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How to Create a Flying Brick Chart in Excel

By Michael Carroll, eHow Contributor updated July 23, 2011 Related Searches: Microsoft Excel Bar Chart A flying brick chart, also called a waterfall chart, is a type of bar chart used to display a sequential set of changes to a quantity. Each change is shown in a new column by a bar that begins at the level the previous column ended at, and ends at the value of the quantity after the change. These bars needn't touch the horizontal axis like in typical bar charts, so they tend to look like flying bricks of varying thicknesses. Create a flying brick chart in Excel by plotting two line charts pre-calculated from your data, and connecting them with up-down bars.

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Difficulty:Moderate

Instructions
1
Place your data in column B of a blank Excel spreadsheet, starting in the second row. Cell B2 should contain the initial value of your quantity, and each subsequent row should contain the amount by which the value changes from its previous level. If the quantity decreases, that row should contain a negative value. Label each change in the corresponding rows in column A, and type "Values" into cell B1. Label the cell one spot past the last value in column A something like "Final."

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2
Type the equation "=B2" into cell C2. Assign the sum of the values in column B to the cell in column C in the "Final" row. For example, if you have four values, cell C6 should contain their sum (use the equation "=SUM (B2:B5)"). This sum is equal to the final value of the quantity you're charting. Type "Ends" into cell C1.

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3
Give cell D3 the equation "=SUM(B$2:B2)." Select cell D3 and drag the box in its lower right corner downward to fill the column so it
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ends on the same row as column B. The formula is expanded so that column D contains a running sum of the values in column B. Type "Before" into cell D1.

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4
Give cell E3 the equation "=SUM(B$2:B3)." Fill column E downward as you did with column D so it's the same size. The last entry in column E should be the same as the final value of the quantity you're charting. Type "After" into cell E1.

5
Click and drag to select all of the data in column A. Hold Ctrl and click and drag to select all of the data in columns C,D, and E.

6
Click the "Insert" tab at the top of the Excel window. Click "Line" in the "Charts" area and click the "Line with Markers" chart type. A new chart appears with three data series called by the names you typed in the top row of the spreadsheet.

7
Right-click one of the two markers in the "Ends" series, and choose "Change Series Chart Type" from the drop-down menu that appears. Click the "Clustered Column" button (the top-leftmost) in the dialog that appears and click "OK."

8
Click a point in one of the two remaining line series to select it. Click the "Layout" tab in the "Chart Tools" area at the top of the window. Click "Up/Down Bars" in the "Analysis" area and click the "Up/Down Bars" item. Bars appear between the two line series.

9
Right-click a marker in one of the line series, and choose "Format Data Series." Click "Marker Options," and click the "None" radio button. Click "Line Color," and click the "No line" radio button, then click "Close." Repeat this process for the other line series. Now only bars are visible on the chart.

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10
Click the chart legend, and press Delete to remove it. Right-click any of the bars and choose the "Format" item to change their colors (use the "Fill" category). A common scheme is to color "up" bars green and "down" bars red.

References
Jon Peltier; Peltier Technical Services, Inc; Excel Waterfall Charts (Bridge Charts); July 2011

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