Thread: 'magnifying' the top end of a stacked column chart

This may be a FAQ, but I cannot find/figure it out.

I have several series of data, which I am stacking up
on top of each other in a column chart, for different
X-axis categories.

The first series numbers are very large, the later ones
become mostly increasingly small.

I would like to focus the chart on the top end, and not
extend it all the way to the x-axis, as thus the very large
series-one columns would take up most of the chart,

Now, I know I can set the 'minimum' on the y-axis to
some value (and thus 'lose' most of the series-1
stacks in the graph), but that would mean that visually
there is no real indication that the chart has been 'cut-off'.

Is there any way I can display some '*** effect' like thus:

120-| |---| |---|
110-| |---| |@@@| |:::|
100-| |:::| |---| |:::|
90-| |:::| |:::| |:::|
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
10-| |:::| |:::| |:::|
0-+---------------------
1 2 3

which would visually indicate that there is a whole lot of
y-axis missing?

Any help how to accomplish this would be welcome.
So would be hints as to better describe this feature
(are there terms for this), so I can google more effectively?

PS: is there a charting FAQ for Excel?

M

Hi,

Here are some links on the subject of broken axis.

http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/BrokenYAxis.html
http://tushar-mehta.com/excel/newsgr...ial/index.html
http://www.andypope.info/charts/brokencolumn.htm

Check out the Link pages on the sites for other Excel/charting related
sites.

Cheers
Andy

Mathias Koerber wrote:
> This may be a FAQ, but I cannot find/figure it out.
>
> I have several series of data, which I am stacking up
> on top of each other in a column chart, for different
> X-axis categories.
>
> The first series numbers are very large, the later ones
> become mostly increasingly small.
>
> I would like to focus the chart on the top end, and not
> extend it all the way to the x-axis, as thus the very large
> series-one columns would take up most of the chart,
>
> Now, I know I can set the 'minimum' on the y-axis to
> some value (and thus 'lose' most of the series-1
> stacks in the graph), but that would mean that visually
> there is no real indication that the chart has been 'cut-off'.
>
> Is there any way I can display some '*** effect' like thus:
>
> 120-| |---| |---|
> 110-| |---| |@@@| |:::|
> 100-| |:::| |---| |:::|
> 90-| |:::| |:::| |:::|
> /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
> /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
> 10-| |:::| |:::| |:::|
> 0-+---------------------
> 1 2 3
>
> which would visually indicate that there is a whole lot of
> y-axis missing?
>
> Any help how to accomplish this would be welcome.
> So would be hints as to better describe this feature
> (are there terms for this), so I can google more effectively?
>
> PS: is there a charting FAQ for Excel?
>
> M
>

--

Andy Pope, Microsoft MVP - Excel
http://www.andypope.info