An uneven time-increment

[smurray444]

Dear all,

If in a spreadsheet you have years 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990,
2050 with associated data for each year, how do you produce a line
graph of this without 2050 being positioned at the same interval on the
x-axis as the difference between the other years? To clarify, because
the difference between 2050 and 1990 is greater than the difference
between the previous years (all 1), how do get Excel to represent this
on the x-axis of a line graph?

Thanks for your help,
Steve

 

[Jon Peltier]

Steve -

There are two ways, both involving the use of a time scale axis.

Method 1. In the worksheet, change the years to dates like the first of each
year, or 1/1/1985, 1/1/1986. Then recreate the chart. Excel is likely to
generate a time-scale axis without human intervention, and the spaces
between points will reflect the years between points. If Excel still doesn't
make a time scale axis, choose Chart Options from the Chart menu, and on the
Axes tab, under Category X Axis select the Time-Scale option.

Method 2. Leave the years as they are. Change to a time-scale axis: choose
Chart Options from the Chart menu, and on the Axes tab, under Category X
Axis select the Time-Scale option. Excel converts the years to a date, but
it's based on the number of days since 1/1/1900 (and 1985, for example,
reads like 6/7/1905). Double click the axis, and on the Number tab, change
the number format to General.

- Jon
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Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Peltier Technical Services
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
http://PeltierTech.com/
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