Use a 2D clustered column chart, or a line chart with multiple series, one
for each category which is not related to the main category axis. You can
show what you want in at most two of either chart. Or design the charts so
that you can use an array of small copies, or "small multiples". The
categorical dimensions make as much sense if separated by series as by some
hard to conceptualize distance in an imaginary third dimension. Your screen,
and the printout, are only 2D. The effects of perspective and parallax make
values and even trends difficult to perceive in 3D charts, rendering their
added value questionable at best.

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Peltier Technical Services, Inc.
774-275-0064
208-485-0691 fax

http://PeltierTech.com/
_______


"Patrick Lee" wrote in message
...
I'm afraid that comment is of no value to me: in the real world there are
more than 2 dimensions and a 3D graph is much more useful to display 3D
real
life data (in this case how mortality improvements are expected to vary
both
by age and calendar year) than hundreds of separate 2D charts. This is
one
of those cases were a picture is worth a thousand words, and 3D charts
genuinely add value in situations where a variable depends on 2 other
variables and not just one.

"Jon Peltier" wrote:

Yet another reason to avoid 3D charts.

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
Peltier Technical Services, Inc. - http://PeltierTech.com
_______


"Patrick Lee" wrote in message
...
This is more of a bug report than a question (I've not been able to
find a
standard place to report bugs in Office 2007, the Connect site is for
developer products such as Visual Studio etc).

3d line charts which work perfectly well on a pc with Excel 2003 cause
Excel
2007 to hang when opened on my Vista pc with Excel 2007.

I hope this is something which can be fixed when Service Pack 1 is
released
for Office 2007, as it is a very useful chart feature which we (and our
clients) use a lot in one area of our work, and it may prevent our
clients
from migrating from Office 2003 to Office 2007.