Using the Chart Wizard for Quick Results
Expert users might be tempted to dismiss Excel's Chart Wizard as just another tool for beginners, to be avoided at all costs. Big mistake. Don't think of the Chart Wizard as a set of training wheels—instead, think of it as a highly structured, superbly organized interface that lets you efficiently deal with every chart option in four steps.
Tip from 
Each of the four steps in the Chart Wizard corresponds to one of four choices on the shortcut menu that appears when you right-click the plot area or chart area of any chart. If you want to change only the data source of a chart, it takes fewer clicks to use the shortcut menus than to restart the Chart Wizard.
In Step 1, use the Chart Type dialog box (see Figure 24.4) to select any of Excel's built-in chart types or select a custom chart type you've defined previously. Select a category from the Chart Type list, and then click the icon for the corresponding chart subtype that best represents the type of chart you want to create. If you selected a range of data before starting the Chart Wizard, click and hold the button below the chart types to see a preview of your data. Click Next.
Figure 24.4.
In Step 2, fill in or edit the Source Data dialog box to define the location of data series and values for use with labels and axes. If you selected data before starting the Chart Wizard, most of these decisions are already made for you.
→ Choosing the best chart design for your data is a crucial step many Excel users overlook; see "Choosing a Standard Chart Type".
In Step 3, enter title text and configure the appearance of legends, gridlines, and other chart elements. Use any of the categories in the multitabbed Chart Options dialog box shown in Figure 24.5. (The exact options available depend on the chart type you selected in Step 1.) As you add title text and adjust other chart options, the preview window changes to show how your chart will look.
Figure 24.5.
In Step 4, use the Location dialog box to specify whether you want to create a new chart sheet or embed a chart object in an existing worksheet. If you want to review your choices or make any changes, click the Back button. Click Finish to close the wizard and add the chart to your worksheet.
You can agonize over every detail of a chart, but sometimes it's more effective to breeze through the Chart Wizard first, using its default settings and ignoring most of the fine details. After you've created a solid foundation for your chart, you can tweak individual elements. You can also click the Chart Wizard button to restart the wizard any time after you've created your chart. Many of the choices will be much clearer when you see what the first draft of the chart looks like.