Chart Advisor

Chart Advisor is a simple and easy to use Microsoft Excel 2007 addin, whose main purpose is to assist users in creating charts more easily, functioning as a prototype, rather than a fully functional piece of software.

The addin requires Microsoft Excel 2007 specifically, otherwise it does not function properly. After installation, it integrates into the main window's ribbon, creating a clickable button which users can press in order to start working with Chart Advisor.

When creating a table in Excel, this utility attempts to determine which is the best type of chart for the information users are working with, analyzing the data and the shape of the table, then suggesting which would be the best option for them to work resort to.

In what concerns large data sets, users should keep in mind that the process can be rather lengthy. When it has completed, users can hover with their mouse over the Chart Advisor dialog and obtain a live preview.

Before being integrated into the workbook, users have the possibility to make some adjustments to the chart, to better suit their requirements. Chart Advisor provides users with automatic adaptation capabilities in order to offer users charts they can work with.

Moreover, the addin has to ability to ignore the hidden columns and rows from your XLS, while also ignoring totals in order to prevent skewing or other similar effects on the plotted data.

Chart Advisor also offers a 'Modify Chart Pane' function that enables users to easily alter the data in the chart. Finally, when complete, users can press the 'Insert Chart' button and integrate the result into their workbook.

While Chart Advisor can prove fairly handy in a variety of situations, as it provides users with a swift means of determining what type of chart would best work with their data, the addin has a number of performance limitations which users need to take into account.