Chart with X Axis Showing Actual Passage of Time

**pcook911** · 08-01-2013, 03:43 PM

I don't know if I am asking this question correctly but here goes any way.

I want to chart BP readings on a line chart with markers. I have no problem with that but I would like for the X axis to show a real time scale. If there is only two measurements in a day you would see to two dots spaced far apart in say a half inch but if there 6 measurements you would see 6 dots much more closely spaced within say a half an inch.

As of now I have the records with a date and time and I have the X axis set to 1 day so if there are 6 measurements in a day they are showing in one vertical "stripe"

I hope that made since. I have attached a picture to show what I have so far

/Clipboard01.jpg

TIA,

Paul

Edit: I guess that would be a linear time line for the X axis

**MrShorty** · 08-01-2013, 06:10 PM

A sample spreadsheet is usually more useful for describing your problem than a picture.

If I understand the problem you are having, I suspect that your problem is that you are using a line chart. A line chart takes the time/x axis data and lumps everything from the same day into the same "category." What I suspect you want is a scatter plot, where it will treat the x axis date serial numbers as true numbers and plot them accordingly.

Sample spreadsheet with random data attached to show the difference between line and scatter for what I guess your data look like.

**pcook911** · 08-01-2013, 09:43 PM

MrShorty,

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge of Excel with me and whoever else might find this thread. After switching my chart type to scatter and taking a look at your attached spreadsheet I was able to quickly create the chart that I was looking for. I would have never thought of using a scatter chart, in fact I don't think I ever have, as I was trying make a chart that "looked" like a line graph.

Thanks again,

Paul

**MrShorty** · 08-02-2013, 01:12 AM

Glad to help. And it is an interesting observation -- I can remember the first few times I was creating charts in a spreadsheet (not even Excel) I knew I wanted a line chart with a numeric x axis. For whatever reason it has not always been well explained in spreadsheet documentation the difference between a line chart and a scatter chart, so I went through the same difficulty/confusion years ago.