Multiple start-dates for Line Graph data

Hello all,

I'm trying to make sense of a few hundred lines of data I have charted out and I'm hoping to display it on a graph. There are six segments to the data, and I'm hoping to represent them all on a chart. The issue is that they all take place over differing periods of time, and when I put the data into a line graph, they all start on the same date, even though that's not how they are in the data.


Specifically, it's six Google AdWords campaigns, and I'm trying to check my click-conversions over time, however the campaigns were all created at different times. Campaign 1 has data from March 19th through to June 12th, Campaign 2 has data from June 12th to June 29th, Campaign 3 has data from March 19th to May 29th, Campaign 4 starts off on April 19th, and so they should be starting up all over the Y axis, instead of all beginning on March 19th.

Is there any way to tell Excel which dates the data is supposed to go with which campaign, and what timeframe it's supposed to represent, all on the same chart, without having to rearrange my whole spreadsheet into a different, needlessly-complicated grid format?

Sorry if my description of this problem is confusing, it's about 5 in the morning, but I can't seem to find any solutions online.

Hi MikeOShay,

Welcome to the forums.

I am guessing that you create the chart from one set of data then copy and paste the next sets of data. If you are using a line chart, Excel can have problems knowing that each series starts at a certain date. I didn't know this till I tested it.

It appears that an XY Scatter Line Chart will plot it correctly. I think you can just change your chart type and it will change for you to what you want.

Here is my sample with Line and XY Chart. If I created it as an XY first by copying each data set in individually it worked right off the bat. If I first created it as a line chart copying in each data set and then change it to XY Scatter Line chart, it works then as well.

Here is the file: Line Chart with Multiple Start Dates.xls

Let me know if this helps.

Steve=True

Ooh! First try! And such a quick reply, too.

I think I considered using a scatter graph, but didn't actually test inputting new data, and I didn't realize that I could tell it which X goes with which Y by using it.

This is actually exactly the solution I needed, and with an XY Scatter Line Graph, it's indistinguishable from a regular Line Graph anyway. It looks a little messy, but it'll at least be legible if I change the colours and scales and I widen it a bit.

Thanks a billion!

[Edit: Not sure if you're able to, since I can't seem to find out how, but feel free to note in the title that the problem's solved.]

Hi Mike,

So glad it helped helped. Thanks for the great comments.

Found this in the forum rules on how you can mark it solved.
9. Acknowledge the responses you receive, good or bad. If your problem is solved, please say so clearly, and mark your thread as Solved: Click Thread Tools above your first post, select "Mark your thread as Solved". Or click the Edit button on your first post in the thread, Click Go Advanced, select [SOLVED] from the Prefix dropdown, then click Save Changes. If more than two days have elapsed, the Dropdown option or Edit button will not appear -- ask a moderator to mark it.

Steve=True