why does sorting change a scatter plot graph?

[AndrewT420]

Why does the way a spread sheet is sorted change the look of a scatter plot
graph??? the graph is just a plot of two points, (X, Y) and these two points
are definded by two collumns for a given row. The two collumns don't change,
and the row all stays together, so why does it change where points are
plotted out on the graph when you re-sort it?

[Mike Middleton]

AndrewT420 -

Usually, for an XY (Scatter) chart, with values of X in a column and
corresponding values of Y in an adjacent column, for three or more points,
Excel assumes (correctly) "Series in Columns."

But, when you have only two X,Y pairs, Excel assumes (usually incorrectly
for most users) "Series in Rows."

You can check this by selecting the chart (or some object of the chart) and
choosing Chart | Source Data | Data Range.

- Mike
www.mikemiddleton.com

"AndrewT420" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Why does the way a spread sheet is sorted change the look of a scatter
> plot
> graph??? the graph is just a plot of two points, (X, Y) and these two
> points
> are definded by two collumns for a given row. The two collumns don't
> change,
> and the row all stays together, so why does it change where points are
> plotted out on the graph when you re-sort it?