3 Comments

July 5, 2016 at 11:27 am

Very nice. I like it.

July 6, 2016 at 11:29 am

Beautiful! I love that you included a picture of the sketched prototype as a reminder to, ahem, sketch something before futzing around with Excel charts!

baconxl says:

August 25, 2016 at 2:10 pm

A variation of this trick will allow you to make side-by-side stacked column charts, as well!

How to Add Intentional Gaps Between Bars/Columns in Microsoft Excel

Ann K. Emery

Updated on: Jul 5th, 2016

Data Visualization in Excel

Gap Width, How-To Tutorials, Microsoft Excel, Stacked Column Charts

In my prior post, I sketched a few options for a performing arts organization’s fictional ticket sales data:

I intentionally separated the year-by-year columns from the total column with a little extra space. I don’t want all the columns mushed together.

Easy to sketch on paper.

But easy in Microsoft Excel?

Yes!

Here’s the default Excel graph.

Yuck.

Here’s the mostly edited version: reduced clutter; custom color; labels directly beside the data; reduced gap width.

The secret strategy for nudging one of the columns over to the right: Add an empty column to your data table.

More about Ann K. Emery
Ann K. Emery is a sought-after speaker who is determined to get your data out of spreadsheets and into stakeholders’ hands. Each year, she leads more than 100 workshops, webinars, and keynotes for thousands of people around the globe. Her design consultancy also overhauls graphs, publications, and slideshows with the goal of making technical information easier to understand for non-technical audiences.

3 Comments

Carlos Aguilar says:

July 5, 2016 at 11:27 am

Very nice. I like it.

George Mount says:

July 6, 2016 at 11:29 am

Beautiful! I love that you included a picture of the sketched prototype as a reminder to, ahem, sketch something before futzing around with Excel charts!

baconxl says:

August 25, 2016 at 2:10 pm

A variation of this trick will allow you to make side-by-side stacked column charts, as well!

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3 Comments