MacXL: Setting Default and User-Defined Chart Types

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Creating a User-Defined Chart Type

To create a custom chart format, follow these steps:

1. In a new worksheet, type the following information:

      A1: Apples      B1: 25
      A2: Oranges     B2: 15
      A3: Peaches     B3: 10
      A4: Bananas     B4: 30
      A5: Tangerines  B5: 15
   					

2. Select the cell range A1:B5 and press F11.
   
   A new chart sheet that uses the current default chart type is created (The original default type is a two-dimensional column chart). Note that the chart sheet is the active sheet in the workbook.
3. On the Chart menu, click Chart Type.
4. In the Chart Type dialog box, click Line, and then click OK.
   
   The chart type is a line chart.
5. On the Chart menu, click Chart Options. Click the Chart Title box, type My Custom Chart, and then click OK.
   
   "My Custom Chart" appears at the top of the chart.
6. On the Chart menu, click Chart Type.
7. Click the Custom Types tab, and then click User-Defined.
8. Click Add, and then type My Test Format in the Name box.
9. Click OK.

You can select this custom chart format each time that you create a new chart.

NOTE: User-defined chart formats are stored in a file called Excel Chart User Gallery, which is located in the System Folder:Preferences folder.

Changing the Chart Format to a User-Defined Chart Type

To apply a custom chart format to an existing chart, follow these steps:

1. Reselect the data that you typed in step 1 of the "Creating a User- Defined Chart Format" section, and then press F11.
   
   A new chart sheet is created with the current default chart type. Note that this chart sheet is the active sheet in the workbook.
2. On the Chart menu, click Chart Type.
3. Click the Custom Types tab, and then click User-Defined.
4. In the Chart Type list, click My Test Format, and then click OK.

The chart uses the user-defined chart format.

Changing the Default Chart Type

The following steps assume that you followed steps 1 through 9 in the "Creating a User-Defined Chart Format" section:

1. On the Chart menu, click Chart Type.
2. Click the Custom Types tab, and then click User-Defined.
3. In the Chart Type list, click My Test Format, and then click Set as default chart. Click Yes in the dialog box that appears.
4. Click OK.

The default chart type is the user-defined chart type.

To verify that the default chart format is changed, follow these steps:

1. Reselect the data that you typed in step 1 of the "Creating a User-Defined Chart Format" section.
2. Press F11.

The chart format that appears should be the custom format you created.

Resetting the Default Chart Type to the Original Default Type

To reset the default chart type to the original chart type, follow these steps:

1. On the Chart menu, click Chart Type.
2. Click the Custom Types tab, and then click User-Defined.
3. In the Chart Type list, click Default, and then click Delete. Click Yes in the dialog box that appears.
4. Click OK.