Adding a New Chart Series with Time or DateValues

SUMMARY

Microsoft Excel allows you to add a new data series to an existing chart by copying the appropriate information for the new data series on your worksheet and pasting it into your chart. However, attempting to paste a time or date series into your chart appears to paste nothing at all.

MORE INFORMATION

This behavior occurs by design. Excel treats the dates/times as labels if they occur in the first column of data being pasted to the chart.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Enter the following data into a worksheet:

         A1:             B1: Time1       C1: Time2       D1: Time3
         A2: Day1        B2: 7:46        C2: 1:30        D2: 6:00
         A3: Day2        B3: 7:54        C3: 2:15        D3: 7:18
         A4: Day3        B4: 8:03        C4: 12:45       D4: 7:30
   
   

2. Select cells A1:C4 and press F11 to create a chart.

3. Activate the worksheet and select cells D1:D4.

4. Select the Edit menu and choose Copy.

5. Activate the chart.

6. Select the Edit menu and choose Paste.

Workaround 1

The following workaround will work properly using Excel version 3.0 only, and only if the first column in your original data contains labels:

1. After following steps 1 and 2 above, select the labels in column A and the new series in column D simultaneously.

2. Select the Edit menu and choose Copy.

3. Activate the chart.

4. Select the Edit menu and choose Paste.

Workaround 2

If you are using Excel versions 2.x, OR if the first column in your original data does not contain labels, use the following workaround:

1. In step 6 of Steps to Reproduce, select the Edit menu and choose Paste Special.

2. Choose Values (Y) in Columns and Series Names in First Row.

3. Deselect Categories in First Column.

4. Choose OK.

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Excel User's Guide," version 3.0, pages 439-442. "Microsoft Excel User's Guide," version 2.1, pages 636-637.