Charts and Dashboards: Time-Saving Template

Welcome back to our Charts and Dashboards blog series. This week, I save a customised chart to use again.

In Charts and Dashboards: Target Practice, I created a Clustered Column chart and formatted it to show if my salespeople were reaching their targets. I used March sales data to form the basis of the data for the chart:

The chart I created is shown next:

Management has decided that they like this chart, and would like me to use it for more sales targets:

I could copy the original Excel file and change the data in the table, but I would like this chart to be available whenever I want to use it. I want to create a custom chart for future use.

I start in the original Clustered Column Chart where I right-click to see the shortcut menu:

I choose the ‘Save as Template’ option, and a window appears prompting me to save the chart:

The default file name is Chart1.crtx. I change this to SalesTargets.crtx:

I return to the new data, and select it all:

On the Insert tab, in the lower left-hand corner of the Charts section, there is an icon where I can ‘See All Charts’:

Clicking on this icon reveals an ‘Insert Chart’ dialog where I choose the ‘All Charts’ tab:

I then choose the Templates Tab:

I can see the SalesTargets template under ‘My Templates’. Note that there is also an option at the bottom of the dialog to ‘Manage Templates’: this would take me to the Windows folder containing the templates.

I choose SalesTargets and click OK:

The chart appears and just needs a new Chart Title. I can now use this template whenever I want this modified version of a Clustered Column chart.

That’s it for this week. Come back next week for more Charts and Dashboards tips.