Excel charts - setting series end dynamically

Question

I\'ve got a spreadsheet with plenty of graphs in it and one sheet with loads of data feeding those graphs.

I\'ve plotted the data on each graph using

Answer 1

Enhancing the answer of @Robert Mearns, here's how to use dynamic cells ranges for graphs using only the Excel's formulas (no VBA required):

Create a dynamic named Range

Say you have 3 columns like:

A5 | Time | Data1 | Data2 |

A6 | 00:00 | 123123 | 234234 |

...

A3000 | 16:54 | 678678 | 987987 |

Now, the range of your data may change according to the data you may have, like you have 20 rows of data, 3000 rows of data or even 25000 rows of data. You want to have a graph that will be updated automatically without the need to re-set the range of your data every time you update the data itself.

Here's how to do it simply:

1. Define another cell that it's value will have the number of the occupied cells with data, and put the formula =COUNTIF(A:A,"<>"&"") in it. For example, this will be in cell D1.

2. Go to "Formulas" tab -> "Define Name" to define a name range.

3. In the "New Name" window:

   i. Give your data range a name, like DataRange for example.

   ii. In the "Refers to" set the formula to: =OFFSET(Sheet1!$A$1, 0, 0,Sheet1!$D$1,3),

   where:

   • Sheet1!$A$1 => Reference: is the Reference from which you want to base the offset.

   • 0 => Rows: is the number of rows, up or down, that you want the upper-left cell of the results to refer to.

   • 0 => Columns: is the number of columns, to the left or right, that you want the upper-left cell of the results to refer to.

   • Sheet1!$D$1 => Height: is the height, in number of rows, that you want the result to be.

   • 3 => Width: is the width, in number of columns, that you want the result to be.

4. Add a Graph, and in the "Select Data Source" window, in the Chart data range, insert the formula as you created. For the example: =Sheet1!DataRange

The Cons: If you directly use the named range as the data source for the chart, Excel will automatically convert the named range into an actual range. Any future changes to your named range will therefore not update your chart.

For that you need to edit the chart and re-set the range to =Sheet1!DataRange every time. This may not be so usable, but it's better than editing the range manually...