How to Change Chart Type in Excel

Switching your chart type in Excel is a fast and straightforward way to find the best visual story for your data. A bar chart might be good, but a line chart could better show a trend. This guide will walk you through the exact steps to change your chart type, offer tips for creating more advanced combination charts, and help you choose the perfect visual every time.

Why the Right Chart Matters for Your Data

Picture this: you have a list of monthly sales figures for the past year. You could represent this data in numerous ways, but only a few will effectively communicate the key insights hidden in those numbers. The chart type you choose isn't just a design choice, it fundamentally changes how you and your audience interpret the data.

For example, if you create a column chart with your monthly sales, your audience will immediately focus on comparing the performance of individual months. It’s easy to see that July had higher sales than June. The main takeaway is comparison.

But what if you change that same column chart to a line chart? Suddenly, the story shifts. Instead of just comparing months, you're now highlighting the trend over time. You can see the upward momentum heading into the holiday season or a dip during the summer. The story becomes about growth, decline, and seasonality.

Choosing the right chart type helps you:

• Tell a Clear Story: A well-chosen chart focuses the viewer's attention on the most important message, whether it's a trend, a comparison, or a relationship.
• Prevent Misinterpretation: A misleading chart is worse than no chart at all. Using a pie chart to show trends over time, for example, would be confusing and ineffective.
• Improve Decision-Making: When data is presented clearly, it becomes much easier for your team or stakeholders to draw accurate conclusions and make informed decisions.

Think of yourself as a data storyteller. Your job is to select the visual format that best tells the true, compelling narrative hidden in your spreadsheet. Knowing how to change chart types on the fly is a critical skill in this process, allowing you to experiment and find the perfect fit.

Method 1: Using the 'Change Chart Type' dialogue box

This is the most direct and common way to switch your chart’s appearance in Excel. It’s a straightforward, three-click process that gives you access to every chart type available.

Step 1: Select Your Chart

First, click anywhere on the chart you want to modify. When you do this, you’ll notice two new tabs appear on the Excel Ribbon at the top of the window: Chart Design and Format. These are "contextual tabs," meaning they only show up when a chart is actively selected. The white-handled border around your chart confirms it's selected.

Step 2: Navigate to the 'Chart Design' Tab

With your chart selected, click on the Chart Design tab. This tab contains all the tools related to the fundamental structure and appearance of your chart, such as adding elements, changing colors, and, most importantly, changing the chart's type.

Step 3: Click 'Change Chart Type'

On the far right end of the Chart Design ribbon, you'll find the Change Chart Type button. Click it.

Step 4: Choose Your New Chart Type

Clicking this button opens the 'Change Chart Type' dialog box. This is your command center for chart transformations.

• On the left-hand side, you'll see a list of parent chart categories: Column, Line, Pie, Bar, Area, Scatter (X, Y), etc.
• When you click a category, the main window will show you the specific sub-types available. For example, under 'Line', you'll find options like 'Line', 'Stacked Line', and 'Line with Markers'.

Hover your mouse over any of the chart sub-types to see a slightly larger preview and a brief description of what it's best used for. Click on the one you'd like to use. For example, if you have a column chart, you might select ‘Line’ from the left panel and then the first ‘Line with Markers’ option in the main area.

Step 5: Click OK to Apply the Change

Once you’ve selected your new chart type, simply click the OK button at the bottom right. Excel will instantly transform your existing chart into the new type, keeping all of your underlying data connected. You may need to make some minor adjustments to titles or labels, but the core work is done.

Method 2: Working With Combo Charts (Advanced Technique)

Sometimes, a single chart type doesn't tell the full story. You might want to represent two different data series in two different ways on the same chart. For instance, you could show actual sales as columns and the sales goal as a line. This is called a "combo chart," and here’s how to create or modify one.

Let's say you have a column chart with two data series: 'Monthly Sales' and 'Sales Target'. Showing the target as just another column might not be visually clear. A line is much better for representing a goal or a threshold.

Step 1: Open the 'Change Chart Type' Dialog Box

Follow the same steps as Method 1 to open the 'Change Chart Type' dialog box.

Step 2: Select the 'Combo' Chart Type

At the bottom of the list of chart categories on the left, you'll see the Combo option. Click it.

Step 3: Customize Chart Types for Each Data Series

The main part of the window now changes to show you each data series in your chart. In our example, you'd see 'Monthly Sales' and 'Sales Target'. Next to each one, there's a dropdown menu under the "Chart Type" column.

• Leave the 'Chart Type' for 'Monthly Sales' as 'Clustered Column'.
• Click the dropdown next to 'Sales Target' and select 'Line'.

You’ll see a live preview of what this will look like.

Step 4: (Optional) Add a Secondary Axis

What if your sales are measured in millions of dollars, but your target is a percentage growth of 5%? Trying to plot these on the same vertical (Y) axis would make the 5% line flat along the bottom. This is where a secondary axis is useful.

In the same 'Combo' chart menu, you'll see a column of checkboxes for Secondary Axis. Simply check the box next to the data series you want to plot on a new axis - in this case, 'Sales Target.' Excel will add a new vertical axis on the right side of your chart, scaled specifically for that data series. This allows you to meaningfully display two completely different scales on a single, clean chart.

Step 5: Click OK

Click OK to apply your combo chart. Now you have a sophisticated chart that visualizes multiple aspects of your data at once.

Quick Tips for Choosing the Right Chart

Not sure which chart type to move to? Here's a quick cheat sheet for the most common business use cases:

• Use a Line Chart to... show a trend over time. This is perfect for tracking website traffic, monthly revenue, or stock prices. The continuous line emphasizes progress and change.
• Use a Bar or Column Chart to... compare distinct categories. This is your go-to for comparing sales across different products, survey responses, or revenue by region.
• Use a Pie Chart to... show the parts of a single whole. Use it only when you want to show composition, like a team’s budget allocation or the percentage of traffic from different marketing channels. Keep it simple - if you have more than 5 or 6 slices, it becomes hard to read.
• Use a Scatter Plot to... reveal the relationship between two numeric variables. This is great for seeing if there's a correlation between ad spend and conversions or between a customer's age and their average order value.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

While changing chart types is easy, a few common slip-ups can cause strange results. Here’s what to watch out for:

1. Switching to an Incompatible Type: Some data structures don't translate well to certain charts. For example, changing a scatter plot with hundreds of data points into a pie chart just won’t work. Excel will try its best, but an illogical switch will produce a messy and nonsensical chart. Always think about whether the new chart logically makes sense for your data.
2. Losing Custom Formatting: When you switch chart types, Excel may reset some of your custom formatting. Things like specific colors you've applied to a data series or changes to font size might be lost. Be prepared to re-apply some of your aesthetic tweaks after making a significant change.
3. Overcomplication: Just because you can create a 3D exploded pie chart with 12 data series doesn't mean you should. The goal is clarity, not complexity. Stick to clean, simple, and honest visualizations that everyone can understand at a glance.

By experimenting with chart types, you can find the perfect way to present your data and unlock valuable insights that would have otherwise remained buried in the cells of your spreadsheet.

Final Thoughts

Mastering how to change chart types in Excel gives you the flexibility to explore your data from various angles and tell the most compelling story possible. Whether you're using the simple 'Change Chart Type' feature or building a sophisticated combo chart, a few clicks can completely transform how your insights are perceived.

While Excel is a powerful tool, sometimes the process of clicking through menus to find the right visualization still feels a bit manual. At Graphed, we’ve made this process instantaneous by connecting directly to your live data sources and letting you use natural language to create reports. You can simply ask, "show me my monthly revenue as a line chart" or "compare blog traffic from the US, Canada, and UK," and the right chart is built for you automatically - no clicking, selecting, or formatting required.