I am new to charts in Excel. But nothing I have found leads me to believe
the following is possible for Excel, hence the question.

My three variables a location, date, and mission number (two letters
followed by a four digit number in a single cell). All three variables are
related in my worksheet by row, with column headers across the top of the
worksheet.

For my chart, I want to have the various locations displayed vertically on
the side of the chart on the y axis, with the associated date displayed
horizontally across the x axis of the chart. I'd like to have the mission
number displayed on the chart at the intersection of the correct
location/date position (could be a label on the data point or similar). In
the perfect chart option, when a mission occurred at the same location as a
previous mission, I'd like in on the same vertical position on the chart and
simply moved horizontally based on the date.

Anyone have an idea? Thanks in advance

Bullseye:

It sounds like you want to make a dot plot. you want location on Y axis,
date on X axis and you want to label point with mission number.

A dot plot is an XY chart with a custom Y axis that displays text rather
than numbers.

Here's a link to a how-to example on my website.
http://processtrends.com/pg_charts_dot_plots.htm

I also have a discussion on custom axes which will show you details of how
to make a custom axis. http://processtrends.com/pg_charts_custom_axis.htm

Kelly

http://processtrends.com


"Bullseye" wrote in message
...
I am new to charts in Excel. But nothing I have found leads me to believe
the following is possible for Excel, hence the question.

My three variables a location, date, and mission number (two letters
followed by a four digit number in a single cell). All three variables
are
related in my worksheet by row, with column headers across the top of the
worksheet.

For my chart, I want to have the various locations displayed vertically on
the side of the chart on the y axis, with the associated date displayed
horizontally across the x axis of the chart. I'd like to have the mission
number displayed on the chart at the intersection of the correct
location/date position (could be a label on the data point or similar).
In
the perfect chart option, when a mission occurred at the same location as
a
previous mission, I'd like in on the same vertical position on the chart
and
simply moved horizontally based on the date.

Anyone have an idea? Thanks in advance

Kelly,

This is a great option...just one problem. I have gone everything thing you
show in your examples...but for some reason I run into a problem in step 4.
When I paste special, I get the vertical pight purple squares on the y-axis,
but it also moves all my data points into a vertical column as well instead
of leaving them where they were. I must be doing something wrong but I have
tried variations and they all give the same result. Any thoughts? Thanks
again for pointing my in this direction. At least I can now successfully
plot two of my three variables :-)

Bullseye

"Kelly O'Day" wrote:

Bullseye:

It sounds like you want to make a dot plot. you want location on Y axis,
date on X axis and you want to label point with mission number.

A dot plot is an XY chart with a custom Y axis that displays text rather
than numbers.

Here's a link to a how-to example on my website.
http://processtrends.com/pg_charts_dot_plots.htm

I also have a discussion on custom axes which will show you details of how
to make a custom axis. http://processtrends.com/pg_charts_custom_axis.htm

Kelly

http://processtrends.com


"Bullseye" wrote in message
...
I am new to charts in Excel. But nothing I have found leads me to believe
the following is possible for Excel, hence the question.

My three variables a location, date, and mission number (two letters
followed by a four digit number in a single cell). All three variables
are
related in my worksheet by row, with column headers across the top of the
worksheet.

For my chart, I want to have the various locations displayed vertically on
the side of the chart on the y axis, with the associated date displayed
horizontally across the x axis of the chart. I'd like to have the mission
number displayed on the chart at the intersection of the correct
location/date position (could be a label on the data point or similar).
In
the perfect chart option, when a mission occurred at the same location as
a
previous mission, I'd like in on the same vertical position on the chart
and
simply moved horizontally based on the date.

Anyone have an idea? Thanks in advance

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, in microsoft.public.excel.charting,
Bullseye said:
This is a great option...just one problem. I have gone everything thing you
show in your examples...but for some reason I run into a problem in step 4.
When I paste special, I get the vertical pight purple squares on the y-axis,
but it also moves all my data points into a vertical column as well instead
of leaving them where they were.

It sounds as if you've got the "Replace existing categories" box
checked. Uncheck it to avoid the range of zeroes being used for every
series x-values.

--
Del Cotter
NB Personal replies to this post will send email to ,
which goes to a spam folder-- please send your email to del3 instead.

Bullseye:

On the Paste Special window Options:

1. Upper left: Check Add cells as: Select new series
2. Lower left: Check Categories (X values in First Column)
3. Replace Existing Categories: Uncheck Replace Existing Categories

....Kelly


"Del Cotter" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, in microsoft.public.excel.charting,
Bullseye said:
This is a great option...just one problem. I have gone everything thing
you
show in your examples...but for some reason I run into a problem in step
4.
When I paste special, I get the vertical pight purple squares on the
y-axis,
but it also moves all my data points into a vertical column as well
instead
of leaving them where they were.

It sounds as if you've got the "Replace existing categories" box checked.
Uncheck it to avoid the range of zeroes being used for every series
x-values.

--
Del Cotter
NB Personal replies to this post will send email to
,
which goes to a spam folder-- please send your email to del3 instead.

I tried that a few times, no help. I think I may be failing in a more basic
way. According to what I see in your picture in the tutorial, it appears
that the source for the paste special (ie the selection I have copied at the
time) are the column of zero's and the column of number series zero through
whatever the number of rows I have...is this correct? Is there something
else I am missing? It seems so simple, yet everthing I do, it moves all my
data plots into a vertical column. thoughts? Thanks again for your time &
expertise!

"Kelly O'Day" wrote:

Bullseye:

On the Paste Special window Options:

1. Upper left: Check Add cells as: Select new series
2. Lower left: Check Categories (X values in First Column)
3. Replace Existing Categories: Uncheck Replace Existing Categories

....Kelly


"Del Cotter" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, in microsoft.public.excel.charting,
Bullseye said:
This is a great option...just one problem. I have gone everything thing
you
show in your examples...but for some reason I run into a problem in step
4.
When I paste special, I get the vertical pight purple squares on the
y-axis,
but it also moves all my data points into a vertical column as well
instead
of leaving them where they were.

It sounds as if you've got the "Replace existing categories" box checked.
Uncheck it to avoid the range of zeroes being used for every series
x-values.

--
Del Cotter
NB Personal replies to this post will send email to
,
which goes to a spam folder-- please send your email to del3 instead.

Bullseye:

Send me your file and I'll take a look.

Here's my anti-spam e-mail - edit and send the file.

koday*at*processtrends*dot*com

Kelly

http://processtrends.com


"Bullseye" wrote in message
...
I tried that a few times, no help. I think I may be failing in a more
basic
way. According to what I see in your picture in the tutorial, it appears
that the source for the paste special (ie the selection I have copied at
the
time) are the column of zero's and the column of number series zero
through
whatever the number of rows I have...is this correct? Is there something
else I am missing? It seems so simple, yet everthing I do, it moves all
my
data plots into a vertical column. thoughts? Thanks again for your time
&
expertise!

"Kelly O'Day" wrote:

Bullseye:

On the Paste Special window Options:

1. Upper left: Check Add cells as: Select new series
2. Lower left: Check Categories (X values in First Column)
3. Replace Existing Categories: Uncheck Replace Existing Categories

....Kelly


"Del Cotter" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, in microsoft.public.excel.charting,
Bullseye said:
This is a great option...just one problem. I have gone everything
thing
you
show in your examples...but for some reason I run into a problem in
step
4.
When I paste special, I get the vertical pight purple squares on the
y-axis,
but it also moves all my data points into a vertical column as well
instead
of leaving them where they were.

It sounds as if you've got the "Replace existing categories" box
checked.
Uncheck it to avoid the range of zeroes being used for every series
x-values.

--
Del Cotter
NB Personal replies to this post will send email to
,
which goes to a spam folder-- please send your email to del3
instead.

I show how to make this kind of chart on my web site. Perhaps a different
set of words might help you get it:

http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/DotPlot.html

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


"Bullseye" wrote in message
...
I tried that a few times, no help. I think I may be failing in a more
basic
way. According to what I see in your picture in the tutorial, it appears
that the source for the paste special (ie the selection I have copied at
the
time) are the column of zero's and the column of number series zero
through
whatever the number of rows I have...is this correct? Is there something
else I am missing? It seems so simple, yet everthing I do, it moves all
my
data plots into a vertical column. thoughts? Thanks again for your time
&
expertise!

"Kelly O'Day" wrote:

Bullseye:

On the Paste Special window Options:

1. Upper left: Check Add cells as: Select new series
2. Lower left: Check Categories (X values in First Column)
3. Replace Existing Categories: Uncheck Replace Existing Categories

....Kelly


"Del Cotter" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, in microsoft.public.excel.charting,
Bullseye said:
This is a great option...just one problem. I have gone everything
thing
you
show in your examples...but for some reason I run into a problem in
step
4.
When I paste special, I get the vertical pight purple squares on the
y-axis,
but it also moves all my data points into a vertical column as well
instead
of leaving them where they were.

It sounds as if you've got the "Replace existing categories" box
checked.
Uncheck it to avoid the range of zeroes being used for every series
x-values.

--
Del Cotter
NB Personal replies to this post will send email to
,
which goes to a spam folder-- please send your email to del3
instead.

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, in microsoft.public.excel.charting,
Jon Peltier said:
I show how to make this kind of chart on my web site. Perhaps a different
set of words might help you get it:

http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/DotPlot.html

But beware, that's not just a different set of words, but a slightly
different technique: Kelly's technique uses all XY series and a labelled
dummy series for the category Y-axis; Jon's technique uses a horizontal
bar chart series for the category Y-axis instead.

A third tutorial that I like (it's the one I learned dot plots on) is
Charley Kyd's at ExcelUser.com:

http://www.exceluser.com/dash/dotplot.htm

The technique here is similar to that in Jon's tutorial: horizontal bar
chart for the labels, XY series for the dots.

--
Del Cotter
NB Personal replies to this post will send email to ,
which goes to a spam folder-- please send your email to del3 instead.

I forgot that Kelly uses a different combination. The bar chart axis labels
are sometimes more robust, particularly in that you often can get longer
text before Excel forces a line break.

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


"Del Cotter" wrote in message
...

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, in microsoft.public.excel.charting,
Jon Peltier said:
I show how to make this kind of chart on my web site. Perhaps a different
set of words might help you get it:

http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/DotPlot.html

But beware, that's not just a different set of words, but a slightly
different technique: Kelly's technique uses all XY series and a labelled
dummy series for the category Y-axis; Jon's technique uses a horizontal
bar chart series for the category Y-axis instead.

A third tutorial that I like (it's the one I learned dot plots on) is
Charley Kyd's at ExcelUser.com:

http://www.exceluser.com/dash/dotplot.htm

The technique here is similar to that in Jon's tutorial: horizontal bar
chart for the labels, XY series for the dots.

--
Del Cotter
NB Personal replies to this post will send email to
,
which goes to a spam folder-- please send your email to del3 instead.

Jon:

I find that XY chart based dot plot gives me maximum flexibility,
particularly when I want to build a panel chart.

Here's an example of a two level Y axis label.

http://processtrends.com/images/chart_doc_auto_emiss_after.giflink

...Kelly

"Jon Peltier" wrote in message
...
I forgot that Kelly uses a different combination. The bar chart axis labels
are sometimes more robust, particularly in that you often can get longer
text before Excel forces a line break.

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


"Del Cotter" wrote in message
...

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, in microsoft.public.excel.charting,
Jon Peltier said:
I show how to make this kind of chart on my web site. Perhaps a different
set of words might help you get it:

http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/DotPlot.html

But beware, that's not just a different set of words, but a slightly
different technique: Kelly's technique uses all XY series and a labelled
dummy series for the category Y-axis; Jon's technique uses a horizontal
bar chart series for the category Y-axis instead.

A third tutorial that I like (it's the one I learned dot plots on) is
Charley Kyd's at ExcelUser.com:

http://www.exceluser.com/dash/dotplot.htm

The technique here is similar to that in Jon's tutorial: horizontal bar
chart for the labels, XY series for the dots.

--
Del Cotter
NB Personal replies to this post will send email to
,
which goes to a spam folder-- please send your email to del3 instead.

Link error - sorry.

http://processtrends.com/images/char...miss_after.gif

"Kelly O'Day" wrote in message
...
Jon:

I find that XY chart based dot plot gives me maximum flexibility,
particularly when I want to build a panel chart.

Here's an example of a two level Y axis label.

http://processtrends.com/images/chart_doc_auto_emiss_after.giflink

..Kelly

"Jon Peltier" wrote in message
...
I forgot that Kelly uses a different combination. The bar chart axis
labels are sometimes more robust, particularly in that you often can get
longer text before Excel forces a line break.

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


"Del Cotter" wrote in message
...

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, in microsoft.public.excel.charting,
Jon Peltier said:
I show how to make this kind of chart on my web site. Perhaps a
different
set of words might help you get it:

http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/DotPlot.html

But beware, that's not just a different set of words, but a slightly
different technique: Kelly's technique uses all XY series and a labelled
dummy series for the category Y-axis; Jon's technique uses a horizontal
bar chart series for the category Y-axis instead.

A third tutorial that I like (it's the one I learned dot plots on) is
Charley Kyd's at ExcelUser.com:

http://www.exceluser.com/dash/dotplot.htm

The technique here is similar to that in Jon's tutorial: horizontal bar
chart for the labels, XY series for the dots.

--
Del Cotter
NB Personal replies to this post will send email to
,
which goes to a spam folder-- please send your email to del3 instead.

I guess I go in cycles. Sometimes I prefer one way, sometimes the other. If
it's a uniformly spaced set of labels, sometimes the bar chart seems like
less hassle than defining a bunch of data labels. If it requires a whole set
of customizations, like a panel chart, then the XY series is better because
the scale you define gets reused for different purposes (axis ticks,
gridlines, etc.). I chose a bar chart for the dot plot because it's uniform,
and if you need to extend the axes, you don't have to redefine a set of data
labels.

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


"Kelly O'Day" wrote in message
...
Jon:

I find that XY chart based dot plot gives me maximum flexibility,
particularly when I want to build a panel chart.

Here's an example of a two level Y axis label.

http://processtrends.com/images/chart_doc_auto_emiss_after.giflink

..Kelly

"Jon Peltier" wrote in message
...
I forgot that Kelly uses a different combination. The bar chart axis
labels are sometimes more robust, particularly in that you often can get
longer text before Excel forces a line break.

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


"Del Cotter" wrote in message
...

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, in microsoft.public.excel.charting,
Jon Peltier said:
I show how to make this kind of chart on my web site. Perhaps a
different
set of words might help you get it:

http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/DotPlot.html

But beware, that's not just a different set of words, but a slightly
different technique: Kelly's technique uses all XY series and a labelled
dummy series for the category Y-axis; Jon's technique uses a horizontal
bar chart series for the category Y-axis instead.

A third tutorial that I like (it's the one I learned dot plots on) is
Charley Kyd's at ExcelUser.com:

http://www.exceluser.com/dash/dotplot.htm

The technique here is similar to that in Jon's tutorial: horizontal bar
chart for the labels, XY series for the dots.

--
Del Cotter
NB Personal replies to this post will send email to
,
which goes to a spam folder-- please send your email to del3 instead.