Microsoft Office

Getting Started Making Charts 19
Surface charts
Surface charts display two or more data series on a surface. Surface charts are listed in the Other Charts
category.
As Figure 19.32 shows, these charts can be quite interesting. Unlike other charts, Excel uses color to distinguish
values, not to distinguish the data series. The number of colors used is determined by the major unit
scale setting for the value axis. Each color corresponds to one major unit.
ON the CD-ROM
A workbook that contains the charts in this section is available on the companion CD-ROM.
The file is named surface charts.xlsx.
It’s important to understand that a surface chart does not plot 3-D data points. The series axis
for a surface chart, as with all other 3-D charts, is a category axis — not a value axis. In other
words, if you have data that is represented by x, y, and z coordinates, it can’t be plotted accurately on a surface
chart unless the x and y values are equally spaced.
NOTE
FIGURE 19.32
A surface chart.
Bubble charts
Think of a bubble chart as an XY chart that can display an additional data series, which is represented by the
size of the bubbles. As with an XY chart, both axes are value axes (there is no category axis). Bubble charts
are listed in the Other Charts category.
Figure 19.33 shows an example of a bubble chart that depicts the results of a weight-loss program. The horizontal
value axis represents the original weight, the vertical value axis shows the number of weeks in the
program, and the size of the bubbles represents the amount of weight lost.
ON the CD-ROM
A workbook that contains the charts in this section is available on the companion CD-ROM.
The file is named bubble charts.xlsx.
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