Bar Chart

A bar chart is the horizontal version of a column chart. Use a bar chart if you have large text labels.

To create a bar chart, execute the following steps.

• Select the range A1: B6.

• On the Insert tab, in the Charts group, click the Column symbol.

• Click Clustered Bar. 
  

• Result: 

Column Chart

Column charts are used to compare values across categories by using vertical bars.

To create a column chart, execute the following steps.

• Select the range A1: A7, hold down CTRL and select the range C1: D7.

• On the Insert tab, in the Charts group, click the Column symbol.

• Click Clustered Column.
  

• Result: 
  

Note: only if you have numeric labels, empty cell A1 before you create the column chart. By doing this, Excel does not recognize the numbers in column A as a data series and automatically places these numbers on the horizontal (category) axis. After creating the chart, you can enter the text Year into cell A1 if you like.

Line Chart

Line charts are used to display trends over time. Use a line chart if you have text labels, dates or a few numeric labels on the horizontal axis. Use a scatter chart (XY chart) to show scientific XY data.

To create a line chart, execute the following steps.

• Select the range A1: D7. 

• On the Insert tab, in the Charts group, click the Line symbol.

• Click Line with Markers.

• Result: 
  

Note: Only if you have numeric labels, empty cell A1 before you create the line chart. By doing this, Excel does not recognize the numbers in column A as a data series and automatically places these numbers on the horizontal (category) axis. After creating the chart, you can enter the text Year into cell A1 if you like.

Pie Chart

Pie charts are used to display the contribution of each value (slice) to a total (pie). Pie charts always use one data series.

To create a pie chart of the 2017 data series, execute the following steps.

Select the range A1: D2.

On the Insert tab, in the Charts group, click the Pie symbol.

Click Pie.

The result after choose pie.

Click on the pie to select the whole pie. Click on a slice to drag it away from the center.
The result after.

Note: Only if you have numeric labels, empty cell A1 before you create the pie chart. By doing this, Excel does not recognize the numbers in column A as a data series and automatically creates the correct chart. After creating the chart, you can enter the text Year into cell A1 if you like.

Percentage

Calculating percentages in Excel is easy. Percentage simply means 'out of 100', so 72% is '72 out of 100' and 4% is '4 out of 100', etc.

Enter a Percentage

To enter a percentage in Excel, execute the following steps.

First, enter a decimal number.

On the Home tab, in the Number group, click the percentage symbol to apply a Percentage format.

Here the result.

Note: To change the percentage in cell A1, simply select cell A1 and type a new percentage (do not type a decimal number). 

Percentage of Total

To calculate the percentage of a total in Excel, execute the following steps.

First, enter the formula is shown below. This formula divides the value in cell A1 by the value in cell B1. Simply use the forward slash (/) as the division operator. Don't forget, always start a formula with an equal sign (=).

On the Home tab, in the Number group, click the percentage symbol to apply a Percentage format.

Here the result.

On the Home tab, in the Number group, click the Increase Decimal button once.

Here the result of percentage with one decimal place.

Note: Excel always uses the underlying precise value in calculations, regardless of how many decimals you choose to display.

Increase by Percentage

To increase a number by a percentage in Excel, execute the following steps.

First, enter a number in cell A1. Enter a decimal number (0.2) in cell B1 and apply a Percentage format.

To increase the number in cell A1 by 20%, multiply the number by 1.2 (1+0.2). The formula below does the trick.

To decrease a number by a percentage, simply change the plus sign to a minus sign.

Note: Excel uses a default order in which calculations occur. If a part of the formula is in parentheses, that part will be calculated first.

Percentage Change

To calculate the percentage change between two numbers in Excel, execute the following steps.

Enter an old number in cell A1 and a new number in cell B1.

First, calculate the difference between new and old.

Next, divide this result by the old number in cell A1.

On the Home tab, in the Number group, click the percentage symbol to apply a Percentage format.

Here the result.

The (New-Old)/Old formula always works.

Note: Excel uses a default order in which calculations occur. If a part of the formula is in parentheses, that part will be calculated first.

Multiply

To multiply numbers in Excel, use the asterisk symbol (*) or the PRODUCT function. Learn how to multiply columns and how to multiply a column by a constant.

• The formula below multiplies numbers in a cell. Simply use the asterisk symbol (*) as the multiplication operator. Don't forget, always start a formula with an equal sign (=).

• The formula below multiplies the values in cells A1, A2 and A3.

• As you can imagine, this formula can get quite long. Use the PRODUCT function to shorten your formula. For example, the PRODUCT function below multiplies the values in the range A1: A7.

• Here's another example.
  

Explanation: =A1*A2*A3*A4*A5*A6*A7*B1*B2*B3*B4*C1*8 produces the exact same result.

 To multiply two columns, execute the following steps.

First, multiply the value in cell A1 by the value in cell B1.

Next, select cell C1, click on the lower right corner of cell C1 and drag it down to cell C6.

To multiply a column of numbers by a constant number, execute the following steps.

First, multiply the value in cell A1 by the value in cell A8. Fix the reference to cell A8 by placing a $ symbol in front of the column letter and row number ($A$8).

 Next, select cell B1, click on the lower right corner of cell B1 and drag it down to cell B6.

Explanation: when we drag the formula down, the absolute reference ($A$8) stays the same, while the relative reference (A1) changes to A2, A3, A4, etc. You can also use Paste Special to quickly multiply a range of cells by a constant number.

Enter a formula

A formula is an expression which calculates the value of a cell. Functions are predefined formulas and are already available in Excel.

To enter a formula, execute the following steps.

1. Select a cell. 
2. To let Excel know that you want to enter a formula, type an equal sign (=). 
3. For example, type the formula A1+A2.  
   
4. Change the value of cell A1 to 3.
   

Tip: instead of typing A1 and A2, simply select cell A1 and cell A2.

Subtract

There's no SUBTRACT function in Excel. However, there are several ways to subtract numbers in Excel. Are you ready to improve your Excel skills?

• For example, the formula below subtracts numbers in a cell. Simply use the minus sign (-). Don't forget, always start a formula with an equal sign (=).

• The formula below subtracts the value in cell A2 and the value in cell A3 from the value in cell A1. 
  

• As you can imagine, this formula can get quite long. Simply use the SUM function to shorten your formula. For example, the formula below subtracts the values in the range A2: A9 from the value in cell A1.
  

To subtract the numbers in column B from the numbers in column A, execute the following steps.

• First, subtract the value in cell B1 from the value in cell A1.
  
• Next, select cell C1, click on the lower right corner of cell C1 and drag it down to cell C6.
  

To subtract a number from a range of cells, execute the following steps. 

1. First, subtract the value in cell A8 from the value in cell A1. Fix the reference to cell A8 by placing a $ symbol in front of the column letter and row number ($A$8).
   
2. Next, select cell B1, click on the lower right corner of cell B1 and drag it down to cell B6.
   

When we drag the formula down, the absolute reference ($A$8) stays the same, while the relative reference (A1) changes to A2, A3, A4, etc. Maybe this is one step too far for you at this stage, but it shows you one of the many other powerful features Excel has to offer.

Working with Selection

Here some shortcut for working with the selection.