Dashboards and reports
Syllabus
Creating visual dashboards,linking data across sheets-chart creation and formatting-page
layout and print settings
Dashboard
A visual interactive tool that consolidates data into a single view using charts,tables and
other elements to provide a quick overview of key metrics and performance indicators (KPI)
Report
A formatted output that summarises,analyses and presents data from a spreadsheet to provide
key insights. Reports can range from simple summaries to complex,dynamic dashboards w
charts and lters. They are created using excels builtin features like formulas,pivot tables and
pivot charts to help users organise and understand large data sets quickly
Excel reports present detailed,periodic information while dashboards provide a high
level,visual and interactive summary of key metrics from various sources
How to create a chart?
1 Select your data range (e.8., A1:B10),
2. Go to Insert » Charts and pick a chart type (Column, Bar, Pie, Line, etc.),
3. Adjust titles, colors, or labels from Chart Tool
How to change a chart type?
Right click the chart area › Change Chart Type.
Formatting tips:
* Use chart elements (title,data labels, gridlines) from the Chart Design tab
• Format data series and axes by right-clicking them and selecting Format.
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Example:
To create a column chart for monthly sales data in A1:B13:
• Select A1:B13.
• Insert > Recommended Charts > Column.
Types of charts
Column chart
• What it shows: Vertical bars for each category.
• Best for: Comparing things side-by-side (like sales by month or score by person).
• Application: Sales by month, population by city.
Bar chart
• what it shows: horizontal bars
• Best for: Comparing many categories, or categories with long names.
• Application: Survey results, tasks by team.
Line chart
• What it shows: Dots joined by a line.
• Best for: Showing how something changes over time.
• Application: Daily temperature, monthly website visitors.
Pie chart
What it shows: slices representing
parts of a whole
Best for: Showing
percentages or fractions.
• Application: Budget breakdown,
market share.
Area chart
• What it shows: Like line chart, but the ares
below the line is lled in,
• Dest for: Showing totals or how values build
up over time,
* Application: Total sales over months, rainfall
across seasons,
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Scatter chart
• What it shows: Dots placed by two values (X and Y).
• Best for: Finding patterns or relationships between two things.
• Application: Height vs. weight, test marks vs. study hours.
Doughnut chart
• What it shows: Like a pie chart with a hole in the middle.
• Best for: Showing parts of a whole, sometimes with more than one series.
Bubble chart
What it shows: Like a scatter chart but bubbles get bigger/smaller based on a third value.
• Best for: Comparing three factors for each item.
Surface
What chart
it shows: Like a scatter chart but bubbles get bigger/smaller based on a third value.
• What it shows: Colored 3D surfaces.