How to Overlay Graphs in Excel

We are Creating an Overlay of Multiple Charts Together. Overlaying different kinds of charts could be understood as a work of art. It is possible to overlay the charts with different types of charts. However, we do need to choose the chart that makes it very easy to understand the full picture by looking at the combined charts. The chart as a whole must give the full picture of the chart as a whole. The comprehension of combining different charts is about making it easier for the overlay to be effectively understood just at a glance. For instance, using a pie chart in combination with a 2-bar chart would compromise the effectiveness of overlaying your charts. We are going to overlay different charts together.

We are going to start right from the beginning, and not assume that you do have everything set, and we can just start to overlay the charts.

Gathering all your data

In this step, we are going to get the data we need for further exploration.

You should start by writing the titles of the data. It is possible for you to determine how many you would like for your overlay to live up to your expectations. But, I would recommend at least two.

gather data

 

You should write the data in a way that is similar to the one shown in the picture below.

table data

You should now choose from the title columns. You can do it by simply clicking on one of the columns, and then clicking on the CTRL button on the computer’s keyboard while using the arrow keys to choose the rest of the columns. Now you should click on CTRL and then press B, which means bold.

title columns

Creating a Chart

Click on any of the columns, and then press CTRL and A on your keyboard. This is something that makes you select all of the columns, as you can see in the picture below.

click data

Just click on the insert tab. This is marked in black and titled "number 1". Click on the chart, and choose the 2d-bar chart, which is labeled as number 2.

insert bar chart

You should choose the title that you would like to give the chart.

chart title

Overlaying the Charts

We are now going to start overlaying charts. We are going to do so step-by-step.

Click on any of the data series, as it is marked as number 1 in the chart above. You could click on any of its parts.

click data series

 

You should see the design tab showing up. But if you do not, you should just click on it, as it is marked in black and labeled as number 1, and then choose change chart. This is labeled as number 2.

change chart type

 

The first thing you should do is click on the "all charts" tab, which has been labeled as number 1. The second thing is clicking on combo, as it is marked as the number 2. If you check beneath the chart that is shown in the picture above, you will see all the series names. You should just choose the chart type, which is the number 3, 4, and 5 in the picture. You should choose the type of chart you find suitable for the overlaying of your charts.

all charts combo

Now decide what it would look like while making the overlay of charts. In number 1, we have chosen a different kind of chart, and if you check number 2, you will see how the overlay is taking effect. If you are pleased with the overlay, you should click on number 3, which is OK.

custom combination

 

This is the final creation of the overlaid charts.

multiple overlay chart example

You can download a free Multiple Overlay chart template here.