How To Make A Line Graph In Microsoft Excel

To begin, you need to create a new spreadsheet. Open Microsoft Excel by clicking on the icon, and select the ‘Blank Workbook’ option. This will open a fresh spreadsheet ready for you to use.

Now you want to start filling in your data. When making a line graph, you want to separate each section by column.

Line graphs have two axes, so you’ll need two columns of data (although you can use more if you want additional lines on your graph).
The left-most column defaults to the X-axis, so it is more convenient to put the data for time in the left column.

For instance, if you were measuring something monthly you should list each month descending in the left column.

Adding a title header at the top of each column is handy as Excel will automatically add these titles to the data on your line graph.

Next, select all the data you want to be represented in the line graph.

To do this, simply click and drag your mouse from the top-left cell to the bottom-right cell of your columns.

This will highlight all your data. Alternatively, you can just click in the top-left cell, then click on the bottom-right cell while holding the shift key to do the same.

Now it’s time to turn your data into a line graph! With your spreadsheet highlighted, click on the ‘Insert’ tab located at the top of your screen.

This will open up a banner below with several different sections; one of these sections will be labeled ‘Charts’.

In the ‘Chart’ section, you’ll see several different icons representing styles of graph.

The Line Graph icon looks like two crisscrossing lines, like what you would see on a line graph.

Click on this to open up a drop-down menu.
In this menu, you will find several different styles of line graphs.

It’s up to you to choose which style you want, and there are plenty of options to choose from.

If you hover over a style in the menu, it will show you a preview on your spreadsheet of what the line graph will look like.

When you’ve chosen a style, click on it to create the line graph in your spreadsheet.

With your line graph created, you’re free to customize it however you want.

You can easily move and resize it by dragging from the center or by the dots around the edge; you can also move and resize elements within the graph itself in the same way! If you want to change the graph title or rename the axis, double-click on the text to open the textbox.

Finally, if you want to change the graph style, you can do this at any point in the top banner!