#Sunburst chart for mac excel how to#
#Sunburst chart for mac excel series#

When analyzing contributions you're often more interested in relative contributions (in percentages of the total) than in absolute contributions. Add relative contributions in percentages Now the contributions are much more prominent, but there's no obvious indication that the vertical axis does not start at zero which is really bad because the user does not draw the correct conclusion from the visualization.

Remove vertical axis: right click on the vertical axis and click ' Delete'.

'Break' vertical axis: right click on the vertical axis and click ' Format Axis.', then under Axis Options write ' 35000' under Bounds > Minimum.

Re-add vertical axis: Go to Design > Add Chart Element > Axes > Primary Vertical.

You can again resort to using tutorials and templates:Īnother, somewhat simpler option is to do the following: This highlights individual contributions, but risks guiding unaware readers to false conclusions about the data. In this case the only viable option would be to break the vertical axis and have the totals start at some value larger than 0. However, users (and their bosses) are sometimes more interested in contributions than in totals and the relationship between the two. This visualization is also completely in line with IBCS Standards. Our 2016 result is essentially the same as our 2015 result. This is also apparent in our example (see image above).įirst, a point of order: this chart correctly visualizes the situation as the contributions really ARE that small compared to totals.

Contributions: the floating bricks making up the “bridge” between the two totals.Ī common problem is that contributions are often very small compared to totals.

Totals: usually the first and last column in a series.

This limitation is especially noticeable in waterfall charts, because waterfall charts have essentially two different types of data: Break the axis to highlight contributions Microsoft decided to listen to user feedback and introduced 6 highly requested charts in Excel 2016, including a built-in Excel waterfall chart.ģ. Ideally, you would create a waterfall chart the same way as any other Excel chart: (1) click inside the data table, (2) click in the ribbon on the chart you want to insert. If your data has a different number of categories, you have to modify the template, which again requires additional work. To get around having to follow this long process every time, people often resorted to using a waterfall chart template: Here are just some of the many tutorials on creating a waterfall chart in pre-2016 Excel: If the waterfall chart dipped below zero at one point, you needed at least seven additional series!

#Sunburst chart for mac excel series#

To create a waterfall chart in Excel 2013 and earlier, you had to define additional data series (with complicated formulas) in the data table and then make them invisible in the chart.Īnd we're not talking about 1 invisible series. That's right - you did not insert a waterfall chart, you created it. Note that I used the word 'creating' and not 'inserting'.

#Sunburst chart for mac excel how to#

How to create a waterfall chart in Excelīefore Office 2016 creating waterfall charts in Excel was a notoriously difficult process. For example, you might want to use Net revenue and Gross Income as two checkpoints between Gross Revenue and Net income starting and ending values. Tip: While the most typical waterfall chart is the one with a starting and ending value, you can also create subtotals as visual milestones in the series. In a nutshell, use a waterfall chart whenever you want to show how a starting value increases or decreases through a series of positive or negative changes. Showing product value over a period of time.Analyzing inventory or sales over a period of time.

Highlighting budget changes on a project.Other examples of quantitative analyses, where waterfall charts are used, include: Waterfall charts are popular in the corporate and financial environment because they are very useful for a visualization of the positive and negative movements within a measured quantity or KPI, such as your Monthly Net Profit or Cash Flow. Some people like to connect the lines between the contributions to make the chart look like a bridge (giving us the bridge chart name), while others leave the columns floating. Note: Other fun names for waterfall charts include Mario chart and flying bricks chart, because individual chart elements resemble an old arcade game.

The floating columns between them are the contributing positive or negative values. In a waterfall chart, the first column is the starting value and the last column is the end value. In other words, it's an ideal way to visualize a starting value, the positive and negative changes made to that value, and the resulting end value. A waterfall chart (also known as a cascade chart or a bridge chart) is a special kind of chart that illustrates how positive or negative values in a data series contribute to the total.