Graphing Tutorial: Bar Graphs Walkthrough
- Click the blue boxes to open text boxes for your title and labels.
- Once you’ve entered all three labels, gray circles will appear at both ends of the y axis only. (Your x axis will not have numerical data.) Click these to open text boxes for your minimum and maximum values.
- TIP: Look carefully at the table with the causes of impaired water and the number of impaired water bodies. For the minimum y value, choose a number smaller than the lowest value on the table, and for the maximum y value, choose a number slightly larger than the largest value on the table. You won’t have a chance to adjust these after you start graphing.
- TIP: Remember to enter only numbers for the y axis. Commas will not register.
- Once you’ve chosen your minimum and maximum values, intermediate values will appear automatically. These numbers may not match those in your table. That just means your plot points will fall between them.
- Text boxes will appear for you to enter your labels and y values. Remember not to use commas in the ‘value’ box. Press the ‘Next’ button and a colored bar will appear in the location you entered on the graph.
- TIP: The ‘Clear’ button will clear your entire graph.
- TIP: Your first bar will be very wide. Their width will automatically adjust as you enter values for more bars.