HELP please - Surface plots in Excel ?

[Takashi Yamamoto]

Hi,

I have 3D data that I would like to plot in Excel. This should be
straightforward using the surface chart template in Excel. However, the
chart that I produce when I follow the Excel wizard looks nothing like a 3D
surface plot (it looks more like 2D).

The data I am plotting most definitely has a surface, as there is a well
known series of mathematical models underlying the observed data. I have
seen several publications that have surface plot diagrams which they claim
was created using Excel - what am I doing wrong ?

(Pushing my luck here ...) Once I have managed to get a 3D surface plot -
with your help ofcourse ;-) I would like to "animate" this plot and be able
to watch it's evolution accross time (yes, the fourth dimension is time. If
anyone has a sample spreadsheet with a surface plot that I can simply copy
and paste my data into, I will be most grateful as this is taking an
inordinate amount of time allocated to this project. Any suggestions/code on
the animation will truly be icing on the cake.

Look forward to your response...


Regards


Takashi

 

[Jon Peltier]

Hi Takashi -

3D surface plots in Excel are not like 3D XYZ scatter charts, which
Excel cannot do. You provide a grid of Z values for given invariant
values of X and Y, which Excel treats as categories, then construct a
chart. Try with sample data like this in A1:F6, where cell A1 is blank,
A2:A6 are the X values, and B1:F1 are the Y values:

1 2 3 4 5
1 25 40 45 40 25
2 40 64 72 64 40
3 45 72 81 72 45
4 40 64 72 64 40
5 25 40 45 40 25

Select the range and make a Surface chart.

For animation, your formulas could all relate to the value in another
cell (the time). For example, my formula in B2 is

=((B$1)*(6-B$1)*($A2)*(6-$A2))*$H$2

I run this macro to cause the chart to start from 0 and grow to its
final shape:

Sub AnimateMe()
Dim i As Integer
For i = 1 To 100
ActiveSheet.Range("H2").Value = i / 100
DoEvents
Next
End Sub

- Jon

 

[Takashi Yamamoto]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for the clarification. It is 3D XYZ scatter charts I need to create.
You info has saved me possibly several countless, frustrating hours of
trying to do the impossible - so it's off to a statistical package then ;-)

tks

T.Y.