Worksheet – Case #2 – Create a stacked area chart showing components of a total

Finding Data

To find the US Outstanding debt per sector, the best approach is to start looking in Country & Region > United States. Series can be found under the category Financial Accounts > Summaries, and table D.3.

Set the slider to the level 2 of 3 and select the components of Domestic non-financial sectors (so all the series except the total) as well as Foreign Sectors and Domestic Financial Sector.

Charting

Graph Layout

All the series are initially displayed as lines, though in this example you should a stacked area style instead. To change the chart style, right-click on the chart, and select Graph Layout.

Click above the list of series where it says “line” and change it to “stacked area”.

Series are added to the chart as they are listed; so, for a stacked area chart, the 1st series is placed at the bottom, and the last one at the top of the area. You can change the order of the series by dragging them to a different position in the list.

Location of the legend

Next, you need to move the legend from the bottom of the chart to inside the chart area. To do so, click on it. In the presentation properties tab, change the layout mode to one column, and the location to floating. You can move the legend around the chart by dragging it.

Vertical Axis

To display the vertical axis on both sides of the chart, click on it and look at the settings available under Axis, in the presentation properties tab. Set the synchronize setting to values, to display the same values on both sides of the chart.