Add-ins: Excel
PowerPoint
Note that the self-installer version also installs an uninstall capability. To uninstall select scroll down to the entry.
If you chose to download the zip version, unzip the add-in file to a directory of your choice.
For installation instructions see common installation instructions. In Excel 2003 load the add-in. In Excel 2007, load the add-in.
In Excel 2007 or later, the TM Chart Utilities functions are in the of the ribbon.
This feature converts a regular chart into a dynamic chart, i.e., one that automatically plots new data added to the plotted range. The code adjusts to data in columns or in rows and it also factors in any header cells in the data column (or row). It also works when the X values include multiple columns.
Click the Make Dynamic Chart button to bring up the corresponding dialog box. If a chart is already selected, it will show up in the chart selection drop down. Use the drop down to select the chart to be made dynamic.
Since the software must change the formulas used in the chart, there is a checkbox to approve the change.
Below are a few examples of the software in action.
1) Consider the data set and the corresponding chart
After conversion to a dynamic chart, the chart series uses software generated named formula.
Now, the chart will automatically adjust to new data, for example in E9:F9:
2) The data can also be in rows. In this example, neither the X nor the Y range has a header.
3) The X values can be in multiple columns and can have more than 1 header row.
After conversion to a dynamic chart, the chart will automatically pick up new data, say in row 16.
The software analyzes the structure of the existing data to decide how many cells in a column (or row) to ignore. However, it cannot anticipate subsequent changes. So, once the chart is converted to a dynamic chart, do not change the headers of any of the charted ranges.
This function of TM Chart Utilities allows one to export a chart as an image file. Select the chart of interest, the image type, and the output file name.
The list of image types is customized to those supported by your version of Excel. On the machine used to create this document, Excel 2007 supported 4 files types for export, as shown above. Excel 2003, on the other hand, supported only 3, as shown below.
This feature lets one swap the X and Y ranges used in the chart. Obviously, it should be used only for those kinds of charts where both the X and Y axes contain numeric values.
Note that the software will not stop one from swapping X and y ranges when the original x values are non-numeric. However, the result may not be meaningful until one enters numeric values in the original X range. For example, consider the following chart.
After swapping the X and Y ranges, the result looks like:
If this was a mistake, reverse the change by using the feature again. Or, replace the text values with numeric values to get a meaningful chart.
By default, a data label can refer to the series name, the x value, and/or the y value. While it is possible to use some other cell in the data label it cannot be done through the Excel user interface (UI). The function of lets one specify a range other than the x or y values as the source for the data labels.
Consider the data set and the associated bar chart shown below.
Using the native Excel UI there is no easy way to use column D as the data label source. The function of the allows one to do that through the below dialog box.
