Google Sheets is undeniably excellent for storing data. It is also well-equipped to easily create charts, providing a visual representation of the data. These charts are easy to create, modify, and customize.
However, many users may not know how to use these charts. That’s why this tutorial will explain how to create, modify, and customize a combined chart in Google Sheets.
What is a Combined Chart in Google Sheets?
As the name suggests, a combined chart is a chart built from multiple data points using a combination of charts. This combination is designed and intended to present the data in a visually logical and meaningful way.
A common example of a combined chart in Google Sheets is a merged line graph with a column chart to create a visually clear message. The slope of the line graph represents the rate of increase or decrease, while the column chart indicates the values.
How to Create a Combined Chart in Google Sheets
- Choose the dataset you want to use to create the chart and select the necessary data by clicking and dragging on the required part of the dataset.
- Click the “Chart” button at the top right of the toolbar. Alternatively, in the menu, select the “Insert” tab; you will see an option for “Chart,” choose that.
- In the chart type, select “Combined Chart”.
About the Combined Chart
In the resulting combined chart, we can see various elements. It is essential to understand what these elements represent and their data points in the dataset before modifying and customizing the combined chart.
Within the Google Sheets combined chart, we have the following sections (from top to bottom):
- Title
- Legend
- Vertical Axis
- Data Series
- Horizontal Axis
- Axis Title
How to Modify Your Combined Chart
To modify any of the chart elements, follow these steps:
- Select the chart.
- Click the three dots at the top right of the chart.
- Select “Edit Chart”.
The next steps will depend on the section you want to modify.
How to Modify Data in a Combined Chart
When you open the chart editor, it will appear on the right side of the screen. At the top of the editor, if not already selected, choose “Setup”. Here, you can change the data and how it interacts with the combined chart.
- Stacking is used to see percentages related to the data. However, it is not effective in this example.
- The data range is the one used for the data. It is automatically selected when you selected the data table cells at the beginning of the process. You can use the grid button to the right of the current range to choose a different range or multiple ranges.
- The X-axis is the selector for the horizontal axis. It is automatically set based on the data. If this is incorrect or if the data changes, you can update it here. To change the range, click on the X-axis name, and this will bring up the options box to select a different range. The label is based on the column header of the data table. You will need to change the column header in the data table or modify it in the customization section.
- The “Aggregation” checkbox allows you to select aggregation options for the data series. In this example, it does not apply well. However, if you had multiple data points in a month, this would be helpful. It allows you to sum, average, median, etc. any data series.
- The “Series” section allows you to view and modify your data series. The label is based on the column header of the data table. You will need to change the column header in the data table or modify it in the customization section. To change the range, click on the series name, and this will bring up the options box to select a different range. You can also add new series here. These series must have the same range size, but they do not need to be consecutive. For example, the current series are in columns C4:C15, D4:D15, and E4:E15. You can also have a series in column H4:H15.
- The checkboxes allow you to toggle rows/columns, use rows as headers, and columns as labels.
How to Modify the Appearance of a Combined Chart
When you open the chart editor, it will appear on the right side of the screen. At the top of the editor, select “Customize”. Here, you can customize the appearance of the chart, branding it with your company’s colors or using an existing color scheme.
- Chart Style: Here, you can modify the global elements of the chart. You can change the background, font, and border. The checkboxes allow you to remove jagged edges from the line chart, eliminate empty spaces and maximize, show null values, and enable comparisons with previous values.
- Chart and Axis Titles: Here, you can change the chart title, font, and title color.
- Series: This allows you to modify the visualization of the data series in the combined chart. When you first open it, it will be set to “Apply to all series,” change it to the series you want to modify. You can now modify the type (columns, line, and area), color, opacity, line type, thickness, and axis side. You can also add error bars, data labels, and a trendline. All these elements can contribute to the effectiveness of the message conveyed by the data.
- Legend: You can change the position, font, and color of the legend.
- Horizontal Axis: You can change the position, font, inclination, and color of the horizontal axis.
- Vertical Axis: You can change the position, font, number format, scale, min/max values, and color of the vertical axis.
- Gridlines and Tick Marks: You can change the gridlines and tick marks for the vertical and horizontal axis. The vertical axis provides many more options in this example. You can change the spacing, step, count, color, and select different tick marks and gridlines. The horizontal axis has only one choice in this example and provides tick marks along the axis.
Conclusion
Creating a combined chart in Google Sheets is not complicated. With just a few clicks, you can transform a dataset into an effective combined chart. An attractive graphical representation is much more likely to convey the desired message. We have explained how to create, edit, and customize a combined chart, and hopefully, this has helped you in your use of Google Sheets.
Crawlan.com is an excellent resource for learning more about the tools and features of Google Sheets.
