How to use the chart maker (bar, line, pie)
- Type or paste your data, one row per line: a label, then one or more numbers, separated by commas or tabs. A first line of names, such as Month, Sales, Costs, gives each number column a name. You can also choose a .csv or .txt file.
- Pick the type: vertical bars, horizontal bars, a line or a pie. Add a title and labels for the sides of the chart if you like, and choose whether the numbers are printed on the chart.
- The chart redraws as you type. If a row cannot be read, the message names the line and says what is wrong, for example that a value is not a number.
- Use Download PNG for a picture you can place in a document, Download SVG for a scalable drawing, or Copy data as text to keep your numbers.
Five months of sales
With the sample rows Jan 120, Feb 150, Mar 170, Apr 140 and May 190 the total is 770. As a pie chart, using the first number column, the slices are 15.6%, 19.5%, 22.1%, 18.2% and 24.7%, which add up to 100% before rounding. In the bar chart the May bar is 190 / 120 = 1.58 times as tall as the January bar, because bar heights follow the numbers exactly from a zero baseline.
With the second column, Costs, added as a second series, the bars are grouped by month with a small legend, and each pair can be compared directly. A line chart of the same two columns shows the gap between sales and costs growing from 40 in January to 70 in May.
Choosing a chart type
Bars compare amounts across categories and are the safest choice. They always start at zero, so the length of a bar can be trusted. A line suits values that follow an order such as months, where the slope between points is the interesting part. A pie shows shares of a whole and works best with five or fewer slices that are clearly different in size.
A pie chart cannot show negative numbers and uses only the first number column. If you have negative values or several series, use bars or a line. For the numbers behind a chart, the descriptive statistics calculator gives averages and spread, and the percentage calculator works out shares.
Accessible and safe by construction
Colors come from a palette designed to stay distinct for common kinds of color blindness, and a second series in a line chart also uses a dashed line. The chart has a text description that lists every label and value, and hovering over a bar or point shows its number.
Labels, titles and series names are escaped before they go into the drawing, and the drawing is read as an image document rather than pasted into the page, so text such as a script tag shows up as plain words. Nothing is uploaded.
Limits
A chart can have up to 60 rows and 8 number columns. Long labels are shortened on the chart, with the full text available when you hover. The chart is a fixed size of 760 by 440 units, which downloads as a 1,520 by 880 pixel PNG. For plotting a formula rather than data, use the graphing calculator.
Assumptions and limits
- Numbers may include dollar signs, thousands commas inside quotes, and a percent sign, which is ignored. The value is used exactly as the number it shows.
- Every row must have a number in every column. A blank cell is an error rather than a zero, so a missing value is never drawn as a real one.
- The vertical scale for bars and lines starts at zero or at the lowest negative value, and steps are chosen as 1, 2 or 5 times a power of ten.
- Pie slices below 4% do not show a percent label inside the slice, but the legend always lists every share.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a chart with two or more series of numbers?
Yes. Add more number columns to each row. Bars are grouped by label and lines are drawn one per column, with a legend. A pie chart uses only the first column.
Why does my bar chart start at zero?
Bar length stands for the amount, so a baseline that is not zero makes small differences look large. Starting at zero keeps the comparison honest. If you need to zoom in on small differences, a line chart is a better fit.
What is the difference between the PNG and the SVG download?
The PNG is a fixed-size picture that works everywhere. The SVG is a drawing made of shapes and text that stays sharp at any size and can be edited in a vector program.
Is my data sent anywhere to make the chart?
No. The chart is calculated and drawn inside your browser tab, and the picture files are created on your device when you press a download button.