The last advanced graphics feature we’re going to talk about isn’t a separate application; it’s a feature right within Word. This feature lets you create charts. You can create freehand charts or charts that are based on data entered in tables; since we haven’t covered tables we’re going to focus on charts that aren’t based on table data.

 

To start the process, click the Insert menu, choose Picture, and click Chart.

 

 

Then, a chart will be inserted along with a datasheet. You will also see a new toolbar and some new menu commands:

 

 

The datasheet that you see on the screen will not be included in the final document. The datasheet is like a miniature spreadsheet; when it is open you will see chart-related items on the toolbar and on the menu bar. When you close the datasheet, those items will disappear. When you re-open the data sheet (by double-clicking on the chart), those items will re-appear. You can toggle this view by selecting the chart and then clicking the View menu and clicking Datasheet; for this reason it’s often referred to as the Datasheet view.

 

To create your chart, just type the appropriate data in the datasheet. The chart will automatically be updated to reflect the data you enter. Here’s an example:

 

 

As charts are objects, you can change the graph’s size by using the handles around it.

 

 

That’s all there is to creating a basic chart in Word!