How to add a scrollbar to chart in Excel?
When working with large datasets, displaying all the data at once in a chart can clutter your visualizations and make them harder to interpret. Adding a scrollbar to a chart in Excel allows you to focus on a specific portion of the data dynamically, improving clarity and analysis. This guide will walk you through the steps to add a scrollbar to a chart in Excel, making it interactive and easy to use.
Add a scrollbar to chart in Excel
Create a scrollable chart with only clicks
Add a scrollbar to chart in Excel
Supposing you have the following data range that you want to create a scrollbar chart in your worksheet:
1. First, you can insert a chart with above data by selecting the data and clicking "Insert" >" Column" > "Clustered Column", (you can insert other column chart or line chart as you need).
2. And a column chart is inserted into your worksheet as follows:
3. Then you can insert a scrollbar into this worksheet, click "Developer" > "Insert" > "Scroll Bar", see screenshot:
Tip: If the Developer tab is not displayed on the ribbon, you can click "File" > "Option" > "Customize Ribbon" and check "Developer" in the right section to display the "Developer" tab on the tab.
4. And then drag the mouse to draw a scrollbar, and right click to select "Format Control", see screenshot:
5. In the "Format Control" dialog, click "Control" tab, and then specify the "Minimum value" and "Maximum value" of your data as you need, then click 
button to select a blank cell that you want to link to the scrollbar. See screenshot:
6. Then click "OK" to close this dialog, and select the link cell that you have specified just now to create range names you will use after a while. Next click" Formulas" > "Define Name", in the "New Name" dialog, enter a name for the named range (Column A) that you want to use, in this example, I will input "Name", then enter this formula =OFFSET(Sheet1!$A$2,,,Sheet1!$N$5) into the "Refers to" field, ("Sheet1" is the worksheet that you are applied; "A2" is the cell that the first data in Column A without title; "N5" is the linked cell that you have specified in Step 5, you can change it as you need.). See screenshot:
7. And then click "OK", go on clicking "Formulas" >" Define Name" to define a name for another range Column B as the same as step 6. In this example, I will enter these:
- "Name": "Maths"; (defined name for Column B)
- "Refers to": =OFFSET(Sheet1!$B$2,,,Sheet1!$N$5) ("Sheet1" is the worksheet that you are applied; "B2" is the cell that the first data in Column B without the title; "N5" is the linked cell that you have specified in Step 5, you can change it as you need.)
8. Then click "OK" to close this dialog, and the range names for the chart have been created successfully.
9. Next, you need to link the scrollbar and the chart, right click the chart area, then choose "Select Data" from the context menu, see screenshot:
10. In the "Select Data Source" dialog, click "Maths" and then click "Edit" button, in the popped out "Edit Series" dialog, under" Series name", click button to select cell B1 and enter this =Sheet1!Maths to the "Series values" field, ("Sheet1" is the worksheet that you are applied, and "Maths" is the range name that you have created for Column B), see screenshots:
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11. Then click "OK" to return to the former dialog, and in the "Select Data Source" dialog, click "Edit" button under H"orizontal (Category) Axis Labels", in the "Axis Labels" dialog, enter =Sheet1!Name into the Axis label range field. ("Sheet1" is the worksheet that you are applied, and "Name" is the range name that you have created for Column A). See screenshot:
12. And then click "OK" >" OK" to close the dialogs, you have added a scrollbar to the chart. When you drag the scrollbar, the data will be displayed into the chart increasingly. See screenshots:
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13. At last, if you want to combine the scrollbar and the chart, you can select and drag the scrollbar to the chart, then hold "Ctrl" to select the chat and the scrollbar at the same time, and then right click the scrollbar, choose "Group" > "Group" from the context menu, and these two objects are combined together.
Note: With the scrollbar chart you have created, when you drag the scrollbar to the maximum value, all the data will be displayed into the chart, and if the data is large, your data series will be crowded and difficult to view as following screenshot shown:
In this case, you can specify the number of data appeared into the chart to view the scores of any several consecutive data. To solve this problem, you just need to specify the number of period for the chart and change the formulas of the created range names.
After inserting the scrollbar and the chart, input a number that you want to display the data in the chart per period, for instance, I will display any 10 consecutive data series into the chart.
Then select your linked cell that you have created, and define the range names for the chart, in the "New Name" dialog, specify a name and input this formula =OFFSET(Sheet1!$A$1,Sheet1!$N$1,0,Sheet1!$N$2,1) into the "Refers to" text box, ("A1" is the first cell of your data, "N1" is the linked cell you are created and "N2" is the cell of your specified appearing number for the chart)
And go on creating range name for another column data, in the "New Name" dialog, enter a range name for column B, and input this formula =OFFSET(Sheet1!$A$1,Sheet1!$N$1,1,Sheet1!$N$2,1) into the "Refers to" field, see screenshot:
Then you need to link the scrollbar and the chart according to the above step9-step12. And you will get the following results, when you drag the scrollbar, every 10 continuous scores are displayed into the chart.
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Create a scrollable chart with only clicks
With "Kutools for Excel", you can easily create a scrollable chart that allows you to focus on a specific portion of your data while maintaining clarity and control. This feature provides an intuitive way to analyze trends, compare sections, and explore large datasets without manually resizing charts or scrolling through the worksheet. With just a few clicks, Kutools simplifies the process, helping you create dynamic and interactive charts that make your data visualization both efficient and professional.
After installing Kutools for Excel, please do as this:
- Click "Kutools" > "Charts" > "Data Distribution" > "Scrollable Line Chart", see screenshot:
- In the "Scrollable Line Chart" dialog box, specify the following operation:
- (1.) Select the" Axis Labels" and "Series Values" separately;
- (2.) Specify the number of series points to be displayed in the chart from the "Show series points" box;
- (3.) Click OK button.
- Now, a dynamic scrolling line chart will be inserted into the worksheet at once. When clicking the scroll bar, the data will be changed dynamically.
In summary, adding a scrollbar to a chart in Excel provides an interactive way to handle large datasets, allowing users to focus on specific portions of the data dynamically. Whether you prefer the built-in method or the convenience of Kutools, both approaches will help you enhance data visualization and analysis in Excel efficiently. If you're interested in exploring more Excel tips and tricks, our website offers thousands of tutorials.
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- How to create dynamic interactive chart in Excel?
- How to create Gantt chart in Excel?
- How to create simple Pareto chart in Excel?
- How to add image as background into chart in Excel?
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