Thread: Have horizontal bars--want to indicate average with vertical line....

Related to http://www.excelforum.com/excel-char...html?p=2676283 which Teylyn answered, thanks so much! I can't figure out how to make the 'average' line vertical when the bars are horizontal and would appreciate some help. Thanks.

Re Solution: I took Teylyn's second suggestion, using one data point and error bars. Perfecto.

Hello,

if the main chart is a horizontal bar chart, then you cannot use a line chart for the average line. Line charts only go in a horizontal direction. You need to use an XY chart for the line instead. The first and last X axis value will be the calculated average. The Y axis values will be 0 and 1. Then format the secondary Y axis to have a maximum of 1 to ensure the line will always span the whole height of the chart. Don't forget to set the parameter to connect empty data points with a line (Chart Tools > Select Data > Hidden and Empty Cells button).

See the attached file. You can format the secondary Y axis to have no tick marks and no labels or line to effectively hide it.

cheers,

Alternatively, you can use just one data point in the XY chart and then add vertical error bars. In the attached file, the data point sits at Y position 1 and the error bar is set to 100% with the "Minus" option.

This may be easier to maintain, since you only need the co-ordinates for one data point instead of two.

cheers,