Changing Chart Type

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 29, 2022)

When you create a chart in Excel, the chart can be either embedded as an object within an worksheet, or you can add the chart as its own worksheet. Each type of chart has its advantages, and at some time you might want to change a particular chart from one type to the other. In order to do this, follow these steps:

  1. Select the chart you want to change. If working with a chart object, then you should see a series of handles around the perimeter of the chart. If working with a chart sheet, the chart sheet should be displayed.
  2. Choose the Location option from the Chart menu. Excel displays the Chart Location dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Chart Location dialog box.

  3. Choose whether you want the chart displayed as a sheet or as an object.
  4. If you choose that you want the chart displayed as an object, use the drop-down list to select the worksheet on which the chart object should appear.
  5. Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3030) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Combining First and Second Numbered Levels on One Paragraph

Want to customize your paragraph numbering in Word? There are a few tricks that can be used to automatically display the ...

Discover More

Spelling Out Page Numbers

If your document is more than a couple of pages long, adding page numbers is a nice finishing touch. If you want, you can ...

Discover More

Error Generated when Trying to Copy a Worksheet

How successful you are in copying information in Excel depends on lots of issues. This tip examines how those issues can ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Adjusting Your View of 3-D Graphs

Do you use Excel's charting capabilities to display three-dimensional views of your data? The program provides a way that ...

Discover More

Controlling Chart Gridlines

Gridlines are often added to charts to help improve the readability of the chart itself. Here's how you can control ...

Discover More

Labeling X-Y Scatter Plots

Figuring out how to get the data points in an X-Y scatter plot labeled can be confusing; Excel certainly doesn't make it ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four more than 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.