help with dynamic range

[Shanin]

I wanting to know if this is possible without switching the way I have data
entered into a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet I have has column headings of
each month, Jan thru Dec, with a total column at the end. Down Column A are
row names for several departments. So basically there is a chart that is 12
columns wide (one for each month), and about 30 rows longs (one for each
department).

Data is entered into this as each month is completed for overtime hours, so
as of now, anything past Column August is blank (not including the Total
column). I really want to make a chart that would be a bar graph, and on the
X axis list each department (the row headings in column A in the
spreadsheet), and have the Y axis represent hours. I want the bar graph to
show the past three months for each department and update automatically as
the new data is entered, so it only shows the current past three months. Is
there anyway to do this without changing my spreadsheet. I think I could get
it to work by seeing examples if I had the departments as the column headings
(just make a named range for each one), and had the months as the row titles,
but would really like to do it with out having to switch everything around
but I am having a heck of a time trying to figure out how to make the
references work with this setup.

[Jon Peltier]

This example shows how to keep the last 12 months in a chart. Perhaps
you could adjust it to keep the last three months.

http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/DynamicLast12.html

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Peltier Technical Services
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
http://PeltierTech.com/
_______


Shanin wrote:

> I wanting to know if this is possible without switching the way I have data
> entered into a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet I have has column headings of
> each month, Jan thru Dec, with a total column at the end. Down Column A are
> row names for several departments. So basically there is a chart that is 12
> columns wide (one for each month), and about 30 rows longs (one for each
> department).
>
> Data is entered into this as each month is completed for overtime hours, so
> as of now, anything past Column August is blank (not including the Total
> column). I really want to make a chart that would be a bar graph, and on the
> X axis list each department (the row headings in column A in the
> spreadsheet), and have the Y axis represent hours. I want the bar graph to
> show the past three months for each department and update automatically as
> the new data is entered, so it only shows the current past three months. Is
> there anyway to do this without changing my spreadsheet. I think I could get
> it to work by seeing examples if I had the departments as the column headings
> (just make a named range for each one), and had the months as the row titles,
> but would really like to do it with out having to switch everything around
> but I am having a heck of a time trying to figure out how to make the
> references work with this setup.