How to create a chart from an excel file

Create charts from excel files

Need to create a graph or chart from an excel file in a hurry? Want to change your chart’s axis or type without manually unselecting and reselecting data in your spreadsheet? Want to share your findings with a coworker? InstaCharts makes it easy.

TLDR: Try the demo or sign up for a free account!

1. Load your spreadsheet

View your excel spreadsheet data on the Data Tab

Click New sheet and select the excel file from your device. Click OK and the first sheet of the excel workbook will be processed and displayed in the Data tab. InstaCharts will auto detect the column type for each column in the spreadsheet, saving you time from having to manually select each one.

2. Edit your chart

Choose between 9 main chart types

A chart will be produced on the Chart tab. You can edit the following facets:

Chart Type

The chart type can be switched to line, bar, scatterplot, area or pie. Multi line charts, stacked bar and area charts are also supported.

Some chart types will be marked with a star. The stars denote recommended chart types based on the data in your spreadsheet. For example, a scatterplot will be recommended if your data contains at least 2 numerical columns. Neat!

Axis

The x and y-axis can be selected from any column in the spreadsheet. If a chart type is selected that requires a 3rd axis (multi line, stacked bar, grouped area) a third axis will appear called Groups. Groups allows you to choose the aggregation function applied to the y column (sum, average, count, etc).

Some choices in the axis drop downs will be marked with a star. The star means this column is recommended for the axis based on the selected chart type. For example, date columns are recommended for the x-axis in a line chart. This will create a time series graph, and is one of the best charts to visualize changes over time. Cool! Hover over the stars to learn more reasons why a column is recommended for a particular axis.

Chart Text

The x-axis, y-axis, legend title and chart title auto update based on your selections. If you wish to override this text, click Edit Chart Text to change it.

Chart Appearance

The chart’s width and height can be changed from the Size & Options side bar. The chart’s color scheme can also be changed here.

Limit Items

Too many items appearing in the chart? Limit the number of items that appear using the Limit Items sidebar.

Filter Data

Want to restrict the data that appears in the chart? Click on the data tab and apply multiple filters per column. There is also a quick filter in the main toolbar that will filter all columns by the search term.

3. Export & Share

Use the Export window (located on the main toolbar) to download your chart as an image file. You can also use the Export Window to export chart data to a csv, excel, tsv or json file.

Share charts through the Share window, also located on the main toolbar (sharing is an accounts only feature). You can share a static image of your chart, or a copy of the interactive chart via a public link. Neat!

Give it a try

InstaCharts is a powerful tool that can help you create and share professional-looking charts in seconds. Signup for a free account today!