Working with Census Data Excel 2013 Preparing the File If you see a lot of little green triangles next to the numbers, there is an error or warning that Excel is trying to call to your attention. In my example, the numbers were stored as text. To fix this, I selected several adjacent cells that had the same error and clicked on the exclamation point to trigger a drop down list. I then selected Convert to Number. If your data is in merged cells, you will want the get the numbers into unique columns. One way: 1. Add a new worksheet. Click on the small button to the right of the rightmost tab: 2. Copy all of the data on the original worksheet. 3. Paste special to get the values onto the new worksheet (use the bottom half of the Paste button). 4. Then delete any unwanted columns. West Virginia University Information Technology Services
Basic Chart Creation 1. Select the data you wish to chart. 2. Click on the Insert tab. 3. Click on a chart button in the Charts section. 4. After you choose the Chart Type, select the Chart sub-type by clicking on one of the pictures in the drop down list. 5. A chart will pop up on top of your data. 2 Click on the Move Chart button to put it on its own sheet.
6. Supply a name for the new sheet and click on OK 7. The Design tab allows you to change the chart type (pie, bar, column, ), to select different data, apply a quick layout, change the style, or move the chart. 8. The Format tab allows you to modify the appearance of a selected chart item. 9. If you chose object as your chart location, you can now move or resize the chart as necessary. Click on a black square on a corner and drag/drop to resize yet keep the proportions correct. To move the image, click on an open area inside the image. When you see a 4-way arrow, drag and drop the box in new location. Excel 2013: Charting Census Data 3
Editing a Chart Plot Area Sometimes when you resize a chart or add a legend or data labels, the actual chart looks too small for the size of the chart box. Click near a lower corner of the chart until the Plot Area is selected. Alternatively, you can select Plot Area from the select box on the Chart Tools - Format tab. You should see gray squares on the sides of the plot area once it is selected. Drag and drop one of the corner discs until your chart is the size you wish. Copy a Chart to a PowerPoint slide 1. Create the chart and finish editing it. For this purpose, I have found more success with using chart residing on their own sheets. 2. Select it so that you see a pale frame around it and Chart Area is what is selected in the Format tab. 3. Choose Copy from the Home menu or press Ctrl C. 4. Switch to PowerPoint. Insert a blank slide if you need to. 5. Click on the slide. 4
6. Choose Paste from the PowerPoint home tab or press Ctrl V. 7. You might need to move or resize the image after it appears on the slide. 8. Add other items to the PowerPoint slide as desired (slide title, drawing objects, text boxes). Select multiple Items that are not adjacent Choose the first set of cells with your mouse. Hold down the Ctrl key with your non-mouse hand keep holding it down and select the next set of cells. You can now make your chart. Excel 2013: Charting Census Data 5
Collapse Categories Sometimes you might wish to combine categories. I chose to copy the raw data to its own worksheet: Then I created some new bins below the copied data. I then used the Sum function to add numbers together. I could have entered in a formula such as =B15+B16+B17+B18+B19 Once I completed the summary data, I selected it and inserted the desired chart. Another Example: Households by type Due the way this data is laid out, you will have to be very careful when selecting data for charting. Be sure that you are selecting rows that add up to the desired total and do not include subsidiary items. Sometimes a type of person or family is unaccounted for. Here I added a new row to complete the nonfamily households group (living alone vs some other type of non-family). 6