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Most charts use static data as their data source. However, it’s not uncommon for a chart to use a data source that constantly expands. On a stock price worksheet, for example, you might enter daily prices for a given month. Rather than wait until the end of the month to create the chart, it is useful to chart the existing data and update the chart as you add new prices each day.

The hard way to accomplish this is to edit the range references for the category axis labels and data series values each time you add new data. Fortunately, Excel 2007 gives you a much easier method. As with the dynamic ranges you learned about in the previous section, the trick is to convert your data to a table. When the category axis label range and data series range are part of a table, Excel automatically expands the chart to include any new data that you add to the table. Note that you get this advantage without any other fuss and bother. As soon as you convert the data range to a table, your chart becomes dynamic based on the table data. You don’t need to edit the SERIES() function or perform any other arcane tasks.

NOTE

Another advantage you get with this trick is that it doesn’t matter when you convert the data to a table.You can perform the conversion either before or after you’ve created your chart; Excel will still expand the chart automatically to accommodate new table data.

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