Adding a Data Table to a Chart in Excel 2007:-


A data table is a mini-worksheet that appears below a chart. In it, Excel shows the values for each data point in the table. One advantage of a data table is that you can show the numbers that would normally be shown with data labels without adding any elements to the plot area.

There are two built-in options in the Data Table drop-down on the Layout ribbon: you can show the data table with legend keys or without legend keys. The data table takes up a fair amount of space at the bottom of the chart. Putting the legend keys in the table allows you to regain some of that space by eliminating the legend element from the chart.

In the chart on the left in the Figure (given below), the legend keys appear in the chart. In the chart on the right in the same Figure, the data table appears without legend keys, requiring a separate legend element to appear—in this case, above the chart. This causes the plot area to shrink and makes it more difficult to interpret the data on the chart.



(A data table provides a concise grid for the actual values without adding extra data to the plot area itself.)