How to Make, Edit, and Customize a Chart in Google Sheets

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Make professional-looking graphs out of your Sheets data

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: December 30, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Creating a Graph
|
• Editing a Graph
|
• Customizing a Graph
|
• Video
|
• Q&A
|
• Tips
|
• Warnings

|Show more |Show less

Are you trying to create a graph from your data in Google Sheets? A graph is a handy tool because it can visually represent your data, making it easier for some people to understand. This wikiHow article will teach you how to make a graph (or charts, as Google refers to them) out of data in a Google Sheets spreadsheet using the full desktop browser version.

Quick Steps

1. Enter graph data into a new sheet, or open a sheet with the data you want to graph.
2. Select the data you want to graph.
3. Click Insert > Chart.
4. Use the right pane to select a graph type.
5. Edit and customize the graph using the right-hand pane.
6. Select the graph and click ⋮ > Edit chart to edit a graph after you've placed it.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Creating a Graph

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1. 
   1
   Open Google Sheets in your web browser. This will open the Google Sheets dashboard if you're logged into your Google account.

   • If you aren't logged into your Google account, you'll need to enter your email address and password when prompted before continuing.
   • Google Sheets can be accessed at sheets.google.com.
2. 
   2
   Click Blank. It's in the upper-left side of the page. Doing so will open a new, blank spreadsheet.

   • If you have a spreadsheet with data already populated, click on it and then proceed to the "Select your data" step.
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3. 
   3
   Create your headers. Click cell A1, enter the x-axis label, and then click cell B1 and enter the y-axis label.

   • If you wanted to document the number of cups of coffee you drink throughout the day, for example, you might put "Hours" in cell A1 and "Cups of Coffee" in cell B1.
   • Depending on the type of graph you make, the label placement may vary slightly.
   • You can add additional headers in C1, D1, and so on if your graph contains more than two sets of data.
4. 
   4
   Enter your data. Type your x-axis data into the A column of cells, then type your y-axis data into the B column of cells.

   • If you have more than two columns of headers to fill, enter information for them as well.
5. 
   5
   Select your data. Click cell A1, then hold down ⇧ Shift while clicking the bottom cell in the right-most column of data. This will select your entire set of data in blue.
6. 
   6
   Click Insert. It's a tab near the top-left side of the page. A drop-down menu will appear.
7. 
   7
   Click Chart. You'll find this option in the middle of the Insert drop-down menu. Clicking it creates a default chart from your data and brings up a window in the center of the page.

   • You'll also see a "Chart editor" window open on the right side of the page.
8. 
   8
   Select a chart format. Click the "Chart type" box at the top of the window, then click a chart format in the drop-down box that appears. The chart in the middle of your spreadsheet will change to reflect your selection.

   • You can click Data range to change the data range that's included in your chart. For example, if you created a new row of data that you'd like to include, click the chart to open the "Chart editor" panel, then click the text field under "Data range" to type in the extra row of data.
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Section 2 of 3:

Editing a Graph

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1. 
   1
   Select the graph and click the ⋮ button in the upper-right corner. This will open a contextual menu.
2. 
   2
   Click Edit chart. It has an icon of a pencil. Clicking on this option will pull up a side panel, which allows you to edit and customize your graph.

   • You'll see two tabs: Setup and Customize. This section will be dealing with the Setup tab. To learn more about the Customize tab, check out the section below.
3. 
   3
   Change the chart type. To do this, click the Chart type drop-down menu and select a new chart type. The new chart type will be immediately reflected in the graph.
4. 
   4
   Change the data range. To do this, click the field under the "Data range" header, then select a new data range. This is helpful if you've added more data to your table and you want the graph to include it.
5. 
   5
   Swap the axis labels. To do this, click the button under "X-axis" or "Series" and choose a different label.

   • If you want to actually change what the axis labels say, you'll have to change that in the data table.
6. 
   6
   Select other options. At the bottom of the Setup tab, there are a few additional options you can choose, such as switching the rows and columns, using row 1 as headers, using column B as labels, and treating labels as text.
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Section 3 of 3:

Customizing a Graph

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1. 
   1
   Select the graph and click the ⋮ button in the upper-right corner. This will open a contextual menu.
2. 
   2
   Click Edit chart. It has an icon of a pencil. Clicking on this option will pull up a side panel, which allows you to edit and customize your graph.

   • You'll see two tabs: Setup and Customize. This section will be dealing with the Customize tab.
3. 
   3
   Click the Customize tab. To learn more about the Setup tab, check out the section above.
4. 
   4
   Expand the "Chart style" tab. In this tab, you can change the graph's background color, border color, and font. You can also select some layout options at the bottom of this section, including maximizing the graph (removing the white space around the graph) or plotting null values in the dataset.
5. 
   5
   Expand the "Chart & axis titles" tab. In this tab, you can change the chart's title, subtitle, horizontal axis, and vertical axis. To choose which element you'd like to edit, pick it from the drop-down at the top of the tab. Then, change the element's text, font, font size, font format, and font color.
6. 
   6
   Expand the "Series" tab. In this tab, you can change the color and format of the lines/bars inside the graph itself. Choose a series in the drop-down menu. Then, choose a fill color, fill opacity, line color, line opacity, line dash type, line thickness, and axis. You can also change some additional settings in the Series tab, such as formatting a data point or adding a trendline.
7. 
   7
   Expand the "Legend" tab. In this tab, you can modify the legend's location, font, font size, font format, and font color. If your graph doesn't have a legend, you can skip editing this step.
8. 
   8
   Expand the "Horizontal axis" tab. In this tab, you can change the font, font size, font format, and font color of the horizontal axis. You can also reverse the axis order and apply a slant to the horizontal axis labels.
9. 
   9
   Expand the "Vertical axis" tab. In this tab, you can change the font, font size, font format, and font color of the vertical axis. You can also change the axis's scale factor, number format, and more.
10. 
    10
    Expand the "Major gridlines" tab. In this tab, you can change the color of the gridlines behind your bars or lines in the graph. You can also choose to add minor gridlines, major ticks, and minor ticks.
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Community Q&A

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• Question

  How would I make a pie chart?

  

  Community Answer

  Right click on your chart, click chart style, then scroll down until you find the chart type that you want.

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  Thank you for your feedback.
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• Question

  I have 5 columns of data, but I want only Column 1 and Column 5. I tried to select all columns and then delete 2-4, but Column 5 DOES NOT appear.

  

  Community Answer

  Hold down "Control" for Windows and "Command" for Mac, then try selecting your columns.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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• Question

  How do I transfer my graph onto Google Sheets?

  

  Community Answer

  Share it, and also copy and paste it. Then it will immediately go to Google Sheets.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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• When creating a pie chart, you only need to use one column for numerical data.
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Warnings

• Google Sheets save automatically, but only when you're connected to the Internet. Closing a Google Sheet before it says "Saved" at the top of the page may result in a loss of changes.
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