Displaying date ranges for multiple years

[Jonathan Koehler]

I'm using Excel 2002.

I have a series of start and end dates from 1995-2005 that I would like to
chart in a horizontal bar graph. The graph would have the months of the year
on the x-axis and each year for each bar on the y-axis. Each bar would be
filled for the values between the start and end date.

I have drawn what the graph should look like, but apparently you can't
attach files to these posts. I can email the jpeg to you if it would help
visualize it. Thanks for any help.

Jonathan

 

[Jon Peltier]

You need a Gant chart. Use dates without a year, and Excel will fill in the
current year. It doesn't matter, as long as all are the same. Put the year
of the analysis in the first column, Start in the second, Duration (End
minus Start) in the third, and End in the fourth. Put "Start" above the
Start data, ""Duration" above the Duration data, and clear the cell above
the years, so Excel can parse the data. Create a stacked bar chart using the
first three columns. Format the Start series with no border and no fill, so
it's invisible, then format everything else however you want it.

More on Gantt charts:

http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=343

- Jon