Reusing Your Own Designs by Creating Custom Chart Types

If you want to be able to reuse a chart design you've created, you can turn it into a custom chart type. Follow these steps:

1. Select the formatted chart either on a chart sheet or on a worksheet.
2. Choose Charts Change Chart Type Other Save As Template from the Ribbon or Chart Save as Template from the menu bar to display the Save Chart Template dialog box. This is a standard Save As dialog box.
3. If you want, change the folder in which to save the chart type. Excel suggests using the ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/Chart Templates/ folder (where ~ represents your home folder). This is good for a template only you will use, but if your colleagues will need to use the template too, store it in a shared folder on the network.
4. Type a descriptive name for the template in the Save As text box.
5. Click the Save button to close the Save Chart Template dialog box. Excel saves the template in the folder you chose.

To create a chart based on your template, follow these steps:

1. Select the source data for the chart.
2. Choose Charts Insert Chart Other to display the Other pane, then scroll down to the Templates area at the bottom of the pane.
3. Click the template.