Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Changing Chart Types.

Changing Chart Types

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 18, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


1

Excel makes changing chart types of an existing chart a breeze. You can change chart types by following these steps:

  1. Select the chart you want to change. You do this by clicking on the chart, if you are selecting an embedded chart. (A selection border appears around the perimeter of the chart.) If you are selecting a chart sheet, simply make sure the sheet is displayed.
  2. Make sure the Design tab of the ribbon is displayed.
  3. In the Type group click the Change Chart Type tool. Excel displays the Change Chart Type dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Change Chart Type dialog box.

  5. Select any of the major chart types shown in the left of the dialog box. When you select a type, the information at the right of the dialog box changes.
  6. Click on one of the charts shown at the right of the dialog box.
  7. Click on the OK button. Your chart is reformatted using the chart you selected.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9747) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Changing Chart Types.

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

Stepping Through a Macro with a Worksheet Visible

When developing a macro, it is often necessary to step through the various code lines so you can see what is happening on ...

Discover More

Turning Off Display of Zeros for All Worksheets

Some people like zero values displayed; others do not. Excel allows you to easily turn the display on or off for a single ...

Discover More

Filling Table Cells with a Macro

Want to stuff a value into each cell of a table? You can either type the value over and over and over again, or you can ...

Discover More

Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Setting Grid Line Intervals for a Radar Chart

Excel provides a wide variety of chart types you can use with your data. Unfortunately, this variety can often make it ...

Discover More

Excel Charts in PowerPoint

A common place to use Excel charts is in your PowerPoint presentations. How you paste those charts into the presentation ...

Discover More

Specifying Chart Sizes

If you need a number of charts in your workbook to all be the same size, it can be a bother to manually change each of ...

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.

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 one less than 8?

2025-03-18 06:31:19

jamies

And -
from experience -

Sometimes the chart (window display) needs to have the zoom level changed to get Excel to refresh the displayed chart representation, mode, layout, colour options etc.,
such as up (maybe)10%, wait for the redisplay, then you can go back to the original setting !


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu 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.