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Step 1
Enter a number in cell A1 and hit the enter key and then click on cell A1
Step 2
Click on the Formulas tab in Excel and then click in the “Name Manager” button. The following Window will appear Excel Name Manager window with an empty name list and New, Edit, Delete buttons
Step 3
In the Name Manager window, click the “New” button and in the Window that appears, type the name “ChartData” in the “Name” textbox and in the “Scope” list box, select “Sheet1” and then enter the following formula in the textbox labeled “Refers to”:
It should look similar to the following: Edit Name window with Name set to ChartData and the OFFSET formula entered in Refers to Click the OK button to return to the Name Manager window and then click the “Close” button in the Name Manager.
Step 4
Click on the “Insert” tab in the Excel main menu and then in the “Charts” section of the ribbon, click on the type of chart that you want. This will insert a chart in the worksheet.
Step 5
The Design tab should automatically be selected in the Excel main menu. If it is not, select it and then click on the button labeled “Select Data”. This will open a new window: Select Data Source window listing Series1 under Legend Entries with Add, Edit, and Remove buttons If you see a series named “Series 1” already in the window, click the button labeled “Remove” and then click the button labeled “Add” to add a new data series. The following window should appear: Edit Series window with Series name and Series values fields for the new data series Change the “Series name” entry to “Series 1” (or whatever name you want for the data series) and then enter the following for the “Series values” entry:
Click the OK button in the “Edit Series” window and then click the OK button in the “Select Data Source” window. As you enter numbers down column A, you should see your chart update automatically.
Last modified on November 5, 2026