Learn a vital yet simple aspect of navigating through Google Sheets.
Unsure which chart type to use? Click here to find the right chart for your data and the ideas that you want to convey.
Google Sheets offers three types of line charts: the line chart, the smooth line chart, and the combo chart. This tutorial is a straightforward guide to inserting a line chart in Google Sheets with some notes on the type of data that it requires you to have.
Here are the steps in creating a line chart from an existing dataset in Google Sheets:
Step 1: Select the range of data that you want to visualize.
Step 2: Click Insert, then click Chart.
Step 3: Sometimes, the default chart type applied is not a line chart. On the right side, the Chart editor sidebar is loaded. Click the drop-down box below the Chart type. A list of possible chart types will be loaded. Look for the Line chart, and click it.
Step 4: We now have a line chart. To add a title to the chart, go to the Customize tab in the Chart editor, then click Chart axis & titles.
Step 5: If you want to add a chart title, make sure that the drop-down box displays the option Chart title. On the text box below the drop-down box, type the title of the chart.
Step 6: Here are some options for modifying the title of the chart:
We now have the following chart!
Click here to learn how to add the title or axis labels, as well as how to change the colors.
The difference between a line chart and a smooth line chart is more a question of aesthetic preference. A line chart connects each point with a straight line while a smooth line chart uses a curve to estimate the general trend of the data.
Before you follow the steps, make sure that your data contains the breakdown of the values of the components.
Step 1: Select the range of data that you want to visualize.
Step 2: Click Insert, then click Chart.
Step 3: The selected chart type is not a smooth line chart by default. On the right side, the Chart editor sidebar is loaded. Click the drop-down box below the Chart type. A list of possible chart types will be loaded. Look for the Smooth line chart and click it.
Step 4: We now have a smooth line chart. To add a title to the chart, go to the Customize tab in the Chart editor, then click Chart axis & titles.
Step 5. If you want to add a chart title, make sure that the drop-down box displays the option Chart title. On the text box below the drop-down box, type the title of the chart.
Step 6. Here are some options for modifying the title of the chart:
We now have the following chart!
Click here to learn how to add the title, axis labels, or change the colors.
Google Sheets offers a combo chart as a combination of a column chart and a line chart. You can use a combo chart to present two different sets of data together. The first row of data becomes the column chart while the rest of the rows become line charts.
Step 1: Select the range of data that you want to visualize.
Step 2: Click Insert, then click Chart.
Step 3: The selected chart type is not a combo chart by default. On the right side, the Chart editor sidebar is loaded. Click the drop-down box below the Chart type. A list of possible chart types will be loaded. Look for the Combo chart and click it.
Step 4: We now have a combo chart. To add a title to the chart, go to the Customize tab in the Chart editor, then click Chart axis & titles.
Step 5. If you want to add a chart title, make sure that the drop-down box displays the option Chart title. On the text box below the drop-down box, type the title of the chart.
Step 6. Here are some options in modifying the title of the chart:
We now have the following chart!
Click here to learn how to add the title, axis labels, or change the colors.
If you got a bit lost, or just want to check if you’re doing it right, here is a sample sheet that you can open to see how they work: