Advanced

Functions and
Charts

1 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010

 This lesson will cover:

Using spreadsheet charts to display data.

Some more advanced features

of spreadsheets.

Icons key: For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation

Flash activity. These activities are not editable. Web addresses

Teacher’s notes included in the Notes Page Functional Skills check
Student task accompanies this slide Printable activity

2 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010

Advantages of charts

3 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010

Graphs

To create a chart or graph:

Organize and highlight the data

you wish to use.
Select Chart from the Insert Menu.
Follow the instructions of the Chart Wizard.

Make sure you choose the most appropriate graph type for
your data. Using the wrong graph type can cause confusion.

4 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010

Graph types

5 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010

Labelling charts

Once you have created your chart you can add titles and
data labels. A chart has different menu options depending
on where you click your mouse.
Right-clicking on a blank space within the chart area will allow
you to select chart options. From here you can add a title
and axis labels.
Title
X axis label
Y axis label

Double-clicking on areas of the graph itself will allow

you to change its colours and the thickness of its lines.
6 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010
Legends

A chart is of no value if you do not know what the colours

of each section, line or bar represent. Therefore, it is
important to create a key or legend which tells the user
the information they need in order to interpret the
graph properly.

This does not

tell the user
what the data
means.

7 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010

Advanced functions and charts

8 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010

Adding trend lines

Once a chart has been created in a

spreadsheet, you can add a trend
line which can be used in forecasting
future trends.

To do this you simply select the

chart and then click Add
Trendline in the Chart menu.

What are the potential inaccuracies of trend lines?

9 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010
Advanced features

10 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010

Forms

Spreadsheets can also be

designed to be used in a
similar way to database forms.
You can access a Forms
Menu by right-clicking on
the menu bar.

You could set up a spreadsheet with radio buttons or

drop-down lists and use a macro as a submit button which
would then store the results in another worksheet.

This could be one way of creating an online survey

which would automatically collect responses.

11 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010

Remember the terms

12 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010

True or false?

13 of 13 © Boardworks Ltd 2010