Excel Video 122 uses a trick we learned in speedometers to make a column chart appear to float on the page. Today we’re plotting the range of wait times for a physician clinic. After we have the high and the low wait time for the day plotted on the chart, we’ll add the average wait time and a related goal in the next Excel Video.
To create this chart, you first need to prepare your data. Watch the video to see how calculating the low point in the chart is straight forward, but since we’re stacking the columns, the high point is calculated by taking the difference between the high point and the low point that’s already on the chart. For example, on Monday the low point is 25 minutes and the high point is 120 minutes. To get the chart to show 120 minutes as the high point, you need to subtract the 25 minute series that the 120 minutes will be stacked on.
The trick to make a column float on a page is to use a stacked column chart and then hide the bottom of the stack by setting the column’s fill to no fill. After you’ve prepared your data so the columns stack properly, it’s easy to hide the low series so your column floats in the middle of your chart.
