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By default, bar chart data markers use a solid fill. That’s usually the effect you want because a solid fill makes it easier to compare markers and analyze the data presented in the chart. On the downside, solid-fill data markers don’t compare well when printed on a black-and ­white laser printer, and they are, well, dull. For a different twist to your bar charts, you can replace the data markers’ solid fills with graphic images, such as clip art pictures or graphics files on your computer. By default, Excel stretches the image according to the number that the marker represents. This tends to distort most images, so it’s better to stack the image, which means that Excel uses multiple copies of the original image to fill in each data marker. (The bigger the marker, the more copies Excel uses to create the stack.)

Here are the steps to follow to stack a picture as a bar chart data marker:

1. Click the data series to select it.
2. Choose Layout, Format Selection to display the Format Data Series dialog box.
3. Click the Fill tab.
4. Click the Picture of Texture Fill option.
5. Click the stacking option you prefer:
   • Stack-Click this option to stack the original image in the data markers.
   • Stack and Scale with X Units/Picture-Click this option to adjust the scale that Excel uses when creating the stacks. Use the text box to specify the number of data units you want Excel to use for each picture. For example, if your data values run from 0 to one million, you can specify 100,000 as the units per picture value.
6. Click Close.

Figure 1 shows an example of a bar chart with the solid-fill data markers replaced by stacked pictures.

Figure 1 A bar chart with stacked pictures as the data markers.

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