Dual x-axis chart

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John Broderick - 21 Jul 2006 15:35 GMT

Lets say I want to plot some data (on a scatter chart) which is a function
of temperature. For convenience I would like to show two x-axes which gives
the correpsonding x-values in Fahrenheit and Celcius. So then I could chose
to plot(x_fahrenheit, y1) on x-axis1 or plot(x_celsius, y2) on x-axis2
(forgive the Matlab plot notation) and could choose whether to read off the
x-axis values in Fahrenheit or Celsius directly from the plot.
Can this be done in Excel (or Matlab). What if I needed 3 x-axes?

Thanks.

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Del Cotter - 21 Jul 2006 20:18 GMT

>Lets say I want to plot some data (on a scatter chart) which is a function
>of temperature. For convenience I would like to show two x-axes which gives
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>x-axis values in Fahrenheit or Celsius directly from the plot.
>Can this be done in Excel (or Matlab). What if I needed 3 x-axes?

Using the Excel-provided axes, you can get two, fairly easily, as long
as there is at least one set of data using each axis. In the "Format
Data Series" dialogue there is a tab called "Axis" which lets you choose
a primary or secondary axis. You can create a dummy data range to do
nothing but provide the second axis if you like, just make it invisible
so it's not intruding on your chart.

To make three or more axes, you are out of luck as far as Excel's basic
abilities are concerned, but there are several web sites by Tushar
Mehta, Jon Peltier and the other Microsoft MVPs who post here regularly,
that show you how to use data ranges to make fake axes that look like
the real thing.

http://www.tushar-mehta.com/excel/newsgroups/flexible_log_scale/
http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/axes.html

If you learn how to do that, you can have dozens of axes if you want
them.

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Del Cotter
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which goes to a spam folder-- please send your email to del3 instead.

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Tushar Mehta - 22 Jul 2006 02:58 GMT

As Dell pointed out, one can create 2 axes as long as there is at least one
series on each chart.

So, in your case, plot the data twice. Double-click one of the plotted
series and in the resulting dialog box, from the Axis tab, select Secondary.
Now, select Chart | Chart Options... | Axes tab and select the secondary x
axis. Now, adjust the various axes so that the appropriate secondary and
primary axis min. and max. values line up.

Essentially, you would be adapting
Single Chart Dual Axis
http://www.tushar-mehta.com/excel/charts/0204-single%20graph%20dual%
20axis.htm

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Regards,

Tushar Mehta
www.tushar-mehta.com
Excel, PowerPoint, and VBA add-ins, tutorials
Custom MS Office productivity solutions

> Lets say I want to plot some data (on a scatter chart) which is a function
> of temperature. For convenience I would like to show two x-axes which gives
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> Thanks.

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