Hi,

I could use some help with my Line with Markers -chart. My four different
series overlap each other a little, which isn't that much of a problem until
I add error bars, which are almost impossible to format so that you can know
for sure which error bars belong to which data series.

Is it possible to move a data series (including its error bars) right or
left just a few pixels so the error bars are distinguishable from each other?

I've seen this done in some published charts, but can't find a way to do it.
Using google I found an example of what I need:
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/fig/2180130203005.png

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,
Sami Hyvönen

Hi Sami,

Yes, it is possible to move a data series horizontally to prevent overlapping and make the error bars distinguishable from each other. Here's how you can do it:

1. Select the data series that you want to move.
2. Right-click on the selected series and choose "Format Data Series" from the context menu.
3. In the "Format Data Series" pane that appears on the right side of the screen, click on the "Series Options" tab.
4. Under "Series Options", look for the "Series Overlap" setting. This setting determines how much the series overlap each other. By default, it is set to 0%, which means that the series are stacked on top of each other. You can increase or decrease this value to move the series horizontally. For example, if you set it to 50%, the series will be moved to the right by 50% of the width of the data points.
5. You can also adjust the gap between the series by changing the "Gap Width" setting under "Series Options". This setting determines the space between the series. By default, it is set to 150%, which means that there is a 50% gap between the series. You can decrease this value to reduce the gap and move the series closer together.

Once you have adjusted the series overlap and gap width, you should be able to see the error bars more clearly and distinguish them from each other.

Hi,

In order to jitter the data points you would need to add or subtract a
constant from each points X value.

This present a Problem though. You have a value X axis so moving a point
left or right will give it an incorrect value when reading the chart.

Jittering of the points works best when the x axis is categorical.

Cheers
Andy

zeimi wrote:
Hi,

I could use some help with my Line with Markers -chart. My four different
series overlap each other a little, which isn't that much of a problem until
I add error bars, which are almost impossible to format so that you can know
for sure which error bars belong to which data series.

Is it possible to move a data series (including its error bars) right or
left just a few pixels so the error bars are distinguishable from each other?

I've seen this done in some published charts, but can't find a way to do it.
Using google I found an example of what I need:
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/fig/2180130203005.png

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,
Sami Hyvönen

--

Andy Pope, Microsoft MVP - Excel
http://www.andypope.info

Thanks for the quick reply!

Nice! I managed to get the result I wanted. The key was to find and utilize
the chart type "Scatter" instead of "Line" and then applying what you
suggested.

-Sami

"Andy Pope" wrote:

Hi,

In order to jitter the data points you would need to add or subtract a
constant from each points X value.

This present a Problem though. You have a value X axis so moving a point
left or right will give it an incorrect value when reading the chart.

Jittering of the points works best when the x axis is categorical.

Cheers
Andy

zeimi wrote:
Hi,

I could use some help with my Line with Markers -chart. My four different
series overlap each other a little, which isn't that much of a problem until
I add error bars, which are almost impossible to format so that you can know
for sure which error bars belong to which data series.

Is it possible to move a data series (including its error bars) right or
left just a few pixels so the error bars are distinguishable from each other?

I've seen this done in some published charts, but can't find a way to do it.
Using google I found an example of what I need:
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/fig/2180130203005.png

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,
Sami Hyvönen

--

Andy Pope, Microsoft MVP - Excel
http://www.andypope.info