Excel Bar Chart Change Color Based On Category
Excel is a powerful tool that allows you to create different types of charts to visualize your data. One of the most commonly used charts is a bar chart. A bar chart is a chart with rectangular bars with lengths proportional to the values that they represent. In this article, we will learn how to change the color of the bars in an Excel bar chart based on the category.
Step 1: Create a Bar Chart
The first step is to create a bar chart in Excel. To do this, select the data that you want to use for your chart. Then go to the Insert tab and select the type of chart that you want to use. In this case, we will select the bar chart.
Step 2: Add Data Labels
Data labels are used to identify the values represented by each bar in the chart. To add data labels, right-click on any of the bars in the chart and select Add Data Labels. You can choose whether you want the data labels to be inside the bars, outside the bars, or centered on the bars.
Step 3: Select a Bar
Now, click on any of the bars in the chart to select it. This will highlight the selected bar and all bars of the same category in the chart. In this example, we will select the blue bar which represents the category "Sales".
Step 4: Change the Color of the Bar
Once the bar is selected, right-click on the bar and select Format Data Point. This will open the Format Data Point pane on the right-hand side of the screen. In the pane, select the Fill & Line tab and click on the solid fill option. Now, you can choose a new color for the selected bar. In this example, we will choose green.
Step 5: Repeat for Other Categories
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each category in the chart. In this example, we will change the color of the red bar which represents the category "Expenses" to orange.
Step 6: Customize the Chart
Now that you have changed the colors of the bars in the chart, you can customize the chart by adding a title, axis labels, and a legend. To do this, click on the chart to select it and go to the Design tab. From there, you can add or modify the chart elements as needed.
Conclusion
Changing the color of the bars in an Excel bar chart based on the category is a great way to make your chart more visually appealing and easier to understand. By following these simple steps, you can easily customize your chart to better represent your data.