Line chart in Excel

Line chart is one of the most common type of charts using in analyses. This chart allows clearly present, how specific data changes over time. Creating line chart in Excel is really easy and in this article you will learn how to do it step by step.

Firstly, select the range of data that contains the information you want to present on the chart. In the example below, this is sales for two products in years 2015-2019:

Secondly, go to Insert tab on the Excel Ribbon and find Insert Line or Area Chart command in Charts group of commands:

After clicking on it, you can see drop-down list with some options, such as 2-D/3-D line or area chart, but at the same bottom you can also find More Line Charts option:

By using this option, you can select from more line charts available and see a preview of the proposed chart. From the available options you can choose such charts as: line, stacked, 3-D line or charts with markers.

Line chart:

Line chart with Markers:

After finding appropriate chart, confirm your choice by clicking OK. Once this is done, selected chart will be inserted in the same Excel Sheet, next to data range:

The chart created in this way can also be edited by changing the title or adding data labels describing each point of the chart. To add missing labels, select the chart and go to the Chart Design tab on the Ribbon and select Add Chart Element, then Data Labels:

Similarly to column and pie charts, line chart can be also formatted, by using ready styles or color sets, or by choosing own settings. Ready styles and color sets can be used, after selecting the chart and clicking on Brush icon located next to the chart:

More detailed formatting options, which allow to create your own chart style are located in Format tab on the Ribbon, which is available after selecting the chart:

Example file to download

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