Graphs in Microsoft Excel typically chart time on the horizontal axis. Time is the independent variable in most relationships and dependent variables appear on the vertical axis.

Naming Basics Best practice recommendations are to create a chart placing independent variables on the horizontal, x-axis and dependent variables on the vertical, y-axis.

Layout 11: Layout 11 shows the following chart elements: Legend (Right), Horizontal Axis, Vertical Axis, and Major Gridlines. Any Layout Style you have chosen is how the layout is going to be.

If you have uneven distribution of data in your Excel chart, here is a better way to change the automatic axis settings.

Sparklines are in-cell charts in Microsoft Excel that are easy to create and extremely helpful, but they can be more insightful with just a few specific settings.