How to Connect Points on Excel Graph

Plotting data points on an Excel chart is a great first step, but having them float in space often hides the story your data is trying to tell. Connecting those points with a line transforms a static set of numbers into a dynamic visual narrative, instantly revealing trends, patterns, and relationships. This guide will walk you through the simple methods to connect points on your Excel graphs, including a few pro tips for handling common issues like missing data.

Graphed

Still Building Reports Manually?

Watch how growth teams are getting answers in seconds — not days.

Watch the Demo

Why Connecting Points Matters

Before jumping into the "how," let's quickly cover the "why." A simple line connecting your data points provides immediate context. Are sales trending up or down over the quarter? Did website traffic spike after a marketing campaign? Is there a relationship between ad spend and conversions? Connecting the dots makes answering these questions intuitive.

There are two primary chart types in Excel for this task:

• Line Charts: Perfect for showing trends over time or sequence, where the X-axis represents distinct categories like days, months, or product names.
• Scatter (XY) Charts: Ideal for showing the relationship between two different sets of numerical data, like the correlation between an employee's years of experience and their sales performance.

Knowing which chart to use is half the battle. Let's break down how to create and connect lines for both.

Method 1: Using a Line Chart (The Most Direct Way)

If you're plotting data over time (e.g., daily users, monthly revenue, yearly profit), a line chart is your best friend. Excel is designed to automatically connect the dots for you when you select this chart type.

Let's use a simple example: tracking monthly website traffic.

Graphed

Still Building Reports Manually?

Watch how growth teams are getting answers in seconds — not days.

Watch the Demo

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Organize Your Data: Start by setting up your data in two columns. The first column should contain your time periods or categories (the X-axis), and the second should have the corresponding numerical values (the Y-axis).

For our example:

• Column A: Month (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, etc.)
• Column B: Website Sessions (1200, 1500, 1400, 1800, etc.)

2. Select Your Data: Click and drag your cursor to highlight the entire data set you want to plot, including the column headers ("Month" and "Website Sessions").

3. Insert the Line Chart:

• Navigate to the Insert tab on Excel's top ribbon.
• In the Charts section, look for the icon that looks like a small line graph and click it. It's labeled "Insert Line or Area Chart."
• A dropdown menu will appear with several 2-D and 3-D line chart options.

4. Choose "Line with Markers": This is often the best choice for clarity. It not only connects your points with a line but also places a distinct marker (like a dot or square) at each data point. This gives you the best of both worlds: you can see the overall trend while still identifying the exact value for each category.

Excel will instantly generate a line chart on your spreadsheet with all the points neatly connected. You have now successfully visualized your data trend!

Customizing Your Line Chart

Once your chart is created, you can customize its appearance to make it more readable.

• Change Line Color and Thickness: Right-click on the line in your chart and select "Format Data Series." A new pane will open on the right. Click the paint bucket icon ("Fill & Line") to adjust the line’s color, width, and style (e.g., solid vs. dashed).
• Adjust the Markers: In the same "Format Data Series" pane, select "Marker." Here you can change the marker shape, size, and color to better match your report's branding or to differentiate between multiple lines on the same graph.

Method 2: Connecting Points on a Scatter (XY) Plot

A scatter plot is used when you want to see the relationship between two different variables, and both your X and Y axes contain numerical data. For example, you might want to see if there's a connection between daily temperature and ice cream sales. By default, a scatter plot only shows the markers, but adding a connecting line is straightforward.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Prepare Your Data: Just like with a line chart, you need two columns. The first column is your independent variable (X-axis), and the second is your dependent variable (Y-axis). Important: For the line to make logical sense, it's best to sort your data by the X-axis column first.

For example, to see if ad spend impacts sales:

• Column A: Daily Ad Spend ($50, $75, $100, $125)
• Column B: Corresponding Sales ($1,200, $1,600, $2,200, $2,500)

2. Insert the Scatter Plot:

• Highlight your two columns of data.
• Go to the Insert tab.
• In the Charts group, click the icon showing scattered dots, labeled "Insert Scatter (X, Y) or Bubble Chart."
• From the dropdown, select the first option, "Scatter." This will create a chart with only the data points (markers).

3. Add the Connecting Line:

• Right-click on any of the data points within your chart.
• From the menu that appears, select Format Data Series...
• The "Format Data Series" pane will open. Click the paint bucket icon ("Fill & Line").
• Under the Line section, select the Solid line option.

A line will immediately appear, connecting your data points in the order they appear in your spreadsheet. You can now use the options in this pane to customize the line's color, thickness, and style.

Graphed

Still Building Reports Manually?

Watch how growth teams are getting answers in seconds — not days.

Watch the Demo

A Faster Way: Use a Pre-built Scatter with Line Chart

Excel also provides a shortcut. When you click "Insert Scatter (X, Y) or Bubble Chart," you'll see options like "Scatter with Smooth Lines and Markers" or "Scatter with Straight Lines and Markers." Choosing one of these will create the scatter plot and connect the points in a single step.

Handling Missing Data and Gaps

What happens when you have a blank cell in your data series? By default, Excel will show a gap in the line on your chart, which can break the visual flow of your trend. You can tell Excel how to handle this.

Let's say your May website traffic data is missing:

• Column A: ... Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul ...
• Column B: ... 1400, 1800, [blank], 2100, 2400...

Your chart will show a line from April and then pick back up again at June, leaving an empty space for May.

How to Connect Points Across a Gap:

1. Right-click on your chart and choose Select Data...
2. In the "Select Data Source" window that pops up, look for a button in the bottom-left corner named Hidden and Empty Cells. Click it.
3. You'll get a new dialog box with options for Show empty cells as:. The default is "Gaps".
4. Select the option Connect data points with a line and click OK.

Excel will now draw a continuous line between April and June, ignoring the missing point for May and providing a cleaner visual trendline.

Quick Tip: The other option here is "Zero," which will treat the blank cell as a value of 0. Be careful with this - it can drastically skew your chart and misrepresent your data unless a blank cell truly means a value of zero in your context.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Even a process as seemingly simple as this can occasionally go sideways. Here are a couple of common issues and how to fix them.

Graphed

Still Building Reports Manually?

Watch how growth teams are getting answers in seconds — not days.

Watch the Demo

"My points aren't connected in the right order!"

This typically happens with Scatter charts. The line connects points based on their order in the source data table, not their position on the X-axis. If your X-axis data isn't sorted, you'll end up with a tangled, spaghetti-like mess. To fix this, simply go back to your source data and sort it in ascending order based on the X-axis column.

"My line chart looks all wrong or is plotting dates as a separate line!"

Sometimes, Excel gets confused and treats your X-axis labels (like dates or months) as another data series to plot. This creates a messy chart with a nonsensical extra line.

To fix this:

1. Right-click the chart and click Select Data...
2. In the "Select Data Source" window, look at the two main boxes: "Legend Entries (Series)" on the left and "Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels" on the right.
3. If your dates or categories are incorrectly listed under "Legend Entries (Series)," select them and click the "Remove" button.
4. Then, under "Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels," click the "Edit" button.
5. A small "Axis Labels" window will appear. Click and drag to select the correct range of cells containing your categories (e.g., your column of months or dates). Click OK.

This forces Excel to correctly interpret your X-axis values as labels rather than a series to be plotted.

Final Thoughts

Connecting the dots in your Excel charts is a small step that delivers huge value. Whether you're using a simple line chart to track progress or a scatter plot to uncover relationships, a connected line provides the visual context needed to turn raw data into actionable insights instantly. By mastering these simple techniques, you're well on your way to creating clearer, more impactful reports.

While Excel is a powerful tool, getting your data ready, building charts, and troubleshooting formatting can feel repetitive. We've experienced this firsthand - spending more time wrangling spreadsheets than analyzing the results. That's why we created a tool to automate this entire process. With Graphed, you can connect directly to sources like Google Analytics, Shopify, or your CRM and simply describe the chart you want in plain English. Graphed builds a live, interactive dashboard for you in seconds, saving you from the tedious manual work so you can focus on making data-driven decisions.