The Netride - Smart Stuff - Creating charts with two different scales

Creating charts with two different scales

There are times when you want to plot two different types of data that have different scales. You can plot them on the same graph — easily. It is easiest if you make sure that the two sets of data are in adjacent columns — no blank columns in between the columns of data.

Make sure that the data you want to chart is in adjacent columns as show in the illustration on the right. Download the sample spreadsheet.

Select all of the cells from Month (top left) to 17 (bottom right).

Click the Chart button on the toolbar.

Choose the CUSTOM TYPES tab

Go down the list until you see the Line - Column on 2 Axes option. Choose it

Click the Finish button.

Your chart has been created

Chart Options

Click the chart. Choose Chart | Chart Options on the toolbar (or click the right mouse button).

Type a title for the chart.

This time there are two Y-axes and two X-axes titles to enter. You won't need to enter the second X-axis title but try it if you like and see what happens. The first Y-axis is the scale for the rainfall and the second Y-axis is the scale for the temperature.

When you have finished, click OK.

Position of the legend

Click the legend box on the chart. Choose Format | Selected Legend on the toolbar (or click the right mouse button).

Choose Placement and choose one of the options - say, bottom — and click OK.

Printing a chart

If the chart is an embedded chart on a worksheet, resize the chart by clicking it and then dragging its selection handles. Chose View | Page Break Preview and move the page break line so that everything fits on one page. You can also choose File | Page Setup and change the orientation to Landscape.

If the chart is on a separate chart sheet, you can scale it when you print it. Activate the chart sheet, click Page Setup on the File menu, and then click the Chart tab. Under Printed chart size, click the scaling option you want. If you click Custom, the chart will be printed at the size you make it when you drag its selection handles.

You cannot print multiple chart sheets on a single page. To print two or more charts on a page, create embedded worksheet charts, and then resize them to fit on a single page. You can use the Page Break Preview command on the View menu to more closely see the location of the charts in the print area.

Please contact the netride with questions or comments.