will open on the right side of your screen, and the chart will appear on the sheet.
- The first line of the chart editor is titled “Chart type”. Click the dropdown arrow and choose the chart type you want to use. Sheets will suggest a few chart types that are suited for the type of data you have provided. But you can choose whatever type you want.
- You can also customize the data elements used in the chart; these controls appear below the Chart type selection.
- Select the Customize tab in the chart editor to see the formatting controls. Play with these to learn how to modify your chart. The chart will change as you make changes in the dialog.
- When you have finished modifying the chart, then click the X in the upper right of the chart editor.
- Now drag the chart to where you want it in your Sheet.
Decide the type of chart | Add a Chart in Google Sheets
Different chart types lend themselves well to displaying different data types. All the chart types will not work with all data, so it may be a case of experimenting as you go with it. The chart editor has a suggestions section that indicates the chart type that the software thinks would be appropriate. And you can start from there if you really do not know what kind of chart to avail.
Every type of normal chart has an associated type of information that it is best-suited for displaying. That depends on what the visualization is intended to accomplish. Such as, in the case of our monthly household expenses, a pie chart is a very powerful way to demonstrate. That our mortgage payment is dominating our monthly expenses. As it makes that visual element very large on the sheet.
Edit the Legend in Google Sheets
Once you have created a chart, it is likely that you will want to change the legend. The chart legend is the colored box and text that tells the reader what each color on the chart represents. On the current chart, it is labeled “Monthly”. Google Sheets does its best to figure out a label by default. But it often ends up being something helpful like “Monthly” – technically accurate, but not very illuminating to anyone looking at the chart.
When you have created your chart, you can bring back the chart editor by right-clicking anywhere on the chart itself and selecting any menu item. This will open the chart editor and take you to the specific editing area. You can also edit the legend in a number of ways. You can change the font, font size, formatting, and also text color of the legend.
- First, right click the chart and then click Legend.
- You can also make changes to your chart legend’s position, font type, size, and color.
- The chart will update when you make changes within the editor.
Change the Legend Text in Google Sheets | Add a Chart in Google Sheets
One feature that many users wish they could have is the ability to change the text displayed for the legend. Such as, the legend “Monthly” is not really all that useful or descriptive. There is only one way to change the legend text is to rename the data column, and the legend will also change. Such as, we could replace the “Monthly” text in column A2 with “June 2018”, or “Estimated Monthly Amount”. The chart would then show that text instead.
Edit Other Chart Elements
There are a lot chart elements that you can edit in Google Sheets. However, the easiest way to access chart settings is to right-click in the chart to pull up the chart editing context menu.
Under “Chart area” you can choose between resizing the chart area (which lets you increase or decrease the size of the chart display within the chart frame) or fitting the chart area to the available chart frame. (You can change the chart frame by clicking anywhere within the chart, then clicking and dragging on the resizing frame.)
Most of the elements on the context menu just take you to the appropriate section of the Chart Editor, but it’s a very useful shortcut for the commonly selected tasks. Using the context menu, you can change the chart style, change the chart and axis titles and subtitles, choose which data series the chart displays, change the legend, change the labels on the X and Y axis, set the grid lines, or reset the data range the chart draws from.
Create a Chart on Google Sheets | Add a Chart in Google Sheets
Google Sheets can also be accessed via smartphones, that is very convenient because you can create and view spreadsheets even when you are out and about. Let’s see how to create a Google Sheets chart on Android.
- Open Google Sheets.
- Then Tap the + button at the bottom right side of the screen and select New Spreadsheet.
- Enter the data you want to reflect on the chart.
- Then, highlight the data that you want to include in the chart by tapping the first cell and dragging the bottom blue dot to the cell of the last data entry.
- Click the + button at the top right of the screen. It will open the Insert menu at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Chart.
- You can then choose which chart type you want to use, edit the legend, title, and color.
Conclusion
Alright, That was all Folks! I hope you guy like this Add a Chart in Google Sheets article and find It helpful to you. Give us your feedback on it. Also if you guys have further queries related to this article. Then let us know in the comments section below. We will get back to you shortly.
Have a Great Day!
Also See: How to Duplicate and Copy a Folder in Google Drive
